Photo of the California with her original fore mast in Bellingham, Washington, 9 April 1908.

Length: 503 feet 11 inches. Breadth: 69 feet 7 inches. Mean Draft: 24 feet 1 inch. Displacement: 13,680 tons. Machinery: 29,381 IHP; Babcock boilers, 2 Vertical, Inverted, Triple Expansion Engines, 2 screws. Speed: 22.20 knots. Coal Bunker Capacity: 900 tons normal, 1,929 tons maximum. Batteries: Main Battery: four 8 inch, 45 cal. breech-loading rifles, fourteen 6-inch, 50 cal. rapid-fire guns. Secondary Battery: eighteen 3-inch, 50 cal. rapid fire guns, twelve 3-pounder semi-automatic guns, two 1-pounder rapid fire guns, two 3-inch field pieces, six automatic guns, caliber .30, two 18-inch submerged torpedo tubes. Armor: Belt, 6 inches; turrets, 6 1/2 inches; barbettes, 6 inches; deck, 4 inches; Conning Tower, 9 inches. Complement: 41 officers, 829 men (921 as flagship). Built by: Union Iron Works, San Francisco, CA Launched: April 28, 1904. Class: PENNSYLVANIA

The second California (Armored Cruiser 6) was launched 28 April 1904 by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California and was sponsored by Miss F. Pardee. On May 7, 1902 her keel was laid at the Union Iron Works shipyards. The hull of the California was launched April 28, 1904 almost two years after the keel was laid. On January 20, 1906 her dock trials began and on October 4, 1906 her sea trials began in the Santa Barbara Channel. The ship weighed about 15,000 tons fully outfitted and loaded for duty. Two steam-powered engines drove two eighteen-foot diameter propellers. These four cylinder engines were supplied steam by sixteen boilers and could produce 25,000-horse power. She was commissioned 1 August 1907, with Captain V. L. Cottman in command. Assigned to the Armored Cruiser Squadron, Pacific Fleet, California cruised off the west coast of the United States through August 1908. This Squadron consisted of the USS Washington under the command of Captain Theodoric Porter, the USS Tennessee under the command of Captain Albert G. Berry, the USS California under command of Captain V. L. Cottman and the USS South Dakota under command of Captain James T. Smith which, was almost completed with officers yet to be assigned. Rear Admiral Charles H. Stockton was in command of the Squadron and used the USS Tennessee as his flagship.

It was reported that on 5 January 1908 California sailed from Magdalena Bay, Mexico for San Diego. California joined the 2d Division, Pacific Fleet, and she took part with her sister ship Maryland in the naval review of 42 warships at anchor in San Francisco Bay, by Navy Secretary Metcalf on 8 May 1908. Aside from a cruise to Hawaii and Samoa in the fall of 1908, the cruiser operated along the west coast, sharpening her readiness through training exercises and drills. In the autumn of 1909, she deployed westward with the Armored Cruiser Squadron and on 5 September 1909 the West Virginia, California, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Colorado and possibly the Maryland departed San Francisco, California and arrived on 11 September in Honolulu, Hawaii steaming 2,100 miles. The force called on ports in the Admiralty Islands, Pago Pago on Tutuila Island on American Samoa, the Philippines, Japan, and China, before returning to Honolulu on 31 January 1910. The Thirteenth Census of the United States was taken aboard the USS California on 4 May 1910 as she was moored in the Navy Yard at Mare Island, Vallejo, California. Captain Henry J. Mayo was in command and Flag Officer Admiral Giles B. Harber with his wife Jeannette was also listed aboard.

According to a post card written on the 8th of February 1911 by a crewman of the California, the California was anchored in San Diego. The California, South Dakota, West Virginia and Colorado arrived at Santa Monica on 7 October 1911 and then sailed for San Pedro. In early September 1911 she was dry-docked for routine maintenance and she exited the dry-dock on 11 September. During December of 1911 she sailed for Honolulu, Hawaii for the opening ceremonies of the completion of the Pearl Harbor entrance channel. The Pearl Harbor Naval Station, across Quarry Loch, was authorized in 1908. Dredging of the Pearl Harbor channel entrance began in 1910 and, on December 14, 1911, USS California became the first warship to pass through the new channel into Pearl Harbor. As she entered the harbor the California and her crew were the gracious hosts to Queen Liluokalani. USS California leaving the Dry-Dock on 11 September 1911.

