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The five Sullivan brothers were World War II sailors who, serving together on the , were all killed in action on its sinking around November 13, 1942. The five brothers, the sons of Thomas (1883–1965) and Alleta Sullivan (1895–1972) of Waterloo, Iowa, were: * George Thomas Sullivan, 27 (born December 14, 1914), Gunner's Mate Second Class (George had been previously discharged in May 1941 as Gunner's Mate Third Class.) * Francis "Frank" Henry Sullivan, 26 (born February 18, 1916), Coxswain (Frank had been previously discharged in May 1941 as Seaman First Class.) * Joseph "Joe" Eugene Sullivan, 24 (born August 28, 1918), Seaman Second Class * Madison "Matt" Abel Sullivan, 23 (born November 8, 1919), Seaman Second Class * Albert "Al" Leo Sullivan, 20 (born July 8, 1922), Seaman Second Class ==History== The Sullivans enlisted in the US Navy on January 3, 1942, with the stipulation that they serve together. The Navy had a policy of separating siblings, but this was not strictly enforced. George and Frank had served in the Navy before, but their brothers had not. All five were assigned to the light cruiser . The ''Juneau'' participated in a number of naval engagements during the months-long Guadalcanal Campaign beginning in August 1942. Early in the morning of November 13, 1942, during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the ''Juneau'' was struck by a Japanese torpedo and forced to withdraw. Later that day, as it was leaving the Solomon Islands' area for the Allied rear-area base at Espiritu Santo with other surviving US warships from battle, the ''Juneau'' was struck again, this time by a torpedo from . The torpedo likely hit the thinly armored cruiser at or near the ammunition magazines and the ship exploded and quickly sank. Captain Gilbert C. Hoover, commanding officer of the and senior officer present in the battle-damaged US task force, was skeptical that anyone had survived the sinking of the ''Juneau'' and believed it would be reckless to look for survivors, thereby exposing his wounded ships to a still-lurking Japanese submarine. Therefore, he ordered his ships to continue on towards Espiritu Santo. ''Helena'' signaled a nearby US B-17 bomber on patrol to notify Allied headquarters to send aircraft or ships to search for survivors. But in fact, approximately 100 of ''Juneau''s crew had survived the torpedo attack and the sinking of their ship and were left in the water. The B-17 bomber crew, under orders not to break radio silence, did not pass the message about searching for survivors to their headquarters until they had landed several hours later. The crew's report of the location of possible survivors was mixed in with other pending paperwork actions and went unnoticed for several days. It was not until days later that headquarters staff realized that a search had never been mounted and belatedly ordered aircraft to begin searching the area. In the meantime, ''Juneau's'' survivors, many of whom were seriously wounded, were exposed to the elements, hunger, thirst, and repeated shark attacks. Eight days after the sinking, ten survivors were found by a PBY Catalina search aircraft and retrieved from the water. The survivors reported that Frank, Joe and Matt died instantly, Al drowned the next day, and George survived for four or five days,〔Kurzman.〕 before suffering from delirium as a result of hypernatremia (though some sources describe him being "driven insane with grief" at the loss of his brothers), he went over the side of the raft he occupied. He was never seen or heard from again. Security required that the Navy not reveal the loss of ''Juneau'' or the other ships so as not to provide information to the enemy. Letters from the Sullivan sons stopped arriving at the home and the parents grew worried. The brothers' parents learned of their deaths on January 12, 1943. That morning, the boys' father, Thomas, was preparing for work when three men in uniform – a lieutenant commander, a doctor and a chief petty officer – approached his door. "I have some news for you about your boys," the naval officer said. "Which one?" asked Thomas. "I'm sorry," the officer replied. "All five."〔Satterfield, p. 5.〕 The brothers left a sister, Genevieve (1917–1975). Albert was survived by a wife and son. The “Fighting Sullivan Brothers” were national heroes. President Franklin Roosevelt sent a letter of condolence to their parents. Pope Pius XII sent a silver religious medal and rosary with his message of regret. The Iowa Senate and House adopted a formal resolution of tribute to the Sullivan brothers. Thomas and Alleta Sullivan made speaking appearances at war plants and shipyards on behalf of the war effort.〔Emily Yellin, ''Our Mothers' War'', pp. 35–36, ISBN 0-7432-4514-8.〕 Later, Alleta participated in the launching of a destroyer , named after her sons.〔Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', p. 739.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sullivan brothers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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