USS Serpens AK 97 Commemorative Website - Soldiers Page

Late in the evening on January 29th 1945, the USS Serpens AK 97 while anchored off Lunga Beach, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands exploded with the loss of all hands with the exception of two sailors. From my research, the United States Army 231st Company - 492nd Port Battalion, was comprised of Army Stevdores which helped with the movement of stores on and off the ship. The 492nd was comprised of 230th, 231st, 232nd and the 233rd Companies. This is the only information that I have, if you have anything to add - please do not hesitate to contact me.

		“Three Minutes Late” by Sgt. Francis V. Stuart On February 16, 1943 my dad and one brother took me to Lodi (Medina Co., Ohio) where I got a bus which took me and about 15 others to Wellington (Lorain Co., Ohio) where we got on a train that took us to Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio. After a few days there I got on another train, which took me to Camp Hathaway out side Vancouver, Washington for my basic training. I was in the 492nd Port Battalion and our job was to load and unload ship’s bombs, tanks and other supplies. We were moved up and down the West Coast to different ports. After a few months I got a 15-day furlough to go home which six days was spent on the train ride to and from camp. Shortly after the furlough I was shipped out of Camp Stoneman, California with ten thousand others. We landed on Guadalcanal, which was to be home for sixteen months.
		The 492nd’s job was to unload and load ships that supply the troops. The ships had to unload off shore because there were no docks to pull the ships up to. This was day and night. While I was on the island I got a telegram telling me Janice gave birth to a baby boy, Francis M Stuart (me) and both were ok. I made the rank of staff Sargent.
		My 1st Sgt., two other men and me had to go to another part of the island and it was my turn to work on the ship that night. I thought we would have enough time to get back and go with my men. We were returning to camp. The road we took passed over a small mountain and we got to the top and started down, one of the tie rods came off. We got the jeep stopped. It took a long time in getting the thing repaired so we could get back to camp. When we got back to camp my men had left three minutes before. That night the ship my men were on exploded killing all of them. (They would not tell us if the ship blew up or the Japanese had sunk it).
		Pfc. John Preedom was an U.S. Army stevedore aboard the USS Serpens when it exploded January 29, 1945. John Preedom Memorial Page
		US Army Private Glenn B. Frank was from Madisonville Tennessee. Private Frank was not stationed on the USS Serpens; he simply came over to visit some friends on the ship and decided to stay the night on board when it exploded and sank.

		US Army Sgt. Anthony (Tony) Bolan (standing) and his best friend Vincent ( MAC ) McSheehy in front of the chapel on Guadalcanal. Tony Bolan enlisted from Ukiah, California. Sgt. Tony Bolan was present in Guadalcanal when the USS Serpens exploded working the opposite duty section as stevedores loading ammunition aboard the ship. Tony noted that it was unusual to load the ship from both the port and starboard sides in great haste, with the fleet preparing for the battle of Okinawa. Tony worked on the USS Serpens, loading depth charges the night before the ship exploded. The next 29 pictures have been donated by Sgt. (Hatch Sergeant) Tony Bolan.
		Rear Standing - Mc Sheehy - Armand Angelone (1st Sgt) Tony Bolan Right Front, John Hopkins
		Tony Bolan - Camp Hathaway, Vancouver, Washington
		Tony Bolan in front of the Guadacanal Chapel.
		PFC US Army Walter (Bags) Baginsky in front of the Chapel. Walter was lost on the USS Serpens.
		Tony Bolan and his dear Mother (Cathrine)
		Tony Bolan, John Hopkins and Bill Robinson cemetery and Chapel (in background)
		Tony Bolan, and Tony [last name unknown] John Hopkins.
		Tony Bolan and Vincent (Mac) McSheenhy.
		Chapel - Guadacanal
		Tony Bolan - Camp Hathaway, Vancouver, Washington
		John Hopkins and Bill Robinson with cemetary and Chapel (in background)
>		Tony Bolan in front of the Chapel
		Tony Bolan and Walter (Bags) Baginsky. Walter was lost on the USS Serpens.
		Tony Bolan and Brother Peter Bolan at CEBU City. Peter was Stationed at Manila - Luzon Island. Peter was able to visit Tony in Cebu City - Island of Cebu. Manila and Cebu City are in the Philippines.
		Tony Bolan and Brother Peter Bolan at CEBU City
		L-R - "Mac" McSheehy - Bill Kaiser - Tony Bolan
		Bill Kaisers
		L-R - Tony Bolan - "Mac" McSheehy - Bill Kaiser
		Tony Bolan and Joe [Connotillo]?
		Joe [Connotillo] and Walter "Bags" Babinski?
		L-R - Tony Bolan - "Mac" McSheehy - John Hopkins
		Frank Danicki - John Hopkins
		McSheehy - Hopkins - Angelone - Bolan - Unknown Native
		Standing - Connotillo, Front - Angelone - McSheehy - Bolan
		Back Row - Hopkins - Angelone - Bolan Front Row - Island Native - UNKNOWN
		L-R - "Mac" McSheehy - Tony Bolan - Hopkins
		Tony Bolan and Ray Ogg.
		Soldiers taking a shower on Guadalcanal.
		T/4 Sgt. Robert E. Ray, son of Marvin and Grace Grow-Ray, was born May 5, 1923 in Greensburg, Indiana. He graduated from Greensburg High School in 1941. Robert enlisted in the United States Army in 1943, where he served in the 231st Port Company, 492nd Port Battalion, during World War II. While deployed to the South Pacific, Robert and the 231st Port Company served at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, and in the Philippines. By the time he separated from the Army in February 1946, Robert was a Sergeant (Technician Fourth Grade) and had been awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Ribbon with Bronze Star, Philippine Liberation Ribbon with Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. Though he did not suffer any physical wounds during the war, one of his closest friends, U.S. Navy radioman James Edgar Land, was killed in aerial combat in 1945. Additionally, he lost 50 fellow enlisted men of the 231st Port Company when the USS Serpens exploded at Guadalcanal in January 1945. In late 1946, after a long road trip out West with two veteran buddies, Robert worked at the Fair Store in Greensburg, Indiana. In January 1948, Robert married Joann Evans and they had two sons, Marvin and Larry. The Ray family lived in Greensburg, where Robert worked for Corbett and Craig Hardware until 1958. In 1958, he joined Pleak Hardware, where he was a manager until his death in 1964. Robert and his father-in-law, Raymond Evans, were killed in a car accident in Putnam County, Indiana on October 18, 1964. He is buried at South Park Cemetery in Greensburg, Indiana.
		Japanese Marker - Pacific (donated by T/4 Robert E. Ray's Grandson - Robert Ray)
		492nd Port Battalion Headquarters (donated by T/4 Robert E. Ray's Grandson - Robert Ray)
		Torpedoed Japanese Merchant Supply Vessel- Pacific (donated by T/4 Robert E. Ray's Grandson - Robert Ray)

		Alec Beskosty TEC 5 USA. Born to Michael and Mary Beskosty (Lucka) on September 4, 1918 Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Alec Beskosty had a twin brother named Paul Beskosty, and an older brother Peter and sister named Anne.