My name is Jack Midgett and I am a survivor of the gallant destroyer, USS Monssen DD436. My rate at the time was F3/c.

After enlisting in the Navy, I was sent to Pearl Harbor, HI in early 1942. The fleet was a total mess and the cleanup operations had already begun. I was assigned to a salvage detail until my ship, USS Monssen, arrived from the East Coast. My duty consisted of diving into the ammunition magazines of the USS Arizona. We were emptying the magazines of all powder containers. The only benefits of this duty was the fact that we dove one day and had liberty the next. By early 1942, I boarded USS Monssen DD436.

During our final daylight action off Guadalcanal, there were on and off air raids, especially due to our closeness to American held Henderson field (which the Japs attacked frequently). During this action, the automatic loader for the No. 3 gun broke down. I was moved from the After Fireroom to join with other shipmates to start a human chain to pass shells from the handling room to the mount itself.

That evening, which was DD436's final engagement, GQ was sounded and the firing began immediately to starboard. I ran back to my station with the daisy chain position on No. 3 gun. Our guns were firing and No. 3 gun fired a few shots. We were being hit by enemy projectiles, which sounded like marbles in a can when they went off. Suddenly the human chain had stopped.

I then ran up on the deck to see what was going on.. only to find no one around. Star shells were going off overhead lighting up the night sky. Seeing a empty 20mm gun, I quickly jumped to it and learned to fire it. I emptied a few clips towards a enemy spot light that was illuminating us. As I was bending down to get another clip (which is very hard to load by yourself), a shell hit near my position.

The next thing I remember was waking up on the fantail alone... with no one around and minor shrapnel wounds to my person. The forward section of the ship was completely on fire. I couldn't find a life jacket so I jumped overboard with a 5"38 powder container under each arm. I swam to a liferaft, with C.C. Storey and others aboard, and we tried to paddle away from the ship.. but the currents were too strong. Finally we decided to go back to the ship to look for wounded. Storey and the others had a heck of a time getting aboard due to the substantial list. We put the wounded on the liferaft and I held on to the outside.

Later, Marines picked us up in Higgins Craft and brought us to Guadalcanal. After a short time in the hospital, the Marines "drafted" me to help in the defense of Henderson field. The scariest time in my life was a Japanese aerial attack near my Henderson field position. I never saw anyone from the USS Monssen again.

I spent the rest of the war serving at the receiving station at Auckland, New Zealand, and then onto new construction aboard AKA84.

Please contact me if you know of any USS Monssen shipmates. Thank you.

Jack Midgett
email: bassomichelle@hotmail.com
USS Monssen DD436

Jack Midgett (left) on Guadalcanal, 1942, just after the rescue.

This information is protected and copyright 2001 Richard Angelini and the Midgett family.
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