Later in March of 1912 California continued westward for duty on the Asiatic Station. From the ships log of the California during mid April at Sea, en route to Olongapo, Philippines:

7 April 1912 – Fair and pleasant. Steaming through San Bernadino Straights, speed 11 knots. Entire day continued in trip through straights and evening finds us with a few hours to go before striking the China Sea. Set clocks back 32 minutes.

8 April 1912 - Partly cloudy and pleasant. At 1:30 steamed into Olongapo Harbor and at 2:37 anchored off the town of Olongapo. Naval Station fired a salute of thirteen guns, which was returned by this ship (California) with seven guns. Official calls were exchanged.

9 April 1912 – Fair and pleasant. Received in Pay Department 166 crates of potatoes and 11 crates of onions. Got underway at 12:11 and stood out of Subic Bay, en route to Cavite, P.I. Rigged ship for coaling. At 6:10 pm anchored off Cavite. Frank, C. E., this day reenlisted on board. Received two coal lighters alongside. Commenced coaling at 7:42 and finished at 11:10 pm. Total coal taken onboard 296.2 tons. Water barge Santolan came alongside.

10 April 1912 – Partly cloudy and pleasant. USS Monadnock and Naval Station fired salutes, which were returned by this ship. Got underway at 12:57, anchored at target practice rendezvous at 3:35 and sent out sailing launches with targets mounted for night practice.

11 April 1912 – Clear and calm. Got underway at 7:30 and stood out of bay for day practice runs. Manned the battery. Came inside again and anchored at 12:58. Sent out sailing launches and held night practice.

12 April 1912 – Clear and pleasant. Got underway in company with USS Colorado at 7:52 for Olongapo. Pay Day, but our Manila Liberty is knocked in the head. Held man battery drills. Anchored in Olongapo Harbor at 12:12 pm.

13 April 1912 – Fair and Pleasant. Commanding Officer inspected the crew. Commander-in-Chief called officially on Commanding Officer USS Monadnock. Liberty was granted for a few hours this evening.

After this service representing American power and prestige in the Far East, she returned home in August 1912, and was ordered to Corinto, Nicaragua, then embroiled in internal political disturbance. Here she protected American lives and property, and then resumed her operations along the west coast; she cruised off California, and kept a watchful eye on Mexico, at that time also suffering political disturbances.

The California in 1914 flew the Spokane Trophy Pennant as her gun crews had the best marksmanship of any cruiser or battleship in the Navy. California was the sixth ship and last Armored Cruiser to win the Spokane Trophy, the USS Tennessee was the first ship to win the trophy in 1908. In 1907 the Spokane Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Victor Metcalf, then Secretary of the Navy in which the Spokane Chamber wanted to donate an annual award for Atlantic Fleet turret marksmanship. President Theodore Roosevelt and Secretary Metcalf decided that it should be awarded annually to the battleship or armored cruiser of either fleet that made the highest final merit with all of her turret guns. Trophy costs of $1,500 was paid for and donated by citizens of Spokane, Washington to be awarded to the best battleship or cruiser in the U. S. Navy Fleet. The Spokane Trophy has undergone several changes from 1908 and is still active today being awarded by CINCPACFLT to the surface combatant ship considered to be the most proficient in overall combat systems readiness and warfare operations.

California was renamed San Diego on 1 September 1914, in order that her name could be given to a new class of larger battleships. She served as flagship for Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, intermittently until the summer of 1915.

On Thursday morning January 21, 1915 the USS San Diego is steaming just off the coast of La Paz, Mexico in the Gulf of California near the southern end of the Baja Peninsula. Rear Admiral Howard has his flagship skippered by Captain Ashley H. Robertson, conducting a 4-hour full speed run where she is making 21.46 knots speed. While taking the half hour readings of the steam pressure at every boiler, Ensign Robert Webster Cary Jr. had just read the steam and air pressure on the No. 2 boiler. He had just stepped through the electric watertight door into the No. 1 fire room when the boilers in No. 2 fire room exploded. In the No. 2 fire room was Second Class Fireman Telesforo Trinidad, of the Philippines and R. E. Daly, along with one other man. Ensign Cary stopped and held open the watertight doors which were being closed electrically from the bridge, and yelling to the men in No. 2 fire room to escape through these doors, which 3 of them passed through. Ensign Cary held the doors open for a full minute with the escaping steam from the ruptured boilers around him. Fireman Telesforo Trinidad was driven out fire room No. 2 by the explosion, but at once returned and picked up R. E. Daly, Fireman Second Class, whom he saw injured, and proceeded to bring him out. While coming into No. 4 fire room, Trinidad was just in time to catch the explosion in No. 3 fire room, but without consideration of his own safety, passed Daly on and then assisted in rescuing another injured man from No. 3 fire room. Trinidad was himself burned about the face by the blast from the explosion in No. 3 fire room.

