JOHN J POWERS DE 528

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Evarts Class Destroyer Escort Keel Laid 25 September 1943 - Launched and Christened 2 November 1943 USS JOHN J. POWERS DE-528 Commissioned 29 February 1944 - Decommissioned 16 October 1945 Struck from Naval Register 1 November 1945 Scrapped February 1946

Naval Covers

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1. USS John J. Powers DE-528 Covers Page 1     (DATE RANGE)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type 2z

1944-03-25

Official Business. From the Bob Govern collection.

 

Locy Type 2z*

1944-10-27

A war ballot envelope sent via another ship. From the John Germann collection.

 

Other Information

USS JOHN J. POWERS earned the American Campaign Medal, the European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 Battle star and the World War II Victory Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Lieutenant John James Powers, USN (3 July 1912 - 8 May 1942)
         Powers graduated from the Naval Academy in 1935. After serving at sea for 5 years, he underwent flight training, reporting 21 January 1941 to Bombing Squadron 5, attached to the famed Carrier USS Yorktown CV-5. As the fleet moved to prevent further Japanese expansion in the Solomons in 1942, Powers took part in the important raid on Tulagi 4 May, flying without fighter cover to score two hits on Japanese ships. As the main Battle of the Coral Sea developed 7 May, Lt. Powers and his companions discovered Carrier IJNS SHOHO and, bombing at extremely low altitudes, sank her in 10 minutes. Next morning while the great carrier battle continued, he joined the attack on IJNS SHOKAKU, scoring an important bomb hit. His intrepid, low-bombing run, however, brought Powers into heavy antiaircraft fire; and his plane plunged into the sea. Lt. Powers was declared dead; but, for his indomitable spirit in this series of attacks, was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. According to the citation: "... completely disregarding the safety altitude and without fear or concern for his own safety, he courageously pressed home his attack, almost to the very deck of an enemy carrier and did not release his bomb until he was sure of a direct hit."

The ships sponsor was Mrs. John J. Powers, mother of Lt. Powers.

 

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