Reading the obituary for L. Lionell Tucker of Cherryfield in the Nov. 13 Bangor Daily News, I thought once more what a small world it may have been some seven decades ago in the wide Pacific Ocean. Could a simple document link Signalman 3 Lionell Tucker, Motor Machinist’s Mate 2 Gayland Moore Jr. of Abbot and Capt. John Hoctor of Castine and Orono?
The piece of paper, sent to me some years ago by a sailor who had been aboard an LCI in the Pacific, is dated 30 Dec. 1944, less than two weeks before the Battle of Luzon in Lingayen Gulf, on the western side of the Philippines. The subject is “LSTs joining off Leyte,” a reference to the Landing Ship, Tanks, that would become part of a particular formation after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which had been fought in October. Luzon was next, then Okinawa.
Those who served on large ships such as aircraft carriers, battleships and destroyers generally have a ship’s name that helps preserve the history of the one who served and his or her unit.
But Tucker, Moore and Hoctor, all of whom are gone now, each spent more than a year aboard a Landing Craft, Infantry, a ship built in about a week. The craft’s length, at 158.5 feet, was just a little longer than half a football field. Its crew varied from 26 to more than 80.
Hoctor’s LCI 365 has a number indicating that it was built earlier in the war. Though the small LCIs sometimes avoided the increased fire directed at the large ships, Hoctor lost seven of his men at the Battle of Guam. After the war, Hoctor was the athletic director and coach at Maine Maritime Academy.
I met Hoctor after he read a 1994 interview I did with my dad, Gayland Moore Jr., for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte.
My dad’s ship was LCI 565, exactly 200 after Hoctor’s ship. I went on to interview Hoctor about World War II and about his coaching life and was fortunate to help put him in touch with a Texas man who had been just 4 years old when his sailor dad died on Hoctor’s ship. The man and his wife had never been to Maine, so they came up and met John Hoctor.
Hoctor belonged to the USS LCI National Association, which my dad also joined. We both enjoyed the organization’s newsletter and the opportunity to connect to other members. The group has a website at usslci.org.
It is possible to join online, even if you are just a relative or friend of someone who served on an LCI. Or you can join by mail, sending a check for $35 for a year to USS LCI National Association, 101 Rice Bent Way No. 6, Columbia, SC 29229.
Back to the small world and the piece of paper. I also became acquainted with another LCI sailor who sent me the document I mentioned above. He was stationed on the LCI 567, which was listed on the paper under the 8th Division in the first of nine rows of ships in the “ship disposition heading” for the invasion of Lingayen Gulf.
My dad’s 565 and Hoctor’s 365 were listed under 9th Division in the ninth row.
LCI 1057 is listed under the 7th Division in the eighth row of ships.
I would mention here that the 565 and the 1057 were used as gunboats.
We are fortunate that some photographs do survive of smaller ships. Looking up LCI 1057 on the Web, I found photos at navsource.org/archives/10/15/151057.htm. Some of the pictures were submitted by Lionell Tucker’s daughter, Stacy Tucker Stanley.
Looking up LCI 565, I found photos that I think were submitted by the sailor who shared the “ship disposition heading” with me. I will find that name.
It was interesting to me that my dad’s ship was built in The Solomons, Maryland. The LCI 1057 was built in Bay City, Michigan.
Look up a ship, a plane, a helicopter, a half-track, a military unit, a division, a battle, a base, a fort. Who knows what you may learn — and perhaps you’ll meet someone you never thought you would.
For information on researching family history in Maine, see Genealogy Resources under Family Ties at bangordailynews.com/browse/family-ties. Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402, or email familyti@bangordailynews.com.