For His extraordinary heroism Ensign Cary was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He would later retire with the rank of Rear Admiral. For his extraordinary heroism Fireman Second Class Telesforo Trinidad was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor also for this incident.

Captain Robertson orders his ship to the north at best possible speed and puts into Guaymas, Mexico at 2:00 AM on the morning of the 22nd of January for temporary repairs. Admiral Howard sent a wireless report to the navy base in San Diego, California informing them of the accident and in his words “A full investigation has been ordered. Am proceeding to Guaymas.” Soon after temporary repairs and her wounded were taken care of Captain Robertson steams for Mare Island Navy Yard, California where the San Diego undergoes repairs and is in reduced commission through out the summer of 1915.

On November 6, 1915 San Diego rescues forty-eight passengers from the wreck of the Ft. Bragg. About the second week in May 1916 she was known to be in the Canal Zone.

San Diego returned to duty as flagship through 12 February 1917, when she went into reserve status until the opening of World War I. Navy recruiters were busy scouring the surrounding towns around the San Francisco area in towns like Vacaville in Solano County, looking for recruits to fill the needs of the Navy. The California Naval Militia was called into active service on 6 April and was mobilized aboard the ships USS Oregon, USS San Diego and the USS Huntington then at Mare Island. The California Naval Militia was mustered into Federal Service on 3 May 1917.The USS San Diego was placed in full commission 7 April 1917, where she operated as flagship for Commander, Patrol Force Pacific Fleet, until 18 July, when she was ordered to the Atlantic Fleet via the Panama Canal. On July 29, 1917 San Diego enters the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. Reaching Hampton Roads, Virginia on 4 August, she joined Cruiser Division 2, and later broke the flag of Commander, Cruiser Force, Atlantic, which she flew until 19 September. On August 19, 1917 Captain Harley H. Christy is given command of the San Diego. Captain Christy would be her last captain.

Based out of Tompkinsville, New York, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, San Diego's essential mission was the escort of convoys through the first dangerous leg of their passages to Europe. During one of these convoy escort trips she stopped at the port in La Croisie, France. Operating in the weather-torn, submarine-infested North Atlantic she safely convoying all of her charges under her watchful eyes. It is known that she escorted a convoy during November of 1917 and among the ships in the convoy was the troopship USS Madawaska making her first trip across with 1,671 passengers and the destroyer USS Rowan (DD64). In early July 1918, San Diego had some of her 6-inch guns removed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

On June 15, the German submarine, U-156, left its homeport with 77 crewmen. It passed through the North Sea, around the north end of the British Isles and into the Atlantic Ocean towards New York's Long Island where she laid mines in the area where the San Diego was lost. On its cruise to North America, the U-156 sank 36 vessels and is credited with sinking the USS San Diego. On 19 July 1918, bound from Portsmouth, N.H., San Diego steams to New York to meet up with a transatlantic convoy. The day dawned warm and hazy with the cruiser steaming along the South Shore in state-of-battle readiness. At about 10 a.m., a lookout spotted a small object moving on the surface. Thinking it might be a submarine periscope; the gun crews fired several rounds until the target disappeared. It was the first time the San Diego's guns had been fired at a suspected enemy. The ship was cutting through the calm sea at more than 15 kts when an explosion rocked it, and a column of water erupted along the port side. The San Diego immediately listed 10 degrees. It was 11:05 a.m.

