USS HOUSTON CA 30
“The galloping Ghost of the Java Coast”
JOSEPH
GRADY BLACK, Jr.
S1/c U. S. Navy
Enlisted 15 JULY 1940
USS HOUSTON CA-30
Killed in Action - February 28, 1942
American Defense Medal
Purple Heart
As written by Jim
Kelly
Post historian, American Legion POST
433 - Midland, North Carolina
Joseph Grady Black, Jr. was born
on July 5, 1920 to Joseph Grady Black and Ollie (Burleson) Black, the first of
three children..
It is believed that ‘JG’, as he was known, graduated from Bethel High
School with the class of 1938. JG had a younger brother, William and Roy
Lee Black, who died as an infant. JG’s dad was known
to have a pack of hounds. Often they
would hunt for fox off of Sam
Black Road.
JG would tag along as a youngster.
It
is believed that ‘JG’ felt the winds of war approaching and decided early on to
enlist in the United States Navy. At age
21, on July 15, 1940, he did join the Navy.
Unfortunately
little is known about ‘JG’s
decision making process nor the details of his time spent in the Navy. We can presume however that he traveled to
basic training, returning home briefly before shoving off for California, late in September 1940.
It
is possible that ‘JG’ waited in California
for assignment. The old adage which is
familiar to military personnel in all branches of service may applied here, “Hurry
up and Wait”. Fateful orders were
not long in coming however. Based on
archives at the United States Navy Memorial in Washington,
D.C., and the USS Houston (CA-30) Association, it appears that
‘JG’ received orders to the Houston. His name is listed among the crew.
According to the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting
Ships, (DANFS), Houston was in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
fitting out for deployment to the Philippine Islands. It is believed that ‘JG’ caught up with his
ship at Pearl Harbor prior to her sailing for Manila on November 19, 1940. Upon arrival at Manila the ship became the Flagship of
Admiral Thomas Charles Hart, USN, Commander United States Asiatic Fleet,
graduate U.S. Naval Academy class of 1897.
The period of time between arrival on station at Manila and the day war
broke out a year later was filled with countless drills for ship’s
company. In the event of hostilities the
crew needed to become attuned to their ship, intimately, should she suffer an
electrical casualty and the lights fail below deck. Each individual must hone his skills at
General Quarters. The stress of combat
demands of each man that he revert to lessons learned
in drill.
The flagship’s
duty was to disrupt Japanese advances across southern Pacific. When the
Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, Admiral Hart sailed her toward Darwin, Australia,
where she would join the ABDA naval force (American-British-Dutch-Australian) , to curb Japanese advances (under the command of Dutch
Admiral Karel Doorman). Houston's number three gun turret was
disabled by a bomb on February 4,1942, though during
the action she was credited with downing four Japanese planes. On February 15th she
departed from Australia with
a small convoy to reinforce the garrison at Timor,
and was met with numerous air attacks, valiantly fighting off the attacks
without damage to the transports she was guarding.
The End - Battle
of Sunda
Strait
Dutch Admiral Karel
Willem Frederik Marie Doorman, Senior Officer Present
Afloat, (SOPA), received reports of a Japanese invasion force approaching Java,
and was determined to stop the invasion. On February 26, 1942, Houston set sail along with HMAS Perth, HNLMS
De Ruyter, HMS Exeter, HNLMS Java, and 10 destroyers.
This force confronted the Japanese support force under the command of Admiral
Takeo Takagi on February 28, 1942 at Banten Bay. During the battle Houston was sunk by four torpedo hits as well
as numerous projectile hits of various calibers. Commanding officer in Houston,
Captain Albert Harold Rooks, USNA 1914, (U. S. Naval
Academy) was killed by a bursting shell at 0030, the ship came to a stop. Japanese destroyers swarmed over her, machine
gunning the decks. A few minutes later
the gallant Houston,
her name written imperishably in the records of heroism, rolled over and sank,
her ensign still flying. Houston succumbed to
overwhelming Japanese forces, but not before hitting three enemy destroyers and
sinking one minesweeper while fighting alone (Perth had already been sunk.) The full story of the sinking of USS Houston
was actually not known by the world for almost 9 months. Her survivors were picked up by Japanese
ships and sent to a prison camps in south east
Asia. You may recall the 1957 movie,
BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI. Houston
survivors helped build the bridge and associated narrow gauge railway.
It
is reported that 693 men survived the battle. Few survived the desperate years
and months of captivity and brutal treatment at the hands of the Japanese. Captain Rooks was posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor after the war as tales of his bravery were learned. The Houston was awarded the
Presidential Unit Citation.
Our native son performed his duty, as did
his shipmates. There is no doubt that JG Black loved his family and his
country. He saw danger coming and stood
up to face that evil force. We can ask
no more of any man. God Bless you Joseph
Grady Black, Jr
C.J. Kelly
53 Jake Tucker
Road
Midland NC 28107-5417
Jkelly94@carolina.rr.com
704.488.1491
04.14.2010