The Hissem-Montague Family

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The family's most celebrated 'hero' was Joseph Metcalf Hissem, an Ensign in the United States Navy Reserve, recipient of the Navy Cross, and the namesake of the USS HISSEM, DE-400, a Destroyer Escort built by the Navy in World War II.

Joseph Metcalf Hissem's grandfather. John Ziegler Hissem took, as his second wife, Ida S. Teeter, the young daughter of Daniel Teeter of Carroll county, Illinois, on 23 June 1885.

John's children were,
(25) Blanche Hissem (1886/1888)
(25) Beth Rebecca Hissem (1886/1888)
(25) Joseph Teeter Hissem (1890)

According to another researcher, her name was Blanche Catherine, and she was born on 3 April 1886 in Omaha, Nebraska - from Bill Culbertson. In the 1900 census of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois as Blanche Hissem, the 14 year old niece of the head of the household, born in Nebraska in April 1886. Her father was listed as born in Ohio and their mother in Illinois. She was living with her Uncle and Aunt, Jacob P. and Nancie Rapp. My guess is that Nancie was Nancy J. Teeter, above, which would explain why Blanche was living there. Nancy's husband, Jacob, was considerably older, having been born in 1834. The Rapps were married in 1891.

In the 1910 census of Ward 28, District 1218, Chicago, Illinois as Blanch C. Hissem, living with her uncle, Jacob P. Rapp, 72, and her aunt Fanny [sic], 52. She was a 24 year old stenographer. Beth had already married.

Blanche married Eugene James Betz, who was born on 14 February 1888 in Chicago. He was the son of Eugene Richard Betz and Elsie Krrechman. Blanche and Eugene lived in Chicago and had three children: Eugene, Carolyn [Caryl], and Howard [Kyle].

Blanche died on 23 October 1934 and Eugene in March 1957, both in Chicago.

I recently received the following email,

"Hi Steve,

I came across your Hissem - Montague web page and needless to say I was compelled to read it. My name is Barbara Blanche Betz Hobbs. My grandmother was Blanche Catherine Hissem, married to Eugene James Betz.

My father was Eugene Joseph Betz, his sister was Caryl (not Carolyn as you listed). His brother was known to us as Kyle, but may have named Howard at birth- not sure.

I have been looking for information about my dad's family off and on; you have the best info I have reviewed to date.

My father often talked of Uncle Joe, but he died within a few years of my birth, so did not know him personally. I do still make (just last weekend) Aunt Lorna's Christmas cookies.

Dad & mom (Gladys Helen Brown) had 4 kids, Caryl (1939), Sharon (1941), Eugene William (1947) and me in 1948.

FYI, We lived in Chicago until 1958, then moved to Santa Rosa Island (Pensacola) and then to to San Diego in 1960 where parents lived until their passing. We lived on Haveture Way which was the last residential street before entering Montgomery airfield. Now Arrow Drive runs in front of the field.

If you are willing, I would love to connect more with you about our family connections. Let me know if are interested in our history.

Also, I have a a few pictures of Uncle Joe and Grandma Blanche you might like to see.

Looking forward to hearing from you and thank you for your perseverance in putting together the amazing family history.

Sincerely, Barbara"

In the 1900 census of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois as Beth Hissem, the 12 year old niece of the head of the household, born in Nebraska in January 1888. Her father was listed as born in Ohio and her mother in Illinois. She was living with her Uncle and Aunt, Jacob P. and Nancie Rapp. My guess is that Nancie was Nancy J. Teeter, above. Her husband, Jacob, was considerably older than Nancie, having been born in 1834. The Rapps were married in 1891. By the way, Beth is clearly written Bath in the 1900 census.

Beth Rebecca Hissem, of Chicago, married Stewart Davidson Roper in about 1910. He was born on 18 May 1885 in Wood, Ohio.

"Stewart Davidson Roper, eighth child of Thomas Baker and Jeanette Stewart Roper, was born May 18, 1885, probably in Freedom township. He died on April 18, 1922, in the Panama Canal Zone. He was living in Gorgana, C.Z., when on July 18, 1909, he married Beth Rebecca Hissem, who had a Chicago address. They were married at Cristobol, by a chaplain (Marriage certificate). Beth was one of three children, orphaned at an early age, by John Ziegler and Ida Teeter Hissem of Nebraska. Beth was reared by a maiden aunt. She had a brother Joe Hissem, who became a banker in Galena, Illinois.

At the time of their marriage Stewart was a civilian employee during the construction of the Panama Canal. Thomas Baker and Eunice were born at the Zone. The family came to Cressy, west of Toledo, Ohio, where Stewart owned and operated a farm.

John, Walter and Robert were born in Ohio. The family returned to the zone where Stewart was clerk at Quartermasters, then manager of a government dairy farm at Mindi. Richard was born during this stay at the Zone. The family lived in a fine home and had servants. Known as "Scott", Stewart managed the Democratic Party during the campaign of 1908 in the Zone. He was an accomplished musician, and played in the ICC Band (Obituary). Stewart died at Ancon Hospital on April 18, 1922, of extensive gangrene caused by thrombosis of the small intestine (Death certificate)." - from "A Davidson-Stewart Genealogy of Wood County, Ohio" by Berniece C. Smith

In the 1910 census . . .

On 6 August 1912 Stewart and Beth Roper, with their children Eunice and Thomas B., arrived in New Orleans from Bocas del Toro, Panama. There were a number of such arrivals noted over the next short decade.

In the 1920 census of the Cristobal District of the Panama Canal Zone as Stuart D., 34, and Beth Roper, 32. She was born in Nebraska. They had five children.

Stewart died on 12 April 1922 in Panama. From the Wood county Daily Sentinel Tribure of 13 April 1922,

"Stewart Roper died in Panama"

"Wednesday, April 12, 1922 occurred the death of Stewart Davidson Roper, youngest son of Thos. B. and Jeannette Roper, of Scotch Ridge, O.