Most the crew of the San Diego feels a dull thud, which originated from the port side engine room. The explosion blew a hole in the hull at the port engine room, killing two seamen instantly. Another crewman oiling the port propeller shaft was never seen again. Just after this occurred, residents in Fire Island's Point O'Woods heard a rumbling noise at sea. The noise was the San Diego being jarred to the keel by a violent explosion on the port side just aft of the forward port engine room, later established as contact with a floating mine. The crew that worked in this area must have experienced a large explosion as bulkheads were smashed in. The ocean rushed in and flooding was unstoppable and within 28 minutes the USS San Diego gently rolled over and was gone. Three men died at the instant of the explosion, three died while in the water, and three were injured. Captain Christy rang for full speed on the undamaged starboard engine and turned toward shore, hoping to beach the ship. But the rush of water into the hole flooded the remaining engine and left the San Diego without power, preventing an SOS message. Although the U-156 was already off the New England coast, crewmembers again thought they saw a periscope and began firing at it.

C.E. Sims, an 18-year-old seaman, wrote maritime historian Henry Keatts years later that he heard the explosion while he was on the bridge. "I looked aft and saw a huge column of smoke about a hundred feet high. There was no panic. There was an officer who stood on the ladder with his hand on his holster. I remember he said 'If anyone jumps before abandon ship is given, I'll shoot him." When the captain gave the order, the crew struggled to launch the lifeboats manually. As the ship heeled, the smokestacks broke loose, one of them fatally crushing a sailor in the water. Another crewmember died when a life raft fell on his head. A sixth sailor drowned after becoming trapped inside the crow's nest.

Christy dispatched a small boat to shore to contact the Navy. Two hours later, it sailed through the surf at Point O'Woods. Rescue vessels were soon on their way to help survivors and search for the sub. The ships dropped depth charges on a target that turned out to be the San Diego.

Capt. Harley Christy jumped from the tilting bridge, descended a ladder to the deck, slid down a rope and then walked over the rolling hull as if he were a lumberjack on a floating log, stopped for a moment to salute his vessel, then dropped eight feet into the Atlantic. In keeping with tradition, the captain was the last man to leave his ship. As a lifeboat picked up Christy, the crewmembers in boats, on rafts or in the water cheered their skipper. And as the San Diego sank stern first into the flat sea, the men sang The Star Spangled Banner and My Country 'Tis of Thee.

The Fire Island Radio Station telephoned stating that they had picked up a very faint SOS from a naval vessel. The Navy Yard was notified and boats were sent out from Oak Island and Fire Island. Over 1100 men were in the water clinging to wreckage when the boats arrived. Four officers and 28 men were carried to the shore of Point O'Woods and the others were transported to Hoboken, NJ. A few months later, on its way back to Germany, the U-156 hit a mine between Scotland and Norway. Within a few seconds, the German U-boat, U-156 disappeared from the surface of the ocean.

The USS San Diego today lies upside down about eleven miles southeast of Fire Island inlet, Long Island, New York at Loran 26543.4 / 43693.2 in 115 feet of sea water. She was the only major warship lost by the United States in World War I. The weight of the massive armor belt along with the hull and its contents crushed the superstructure into the sand soon after she sank. The hull is relatively intact, its keel is at seventy feet and the sand is at around 115 feet. The ship rests upside down with a list to the port side. This angle allows more light on the starboard side, which commonly called 'the light side'. The port side is called 'the dark side' because of the shadow in which it resides. The sand line is higher on this side because of the list. The stern has started to collapse, but the propeller shafts, which are the diameter of 55-gallon drums, hang out into space at the seventy-foot mark. The propellers were removed in the early sixties, however one was lost while on its way to Staten Island, New York. A bilge keel on each side on the hull runs a good length of the ship. These were attached to give the ship stability. They now give divers a line of reference for navigating the wreck. Along 'the light side', the 3-inch guns can be found sticking out from their mounts in the hull. Many holes exist at various locations around the hull. These can give advanced divers the opportunity to investigate the San Diego's dark interior. The inside doesn't resemble a ship, but rather a junkyard of collapsed machinery, bulkheads, and ship stores. Penetration of the wreck requires special skills and equipment. Hallways and rooms ranging in size from small to very large can quickly silt out, reducing visibility to zero. Six divers have died on this wreck. It is the most popular dive site in New England, attracting hundreds of divers every year.

ARA Post card of the USS San Diego "Gone but not forgotten"

---

LOSS OF CRUISER OFF N.Y. STILL A MYSTERY AFTER 42 YEARS

By: Herb Grossman (The Copley News Service) This news article was evidently published in 1960.

