Item: ONSV6008
Original U.S. WWII Named Pearl Harbor Survivor Named Navy Good Conduct Medal - USS Dale (DD-353)
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Original Item: One-of-a-kind. U.S. Navy World War II Good Conduct Medal. Awarded to Clinton Monroe Bantz whose name and date 1941 are engraved on back side encircled by words "Fidelity, Zeal, Obedience". Front side has USS Constitution inside an anchor and chain with words "United States Navy". Medal is hung on maroon ribbon and offered in overall very good condition. Also included are copies of daily report rosters from the U.S.S. Dale dating between 1939 and 1945 and all name Bantz. There is one dated December 11th, 1941 just 4 days after the attack.
The fourth USS Dale (DD-353) was a Farragut-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. Dale received 14 battle stars for World War II service. She was named for American Revolutionary war hero Richard Dale.
Dale was launched 23 January 1935 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. E. C. Dale; and commissioned 17 June 1935, Commander W. A. Corn in command. Rear Admiral Yates Stirling, Jr., commandant of the Third Naval District and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, oversaw construction and presided over the commissioning. As a fourteen-year-old boy nearly 50 years earlier, Stirling had lived aboard the first USS Dale (1839) when the old sloop-of-war, her masts removed and at the end of her long service, was the station ship at the Washington Navy Yard under his father's command.[1] Dale was decommissioned 16 October 1945 and sold 20 December 1946.
At the commencement of the raid on Pearl Harbor, T.H., at 0750, December 7, 1941, the Dale was moored with ships of Destroyer Division TWO at Berth X-14, Pearl Harbor, T.H. The order of ships in the nest from starboard to port was as follows: USS Aylwin, Farragut, Dale, Monaghan. The ship's head was 030. Boiler number three was in use for auxiliary purposes. The Officer-of-the-deck, Ensign F.M. RADEL, U.S.N., acting Commanding Officer, saw the first plane attack the U.S.S. Utah from Westward. General Quarters was immediately sounded and orders given to set material condition Afirm and to light off all boilers. At 0810 fire was opened on Japanese planes using the after .50 caliber machine guns, followed shortly thereafter by the after five inch A.A. guns. The presence of the ships on either side of the Dale prevented the use of all forward guns. The forward 24" searchlight made it impossible to bring the director to bear in the direction of the level bombing attacks on the battleships. The 5" guns operated in local control with very poor results, the shots bursting well behind and short of the targets, a squadron of level bombers flying at about 10,000 feet above the battleships on alternately northerly and southerly courses. 0815, an enemy dive bomber attacking the U.S.S. Raleigh from westward came under severe machine gun fire from all the ships in the nest, nosed down and crashed into the harbor.
At 0820 it was reported to the senior officer in the nest, Lieutenant Commander W.P. BURFORD, U.S.N., commanding U.S.S. Monaghan that the Dale was ready to get underway. While backing clear a torpedo apparently aimed at the USS Raleigh passed under the bow of the Dale and exploded on Ford Island. 0844, stopped while the U.S.S. Monaghan dropped depth charges on Japanese submarine close aboard the starboard side of the U.S.S. Curtiss. Changed speed to 25 knots and proceeded out of harbor ahead of U.S.S. Monaghan. Until the Dale neared the submarine net she did not come under the direct fire of the planes. Apparently the Japanese wished to sink a ship in the entrance, thereby blocking the harbor, as the Dale came under severe dive bombing and machine gun attacks near the entrance. Machine gun fire from the ship served to keep the attackers from approaching too closely, although there were several close misses, which caused no damage. The bombs buried themselves in the bottom of the channel before exploding. At 0907, cleared the entrance buoys and by stopping the port engine and coming hard left rudder, caused a flight of three Japanese dive bombers to overshoot their mark. As they went by the starboard side close to the water, machine gun fire from the Dale struck the leading plane causing it to burst into flame and to crash into the water on the outer starboard side of the restricted area. The remaining two planes made a very half-hearted attempt to attack again but were driven off by machine gun fire. 0911, the Dale established offshore patrol in sector one. Due to repeated airplane attacks the ship was forced to make frequent changes of course and to run at high speed, thereby rendering the sound gear inoperative. 0927, changed speed to 12 knots, patrolling sector one. High speed wakes and depth charging from other destroyers in the vicinity rendered the sound gear practically useless.
1114, the U.S.S. Worden (Commander Destroyer Squadron ONE) sortied. The Dale formed on the Worden as third ship in column. After investigating the falsely reported presence of the three enemy transports off BARBERS POINT, formed inner anti-submarine screen on the U.S.S. Detroit, Phoenix, St. Louis, and Astoria. The Dale was assigned station nine. The Task Force speed was 25 knots. At 1410, the L.P. pinion bearings on the reduction gear of the port engine failed. An attempt was made to stay with the assigned task force as the maximum speed obtainable with one engine was 22 knots. The Dale fell steadily behind. The starboard engine began heating excessively, forcing a further reduction of speed to 10 knots. Retired to the southward at 1654. Stopped at 1930 and lay to until 0500 the following morning attempting repairs. Rendezvoused with Task Force at dawn but as full repairs to the engine were impossible without the assistance of the tender, the Dale could not maintain her assigned screening station. Under orders of Commander Destroyers, Battle Force, the Dale established off shore patrol in sector one until the entrance of Task Group 8.4 on Monday, December 8, 1941.
There were no casualties on board and no damage was caused by the Japanese. The Japanese plane shot down by the Dale off the entrance buoys was observed to the Commanding Officer. Two other planes, both dive bombers, were claimed by members of the crew to have been shot down by the Dale.
From 14 December 1941 to 17 March 1942, Dale screened Lexington and Yorktown, covering the strikes on the Salamaua–Lae campaign area of New Guinea on 10 March. Dale returned to Pearl Harbor on escort and training duty until 11 May when she departed for Mare Island and an overhaul. On 5 June she sailed from San Francisco, with others, to back up the task forces engaged in the Battle of Midway from 6 July to 17 August. She was assigned to convoy duty between Viti Levu, Fijis, and Efate and Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, in preparation for the assault on Guadalcanal. She covered the landings, escorted transports loaded with reinforcements to the bitterly contested island from 18 August to 21 September, then sailed to Pearl Harbor for escort and training duty until 10 November. She sailed to screen battleships Washington and South Dakota into Pearl Harbor, continuing with South Dakota to San Francisco.
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