Mr. Roper was superintendent of government dairies in Cristobal, Canal Zone, having accepted the position three years ago this spring. This was the second time he had been in government service in Panama.

He married Beth Rebecca Hissem of Chicago, about twelve years ago, who with her six children are left to mourn.

He also leaves his father and mother; one sister, Margaret E., of Dunbridge, O.; and five brothers: Walter T. and Robert J., of Toledo; Wm. Hugh, of Monclova, O.; Roswell D., of Phoenix, Arizona, and Allen B., of Scotch Ridge.

Mr. Roper would have been 37 years old May 18, 1922.

Death was due to gangrene of stomach and complications.

His brother Andrew C., died in the Phillipines years ago, but his body was brought back to Scotch Ridge for burial.

Funeral notice for Mr. Roper will be announced later. His body will be brought home."

on 16 May 1922 Beth Roper, of Omaha, Nebraska, with her six children, returned to America, arriving in New York harbor from the Canal Zone onboard the SS PANAMA. This was a steamship of the Panama Canal Railway Company.

In the 1930 census of Webster, Wood county, Ohio as Beth Rebecca Hissem Roper, a 42 year old widow, of Nebraska. She had six children, aged 9 to 19.

Beth married Frank Donaldson and was listed with him, and 5 of her 6 children, in the 1940 census of Webster, Wood county, Ohio.

I have a Beth Roper Davidson, 82, born in about 1888, who died on 5 March 1970 in Scotch Ridge, Ohio. Her husband was Frank. Her first husband was Stewart Roper.

Joseph T. Hissem was Joseph Metcalf Hissem's father. He was born on 27 November 1890 in Nebraska. In the 1900 census of Mt. Carroll, Salem township, Carroll county, Illinois as Joseph Hissem, aged 9, who had been born in Nebraska in November 1890. He was living in the house of John Teeter, a 52 year old grain merchant living on Semeny street. Joseph was listed as John's nephew. Joseph's father was listed as born in Maryland [?] and his mother as born in Illinois. His father, John Z. Hissem, was still alive at this time, but I don't know where he was living; he was not in the 1900 census though he did not die until 1903.

Also living in John Teeter's house was John's sister, Elisabeth, a 54 year old single dressmaker, born in January 1845. I had assumed at one time that as Joseph was John's nephew, John's sister must be Joseph's mother, but as you'll read below, I now think she was his aunt and the women who raised Joseph after his own mother, Ida, died.

In the 1910 census of Mt. Carroll, Illinois as Joseph T. Hissem [Hissen in Ancestry.com], 19 years old with no occupation listed. He was living with Henry S. Metcalf, 56, an unmarried physician in private practice, and his Aunt, Anna E. Teeter, 64. She was Henry's housekeeper. The census indicated that Joseph Hissem was born in Nebraska, his father in Ohio and his mother in Illinois.

Dr. Metcalf clearly influenced young Joseph for he named his first son Joseph Metcalf Hissem in his honor. Perhaps his Aunt Elizabeth likewise bequethed her name to Joseph's daughter, Elizabeth D. Hissem.

Joe T. Hissem, 22, of Carroll county, Illinois, was employed at the Panama Canal in the Engineering department, Mechancial division as a Shop Checker. He entered on duty on 27 January 1913. Joe probably got the job through his brother-in-law, Steward Roper, who was a civilian employee of the Canal. Joe resigned on 16 December 1913.

Joe T. Hissem, an American citizen of Chicago, Illinois, aged 23 and single, was a passenger on the SS ABANGAREZ sailing from Colon, Panama to New Orleans on 18 December 1913. The SS ABANGAREZ was a 5,000 gross ton banana carrier built in 1909 for the United Fruit Company. She normally served a route between New Orleans, Panama and Costa Rica. Joseph was indeed riding a banana boat.

Joseph attended Beloit College, probably from 1913 to 1917. Note that Dr. Metcalf was an alumni of Beloit as well as a trustee of the college.

1913. "Beloit College, Freshman Class
. . .
Hissem, Joe Teeter - Mt. Carroll, Ill. - 1125 Chapin St." - from "Annual Catalogue" of Wis Beloit College

Joseph Teeter Hissem married Lorna Agnes Cromer, probably in 1916. She was born on 7 October 1897 in Illinois.

On 6 June 1917 Joseph T. Hissem, a married man of Carroll county, Illinois, aged 27, registered for the draft in World War I. His draft card states he was born in Mt. Carrol, Illinois, though he might have confused this with where he resided. He was described as a short man of medium build with brown eyes and brown hair. He was self employed, though in what field is hard to read. It looks like "Professional Agency Star," but that's not really helpful. By the end of 1917 Joseph's son, Joseph Metcalf, had been born.

While I don't have a record of where Joseph served, he was a veteran of World War I.

"Joseph T Hissem - 27 Nov 1890 - White - Illinois"- from Carroll County in World War I - Registration, contributed by Lori Gilbert

In about 1919 the family moved to Galena, which, like Mt Carrol, is just a few miles east of the Mississippi river, but well northwest of that town, towards Dubuque, and almost in Wisconsin. He did not stay there long.

In the 1920 census Joseph Hissem was in Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, a 29 year old government accountant. Living with him were Lorna, 22, and son, Metcalf, 1 11/12. The census indicated his father was from Pennsylvania so he may be from the Westmoreland side of the family. Of his mother it notes only that she was born in the United States. Two years later a daughter, Elizabeth, was born.

In the 1930 census of Galena, Jo Daviess county, Illinois at Joseph T. Hissem [Hession in Ancestry.com], a 39 year old cashier in a bank. Living with him were his wife, Lorna, 32, and children, Joseph, 12, and Elizabeth D., 8.

"JOSEPH HISSEM is with the Galena National Bank, Galena, Ill." - from "Bulletin of Beloit College"

In 1938 Joseph T. Hissem was appointed President of the Board of Education of Galena.

