I’m looking for war stories involving the Grady. Please contact me with your story.
From Jane King, Daughter-in-law of Francis R. King, USS Grady 1944-?
- The Grady was commissioned late in the war but saw quite a bit of action. Fran spoke very little of it, like many from the war . But the story of downing the kamikaze plane was one that he did tell. The Grady was fortunate in a way to have been sent out of the Philippines in Nov. 1944, one month before the horrible typhoon that Haley’s 3rd Fleet was caught in trying to refuel. The Grady had been escorting “oilers” in the 3rd Fleet and might have been lost as well as the Hull and the Spence. Fran did say that the typhoons were horrific and that those aircraft carriers virtually shot out of the water stern up when riding those waves in the storms. They were less stable than the smaller, less top heavy DEs.
From George Aar, son of George L. Aar, USS Grady
- My dad was one of the cooks on board, but he wasn’t from New York City. He was from Duluth, Minnesota. I remember him saying about cooking aboard the Grady, that one Sunday he was preparing chickens (LIVE chickens from what I could gather) for the traditional Sunday chicken dinner. He was up to his elbows in chicken guts and feathers and the ship was in the midst of some pretty rough waters, and the combination of the two events made him horrifically seasick.
- Another thing I remember Dad mentioning was that I guess the Grady had the reputation of being a “lucky” ship. Despite being in serious fire-fights and the ships that it relieved on patrol often getting shot up pretty badly, the Grady never got a scratch, from what I’ve heard. Nor did any of the crew.
From Kevin Garrett, grandson of Everett Dickerson, USS Grady
- He mentioned the entire naval fleet shot off their guns and lit up the sky during the shelling of Iwo Jima. And that his ship was there when the flag at Iwo Jima was raised.
- He also mentioned that Grady was located on what he called the Picket line for 58 days straight. From what I understand that’s what he refereed to as the first line of defense against Kamikaze fighter planes. Said it was a very stressful time.
From Jack E. Hammond, son of Cecil W. Hammond, USS Grady 1944-1945
- My father did not discuss his time on the Grady that much with me. All I know is that his combat station was a loader for a 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannon and that during the typhoon that the Grady went through for the invasion of that one island after the Leyte landing, he got a horrible gash on his chin which left a scar.
- And there is one photo in one of the DESA year books printed around 1988 which shows the Grady crew on “shore leave” (actually just a deserted island of the atoll where the TF went to resupply and refuel) where the USN allowed them to drink beer (a radical Baptist Sect. of the Navy got alchol banned on USN ships in 1912 and still in effect). The photo shows a guy laid out on the ground smiling with a bunch of sailors behind him. My father said the guy was galley help and a Cuban citizen who joined the USN.
From David Stearns, son of Malcolm D. Stearns, USS Grady 1944-1945
- Once after a live ammo exercise the cease fire order was given. Apparently, a live round had been left in one of the 5” turret guns. Without warning it fired over the bow of a nearby destroyer. Dad and everyone in the Fire Control Room and the turret were called in by Lt Commander Francis King. He questioned them angrily and thoroughly, but neither dad nor anyone else claimed to have triggered the big gun. (I think if fired spontaneously when the shell became overheated by the hot gun barrel.)
- It was during ASW training when a depth charge was set too shallow. It went off almost immediately after it hit the water. It was so close to the ship that it lifted the stern of the ship up a couple of feet or so and then dropped like a rock. Dad was off duty at the time and was in his bunk. A shipmate had just hopped out of his bunk when the charge went off. He was thrown upward and then hit his head on the ceiling when the ship dropped back down. He was not seriously injured. Dad was almost thrown out of his bunk by the explosion.
- There was an occasion when they were in the pacific when dad was resting in his bunk. Suddenly, without warning or being called to “Battle Stations” the commander came over the intercom saying “Prepare to abandon ship.” Dad’s first thoughts were “We are in the middle of the pacific ocean.” – “Abandon ship?!!” “Why?” As everyone reached topside there was the answer. There were two trails of white bubbles coming directly at the ship. He knew they were not turning fast enough to dodge them. The stream of bubbles came right to the ship and disappeared. Moments later they appeared on the other side of the ship. Sonar had recorded a direct hit on the USS Grady but the torpedoes had skimmed just under the keel of the ship. Both torpedoes went directly to the ship beside them and exploded sinking the ship. The USS Grady then turned on the sub and threw everything they could at it. After a while an oil slick and debris came to the surface. Dad said that they could never be completely sure that they sank the sub, but they counted it (unofficially) as a “kill.” He did not say which ship picked up the survivors of the ship that had been hit. But it was not safe to stop while there was a submarine in firing range. It had to be dealt with first.
- One of the guys had a pet monkey on board the ship. I don’t know if the commander knew of it. Unfortunately during a call to battle stations the monkey was crushed in one of the steel doors and killed.
- It was during an air attack by kamikazes when the USS Grady had a close call. Dad was at battle stations in the fire control room where visibility was limited. The big guns were firing at an incoming aircraft. Then the intermediate guns opened fire which meant the plane was getting closer. Then the small machine guns opened up which meant the plane was almost on top of them. Next, one whole side of the ship stopped firing and the other side opened up. In the attack the plane was using the USS Grady as a shield from other bigger ship’s guns to block fire. It turned out that the ship next to them was not a bigger ship than the USS Grady. It was a destroyer escort like the Grady. The Grady was laying a smoke screen at the time so the pilot must have thought it was covering a larger ship. The plane shot upward and came down the smoke stack of the other ship beside them. That ship went down.
- One of the bright spots on board the ship was the food. Dad said everyone in the military always complained about the food. But not on the USS Grady. Their cook was a New York chef. He prepared great treats for the crew. Only the commander did not like his cooking. Dad figured that he must have had an ulcer and the food did not agree with him.
- The ship went through one typhoon. The ship rocked once to the maximum degree it could go without capsizing. I understand that other ships were lost in the storm.