After 42 years, mystery and contradictions still shroud the World War I sinking of one of the U.S. Navy’s proudest ships - the armored cruiser San Diego that went to the bottom a scant 50 miles off Long Island. Did the proud ship hit a mine, was it torpedoed, or is there another answer? More than 1,000 men survived the sinking, but none were certain what caused the blast that sank their ship on July 19, 1918.

There was nothing about the sea that July morning that indicated danger ahead. Capt. H. H. Christy and the men knew what troubled waters could be like. They had taken their ship through many crossings of the stormy, U-boat-infested North Atlantic. But on this day, the sea was calm, the air warm. The San Diego was proceeding to New York City from Portsmouth, N.H., where she had been dry-docked 16 days after a strenuous seven months on Atlantic convoy escort duty.

San Diego’s slim bow cut through the Atlantic at an easy 15 knots, zigzagging as a precaution against the German U-boats which were harassing coastal shipping as well as ocean convoys. The calm was broken at 10 a.m. when lookouts spotted a “fast moving” barrel close at hand. The ship’s gunners pumped some shots into the swells and the barrel disappeared. For the next hour, San Diego proceeded without further interruption. About 11 a.m. the big cruiser was 10 miles south of the Fire Island lightship, about 50 miles from the New York harbor entrance.

Suddenly, at 11:18 a.m., the San Diego rocked with a violent explosion. Water poured in through a gaping hole in her port side, rapidly flooding the engine rooms. Christy, suspecting the ship had been torpedoed, ordered gun crews to fire at the direction from which the torpedo would have come. The gunners kept firing until the water reached their gun barrels on the fast sinking ship. Then they dove overboard. Thirty minutes after the explosion, the San Diego sank.

An alert Navy pilot had spotted the disaster and had flown to shore to report. His station started rescue ships, heading for the sinking. Residents of Point O’Woods, a small New York resort area, heard the explosion and saw a white flash of fire. They were on hand when the two ship’s boats reached shore in the early afternoon. They quickly provided assistance to the exhausted boat crews and relayed the request for rescue vessels.

Three merchant ships answering the short-sent SOS signals soon arrived at the sinking scene. Working heroically, the three - Maiden, Bostonian, and S. P. Jones - pulled the 1,156 survivors out of the water. In a rapid sinking that could have been disastrous in terms of lives, only six crewmen were lost and another six injured.

The real question, however, was: What sank the San Diego? Many of the surviving crewmen thought the ship had hit a mine. Others blamed an internal explosion. Still others, including Christy, were convinced they had been torpedoed. The torpedo theory was backed strongly by some of the crewmen, who believed they had sighted a submarine, and by the barrel incident. It was discounted, though, by the fact that the three unarmed rescue ships had worked unhampered by any enemy submarine activity.

A British Admiralty report, after the war, indicated that German U-boat 156, according to German records, had torpedoed and sunk the San Diego. Strong evidence pointed to a mine as the explosion cause. Navy ships exploring the area spotted six mines the day after the sinking. The official Navy Court of Inquiry concluded the sinking had been caused by the external explosion of a mine.

Ironically, it was reported the day after the sinking that one of the officers had anticipated the incident. Only an hour before the San Diego left for the Atlantic, services ran a news story pointing out a ship officer’s warning at the launch, and told a group of bystanders?

“Take a good look at the gallant old ship. I don’t think you’ll ever see her riding off anchor again in this harbor.”

---

U-156

The German U-boat, U-156 which is credited with the sinking of the San Diego

The Atlas Werke in Bremen, Germany built the German U-boat U-156 and her hull was laid down on 29 November 1916. She was launched 17 April 1917 and commissioned on 22 August 1917 under the command of Konrad Gansser who commanded her until 31 December 1917 when on 1 January 1918 Richard Feldt took command. Feldt was in command when the U-156 hit a mine in the Northern Passage. Her crew of 77 was lost on 25 September 1918 when she did not report that she had cleared the Northern Passage. During her career U-156 sailed on 2 war patrols from 28 August 1917-25 September 1918 with the Kreuzer Foltilla and had 56 kills to her account. Her 56-ship total included war ships and totaled 63,795 tons of shipping sent to the bottom.