In the 1940 census of Galena, Jo Daviess county, Illinois as Joseph T. Hissem [Missem in Ancestry.com], a 49 year old cashier in a bank. He had three years of college. Living with him were his wife, Lorna, 42, and children Joseph M., 22,and Bette, 18.

Joseph Teeter Hissem, 51, of Galena, registered for the draft in World War II. He was working at the First National Bank. Lorna was his next of kin.

"Joseph T. Hissem, treasurer" - from the "Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society", 1955.

Joseph T. Hissem died on 24 September 1960. His obituary,

"Joseph T. Hissem, president of the First National Bank of Galena, was stricken while at work Saturday morning and died shortly after admittance to a Dubuque hospital . . . He was born in 1891 in Mount Carroll, the son of John and Ida Tetter [sic] Hissem. He attended Beloit College and Northwestern University. He married Lorna Kromer [sic] of Galena April 10, 1916 . . ." - from the Freeport Journal-Standard of 26 September 1960

Joseph's children were,
(26) Elizabeth D. Hissem (1922)
(26) Joseph Metcalf Hissem (1917)

Joseph's sister, known as Betty. She was born on 5 April 1922, probably in Chicago where the family was living in 1920. She sponsored the USS HISSEM, that is she broke the bottle of champagne on the ship's bow, launching it on 26 December 1943 at Brown Shipbuilding Company, Houston, Texas.

She married Harold J. Larey on 11 May 1947. He was born on 27 September 1917 in Galena, Illinois, the son of Abner and Amelia (Bawden) Larey. He was a member of the Fickbaum-Hissem American Legion Post, which was named after Elizabeth's brother. He perhaps had something to do with that naming. Elizabeth died on 30 November 1976 in Galena, Jo Daviess county, Illinois. Harold, remarrying, lived on until 2004. They are both buried in Greenwood cemetary, in West Galena, Illinois.

Joseph was born in Mt Carroll, Illinois on 31 December 1917 and died on 4 June 1942. His middle name was given in honor of Dr. Metcalf with whom his father lived for a time. In about 1919 the Joseph T. Hissem family moved to Galena and in 1920 were living in Chicago.

In the 1920 census he was known simply as Metcalf, probably to differentiate him from his father. Joseph M. Hissem attended the Applied Life Studies College at the University of Illinois, at Urbana, graduating in 1939. I think this means he was a PE major. He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and on the Freshman Varsity Football Squad [data from the University of Illinois]. Urbana is about 80 miles south of Chicago. My son, Tim, is also a member of Sig Ep.

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon is, today, the nation's largest fraternity. It was founded at Richmond College, now the University of Richmond, in Virginia on 1 November 1901 on the cardinal principles of Virtue, Diligence, and Brotherly Love. Today, over 230,000 men have joined the fraternity and taken a vow to uphold these values. In 1940 there were 69 active chapters nation-wide.

In the 1940 census of Galena, Jo Daviess county, Illinois as Joseph M. Hissem [Missem in Ancestry.com], 22 and looking for work. He was living with his parents, Joseph T. and Lorna Hissem.

In January 1941 Joseph was honored by his Boy Scout troop.

"Honor Court at Galena is Held for Boy Scouts

The largest court of honor ever held in Galena was that Monday night in the Community building.

Roscoe Wightman, scout master of troop 1, was awarded the gold eagle palm; Joseph Hissem Jr. was awarded the gold eagle, . . ."

- from the Freeport Journal Standard of 8 January 1941

Immediately thereafter Joseph enlisted in the Naval Reserve, on 9 January 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. He would have been 23 years old. Oddly that's the same age I was when I joined the Navy. The American military was undergoing a large build-up at the time in reaction to the developments in Europe. Joseph may have been stirred by this and the news from Russia, Africa and Asia of the seemingly unstoppable advance of the dictators. Or he may simply have been unhappy in his chosen field. What does a PE major do? Was he a High School football coach, for instance? The fact that his father had been a government accountant may have predisposed him to a government career.

Joseph joined the Navy under the V-5 program, which was instituted to meet the projected demand for pilots. Under this program he enlisted as a Seaman Second Class (S2c) and was sent to Naval Reserve Air Base (NRAB) Glenview, a Naval Air Base near Chicago, where he received instruction in elementary seamanship, ordnance, gunnery, first aid, and military drill. He was then sent to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, where he got an appointment as an aviation cadet.

"Hissem, Joseph M. - 411-21-30 - S2c V-5 - 9 January 1941 - Chicaco, Ill.
USNR V-5 - Rec. [Received from] - 3-19-41 - NRAB Glenview, Ill.
USNR V-5 - Disc. [Discharged] - 3-19-41 - Spec. Ord. Disc. at own request in order accept appointment as aviation cadet."

The V-5 program bypassed Officer Candidate School, a 13-week program, held in Pensacola, Florida for would-be aviators, and in Newport, Rhode Island for non-aviators. S2c V-5 Joseph M. Hissem mustered in Naval Air Station Pensacola on 31 March 1941. He had enlisted on 9 January 1941 in Chicago, Illinois.

Joseph was commissioned as an Ensign A-V(N) on 30 August 1941. A-V(N) refers to a USNR aviation flight officer, detailed to actve duty in the aeronautic organization of the Navy immediately following their completion of training and designation as naval aviators. This classification was abolished in September 1944.

After receiving basic training as a navigator Joseph would have been qualified aboard the PBY "Catalina" amphibious patrol aircraft (built in San Diego in the building where I currently work!). In those days, 'type' training, that is training specific to the PBY aircraft, normally took place in the fleet squadrons.

As a PBY navigator, it was Joe's responsibility to lay out the search pattern, keep the dead-reckoning log, take sightings on the sun and the stars to triangulate their position, and probably monitor the aircraft's fuel status to ensure they could make it back home. If attacked, he may have manned one of the guns, but his navigation duties were so vital that he probably concentrated all of his energies on that.

