Capt. Vincent J.
Colan,
USN (Ret),
93, of
Hendersonville, died
Wednesday, August
15, 2007 at Pardee
Hospital. A native
of
Astoria, Long
Island, New York, he
moved to
Hendersonville in
1971.
He was the son of
the late Nunzio
Colantropo and
Vincenza Camuti. He
was also preceded in
death by his sisters
Mary and Carmela,
and one brother
Dominic. Vince
graduated from
Georgetown
University
and retired from the
US Navy and Naval
Reserve with the
rank of Captain
after 40 years of
service.
Vince enlisted in
the Navy on his 18th
birthday and served
aboard the USS San
Francisco, the
flagship for Rear
Admiral Husband E.
Kimmel, Commander
Cruiser Division
Seven. In February
1943 he was promoted
to Ensign. On
January 5, 1945,
while bombarding Chi
Chi Jima, (prior to
the invasion of Iwo
Jima), the ship
struck a mine,
flooding the forward
compartments and
storage holds. As
damage control
officer, he directed
rescue and damage
control measures
which kept the ship
afloat for a safe
return to
Saipan. For
this, he earned the
Silver Star. He was
also awarded eight
battle stars on his
Asia-Pacific theatre
ribbon.
Vince was highly
active in the
Republican Party and
founded the
Republican Men’s
Club in 1989. He
also founded the
Pearl Harbor
Day Commemorative
Committee, was a
substitute teacher,
former board member
and President of the
Hendersonville
Little Theatre and
the Congregational
Chairman of
Pinecrest
Presbyterian Church
for a number of
years
He is survived by
his wife, Jane
Stubbs Colan, one
daughter, Susan
White of
Virginia Beach, Va;
one son, Peter Colan
and wife Sheri of
Granger, Ind;
two grand daughters,
Heather Batson and
husband Tim of
Mishawaka, Ind,
and Sarah Colan of
Bloomington, Ind;
one brother, Antonio
Colantropo; and
numerous nieces and
nephews.
The
Capt. Vincent J. Colan, Story Below
Captain Vincent Colan San
Francisco's Japantown Peace
Plaza.
Captain Colan, USS San Francisco
CA-38 veteran, 1936-1939, C
Division
Photos by John Garvey, Historian
Captain Vincent Colan in front
of model of Osaka Castle at San
Francisco's Japantown
USS San Francisco CA-38
Reunion. September 2004 in
Sacramento, CA.
Left:
John Garvey, historian
Right: Captain Vincent Colan USS
San Francisco CA-38 veteran,
1936-1939, C Division
at Marines
Memorial Club in
San Francisco during the
CA-38 Reunion in
Sacramento
August 15. 2005
12:25PM
End of
World War II Colan
recalls receiving Silver Star
Lt. Vincent Colan, second from right,
stands on the deck of
the USS David W. Taylor
anchored in Buckner Bay,
Okinawa, on Aug. 10,
1945, just days before
victory in Japan was
declared. (Courtesy: US
Navy Archives.)
For retired Navy Cpt. Vincent Colan, it
is not V-J Day that he remembers
regarding the end of
World War II, but the final few
days before the official Japanese
surrender.
At 10 a.m. on Aug. 10, 1945, the
31-year-old was awarded the Silver Star
medal on board the USS David W. Taylor
for his efforts to keep that ship from
sinking in January 1945 when it struck a
mine while at sea.
Later that afternoon, Navy Lt. j.g
(lieutenant junior grade) Colan was
promoted to full lieutenant. At 5 p.m.,
while the naval destroyer was anchored
in Buckner Bay, Colan said word spread
over Okinawa that
Japan had offered to surrender.
"The reaction on the island was beyond
description," Colan said. "Half the
fleet was anchored in Buckner Bay
preparing for the invasion of Japan.
When news reached the troops manning all
types of artillery, practically all guns
began firing into the sky. If you can
imagine how a July 4th fireworks display
by cities such as
New York,
Chicago
Washington D.C., and others all
put together would look like, that was
the scene on Okinawa that day."
However, that military celebration took
a deadly turn.
"Crews on ships in the harbor were
unaware of the surrender offer and
thought it was another Japanese air
raid," Colan said. "Tugboats and other
small craft spread a blanket of fog over
the entire fleet that was at battle
stations to conceal it from being seen
from the air. When the gunfire ceased
hours later, more than a dozen American
soldiers on the island had been killed."
Two days later, news of the impending
Japanese surrender also had a role in
another loss of life for Colan's
brothers in arms on another ship
anchored 500 yards away.
"While aboard the USS Pennsylvania, we
learned that an unknown plane had
entered the harbor with its landing
lights on," he said. "Apparently,
everyone thought it was a friendly plane
since
Japan had offered to surrender on
Aug. 10 ... Instead of landing on an
airfield, it circled the harbor and
dropped a torpedo at the
Pennsylvania. As a result, 19
quartermasters that were berthed in the
steering engine room lost their lives."
When victory in Japan was officially
declared on Aug. 15, 1945, Colan said
the response was nowhere near as excited
as before.
"The news was received in a much subdued
manner, treated as an anti-climax
following the wild and hysterical
reaction that occurred on Aug. 12," he
said. "We had already celebrated it."