---

The Ship's Muster

As I find information on the USS California/San Diego's crew I will list them here in this section. If you have a family member who served on this ship please let me know and I will add it to this list.

---

George Dewey Neal: Mendy Hufstedler shared this about her Great Grandfather who was a crewman on the USS San Diego when it sank. His name was George D. Neal, born 8 February 1898 and passed away on 2 April 1985. She shared this short excerpt from his writings about the war and the sinking of the San Diego. "When I was 17, I went out west of Fort Worth to work. I joined the Navy for 4 years. The First World War had started, so I saw lots of it. I crossed the ocean seven times, and went through the Panama Canal twice. I was on a cruiser that conveyed troops overseas. Our ship had big guns and an 850-man crew to back them up. We were in lots of storms. On July 19, 1918, our ship was hit with a torpedo when we were several hundred miles out from Pharr Island. It tore our wireless up, so we had no way to send for help. The ship, the San Diego, sank real quickly. I was down in the boiler room and when I tried to get out, the watertight doors were closed, so I had to climb the ladder up the smoke stack. When I got on deck, the men were jumping. I dove in, and when I came up, someone jumped in on top of me and down I went again. When I came up again, I came up swimming to get as far away from there as I could. We had seven men killed. [Official US Navy account of this was 6 men killed] There was not enough life rafts so some had to hold on to the rafts. We were in the water some four hours when a freighter came by and picked us up. They carried us to New York and we were put on a battleship. We went from there to Norfolk, VA. I was in Norfolk when the Armistice was signed." San Diego crewman George Dewey Neal

Ensign R. A. Hall: In January, 1914 he was detached from the USS California for duty on the USS Intrepid.

Steam Fitter James Keane: Jim Keane contacted me about his great-uncle, (who he is named for), who was a steam fitter aboard the San Diego when she was torpedoed or mined off Long Island during WWI. His great-uncle was from New Haven, CT, which is where Jim Keane now lives. Jim relates about his great-uncle; " he passed away in the 1970s, in his 90's. My father and I heard many stories about the sinking from him, which he believed it was a torpedo attack. Great uncle Jim served in the navy for some years after the war, including service on one ship that supported US forces in Murmansk, which he called "The Russian War". In civilian life he traveled the country as a steam fitter and builder to large steam projects and eventually returned to New Haven, CT and worked on the New Haven Fire Department inspecting and maintaining the system of fire hydrants throughout the city.

Petty Officer 2nd Class, Cook, Joseph S. Moyar: PO 2c Moyar was a crewman on the San Diego on the morning of the 19 July as she steamed to New York to meet up with a transatlantic convoy. As the waters rushed in to doom the San Diego that morning when it came time to abandon her PO 2c Moyar gave his life vest to another sailor named Ed Echolin, in the galley and Moyar used a coffee storage bin to stay afloat in the Atlantic for over 6 hours before being picked up by a civilian tanker or freighter. After PO 2c Moyar was rescued and the war ended he came home to raise a family and he spoke many times to his grandson David Moyar, who shared this story with me, that the explosion was not a torpedo or a mine, but was sabotaged with a bomb on board. It has never been proven that this was the case but there has been claims that a German spy who was captured by the Russians had admitted to setting a bomb onboard the San Diego. There is mention of this at this web site.

FM2C Telesforo Trinidad: Telesforo Trinidad was born on November 25, 1890 in New Washington, Capig, Philippine Islands. In 1909 Telesforo immigrated to the United States and joined the Navy. It is likely that he became a U.S. Citizen when he joined the Navy likely in the Philippine Islands. Telesforo was a fireman second class aboard the USS Mindoro serving in the Philippine Islands in June of 1910.

The USS Mindoro was a 142-ton gunboat, built in Hong Kong, China in 1886 for the Spanish Navy warship under the same name. Stationed in the Philippine Islands, she was taken as a prize of the Spanish-American War and was purchased by the War Department in 1899, transferred to the U. S. Navy and placed in commission in June 1899. During the last half of 1899 and the first quarter of 1900 Mindoro was employed off northern Luzon. She operated in the southern Philippines from late 1900 to September 1901, taking part in combat operations against local insurgents. Laid up at the Cavite Navy Yard for nearly three years, Mindoro was again active in the southern Philippines from mid-1904 until early 1906 when she was then loaned to the Army for service in Manila Bay. After spending 1907 and 1908 in decommissioned status at Cavite, she returned to service in May of 1909 for another tour in the waters south of Luzon. Decommissioned in April 1911, USS Mindoro was stricken from the Navy list in June 1911 and sold in April 1912.

