The Altamont Enterprise - Thursday, November 29, 2001
21
How the USS Slater came to Albany
By Rosemary
Christoff Dolan
SCHOHARIE — On Nov. 12,
the Town of Wright/Schoharie
Valley Lions Club presented its
eighth annual Veterans Day
program at the Parrott House in
Schoharie. The audience of 60
included many veterans as well
as members of the Lions Clubs of
Duane, Richmondville/Cobleskill, and Saratoga Springs.
best in the world and can do the
job — quietly, efficiently and
often without recognition.
"Two months ago, we saw ordinary Americans at their best —
ordinary people doing absolutely extraordinary deeds. Once
again our soldiers are fighting in
far off lands on our behalf.
"No words can do justice to
the sacrifices our citizen soldiers
have made, particularly those
'Ordinary Americans at their best'
Dr. Al Vanderzee of East
Greenbush presented the program, "Destroyer Escorts in
World War II and Korea."
Retired from the State Education
Department, he is a professor of
history at the Hudson Valley
Community College. He served
four years with the VC 5
Squadron of United States Navy
Aviation during the Korean
War.
Vanderzee is also a student of
history with expertise in the
Revolutionary War, the Civil
War, World War I, and more
contemporary wars. He has
particular interest in World War
II and he and his wife, Mary,
have traveled to Normandy four
times. In June of 1994, they
spent 10 days at the 50th anniversary Remembrance of DDay in Normandy where they
videotaped the ceremonies.
This year's program had
sponsors and supporters who
provided over $300 worth of
drawing prizes. Sponsors were
Langan Funeral Home, Marathon Water Heaters, and Ottman
and Enders Heating & Plumbing. Supporters were the Alley
Cat, Diner, the Bank of Richmondville, Dale Bouck, The
Carrot Barn, Chris' Florist &
Nursery, The Conglomerate, the
Mobil Mart, Schoharie Nurseries, Stewart's Shop of Schoharie, Tom's County Seat Pizza,
and Wellington Herbs & Spices.
Since 1993, the Town of
Wright/Schoharie Valley Lions
Club served as the area's World
War II Commemorative Community and is currently the
Korean War Commemorative
Community. They have sponsored educational exhibits and
air shows, participated in
Memorial Day parades, and organized Veterans' Day programs. In 1994, they re-dedicated the World War II Monument at the Old Stone Fort in
Schoharie.
"We are at war. It seemed almost unfathomable a year ago
when we gathered here that
America herself would be struck,
with thousands of lives lost and
tens of thousands more changed
forever," said Bob Muller, one of
the program's organizers who
paid tribute to the veterans.
"Not to the scale of the orphans, widows, and widowers
directly impacted, but we too
have been affected! We have all
heard about the security concerns for our dams, bridges, and
power plants. The Gilboa Dam
right here in Schoharie is under
24-hour surveillance and heightened alert," he said.
"I realized that it was rather
symbolic of our veterans. They
serve quietly, holding back the
tide without a thought or concern on our part — we just count
on them to do the job. Then a
crisis comes and we pray for
them to hold yet again. Fortunately, our vets have proven
over and over that they are the
who fought and still lie within
the ground on foreign soil,"
Muller said.
"I'm sure you've all seen the
movie on television, "The Band
of Brothers." Recently, I think,
all veterans in America are more
or less caught up in the idea that
yes, we really are a 'band of
brothers,' and I take great pride
in being able to say that,"
Vanderzee said.
Destroyer escorts
Vanderzee characterized the
historical significance of the destroyer escort. Between World
War I and World War II, the U.S.
did not do much research on
anti-submarine warfare, although the British did. The U.S.
had the notion that the oceans
would protect it from the war
and that they were removed
from the problems in Europe
and the Far East. Consequently,
when the war started, this
country did not have a ship
designed primarily to escort its
convoys to Europe, While the
British had two.
The U.S. had a destroyer that
was too large and was not designed for what was needed. Out
of that came the development of
a ship called the destroyer
escort. Primarily it was an order
placed with the British under
lend-lease; 78 of the ships ultimately went to Britain.
Under the program, the U.S.
built 563 destroyer escorts. They
were small, fast, and totally expendable, costing only $5 million
for the full ship. Only 11 were
lost' in World War II because
they were so well designed for
escorting convoys of merchant
ships.
The destroyer escort, along
with the advent of aviation flattops that provided air cover, is
credited with turning the war
around in favor of the United
States in 1943.
The destroyer escorts each,
carried a crew of 200 sailors; the
ships served from 1943 to 1971
in World War II, Korea, and
Vietnam.
Nicknamed
"Trim
but
Deadly" the destroyer escort
was 300 feet long, 3*7 feet wide,
and traveled at 18 to 21 knots. It
carried depth charges, anti-aircraft, and torpedoes.
The ships that had been built
for Britain did not have torpedo
tubes and by definition were
called frigates. Only the United
States had destroyer escorts.