Joseph was assigned to Patrol Squadron Twenty Four, VP-24. On 1 October 1941 VP-24 had transferred from NAS Kaneohe, on Oahu, Hawaii, to NAS Ford Island, in the center of Pearl Harbor.

NAS Kaneohe Kaneohe Naval Air Station was built just prior to the start of World War Two. In August 1941, below, there were only two hangars alongside the Sea Plane Ramps. The Ramps and Hangars are on the beach in the upper left hand of the photo. The air field is visible in the top of the photo, however the PBY-2 and PBY-3 were pure amphibians, they lacked wheels and could only land on water (the PBYs in the photo on the ramps are on detachable carts with which they were beached much like a boat trailer). The later PBY-5A had retractable wheels for field landings.

NAS Ford Island Both the PBY floatplanes and the China Clipper would use the harbor as a runway. Below is a photo of Ford Island in October 1941, looking north. The Battleships are for the most part at sea. The carrier Enterprise is moored at the berth that the battleship California would use on 7 December. The PBY's and their hangars are at the lower right hand corner of the island. One is on the water.

On 7 December 1941 the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor. Ford Island Naval Air Station, in the middle of Pearl Harbor, was headquarters of Patrol Wing Two, the parent command of VP-24, and an important target for the Japanese first wave raiders. Reportedly, the initial bomb of the whole attack burst there, prompting the message that electrified the World: "Air Raid, Pearl Harbor--this is no drill." Of the 61 Catalinas that were available on Oahu that morning, all but 11 were destroyed or temporarily knocked out of action. VP-24's six aircraft were among the few spared during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Its planes were conducting joint submarine exercises off the coast of Hawaii when the attack came. Its crews were subsequently given sectors by radio to conduct searches for the attacking Japanese forces. Having made no enemy contact, the squadron returned to NAS Ford Island to begin the cleanup and restoration of its devastated facilities. In the photo below, taken soon after the attack was over, may be the planes of VP-24. At the top of the photo is the battleship NEVADA, beached to keep her from sinking.

In the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack the squadron would have spent its time in long-range patrols around the islands, and in a more intensive, combat-focused training program.

Ensign A-V(N) Joseph M. Hissem USNR was listed as a passenger on the USS HARRIS, under orders to VP-24. The HARRIS sailed from San Diego, California on 16 December 1941, to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The HARRIS was a commercial passenger ship, built in 1921. She was converted to a troopship and commissioned as the USS HARRIS AP-8 on 19 August 1940. Sometime after the events discussed here, she was converted into an Attack Transport, APA-2.

It would have taken about 5 days to sail from San Diego to Hawaii, meaning Joseph arrived on about the 21st, just two weeks after the Japanese attack. Ford Island would still have been a shambles, and surronding harbor thick with fuel oil and the hulks of sunken battleships. There was a burning desire to avenge this catastrophe, which Joseph would have absorbed. However, with so many PBY's destroyed in the attack, and so many crew available for the few remaining craft, Ensign Hissem would have had little opportunity to fly.

The Navy had been forewarned that the Japanese planned to attack Midway Island, to the northwest of Hawaii, and they knew from which direction the Japanese would attack, based on the recent breaking of the Japanese naval code. To meet this threat Admiral Nimitz sent every aircraft he could find to reinforce Midway's defenses [island pictured at left].

On 31 May 1942, VP-24 was directed to send one PBY-5A and three crews in a detachment to Midway Island. The detachment's mission was to search for the Japanese Fleet. The group remained on Midway until 17 July 1942, when it returned to NAS Pearl Harbor. Joseph remained in Pearl with the remaining five PBY's of the squadron.

Another group of aircraft directed to Midway included 6 TBF-1 'Avenger' torpedo bombers which had just been off-loaded from the transport ship USS KITTY HAWK (AKV-1). These had been meant for Torpedo Squadron 8, VT-8, on the carrier USS HORNET. Ensign Hissem and Ensign Jack Winton Wilkes, both navigators from VP-24, volunteered to fly with the bombers, helping them nagivate the 1200 openn ocean miles to the remote island. The flight took off on 1 June 1942. Joseph thus had found himself at a turning point in history, the Battle of Midway, 4-5 June 1942.

"In the early morning hours of 4 June, [Ensign Hissem] volunteered to provide navigational assistance and act as a Radioman/Bombardier/tunnel gunner on one the TBF-1s in the detachment of VT-8 as it flew into battle against the numerically superior Japanese forces. Without fighter CAP support they were overwhelmed by Japanese fighters. However, they pressed forward in the face of withering fire. His aircraft with Ens. Oswald Gaynier as pilot [see photograph to the right] and Seaman First Class (S1c) Howard William Pitt as turret gunner was shot down. Their remains were unrecoverable."

The following, while long, provides an excellent view to the situation leading up to the Battle of Midway and the chaos of the battle itself. It was written by a VT-8 pilot who survived.

Torpedo Eight: The Other Chapter
By Commander Harry H. Ferrier, U.S. Navy (Retired)

The gallant but little-known role of a six-plane all-volunteer TBF detachment, of which the author and his pilot were members, adds further to the record of the sacrifices made during the Battle of Midway.

Much has been told of the heroic sacrifice of Torpedo Squadron Eight at the Battle of Midway. The gallantry of its officers and men in the face of overwhelming odds is indelibly inscribed in the history of the U.S. Navy. The fame of Torpedo Eight has rested on the actions of the main body of the squadron based on board the USS Hornet (CV-8). Yet, there is another chapter to this story, which has received little mention and deserves telling before memories have faded beyond recall.

Torpedo Squadron (VT) Eight was commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia, in the late summer of 1941 as an element of Carrier Air Group Eight, better known then as the Hornet Air Group. The ceremony took place in front of an old World War I hangar at Chambers Field on the air station. East Field, which is now the operating portion of Naval Air Station (NAS), Norfolk, had not yet been completed. The squadron's first commanding officer-who also led their fateful flight-was Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron, a veteran of more than 20 years of naval service.