Sometime after his duty on the Mindoro, FM2c Trinidad was transferred to the Armored Cruiser USS San Diego where he was still a Fireman Second Class. On the 21st of January 1915 Telesforo Trinidad was on duty in the No. 2 fire room along with R. E. Daly, and one other man. A boiler explosion occurred and several men were killed and injured. Telesforo Trinidad help save several men with disregard to his own safety that day. For his extraordinary heroism Fireman Second Class Telesforo Trinidad was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor also for this incident.

Later in April of 1915, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniel awarded FM2C Telesforo Trinidad his Congressional Medal of Honor and $100 in Washington, D.C. The Congressional Medal of Honor citation of FM2c Telesforo Trinidad reads as follows:

TRINIDAD, TELESFORO Rank and organization: Fireman Second Class, U.S. Navy. Born: 25 November 1890, New Washington Capig, Philippine Islands. Accredited to: Philippine Islands. G.O. No.: 142, 1 April 1915. Citation: For extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession at the time of the boiler explosion on board the U.S.S. San Diego, 21 January 1915. Trinidad was driven out of fire room No. 2 by the explosion, but at once returned and picked up R.E. Daly, fireman, second class, whom he saw to be injured, and proceeded to bring him out. While coming into No. 4 fire room, Trinidad was just in time to catch the explosion in No. 3 fire room, but without consideration for his own safety, passed Daly on and then assisted in rescuing another injured man from No. 3 fire room. Trinidad was himself burned about the face by the blast from the explosion in No. 3 fire room.

Robert Webster Cary, Jr., Rear Admiral, United States Navy. Born at Kansas City, Missouri, August 18, 1890, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1914. He was awarded the Medal of Honor while serving as Lieutenant Commander aboard the USS San Diego on January 21, 1915. He died on July 15, 1967 and was buried in Section 6 of Arlington National Cemetery. His wife, Jane Christian Cary (February 4, 1897-October 8, 1969) is buried with him.

His Medal of Honor Citation Reads:  For extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession on the occasion of an explosion on board the U.S.S. San Diego, 21 January 1915. Lt. Comdr. Cary (then Ensign), U.S. Navy, an observer on duty in the firerooms of the U.S.S. San Diego, commenced to take the half-hourly readings of the steam pressure at every boiler. He had read the steam and air pressure on No. 2 boiler and was just stepping through the electric watertight door into No. 1 fireroom when the boilers in No. 2 fireroom exploded. Ens. Cary stopped and held open the doors which were being closed electrically from the bridge, and yelled to the men in No. 2 fireroom to escape through these doors, which 3 of them did. Ens. Cary's action undoubtedly saved the lives of these men. He held the doors probably a minute with the escaping steam from the ruptured boilers around him. His example of coolness did much to keep the men in No. 1 fireroom at their posts hauling fires, although 5 boilers in their immediate vicinity had exploded and boilers Nos. 1 and 3 apparently had no water in them and were likely to explode any instant. When these fires were hauled under Nos. 1 and 3 boilers, Ens. Cary directed the men in this fireroom into the bunker, for they well knew the danger of these 2 boilers exploding. During the entire time Ens. Cary was cool and collected and showed an abundance of nerve under the most trying circumstances. His action on this occasion was above and beyond the call of duty.

Brothers Louis Patrick Haack and Bill Haack both survived the sinking

Pat shared with me about her father, Louis Patrick Haack, told me the story about this incident, which happened when he was in the Navy, when I was very young. Both he and his brother (my Uncle Bill Haack) were on this ship and survived the sinking. He was always very impressed that the Captain stayed on the ship until it sank - he was evidently the last to leave. My father’s mother (Nana) told the story about having a vision of this incident, even before it was reported by the press (in those days, it evidently took several days for such news to be made known). She woke up the morning that it happened and told my Aunt Anna what she thought had happened (that she had a dream that her two sons were in the water and that their ship sank) - days before they actually heard about it.

