Saturday, April 7th, 2001:
Friends, family and survivors of the USS Houston CA-30 attended the 6th
annual USS Houston CA-30 Memorial Service on March 3rd, 2001 at the USS
Houston Monument site in Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas. The HMAS Perth
(an Australian cruiser) and the USS Houston were the only two allied ships in
Asiatic waters after heavy losses during the Battle of the Java Sea. Only
368 Houston crew members survived the Battle of Sunda Strait and were taken
prisoners of war by the Japanese for 3 1/2 years. Another 77 men perished
due to torture, disease and starvation while working on the "Death Railway" in Burma/Thailand.
Representatives of the ABDA nations (American, British, Dutch and
Australian) came to participate in the wreath laying ceremony along
with a crew member of the current USS Houston SSN-713.
This ceremony honors the men that gave the ulitmate sacrifice for our
freedom, those who died enslaved in the POW camps, our loved ones that were
liberated & have since died, and show our gratitude for our liberties to
those survivors still among us.
Val Roberts-Poss,
editor of USS Houston CA-30 Blue Bonnet: "The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast"
web: http://www.usshouston.org
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