The first aircraft assigned to the squadron were SBN-ls. These planes were a mid-wing design of the Brewster Aircraft Company, manufactured by the Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia. They were used to provide pilot training for our newly commissioned squadron as there was a shortage of TBD-l Douglas Devastators and the TBF-1 Grumman Avenger had not yet reached the production stage. The rest of the air group was little better equipped; the bombing and scouting squadrons were assigned Curtiss SBC-4 Helldivers, a mid-1930s biplane design.

I reported to the squadron on 7 September 1941, a green but enthusiastic radioman striker fresh from the aviation radio school at NAS, Jacksonville, Florida. I was only 16 years old. I enlisted on 28 January 1941, five days after my 16th birthday. My mother's friend had a typewriter, and she changed my birth year on the forms.

On my first flight, we attempted to locate a mobile direction-finder station which was somewhere in the Dismal Swamp area. At the time, we had only manual direction finders, which required some skill to operate. Because the pilot and I were both new at this challenging exercise, our success was something less than spectacular. It was not long, however, before gunnery, torpedo tactics, bombing, and field carrier landing practice were familiar and meaningful terms to me.

Our training progressed satisfactorily, and in October we received a few TBD-ls. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that December and our immediate entry into war caused a rapid acceleration of training, culminated by a month-long shakedown cruise by the Hornet and her embarked air group in January 1942.

Shortly after our return to port, it was decided to form a detachment of approximately 80 officers and men who would remain in Norfolk and take delivery of the first TBF-ls. The Hornet, with the main portion of the squadron, left immediately for the Pacific. That March, members of our detachment were sent to the Grumman factory on Long Island to learn as much as possible about the airplane from the engineers and builders-this was in the days before the Naval Air Technical Training Command mobile trainers and the Fleet Indoctrination Program. It was an interesting experience, but the knowledge we gained was very limited.

In the latter part of March we received and flew our first of 21 shiny new Grumman Avengers. (The Avenger was not so named until after the Battle of Midway to recognize the mission and dedication of all torpedo squadrons-to avenge the heroic sacrifice of their predecessors.) We were all impressed with the new plane's speed, maneuverability, and ruggedness.

At Quonset Point, Rhode Island, we made our first high-speed launches of a newly designed torpedo, which was capable of surviving drop speeds of 125 knots and 125-150 feet of altitude. This, we knew, would give us an advantage over the TBDs with their 100-knot, 100-foot attack capability.

After only a few days of the test program had been completed, we were recalled to Norfolk and told to fly our planes across the country to join the Hornet and our shipmates in the Pacific. After an uneventful crossing from San Diego to Pearl Harbor in the USS Kitty Hawk (AKV-1), a converted railcar transport, we unloaded our TBFs at Ford Island and began preparing them for shipboard duty. The Hornet was then at sea.

Within hours after our arrival a call went out for volunteers to fly six planes to Midway Atoll. The mission was not stated, but there was little doubt that some action was in the offing. There was no difficulty in obtaining volunteers, and I counted myself lucky to have been one of those chosen.

Bright and early on the morning of 1 June we took off from Ford Island for the eight-hour, 1,300-mile flight to Midway-a little dot in the ocean, northwest of Hawaii. Lieutenant Langdon K. Fieberling led the detachment. I was assigned to fly with Ensign Albert K. Earnest as his radioman and tunnel gunner; our turret gunner was Aviation Machinist's Mate Third Class J. D. Manning. We flew off Lieutenant Fieberling's wing in the first section of three airplanes. The six planes were guided by two navigators from Patrol Squadron 44 [sic, VP-24] on board the two section leaders' aircraft: Ensign Jack Wilke flew with Lieutenant Fieberling and Ensign Joseph Hissem with Ensign Oswald J. Gaynier. The flight was uneventful to the point of monotony.

As soon as we arrived we could feel a tension in the air. We were all sure that a meeting with the enemy was not far off. Many planes of all types were in evidence-Brewster F2As, Grumman F4Fs, Douglas SBDs, and Chance Vought SB2Us, all flown by Marines; and Boeing B-17s, Consolidated B-24s, and Martin B-26s being flown by the Army Air Forces. The B-26s were equipped as torpedo planes, carrying their "fish" externally below the bomb bay. And, of course, the venerable Consolidated PBYs were present.

We quickly prepared our planes for combat, which included loading six of the new type of torpedoes, which we had been testing so recently. They had been transported to Midway under the wings of the PBYs. We all were exhilarated by the prospect of meeting the enemy. I'm not certain now why we did it, but we put patches of masking tape on the leading edges of our wings and painted black circles on them to simulate gun ports. I know we were not particularly impressed with the effectiveness of the single .30-caliber machine gun, which was synchronized to fire through the propeller arc. We had much greater confidence in the .50-caliber turret gun and .30-caliber tunnel gun, which covered our rear.

That evening Lieutenant Fieberling called us together and quickly confirmed our suspicions that something momentous was about to happen. He said the Navy believed that a Japanese thrust in the direction of Hawaii was imminent and that Midway Atoll was most certainly a target of that push. We were also told that the Navy expected the Japanese to attack the Aleutian Islands but that this would be merely a diversionary tactic to draw our ships away from the sea around Midway and Hawaii.

For the next two mornings, we were up at 0400, warming our engines and then standing by on alert until 0700. The rest of the time was spent exploring the island and chasing Gooney birds. We camped on Eastern Island, which was then nothing more than a long, low strip of sand, with the runway taking up almost its entirety. Aircraft parking revetments, tents, and a scattered collection of wooden buildings occupied what little space remained.

On the morning of 4 June, we were up and manning our planes at 0400 as usual. About an hour after we shut down, a Marine officer came running to our plane and told us to start our engine. He stated that unidentified aircraft had been sighted about 100 miles away by a patrol plane. We started up and joined the other planes of our group taxiing out to the take-off spot.