Chief Boatswain Mate George Sanderson

George Sanderson, a quintessential example of a Chief in the United States Navy at the early part of the 20^th Century. This photo came from the collection of Vice Admiral Newton A. McCully (1867-1951) and was inscribed on the reverse with these words from the Admiral.

From this short description we can draw a picture of Chief Sanderson. From the Admiral’s words we can see that George Sanderson as a man was tough and weathered, able to stand on his feet with other men and when called on he would be there to lead his men when they needed him, just the sort of man to have by your side in battle at sea. And it is likely that while shipmates on the Armored Cruiser USS California, McCully relied on the Chief many times. Admiral McCully and Chief Sanderson served together on the California from 1907-1910 but it is not known what their ranks were at that time.

Chief Sanderson proudly displays on his arm, ten service stripes, which represents 40 years of service in the United States Navy. Chief Sanderson is a man who is very proud of his service as can be seen from his pose and also you can see it in his eyes, his cigar tells us that he is a seasoned old “Sea-Salt” and likely has served on every kind of ship the navy had, under sail and steam both.

It is not known the exact date of this photo and it may have been given to the Admiral upon Sanderson’s retirement from the navy as a gift to the Admiral later after they both served together.

It is known that George Sanderson was born in England about 1862. George Sanderson’s father was born in Scotland and his mother was born in England. It is not known exactly when the Sanderson’s came to America but it was likely sometime between 1879 and 1882. He would have been about 18 at the time and that may also be the same time he joined the navy. So if this may be the earliest date at which George joined the navy then with the service stripes in his picture this would date it to about 1920.

During the time Chief Sanderson and Admiral McCully served together from 1907-1910, Sanderson’s rating was as a Boatswain mate and may not have been a Chief yet. As on the 1910 Federal Census that was taken on the USS California then at anchor in the Navy Yard at Mare Island, California, Sanderson is listed as “Boatswain mate” and was 48 years old at the time. McCully’s name does not appear on the Census form so by the time the Census was taken on May 4, 1910 he may have been transferred off the ship. George would serve many more years in the navy and was serving on active service during WWI.

On January 9, 1920 Sanderson was still in the navy serving at the Brooklyn Navy Yard at the rating of Chief Petty Officer. At the time Sanderson was living on Ft. Green place in Brooklyn with his wife, 42 year old Minnie H. Hutchings. She was born in the state of Maine as were her parents. In the home with George and Minnie was Minnie’s father, Hauson Hutchings who was 76-years old and was widowed at the time. Also from the 1920 Federal Census it states that George Sanderson immigrated to the States in 1879 and became a Citizen in 1919. This was also the same year he and Minnie were married.

George and Minnie lived in New York because their daughter, Margaret was born there in 1921. Sometime after Margaret was born and the taking of the 1930 Federal Census in April of 1930 the Sanderson’s moved from New York to California.

By 1930 George Sanderson who was now 68-years old had retired from over 40-years active service in the navy. He and his wife Minnie were now living in Richmond, California. George owned a home valued at $5000 located at 300 Bissell Ave in Richmond.

Nothing more is known about Chief Petty Officer George Sanderson other that he did find some good in someone, his wife Minnie and his daughter Margaret. The tough old “Sea-Salt” retired as a husband and father and served his Country to the fullest and he deserves to be remembered as such. Rest Ye Oars Chief Sanderson.

Wallter William "Dock" Shaw, USS San Diego Suvivor

Walter William "Dock" Shaw

Walter William “Dock” Shaw was serving on the USS San Diego as a cook when she went down in 1918. He survived the sinking. Walter William Shaw was born on January 7, 1896 to Jefferson Davis Shaw and Mattie Virginia Shaw. Walter was known by his nickname of “Dock” through out his life. Walter died on April 9, 1950 in Texas. He is buried at Laural Land Cemetery in Dallas, Texas. His wife’s name was Gladys Everette Drummond and she is buried next to him. Together they had 3 sons: Charles Franklin Shaw, James William Shaw, and Roy Douglas Shaw. Both Charles and James served in the US Army during WWII. Information and photos were shared by Wendy Craig the Great-granddaughter of Walter William “Dock” Shaw

“Dock” Shaw on the right side with fellow sailor Pete Winsor.	Naval Training Station San Diego, California. “Dock” Shaw is pictured front row, circled.