Church bell brings story from WWII

‘ELE‘ELE — Poha the horse was not fazed when the bell clanged twice, Sunday.

She simply stood quietly, enjoying the grooming from her owner, Celie Williams, in preparation for the Blessing of the Animals at St. John’s church.

Poha was joined by numerous other pets belonging to the church’s parishoners, and the bell, now silent after announcing the service, stood watch over the celebration, its weathered inscription paying silent homage to the fleecy white clouds that lazed in the blue skies.

“U.S.S. Downes, 1938,” was the inscription that has stood the test of time before coming to rest in the belfry at the small ‘Ele‘ele church whose aisles between the wooden pews were barely wide enough to accommodate the horse.

The U.S.S. Downes, a 1,500-ton Mahan class destroyer, was built at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia and commissioned in January 1937. She was assigned to the Pacific later in that year, according to the Naval History and Heritage website.

Operating out of San Diego, Calif., the U.S.S. Downes was later shifted to Pearl Harbor, crossing the Pacific to visit Australia in March and April of 1941.

Helpless in drydock when the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, the U.S.S. Downes was severely damaged by bombs, fire and the explosion of one of her own torpedoes and other ammunition, leaving her an apparent total loss.

At 8:30 a.m., the U.S.S. Downes was struck on the after deckhouse by Japanese bombs, states the Owens Archive website.

At 8:40 a.m., the U.S.S. Jarvis reported bombs striking both the U.S.S. Downes and the U.S.S. Cassin, setting both ships on fire. More bombs barraged the battered ships and at 8:50 a.m. the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship.

But the hammering never stopped and at 9:06 a.m., both the U.S.S. Downes and the U.S.S. Pennsylvania were each hit by a heavy bomb, inflicting more damage on the crippled ships.

An explosion aboard the U.S.S. Downes at 9:15 a.m. added to the chaos.

The U.S.S. Downes’ torpedo warheads exploded at 9:41 a.m., launching a 1,000-pound section of the torpedo onto the deck of the U.S.S. Pennsylvania, the 33,000-ton flagship of the Pacific fleet.

The U.S.S. Cassin, now on fire, rolled over onto the U.S.S. Downes, the blaze burning for more than an hour before being controlled.

But the U.S.S. Downes did not die as she spent the next two months salvaging equipment in drydock, her wrecked hull refloated in February 1942 and later scrapped.

Her machinery and some of her fittings were installed in a new hull that was built at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California under her original hull number of DD-375.

“Like the proverbial phoenix, out of the ashes and flames and destruction of Pearl Harbor, has risen a new U.S.S. Downes, and a new U.S.S. Cassin, soon to rejoin the American fleet and seek revenge for that black day of infamy,” states a May 21, 1943, newspaper article in the Vallejo Times-Herald.

The U.S.S. Downes was recommissioned in November 1943 and reported to the Central Pacific in March 1944 where she took part in bombardments of Tinian, Aguijan and Marcus Islands while serving with Task Force 38 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Following an overhaul at Pearl Harbor, the U.S.S. Downes returned to the Marianas area in March 1945, spending the remainder of World War II on escort, patrol and other routine duties.

She was decommissioned in December 1945 and later sold for scrap.

She was named for John Downes, born in 1786 in Canton, Mass., and rendered distinguished service during the War with Tripoli in 1804, in the frigate Congress, and executive officer for Capt. David Porter in Essex during the War of 1812.

For Poha and the other pets who celebrated the joy they bring their owners during the service honoring St. Francis of Assissi, war was the farthest thing on their minds.

Instead, Poha enjoyed the gifts of carrots and apples by the young children of St. John’s who received a ride in return.