They Gave Everything

We all have our favorite hero stories, whether they are fictional characters, people that existed in history or even someone we know. The hero of my story, is actually a group of heros in the form of a whole town. The people who lived there were not Americans. But they sacrificed everything to help some Americans. My story centers around a young man who lived with his family in the town where I live and have raised 2 of my children. I discovered this story while researching veterans for the Memorial Day parade in our town.

His name was James Thomas Hill Jr. and he was born in Brooklyn on November 15 th , 1916. However, he liked to be called Tom. For this reason, his name is listed on the Veterans Memorial in Chappaqua, New York as Thomas Hill. His parents moved to Larchmont where he spent a good part of his childhood. He graduated from Mamaroneck High School in 1935. He played ice hockey on the school team and was very active in the Boy Scouts. However, tragedy struck his family when his father was killed by a fall from a horse. By the time he was a young adult his mother, Regina, had married again and they moved with her new husband to Chappaqua, on Turner Drive off Seven Bridges Road. This arrangement meant he had a stepsister, Bonnie Rankin, who attended Horace Greeley High School.

He spent some time in the Navy and must have found the service to his liking, because when his time was up and with concerns about the war in Europe and the Pacific, he promptly enlisted in the Naval Reserve in October of 1940. By May of 1941 his unit was activated, and he was assigned to the newly commissioned U.S.S. Pollux.

A military cargo ship, her mission was transport and supply to military bases with the Atlantic Fleet. On February 15th, 1942, the Pollux departed Maine for a large US air-naval base in Newfoundland. The convoy consisted of the Pollux laden with supplies, escorted by destroyers Truxtun, and Wilkes. The escort was required because the waters were patrolled by German U-boats. The ships performed the standard zig-zag pattern to avoid them. Radio silence was maintained as an additional precaution.

As they approached Newfoundland, the ships were engulfed in a brutal winter storm. Visibility was at zero, and the ships were forced to use dead reckoning to navigate. The Pollux lost contact with its destroyer escorts and was pushed dangerously close to shore by giant waves and powerful ocean currents. At 4:17 in the morning of February 18th , Ash Wednesday, the Pollux ran aground on the jagged rocks at Lawn Point, on Newfoundland's south coast. The Truxton and Wilkes ran aground as well, but the Wilkes was able to break free. However, she was unable to get close enough to the others ships to provide any real help.

Some sailors were killed by the impact, others when the ships flooded, and still many more from the freezing temperatures of the water. For the crewmen that were in their bunks when the ship struck the rocks, they were only partly dressed and had to grab shoes, pants, raincoats, and lifejackets in the dark. For many that meant they found themselves on deck in the freezing storm in any manner of dress or undress.

The Pollux was stranded on rocks next to an ice-covered cliff 75 feet high. Huge waves crashed up the sides of the cliff with spray reaching the top, then surged back over the deck of the ship. Many of the life rafts were crushed or swept away. The ship pitched wildly. Nothing was standing still. It was in danger of breaking in two and sinking. A desperate attempt to reach land began. Even though they were close to shore, the waves slammed the men and boats back against the side of the ship. The men’s wet clothing quickly froze and became stiff, making their efforts even more difficult. Some of the men had died in these attempts.

Finally, through bravery and strenuous effort, a lifeboat finally made it to shore and a lifeline was strung. But their ordeal was far from over. The first men who crossed the violent seas that lay between them and shore had to scale 100-foot-tall ice-covered cliffs to reach safe ground. But they were exposed to the elements and found themselves amid a wilderness with rough terrain and no sign of inhabitance. Their survival was very much in doubt.

When the order to abandon ship came men threw themselves into the turbulent freezing water to make the 70 foot swim to the cliffs. For many, their struggles were in vain as they disappeared below the waves in the deadly undertow. Still others were smashed against the rocks and killed. Those that made it were trapped on a narrow icy ledge with a sheer cliff above them. Finally, lines were rigged to the ledge and the remaining personnel were moved. However, the rising tide and rough seas threatened to wash them all away.

In the tiny village of Lawn, two young boys told people they had seen a ship run aground at Lawn Point, but they were treated with skepticism. When a lone survivor stumbled into the village of Saint Lawrence, the townsfolk rallied themselves and rushed to the scene with ropes and anything else they could find to help.

Author Cassie Brown, who documented the Pollux and Truxton disaster, wrote in her book “Standing into Danger” about the moment Seaman James Thomas Hill was lost. It reads; "The shelf was icing up worse than ever, and they were compelled to kneel or lie flat, clutching with unfeeling hands to pieces of projecting rock. Not all had flashlights, but those who did switched them on and stuck them in their back pockets. Commander Turney kept swinging his light back and forth and encouraging his men.” “Then James Thomas Hill slipped and went over the ledge. "Jimm! Oh my God!" someone screamed.” “They heard him shouting for help and saw his flashlight blinking on the sea, then it disappeared. They trained their own lights on the sea, but the yellow surf rushing at them was all they saw. Even if they did see him, what could they possibly do for him ? They linked arms and prayed."

Men in the nearby community of Lawn, 10 miles away travelled to the site to help with the rescue efforts. They pulled the men up by ropes until their hands where raw and half frozen. For each small group of survivors they collected, several townsmen would march them off through the deep snow toward the town. They helped the men who were half clothed and soaking wet, many stumbled, some refused to go on. It was a herculean effort to herd these freezing and injured men toward warmth and survival. Some men died on the way.

A makeshift first-aid station was set up, and the women of the small fishing communities worked together to help wash off the oil that covered the sailors from head to toe and to get them warm. They wrapped them in blankets from their beds, gave them spare socks and dry clothing. They cooked whatever they had and poured hot coffee for them.

Soon the U.S. Navy came to collect the survivors. They saw everything that the town and done for these sailors and were deeply moved. In short order all the survivors were transferred to a hospital ship and sailed away. There were many sad fair wells as some of the town folks had become very attached to the young boys who had suffered so harshly without complaint.

There was hardly anything left in the town except the inhabitants and the clothes on their backs. They had used up all the spare clothing, shoes, the blankets, sheets and soap. All the spare food was gone along with firewood and coal. Anything and everything was freely given without a moments hesitation.

But there was a war on, and the U.S. Navy had no time for sentiment or ceremony. The little town of Lawn went about their quiet existence and recovered as best they could. They put the tragedy behind them. However, once the war was over, they would soon discover that their great deeds had not been forgotten.

The U.S. Navy returned and wanted to pay their dept of gratitude to this small community. So, they decided to build and fully outfit a modern hospital for the town so that the people would not have to travel the 200 miles by sea to the nearest hospital. The Pollux and Truxton lost 203 shipmates that day. But 185 made it to safety thanks to the selfless efforts of the Newfoundlanders. The towns of Saint Lawrence and Lawn commemorated the men who lost their lives 76 years ago. A monument was erected on the site of the disaster and Streets in Saint Lawrence are named after the ships and some of the men.

------ Seaman 1st Class James Thomas Hill is listed as Missing in Action, Lost at Sea and his name can be found on the “Tablets of the Missing” at the East Coast Memorial in Battery Park, New York City.?