When the war started, the
Nazis found that one of the easiest places to sink ships was off
the coast of the United States.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
issued a presidential order to
douse the lights in the ports,
which were illuminating the
ships and making them easy
targets for Nazi submarines.
"Miami said it did not want to
turn off the lights because it
would hurt the tourist trade,"
Vanderzee said. "The need was
The Enterprise — Rosemary Christoff Dolan
Dr. Al Vanderzee, history professor at Hudson Valley Community College, presents the program
"Destroyer Escorts in World War II and Korea" at the Parrott House in Schoharie. The event was
sponsored by the Town of Wright/Schoharie Valley Lions Club.
great for a ship like our destroyer escort."
Using pre-fabricated design,
the destroyer escorts were built
quickly in Wisconsin, Minnesota,
and other states, and delivered
by railroad to ports where they
were assembled and launched.
During World War II, destroyer escorts battled Nazi Uboats on the North Atlantic, protecting convoys of men and materials. In the Pacific, they de-
the final scene of the movie, The
Guns ofNavarrone.
When the Greek Navy decommissioned the ship, the
Destroyer Escort Sailors Association asked to have her. The
association raised $275,000 to
have the ship towed by a
Russian tug to the USS Intrepid
Museum in New York City. It
had planned to develop a museum out of the USS Slater, but
later decided to scrap her once
decide about getting her underway, he said.
Destroyer escorts are named
after those killed in action. The
USS Slater was named after
Frank Slater, a gunner's mate on
the USS San Francisco who was
killed at Guadalcanal in 1942.
The ship is currently owned
by the Destroyer Escort
Historical Foundation, Inc. and
is located at the Snow Dock on
the Albany side of the Hudson
'The need was great for a ship like our destroyer escort.'
fended naval task forces from
kamikaze attacks.
When the war ended, there
were over 500 destroyer escorts
remaining. The U.S. decommissioned them and sank many to
create artificial reefs; they used
some for target ships and gave
others away since the Cold War
was still on.
USS Slater
The USS Slater (DE-766) was
launched in 1944 by the Tampa
Ship Building Company, owned
by the Steinbrenner family of
New York Yankees fame. It accompanied several convoys to
Europe. When the war ended, it
was refitted- by having its
torpedo tubes removed, and
fought the rest of the war in the
Pacific.
"She was in the famous typhoon in Okinawa in which, incidentally, one destroyer was
sunk but not the destroyer
escort. In fact, not one D.E. was
ever lost to a storm in either
ocean, which is another compliment to the design of this ship,"
Vanderzee said.
The USS Slater stayed in the
Pacific until 1946, at which time
it was decommissioned and
mothballed.
Ultimately, in 1951, the USS
Slater was given to the country
of Greece, where she was named
the Eagle and served in the
Greek Navy for 40 years, until
1991.
In 1962, the Slater appeared in
again. The Sailors Association
then offered the ship to any city
willing to take her.
Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings
had wanted to develop the
Albany waterfront and when he
heard about the USS Slater, he
brought her to the Port of
Albany and undertook the
restoration of the ship.
"The minute I found out about
it, I, along with many other men
and women, started to bring her
back to her 1944 glory. She is
now approximately 70 percent
restored," Vanderzee said.
He emphasized t h a t the
restoration is an ongoing job and
there is a need for skilled volunteers — engineers", electricians,
and the like.
In an attempt to make the ship
watertight, the Greeks had cemented closed many of the
openings. They also painted
over rust rather than removing
it and there were 40 years of rust
on the bulkheads and the decks.
"Our superintendent, Tim
Rizzuto, insists that everything
be authentic, "Vanderzee said.
"There aren't many D.E.'s left
in the world and, as far as we
know, none of them are floating.
We are free floating and ultimately it is conceivable she can
get under her own way,"
Vanderzee said.
Next year, the ship will be going into dry-dock in Staten
Island and at that time they will
River at the foot of the Dunn
Memorial Bridge.
"In January, we will become a
museum and be known as the
Destroyer Escort Historical
Museum, chartered by the New
York State Education Department," Vanderzee said.
The Slater is open to visitors
from April through December.
Tours include the crew's quarters, galley, pilot house and
bridge, ward room, main gun
and anti-aircraft batteries, and
anti-submarine weapons. For information, contact the USS
Slater (DE-766) at 431-1943, or
write Post Office Box 1926,
Albany, NY 12201.
MASONRY
• Wataprooflnj • Sidewalks
• Powel FwnMlMs
• Patios • Heated Concrete
• Belalnlna Wilts • Stecco
•' Stamped Concrete • Chimneys
• Cellar fleers ami Weill
• Brick end Block Work
674-1408 or 446-7827
References Available • Fully Insured
AllWork
GUARANTEED
Beer's Properly
Maintenance
Residential »'feohimecfcial