Immediately after taking off, we joined with the others in two sections of three planes each, climbed to 2,000 feet, and headed out on a course of 320 degrees True at 160 knots. Very shortly after takeoff, a single pass was made at us by two or three Japanese planes, one of which Ensign Earnest tentatively identified as a Messerschmitt 109, a plane that was reputedly being flown by the Japanese. In all probability, the enemy planes were Zeros or Vals from the force that was heading in to attack Midway. After this brief encounter, we climbed to 4,000 feet and continued on our original course.

We sighted the enemy carrier force at approximately 0700 from about 15 miles away. In his postbattle report, Ensign Earnest reckoned their number at ten ships. In reality there were 21 ships in the formation, including four carriers. Almost simultaneously with our sighting of the enemy we were attacked by their combat air patrol.

It was evident at once that we were outnumbered. Our pilots immediately pushed over into a dive and applied full throttle to the engines. On the second firing pass by the attacking Zeros, our turret gunner, Manning, was hit and his turret put out of action. I remember looking over my shoulder to see why he had stopped firing. The sight of his slumped and lifeless body startled me. Quite suddenly, I was a scared, mature old man at 17. I had never seen death before, and here in one awesome moment my friends and I were face-to-face with it. I lost all sense of time and direction but huddled by my gun hoping for a chance to shoot back.

At one point in the battle I glanced out of the small window on my left and saw an airplane streak by on fire and enter a cloud. The glance was so fleeting that I had no chance to identify it. Unfortunately, it later proved to have been one of ours.

The attacking fighters outnumbered us by at least three to one and it soon became evident that they did not intend for any of us to survive. Another pass and I was out of the fight-our hydraulic system had been hit and the tail wheel was now blocking my gun's field of fire. I felt a searing pain in my left arm as a bullet grazed my wrist. It was shortly after this that I was struck a stunning blow on the head and lost consciousness. I shall always remember coming to and viewing through bleary eyes a stream of blood that was rapidly coloring my gun an ugly red. Gingerly I fingered my scalp. After some moments I decided that maybe I was not going to die after all, but I was still unable to contribute anything to the battle.

Another source says of the torpedo-bombers' mission:

"While the beleagured island garrison fought off the bombers, a detachment of six TBF torpedo planes, under the command of Lieutenant Langdon K. Fieberling and Ensign Oswald J. Gaynier, took off from Sand Island. The TBFs were newer planes, however they were armed with the poorly functioning torpedo fuses and they had no air cover - the fighters being saved for the defense of Midway. The TBFs were accompanied by four Army B-26s, commanded by Captain James F. Collins, Jr. At 0705, Akagi reported the intruders and Nagumo sent up a fighter squadron to intercept. The agile Zeros made mincemeat of the lumbering TBFs, and only one survived to return to Midway. Likewise, the B-26s were hampered by a lack of firepower - Captain Collins later reported bitterly that all of his five guns balked and hung up making them virtually unusable. Collins and his teammate, Lieutenant James P. Muri, were the only survivors of this action.

Although the Japanese had suffered little actual damage, the appearance of the TBFs lent credence to advice issued by Lieutenant Joichi Tomonaga, commander of the air raid. Tomonaga called for a second attack. Admiral Nagumo, who had left 93 planes on deck armed with bombs and torpedoes in case American ships appeared, vacillated. Finally, at 0715, he made the fateful decision to clear the decks for Tomonaga's returning planes, and he ordered the torpedo planes to disarm and rearm with bombs in preparation for a second attack on Midway. "

Grumman TBF-1 Avenger During the late 1930s the U.S. Navy began to modernize its fleet of carrier aircraft. By the end of the decade, all metal monoplane fighters, dive bombers and torpedo bombers were in service. In addition, advanced fighters and dive-bombers were in the testing stage. Torpedo bomber development, however, had not kept pace and the Douglas TBD-1 Devastator, which entered service in 1937, still equipped the Torpedo Bomber (VT) squadrons. The Navy realized that further development could not overcome the Devastator's lack of speed and range, and in 1939, the Bureau of Aeronautics issued a design specification for a new carrier-based torpedo bomber. Both the Vought and the Grumman companies submitted designs to fulfil the specification. Grumman's design was designated the XTBF-1. It bore a family resemblance to the company's successful Wildcat fighter but the bomber was much larger. Besides a general similarity in appearance, the new torpedo bomber used the same type of rearward-folding wings as did its smaller cousin. This allowed the large TBFs to be packed tightly together and to fit on deck elevators, increasing the number that could operate from carriers. The Grumman torpedo bomber could even operate from the small escort carriers, whose size prohibited their carrying many other large aircraft. Another innovation was the electrically-powered turret in the rear gunner's station. Manufacturers had tried putting a turret in this position before, but the manual or hydraulic turrets of the time were too slow and unreliable. This was the case with Curtiss's SB2C Helldiver dive-bomber, which never did find a suitable turret. Grumman, however, decided to design its own and hit upon the idea of using fast and reliable electric motors. The turret carried only one gun to save weight, but it was a .50 caliber weapon, which was more effective than the twin .30 caliber guns carried by many other aircraft. A .30 caliber gun was included in the radioman's compartment, positioned to fire down and to the rear of the aircraft, in addition to a forward-firing .30 caliber gun in the engine cowling. On December 23, 1941, just two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Grumman received an order for 286 TBFs. It was that attack which inspired the plane's nickname "Avenger". The combat debut of the Avenger at the Battle of Midway, however, turned out to be a disaster. The events leading up to the battle began with the delivery of the first operational TBFs to a detachment from VT-8 at Norfolk, Virginia. The aircrews were left behind to bring the first TBFs up to operational status while the carrier Hornet proceeded to Hawaii. When the crews and planes were ready, they were shipped to Pearl Harbor with the intention of joining the Hornet for the upcoming battle. But the Avengers just missed the carrier, which had sailed the day before to head off the Japanese attack on Midway. Shortly after the detachment's arrival, the aircrews learned that volunteers were needed to fly six Avengers out to Midway Island. Many of the volunteers had never flown out of sight of land before, but all the aircraft made it to Midway. On June 4, 1942, these six TBFs took off from the island and, along with 27 Marine dive bombers and four Army B-26s, attacked the Japanese armada. This attack, along with one by TBDs a few hours later, was turned back with heavy losses. Of the six Avengers that took off from Midway, only one would return to the island, badly shot up, with two crewmembers wounded and one dead. The sacrifice of the torpedo bombers, however, was not in vain. The failed attack had disrupted the Japanese operational schedule, and it was this delay that resulted in the Japanese planes being present on the carrier decks - fully fueled and armed - when three squadrons of SBD Dauntless dive bombers arrived a few hours later. In the ensuing battle, three of the four Japanese carriers were sunk within the first five minutes, and the fourth was sunk later that day.

