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| Frederick Powell was a baker on the destroyer USS Twiggs during the Battle of Okinawa. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21474282/frederick-peter-powell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Twiggs_(DD-591) |
Frederick Peter "Fred" Powell never had a chance to reach 100 years old. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
I began this project on January 1, 2017. It will conclude on September 2, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the end of World War 2. During the intervening time, a different fallen serviceman was profiled every day on his 100th birthday. I have decided to round out the project by profiling one of the fallen born between December 7, 1916 and December 31, 1916. This will result in one of the fallen being profiled for every day America was engaged in World War 2. The total will be 1,366 men and women. That's enough for only 13 stars out of the 4,048 on the Freedom Wall of the World War II Memorial.
Fred was born on December 25, 1916 in Haxtun, Colorado. His parents Isaac and Violet were both born in Iowa. His father worked as a teamster. Fred had two older brothers, two older sisters and one younger brother. Fred married Helene Bristanin in 1936. They had one daughter.
He enlisted in the US Navy in September 1942. He eventually became a baker second class serving on the destroyer USS Twiggs (DD-591). Twiggs first saw action off the coast of the Philippines in October 1944. In December and January she came to the aid of a fellow ships that had been damaged by kamikaze attacks. She provided fire support for the Battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945.
Twiggs's final patrol was supporting the Battle of Okinawa. It avoid major damage when it was attacked by a kamikaze on April 28, 1945. On June 16, 1945, Twiggs was on radar picket duty when it was hit by a torpedo dropped by an attacking Japanese plane. The plane then finished off the attack by crashing into Twiggs. The destroy sank within an hour. 152 men were lost, including Baker Powell.
His cenotaph grave is at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. His widow died in 1962 and his daughter died in 1972.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
My father served in WW II, on board the destroyer USS Woodworth DD 460, From commissioning to the end of the war, after the war he joined the US Army , He served in Korea during that war , then on to Vietnam where he paid the ultimate price for freedom in 1968, I served in the US Navy from 1964 to 1968, we both served in Vietnam at the same time , I was off shore in the Gulf of Tonkin , He was in country..I have the utmost respect for WW II veteran's ,especially those Tin Can Sailors . Truly Americas Greatest Generation..
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