Talk:USS Susquehanna (AOG-5)

Story from a veteran
I was aboard AOG 5 for about 18 months which included the period January 2,3,4 We had left from Leyte. The convoy included a Coast Guard vessel ..Oyster Bay and a Dutch vessel carrying bombs for the 5th Air Force. There were about 25 mine sweepers. AOG had the most guns of any in the convoy. The Oyster Bay had the largest gun, a five inch gun. The mine sweepers passed Mindoro to sweep mines at Luzon. The Oyster Bay and the Dutch ship went into Mindoro.

On January 5 we arrived to find a commercial tanker burning. Within a few minutes a Japanese aircraft attacked the Dutch ship and the ship exploded. We were about 800 yards from the Dutch ship. Nothing and no one was seen of the Dutch ship. The waves lifted AOG half out of the water with no damage. The waves damaged items on the shore. AOG saw two aircraft right after the explosion. We fired at the planes. We learned later that one was a US plane and the other an enemy air craft. We shot the US plane accidentaly. The US pilot landed safely on the beach. I do not remember what happened to the enemy. The next morning the US pilot visited AOG 5, USS Susquehanna. We apologized. He settled for a steak, hot shower and some frozen steaks for his friends. AOG provided fuel ashore. The US planes took off very soon. We never saw another enemy plane.

Our Captain at the time was Lt. Andy Andrews, a great liberal man.

I was 24 years old and a standard deck officer (Lt.jg.). I was also in charge of the aft guns.

Respectfully, Maurice Schoenwald, formerly a neighborhood lawyer. My e-mail is (removed for the sake of privacy) I am in good health,86 years, and working for a "liberal mutual fund". I play tennis and race sailboats. My wife, Susan, married me when I left midshipman school at Columbia University. We are still married and love each other. Three good kids and six good grand children. More interest in me : See Who's Who in America. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.12.116.133 (talk • contribs) 01:48, 14 April 2006