Only six TBF's actually entered front-line, combat service in time for the critical Battle of Midway. These planes, attached to VT-8, flew up to Midway Island three days before the battle. Commanded by Lieutenant Langdon K. Fieberling, none of the TBF pilots had ever been in combat, and only a few had ever flown out of sight of land before. VT-8, flying from the USS HORNET, is infamous in the battle of Midway for losing every aircraft they had in a single engagement with only one man, Ensign Gay, surviving. This shore based detachment was to be only slightly more successful. Onboard the HORNET, VT-8 was still flying the obsolete Douglas Devastator torpedo bomber. I suppose the Avengers were the first contingent of an upgrade.

What happened next was vital to the victory at Midway. After a devastating attack on Midway Island by the Japanese, the six Avengers, with their mixed crews aboard, and a motley collection of Army aircraft, including B-17's and B-26's converted to launch torpedoes, attacked the Japanese fleet. They did so without fighter protection. The attack was a total failure. Lieutenant Fieberling's six TBFs reached the Japanese fleet at 7:10 AM, dropped to low altitude, and bore on toward the carriers. Zeros swarmed around the vulnerable torpedo planes. Two TBFs were destroyed in the first attack, followed quickly by three more. Realizing that he could not reach the carriers, Ensign Albert K. Earnest loosed his torpedo at a cruiser, then broke away with two Zeros after him. Earnest flew his shot-up TBF back to Midway, navigating "by guess and by God." Earnest's was the only TBF to return, with nothing but the trim tab for longitudinal control, with one wheel and the torpedo bay doors hanging open. Radioman 3rd Class Harrier H. Ferrier was injured and Seaman 1st Class Jay D. Manning, who was operating the .50 caliber machine gun turret, was killed during the attack. None of the bombs or torpedoes had found their target.

Ensign Hissem never returned. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart for his heroism. The citation:

"The Navy Cross is presented to Joseph Metcalf Hissem (0-103993), Ensign, U.S. Navy (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service beyond the call of duty as a Radioman/Bombardier of Torpedo Squadron EIGHT (VT-8) embarked from Naval Air Station Midway during the "Air Battle of Midway", against enemy Japanese forces on 4 and 5 June 1942. In the first attack against an enemy carrier of the Japanese invasion fleet, Ensign Hissem pressed home his attack in the face of withering fire from enemy Japanese fighters and anti-aircraft forces. Because of events attendant upon the Battle of Midway, there can be no doubt that he gallantly gave up his life in the service of his country. His courage and utter disregard for his own personal safety were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 310 (January 1943) Born: December 31, 1917 at Mt. Carroll, Illinois Home Town: Galena, Illinois"

By the way, the Army Air crew that returned claimed a famous victory and got quite a bit of favorable press as well as primacy in director John Ford's documentary of the battle, however captured Japanese documents indicated the attack had resulted in zero damage to their ships.

While tactically a failure, the importance of this attack was that it confused the Japanese commanders. They had been arming their aircraft to attack American aircraft carriers that they assumed were in the area. The attack from Midway Island convinced them that a further assault on the island was required, so they began changing their aircraft armament from torpedoes, their most lethal weapon for attacking ships, to bombs for a land attack. In the midst of this rearmament one of their scout planes, in a series of confusing messages, reported sighting American ships. Admiral Nagumo, the fleet commander, ordered the armament changed again for ship attack.

After these many changes the decks and hangars of the aircraft carriers were littered with many bombs and torpedoes brought up out of the magazines. It was at this point that the first aircraft from three American aircraft carriers showed up and commenced their attacks. These American torpedo bombers, coming in unprotected and on uncoordinated attacks, suffered greatly, but added to the confusion and pulled Japanese fighter protection down to sea level. The Japanese fleet was in chaos, with ships zig-zagging to avoid American torpedoes, when U.S. dive bombers showed up unexpectedly, high over head. With no Zero fighters to molest them, they pressed home their attack with devastating results. Their dive bombs pierced deep into the Japanese carriers, setting off sympathetic explosions with the bombs and torpedoes scattered on their decks. Four Japanese carriers were sunk. It was the biggest victory in American Naval history and one of the biggest reversals in the tides of warfare in all of time.

Ensign Hissem was honored by the posthumous award of the Purple Heart and the Navy Cross. He has a monument, I assume a grave marker, in Honolulu. He also has a tombstone in Greenwood cemetary, in West Galena, Illinois, next to those for his parents. It says:

"Ensign Joseph Metcalf Hissem,
Dec 31, 1917 - June 4, 1942, USNR,
lost in action w sq 8 at the battle of Midway, WWII"

A ship was subsequently named in honor of Ensign Hissem. The ship, USS HISSEM, was a Destroyer Escort of the EDSALL class, with the designation DE-400. It was launched by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Tex., on 26 December 1943. It was sponsored by Miss Elizabeth D. Hissem, sister of Ensign Hissem, and commissioned on 13 January 1944, Lt. Comdr. W. W. Low in command.