-- Jonathan Rich
CAPTAIN
SUES GOVERNMENT TO RESTORE ADMIRAL'S RANK
In his efforts to rehabilitate the reputation
of one of the Navy's top pre-World War II
admirals, retired Capt. Vince Colan of
Hendersonville is taking the fight to
Washington.
Colan, 90, is suing the Department of Defense to
release documents pertaining to Adm. Husband E.
Kimmel, who was demoted following the Japanese
surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
Kimmel, the four-star admiral in charge of the
Pacific Fleet, was blamed for the disastrous
Dec. 7, 1941, attack that left 21 ships sunk or
damaged and 2,403 Americans dead.
Colan, a 42-year Navy veteran of World War II
and the Korean War, joined Kimmel's son Edward
"Ned" Kimmel and grandson Manning Kimmel IV in a
lawsuit filed Sept. 8.
The plaintiffs are seeking documents relating to
the Defense Department's decision not to
posthumously restore Kimmel to his highest rank,
despite a 2000 call by Congress to do so.
In a defense appropriations act for 2001,
Congress found that Kimmel had an "unassailable
record" prior to the attack and that he was "not
provided necessary and critical intelligence
that was available that foretold of war with
Japan and that would have alerted (him) to
prepare for the attack."
"I've decided to do everything I can to restore
decency and justice and honor to Admiral
Kimmel," Colan said.
A self-described "pro-Navy" crusader who still
dons dress blues for special occasions, Colan
got to know Kimmel aboard the cruiser U.S.S. San
Francisco.
From 1938 to 1939, Colan served as an enlisted
man on the signal bridge giving and receiving
Morse code with a high-powered light.
Rather than stay in the plotting room, Kimmel
was usually leaning over his shoulder as he
received messages, Colan recalled.
"He wasn't a guy to sit around and wait. He
wanted to know what was going on. So I liked the
admiral," he said.
Met admiral's son
In 1988, when he learned of efforts to restore
Kimmel's four-star rank, Colan joined the cause.
He began speaking around the country on behalf
of the admiral and met Ned Kimmel, a Navy
veteran and former attorney.
Ned, 83, of Wilmington, Del., said he and Colan
began working closely together. After the
Department of Defense turned down the request by
Congress, they were heartbroken.
"I said to Vince, 'This is terrible.' Well Vince
is a self-starter so he gets into an automobile
and goes over to the Department of Defense and
raises a little hell."
In 2002, after Colan's visit to Washington, the
two made a request under the Freedom of
Information Act for documents regarding the
defense decision.
The Department of Defense denied to release the
documents, citing the protection of deliberative
materials, and in September the men sued.
After a 30-day extension lawyers for the U.S.
Attorney General's office responded to the case
this month, rejecting it categorically without
addressing individual points, Ned Kimmel said.
Ned Kimmel says the men are waiting for advice
from their attorney about whether and how they
should proceed.
Colan, though, does not anticipate letting the
issue drop.
"We'll take the next step," he said. "Whatever
it is."
Captain Vince Colan,
USN
retired,
salutes
the flag
during a
Pearl
Harbor
Commemorative
Ceremony
on Dec.
7, 2005.
(Michael
Justus /
Times-News
FILE)
A local retired Navy
officer is preparing to
picket the
White House to
restore the reputations
of two fellow
World War II
servicemen.
Four-star Navy
Adm. Husband
Kimmel and three-star
Army Lt. Gen. Walter
Short lost those ranks
after the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor
killed 2,403 Americans.
In 2000, Congress found
that both military
commanders who survived
the sneak attack were
not provided with
critical intelligence
information they needed
to know about the
assault. The
congressional ruling
also left the issue of
restoring their ranks to
the Pentagon's Personnel
Policy Division, which
ultimately decided
against the posthumous
promotions.
Retired Capt. Vince
Colan, who served with
Kimmel aboard the USS
San Francisco, has
repeatedly petitioned
for the government to
rectify that mistake.
On Aug. 28 and 29, Colan
and four members of the
Kimmel family will march
along the south section
of the
White House to
get the attention of
President George Bush
about the situation.
"Our feeling is that the
president is a
compassionate man and
once he is fully aware
of the indecency and
injustice that the
families have gone
through, he will want to
write an executive order
for the promotions,"
Colan said.
Colan contends that
while other high-ranking
military men were
considered equally to
blame for the tragedy,
Kimmel and Short were
made scapegoats for the
attack.
After the Defense
Department declined to
promote both officers,
in 2004 Colan joined
Kimmel's family in a
lawsuit to release
information pertaining
to that decision.
Colan's repeated Freedom
of Information Act
requests ultimately
resulted in the release
of 56 pages of highly
edited documents. Those
military papers,
however, offered little
clarity on why Kimmel
and Short remain listed
on retired military
lists as a two-star rear
admiral and a two-star
major general. Earlier
this month, the
92-year-old
Hendersonville resident
obtained the proper
protest permit to take
the issue to
Washington for a
peaceful demonstration
next week.
"It is our hope that as
a result of this picket,
the President will right
the grievous wrongs done
to the last two victims
of
Pearl Harbor by
honoring the request of
Congress that they be
promoted to the highest
ranks they held during
World War II," he
said.
Capt. Vincent J.
Colan,
USN (Ret),
93, of
Hendersonville, died
Wednesday, August
15, 2007 at Pardee
Hospital. A native
of
Astoria, Long
Island, New York, he
moved to
Hendersonville in
1971.
