Two US Navy Vessels were named after Ensign John Charles England, a former PJC cheerleader, who gave his life attempting to save men trapped below on the USS Oklahoma, during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In 1943 a record-breaking destroyer escort was named in his honor; DE-635, followed in 1963 by a second USS England, the powerful guided missile frigate; DLG-22 / CG-22

John Charles England was born in Harris, Mo., on December 11, 1920. His family then moved to Alhambra, Ca. He attended Pasadena Junior College in 1940, was a Yell King on the Pep Commission, a member of the Players Guild, were he was in the cast of their annual fall presentation of, "Bachelor Born". J.C. was also a member of Delta Psi Omega, a national honorary dramatics fraternity which he acted in their annual spring production, "Outward Bound". J.C. graduated in spring, 1940. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve on September 6, 1940 and was commissioned ensign on June 6, 1941. On September 3, 1941 he reported for duty on the USS Oklahoma. Ensign John Charles England lost his life attempting to save men trapped below on the USS Oklahoma. during the Japanese attach on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

John Charles England, PJC alumni page - 1940

Battleship Row under attack

USS Oklahoma was based at Pearl Harbor from 6 December 1940 for patrols and exercises, and was moored in Battleship Row 7 December 1941, when the Japanese attacked. Outboard alongside Maryland Oklahoma took 3 torpedo hits almost immediately after the first Japanese bombs fell. As she began to capsize, 2 more torpedoes struck home, and her men were strafed as they abandoned ship. Within 2O minutes after the attack began, she had swung over until halted by her masts touching bottom, her starboard side above water, and a part of her keel clear. Many of her crew, however, remained in the fight, clambering aboard Maryland to help serve her antiaircraft batteries. Twenty officers and 395 enlisted men were either killed or missing, 32 others wounded, and many were trapped within the capsized hull, to be saved by heroic rescue efforts. Such an effort was that of Julio DeCastro, a civilian yard worker who organized the team which saved 32 Oklahoma sailors.

USS ENGLAND (DE-635) was launched 26 September 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. H. B. England, mother of Ensign England, and commissioned 10 December 1943, Commander W. B. Pendleton in command. ENGLAND arrived at Espiritu Santo 12 March 1944 from San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, Funafuti, and Guadalcanal. She took up escort duty between Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal,  occasionally sailing to Noumea, and once to the Marshalls.

 

DE-635 USS England •Buckley Class Destroyer Escort: •Displacement: 1673 tons •Length: 306' •Beam: 36'10" •Draft: 13'6" •Speed: 23 knots •Armament: 3 3"/50, 3 21" torpedo tubes, 1,2 40mm or 1 1.1", 8 20mm, 1 hedgehog, 2 deptch charge tracks, 8 "K" gun projectors •Complement: 15 officers, 198 enlisted •Turbo-electric drive, 12,000 h.p. •Built at Bethlehem San Francisco on April 4 1943 and commissioned December 10, 1943 •Converted to High-Speed Transport APD-41

On 18 May 1944, with two other destroyers, ENGLAND  cleared Port Purvis on a hunt for Japanese submarines during  a passage to Bougainville. During the next 8 days, she was  to set an impressive record in antisubmarine warfare, never  matched in World War II by any other American ship, as she  hunted down and sank I-16 on 19 May, RO-106 on 22 May,  RO-104 on 23 May, RO-116 on 24 May, and RO-108 on 26 May.  In three of these cases, the other destroyers were in on the  beginning of the actions, but the kill in every case was  ENGLAND's alone. Quickly replenishing depth charges at  Manus, ENGLAND was back in action on 31 May to join with  four other ships in sinking RO-105. This superlative  performance won for ENGLAND a Presidential Unit Citation, and the assurance from the Chief of Naval Operations,  Admiral E. J. King, "There'll always be an ENGLAND in the United States Navy." His pledge was fulfilled 6 October 1960, when DLG-22 was assigned the name ENGLAND.

Through the summer of 1944, ENGLAND sailed throughout  the northern Solomons, providing the escort services necessary for the building up of bases, preparations for the   renewed assaults on Japanese territories to the north, and provision of supplies to garrison forces on the islands of  the southwest Pacific. In August, she underwent repairs at Manus, and between 24 September and 15 October voyaged from the Treasury Islands to Sydney, Australia. From the Treasuries, she sailed guarding a convoy to Hollandia, where  she arrived 18 October, and on the 26th got underway on the first of two voyages to escort reinforcement convoys to  newly invaded Leyte. She returned to Manus and local escort duty 2 December.

From 2 January 1945, ENGLAND escorted convoys between   Manus and Ulithi, the major base for operations of the  carrier task forces, and later to be the staging point for  the assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The escort vessel sailed to Kossol Roads in February, bringing in a convoy later routed on to the Philippines, then resumed her duty on the Manus-Ulithi sealanes. She sailed from Ulithi 23 March for the preinvasion bombardment of Okinawa, returned to Ulithi to join the screen of two cruisers, guarding them back to Okinawa to join the 5th Fleet just after the initial assault on 1 April. Between 6 and 17 April, she voyaged to Saipan screening unladen transports, then took up a  screening and patrol station north of the Kerama Retto.

On 9 May 1945, while on station, ENGLAND was attacked  by three Japanese dive bombers. Her antiaircraft fire set  the first of these flaming, but At about 1845 hours the plane crashed ENGLAND on  her starboard side, just below the bridge. The kamikaze  pilot had remembered his instructions to knock out the  ship's nerve center and kill as many as possible of her  officers. With the bomb of the plane exploding just after  the crash, ENGLAND's men began a dangerous race against  time, to quench the fires and save their ship, while combat air patrol shot down the two other attackers.  She was able to make Kerama Retto under tow, with 37 of her men killed or missing and 25 wounded.

ENGLAND sailed on to Leyte, where she received  temporary repairs to put her in shape for the long voyage home. On 16 July 1945, she arrived at Philadelphia for permanent repairs and conversion to a high-speed transport (APD-41). The end of the war, however, halted this work, and she was decommissioned 15 October 1945 and sold 26 November 1946.

True Magazine 1956 article - A detailed account of the events of late May 1944 that made the USS England famous. [ read the article ]

CLASS - LEAHY
Displacement 5,600 Tons, Dimensions, 533' (oa) x 53' 6" x 25' 3" (Max)
Armament 2 Terrier 2x2, (80 Missiles) 4 x 3"/50, ASROC (8 Missiles) 6 x12.75" TT.
Machinery, 85,000 SHP; Geared Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 34 Knots, Crew 377.

The USS England DLG-22 was built by Todd Shipbuilding. The keel was laid on October 4, 1960 and launched on March 6, 1962. She was commissioned on December.7, 1963. Her designation was changed in 1976 to CG-22 at Bremerton Naval Shipyard during an overhaul. She was decommissioned on January 21, 1994.

Thanks to Dennis O'Brien for some of the content and pictures.