LINKS OF INTEREST

U.S.S. Wintle

WWII veterans and former crewmates of the U.S.S. Wintle reunited in Milton in October.  From left to right are Eugene Towne, Bill Harrington, Jackie Wintle, Joe Cerniglia, and Andrew Pulley.

November 9, 2006

World War II sailors reunite in Milton

By KATE MILLER | Milton Independent Staff Writer

The crewmen of the U.S.S. Wintle became brothers in battle during the years of World War II, and they have continued their tradition of family through annual reunions across the country.

During this past October, four of the men and their relatives - and the family members of other veterans - met for a reunion in Vermont, at the home of Milton resident Eugene Towne.

During an afternoon luncheon, the friends crowded into Towne’s living room, kitchen and dining room to share a meal and memories. Wives, daughters and friends of the crewmen were also part of the celebration. They laughed about old times, remembered both the sad and happy experiences and retold the stories of their time aboard the ship.

“We put the ship in the water on Feb. 18, 1943 and it went out of commission on Nov. 28, 1945,” Towne said.

The USS Wintle was an Evarts class destroyer escort that sailed  throughout the South Pacific during the war. The sailors earned three battle stars during that time, each for the battles at the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, and Palalu Island.

The veteran sailors have held their reunions all over the country, from Nevada and Arizona to Kansas, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Georgia native Cathy Adams attend the reunions in honor of her father James Houston. She and her mother, Ann Houston, said there is a real feeling of family at the reunions.

“All my life, everywhere we went my father looked for his shipmates,” Adams said. “I enjoy being with these people, there’s a real feeling of fellowship.”

The men trade plenty of stories about the old days at the reunions, remembering the battles, watching movies projected on a screen made from a bed sheet, the initiations endured by new sailors, and even the kind of bread created by the ship’s bakers.

In the middle of the reunited crewmen  is a woman who has a close link to the famed ship. Jackie Wintle is the daughter of Lt. Commander Jack William Wintle, the officer for whom the ship was named.

A graduate of Annapolis, the 32-year-old lieutenant was killed on the bridge of the U.S.S. San Francisco, an administrative ship that fought in Guadalcanal with a Japanese fleet. The U.S.S. Wintle was christened in his name.

“I attend these reunions for my father,” Jackie Wintle said with a smile. “When we first met these men, there was such a comraderie, a pulling-together team spirit. He (her father) would have liked these guys.”

Next year’s reunion is scheduled for Charleston, S.C. It has been 61 years since World War II ended, and the men acknowledge that as the years go by, the reunion attendance grows smaller.

“We’re dwindling down every year,” said Bill Harrington, another Wintle crewman. He and his wife have been attending the reunions for the past 10 years.

“But I’ll keep coming. I like listening to all the stories,” he said with a smile. “I like just being with them.”