Namesake
George Francis Grady – 1938 to 1942 Pvt. 1c ( Private 1st class) 1st Marine Parachute Battalion
I am SGT Roxanne B. [Combat Veteran currently serving in the US Army] my great uncle was Francis Grady the gentleman that the ship was named after. If you want to read a great book about him and his unit read “Battalion of the Damned”. The book goes into great detail about the Battle at Gavutu and Bloody Ridge and about the forming of his Battalion. Well, I can add that he was a NY city native and he had enlisted on 11 October, 1938 and was born 28 April, 1920. He was part of the 1st Marine Parachute Battalion. I thought I would say hello and talk to folks who served on this ship. Thank you, take care.
- SGT. Roxanne B. – great niece
Sailor/ Date of Service/ Rating(Rank)
George L. Aar – ? to ? SC1c (Ship’s Cook 1st Class)
My dad, George L. Aar, served on the Grady as well. He was “ship’s cook, first class”, and also was assigned to a 40 mm. gun.
Like so many others, he seldom mentioned the war or anything he did during. There was always a photo of the Grady hanging on our wall with dad’s ribbons on it, and also a credit for shooting down a plane. When I asked him about the plane – in a sort of childish exuberance – all he would say about it was “I helped”.
- George Aar, son
Everett Dickerson – 1944 to ? WT2c (Water tender 2nd class)
He was born in 1925, enlisted June of 42. He first served aboard the USS George E Badgar then was transferred to the Grady in 44. Served as a boilerman in the engine room.
-Kevin Garrett, Grandson
Cecil W. Hammond – 1944 to 1945 BMc2 (Boatswain [Bosun's Mate] 2nd class)
I am the son of Cecil W. Hammond who served on the USS Grady from October 1944 to November 1945. He passed away last May 11th 2009. He was the last WW2 Grady sailor to attend the annual DESA reunion. An era has passed.
-Jack E. Hammond, son
Francis R. King -1944 to ? Lieutenant Commander
My father in law Francis R. King was the Lieutenant Commander of the Grady. He passed on in 1985 but remained a “sailing man” his entire life. He gave the love of the sea to his son my husband a die hard sailor himself. Fran was supposedly the youngest serving escort destroyer commander at the time. He was 27 when he took command.
-Jane King, Daughter-in-law
Malcolm D. Stearns – 1944-1946 F1c (Fireman 1st class), EM (electrician mate)
He was drafted in 1944. He went to the induction center where he was given a choice of which branch of service he wanted to be in. Imagine that! They actually gave him a choice. That doesn’t sound much like the military. Since his dad before him had served in the Navy, he chose to get into that line. (I think he said that there were three lines – the Army, the Navy, and the Marines.)
His dad had served on a submarine in WWI. He advised my dad not get into the submarine service. (It is hard to imagine the US having a fleet of subs in WWI.) Dad knew he made the right decision not to get into the submarine division after he had participated in ASW (Anti Submarine Warfare) training. (They may have called it something else back then.) They practiced on a real sub using dummy shells and ordinance. Dad said that when the sub sufaced it was full of dents and marks from the beating it took. I’m sure the sub had been used to train a lot of ships in ASW.
Dad was sent to Perdue University by the Navy to train in electronics. He learned about radios, but when he was assigned to duty on the USS Grady he was made a Fireman. The Fireman did not put out fires. He was in a secure room that operated the second switch for the turrets to fire their 5” guns (called 38 Specials because the shells were 38 inches long). The man in the turret and my dad had to close the switch at the same time to fire the guns. The fire control room, where he worked, was the safest part of the ship. The walls were about a foot thick of solid steel.
-David Stearns, son of M.D.S.
Camp Peary, Virginia , June 1944 – Camp Photographers
Malcolm Stearns is the one fourth from top left – date/location unknown
Deck photo of some crew of the Grady – date/location unknown
Malcolm Stearns on the right with unknown sailor – date/location unknown
Arthur Tisdale 1944 to ? Lt.(jg) (Lieutenant Junior Grade)
My father was an ensign aboard the USS Grady during WWII, but I do not know the dates. He brought home a movie of the King Neptune celebration when the ship crossed the equator. He was one of the “90-day wonders” – those men who went straight from college, was trained in 90-days, and given assgnments.
- David Tisdale, son
