Local Boys Lost in Pacific

Four Cliftonites among hundreds downed with Juneau in 1942 War was raging in the Pacific in 1942 and it took a heavy toll on the U.S. Navy. Between Aug. 6 and Nov. 13, more than 5,000 men and 20 ships were lost, but the disastrous casualties began even earlier that year. Story by Jordan Schwartz and Rich DeLotto

On May 8, the USS Lexington was sunk at the Battle of Coral Sea. The USS Yorktown went down a month later at the Battle of Midway. The USS Wasp was lost 150 miles southeast of San Cristobal Island on Sept. 15. And several Japanese torpedoes struck the USS Hornet at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on Oct. 26.

But the loss that really hit home was the sinking of the USS Juneau at the Battle of Guadalcanal on Nov. 13.

The Juneau was laid down by Federal Shipbuilding Company of Kearny on May 27, 1940, launched on Oct. 25, 1941 and commissioned on Feb. 14, 1942.

The cruiser left for the Pacific Theater on Aug. 22 with 30 sets of brothers on board, including the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, the four Rogers brothers from New Haven, Connecticut, and the Weeks brothers from Delawanna.

The ship supported three actions at Guadalcanal: the Buin-Fasi-Tonolai Raid; the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands; and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, which is sometimes referred to as the Third Battle of Savo Island.

During the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 1942, the Juneau and other American ships became engaged with a Japanese force made up of two battleships, one light cruiser and nine destroyers.
During the battle, a torpedo hit Juneau on her port side causing a dramatic list, halting her movement and forcing a withdrawal.

About nine hours later, Juneau left the Guadalcanal area when a second torpedo struck the ship, causing an explosion that sunk the cruiser in 20 seconds.

Only about 100 of the nearly 700 men on board survived the sinking, but many of those sailors were killed by sharks or the elements as they waited eight days in the open ocean before being rescued. By that time, only 10 men were left alive. One of them was Frank Holmgren, 85, who is the last living survivor.

“We were only able to get three life rafts down,” remembered the Eatontown resident. “I can’t even swim, so I thought I was dead, but a life jacket got around me somehow. I’m one of the luckiest men in the world.”

Others weren’t as fortunate.

The sinking of the Juneau made headlines across the country because all five Sullivan brothers died. Three of the men were killed instantly after the second torpedo hit, while the remaining two perished while waiting to be rescued.

Two of the four Rogers siblings transferred to another ship before the sinking and so only half of the boys died.

But Clifton’s Weeks family wasn’t as lucky. On Jan. 11, 1943, William and Dorothy Weeks were notified of their sons’ deaths.

“Hard upon the telegrams came the Navy’s announcement of the names of the eleven warships lost in the hard fighting from October 21 to December 1 in the Southwestern Pacific,” wrote The Herald-News beneath the screaming headline “Local Boys Lost in Pacific.”

“It was earth shaking for the family to have this happen,” said Robert Weeks, who was 18 when his two older brothers were killed.

Mary Weeks Ochipa, the sole daughter in the family, was just 14 at the time.

“I was so upset that I didn’t go to school for six months,” said the 80-year-old widow who now lives in Miami. “They kind of just treated me special because I was the girl and I was the youngest. I remember someone poisoned my dog and my oldest brother went to a pet shop and got me another.”

Mary eventually married and lived in Passaic with her husband who was an Army veteran of Saipan.

William Weeks, 23, was born on Christmas Day in 1919. His younger brother Harold, 21, came along two years later. The siblings grew up at 35 William St., graduating from School 8 and Clifton High. They were boy scouts and Herald-News delivery boys, while also attending St. Clare’s Church.

Mr. Weeks worked with his three sons at U.S. Rubber Company in Passaic.

Two weeks after Pearl Harbor, the two eldest sons enlisted in the Navy. Harold was engaged at the time, but the Weeks came from a long line of patriots. Their grandfather, Francis J. Wynne, was a Navy veteran of the Spanish American War.

Harold and William attended boot camp in Newport, Rhode Island for two weeks before joining the fleet.

William was assigned to the USS Macomb before meeting up with his brother aboard the Juneau, which operated in the Atlantic Theater for approximately four months before moving to the Pacific.

Robert Weeks enlisted in the service in July 1942, right after graduating CHS, but he hadn’t actually joined a fleet yet by the time his brothers were killed.

“My mother was against me going but my dad signed me up,” he remembered.

Robert spent the following 34 years in the Navy as a surface warfare officer. He retired in 1976 and currently lives in Austin, Texas.

But the Weeks were not the only Cliftonites affected by the Juneau tragedy. Two other city residents perished in the disaster.

Israel Rabkin, 27, of 119 Madeline Ave. was also killed. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Max Rabkin, owned the Rabkin Confectionary directly across the street from Ace and George’s Deli.

“My mother and father seemed to just age overnight after hearing the news,” said Israel’s sister, Hannah Gilbert, who was just 16 at the time.

Israel, who graduated CHS in 1934, liked to ride his motorcycle around town. In addition to Hannah, he had two brothers, Hyman and Aaron.

Three years ago, Hannah’s daughter surprised her with an 80th birthday trip to the Juneau monument in Alaska.

“It was quite emotional,” she said. “I took my finger and rubbed it over my brother’s name. It was my last tribute to him.”

Peter Pagnillo, 24, was the fourth city resident killed aboard the Juneau.

He was born, raised and schooled in Paterson, but moved to 43 Center St. in Clifton for six months before entering the service. Pagnillo was survived by his wife of a year, Josephine Pasetto, and parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pagnillo.

He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and three campaign medals. Three 19-year-old Passaic residents were also on the Juneau. They were Lawrence Edward Saxer, Edward Eustace, Jr., and Charles Kalinich, Jr.