Monday, August 20, 2012

Another Interesting Email

On August 12, I received the following email.
Dear Jim -
My name is Meridith Constant and I am a granddaughter of Menford L. Sutton, who was a yeoman second class during WWII and was on the USS Hazelwood when it was hit. One of my uncles is named for two friends that perished that day, and I have heard a story that my grandfather swam the boat to aid in determining if it was taking water. He is currently in hospice with advanced stages of Alzheimers; so unfortunately, I have not had an opportunity to talk to him about many things and he rarely if ever talked about that day or others during WWII. I came across your USS Hazelwood blog today and thought I would write to see if you have any information about that day or on my grandfather, I know the family would appreciate hearing/learning more.

Sincerely,
Meridith Constant

I did some searching  in our files and found this card with a picture of Menford,
Using that picture and some help from Meridith I was able to identify Menford in the 1945 picture of the crew in front of the Hazelwood as well as in one of the pictures of the crew taken in Pearl Harbor after the attack. If you look at those pictures you may find  him easily as he was still wearing his hat jauntily on the back of his head.

Smooth sailing, Jim Julian
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1 comment:

  1. LLAugust 27, 2012 at 11:41 PM

    My name is Larry B. Lambert. My father, Jack R. Lambert served on the USS Hazelwood when it was hit. (Gunner's mate on the aft 40mm mount) He passed away as a result of an auto accident in 1989, but his service inspired two generations of his children to serve in the Navy. I'm not sure where this comment should be, but thanks for putting this blog on the Internet!!

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