There is another EDSALL class destroyer, USS STEWART, berthed in Galveston, Texas available for tours. A Destroyer Escort is a vessel smaller than a destroyer designed to escort convoys and protect them from submarine attack. She displaced 1,700 tons, had a speed of 21 kts, and was armed with 3 3"/50 dual purpose guns, 1x2 40mm, 8 20mm, 1 hedgehog, 2 depth charge tracks, 8 "K" gun projectors, and 3x3 21" torpedo tubes. Her history:

"Following a shakedown cruise to Bermuda, HISSEM steamed via Charleston to New York, where she arrived 20 March 1944. Her first combat duty was as an escort ship with convoy UGS-37, carrying vitally needed troops and supplies to the Mediterranean. The convoy departed Norfolk 23 March and entered the Mediterranean without attack. Then near Algiers the night of 11-12 April the Luftwaffe attacked. About 35 bombers and torpedo planes struck in a coordinated attack, and were repulsed by accurate gunnery and evasive chemical smoke. HISSEM's gun crews splashed one torpedo plane and damaged another, as the escorts prevented damage to the huge convoy of transports. The only ship struck was escort ship HOLDER, torpedoed but able to make port. The new German tactics for stopping Mediterranean convoys were beaten by training and accurate gunnery.

Subsequently, HISSEM performed regular escort duty across the Atlantic interspersed with anti-submarine and anti-aircraft training on the East Coast of the United States. The versatile ship even transported over 500 paratroopers in March 1945, taking them on board in the Azores, transferring them to SS Anthony Castle, and escorting the ship through submarine waters to Liverpool. Braving both the Germans and the heavy weather of the North Atlantic. HISSEM made a total of seven convoy voyages from June 1944 until she returned to New York 28 May 1946.

With the war in Europe over, the destroyer escort prepared to join the Pacific Fleet in dealing the death blows to the Japanese Empire. She sailed 20 June from New York and after operations in the Caribbean arrived Pearl Harbor 26 July 1945. HISSEM remained at Hawaii until after the surrender of Japan, and steamed 30 August for Eniwetok and Ulithi. The ship then continued to Japan. arriving Tokyo 7 October 1945 to assist occupation operations. Sailing to Guam 29 October, the versatile ship transported occupation troops to nearby islands, acted as air-sea rescue ship, and steamed as a weather ship through the western Pacific.

HISSEM sailed for the United States 9 January 1946. Arriving gan Pedro 25 January, she got underway 2 days later for the Panama Canal and Philadelphia, where she arrived 11 February. After repairs the ship steamed to Green Cove Springs, Fla., 23 March and decommissioned 15 June 1946.

HISSEM was brought out of reserve in 1955 and converted for use as a radar picket ship at Boston Navy Yard. Equipped with the latest electronic detection devices, she recommissioned at Boston 31 August 1956. After shakedown the ship joined the Atlantic Barrier, cruising as a sea extension of the DEW line to strengthen the northern defenses of Canada and the United States. In the years that followed, first out of Boston and later Newport, HISSEM alternated 1 month of lonely picket duty with one month of inport or training time, often experiencing the characteristic heavy weather of the North Atlantic. In 1959 and 1962 she made visits to Northern European and Mediterranean ports.

HISSEM saw varied duty in 1963. After two tours of picket duty she acted as command ship during the search for lost submarine Thresher 16 21 April. A month as school ship for sonar training at Key West was followed by two more days of duty on THRESHER search operations 27-28 June. Taking up new duties, HISSEM sailed 12 August for New Zealand and Operation Deep freeze, the Navy's continuing effort at exploration and scientific world; in Antarctica. The radar picket ship operated between~ the continent and New Zealand as a navigational beacon and rescue ship for flights to and from the Navy's air facility at McMurdo Sound. Overlooking the air base a memorial cross in memory of Captain Rohert F. Scott, RN, is inscribed with words by Tennyson which exemplify not only his fighting spirit, but that of Hissem and the Navy as well: "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

HISSEM remained a member of Operation "Deep Freeze" from 19 September to 28 February 1964. She then returned to the Atlantic Fleet by way of the Mediterranean, arriving 15 May. Early in 1965 HISSEM was transferred to the Pacific Fleet in order to meet the growing threat to world peace by Communist aggression. After a 5 month training period at Pearl Harbor, she sailed for Vietnam 2 September. From January 1966 to March HISSEM was a member of TF-115 operating in the Tonkin Gulf to prevent the infiltration of supplies to the insurgent Viet Cong. On 8 March HISSEM sailed for Pearl-Harbor where she underwent repairs and training. Once again ordered to Vietnam, HISSEM left Hawaii 2 September and arrived Subic Bay 23 September. She resumed her previous duties of protecting Vietnam from Communist aggression and operated off Southeast Asia into 1967.

Hissem received one battle star for World War II service.

Sometime during her duty in the Pacific USS HISSEM was involved in picket-duty off Taiwan during one of the many stand-offs between mainland China and the Nationalisht regime. I saw her on the Today Show on TV one morning as I headed off to school, when I was in the sixth grade.

In 1967 the HISSEM, along with another ship, the COEUR D'ALENE VICTORY, helped save the crew of the SS SAN JOSE, a merchant ship which caught fire while on a voyage from San Francisco to Vietnam, via Guam.

The ship was decommissioned a second time on 14 May 1970. She was subsequently struck from the Naval register on 1 June 1975, and sunk as a target off the coast of Southern California on 24 February 1982. There is a web site dedicated to this ship and her crew at USS HISSEM. The ship's bell was given to the city of Mt Carrol, Illinois, where Ensign Hissem was born.

In a strange quirk of fate, my wife's uncle, Sherman Triscuit, so he tells me, was a crewmember on the HISSEM.

A complete history of the ship is available in the "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships," (1968) Vol. 3, pp.334-335. This document is available online at http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/escorts/de400.txt.

In Rockford, Illinois the American Legion post 193 is named the Fickbo-Hissem Post.

Steve Hissem
San Diego, California