TATUM APD 81
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.
Keel Laid April 22 1943 - Launched August 7 1943 |
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- 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 |
Date From to Date To |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
|
Locy Type |
1946-02-22 |
 |
 |
As APD-81
Additional SL added
Other Information
TATUM earned two battle stars during World War II
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
Combat Action Ribbon - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 1 star - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal
NAMESAKE - Lawrence Aldridge Tatum (December 7 1894 - September 15 1942)
Tatum enlisted in the Navy at Atlanta, Ga., on June 29 1917 as a Hospital Apprentice. Following training at San Francisco, he served at the Naval Hospital in Fort Lyon, Colo., and in the receiving ship at Norfolk, Va. On October 15 1918, he was transferred to USS ALABAMA Battleship No. 8, in which he served until May 28 1919. Pharmacist's Mate 2d Class Tatum completed his enlistment at the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia and was honorably discharged at Atlanta, Ga., on August 18 1919.
During the ensuing nine years, he attended Atlanta Southern Dental College, Atlanta, Ga., and received his degree as a doctor of dental surgery. On August 9 1928, Dr. Tatum was appointed an assistant dental surgeon in the Naval Reserve.
Late in August 1940, Lt. Comdr. Tatum reported to the Naval Air Station, Norfolk, Va., for active duty. He was serving in USS WASP CV-7 on September 15 1942, as that carrier and USS HORNET CV-8 were covering the movement of reinforcements from Espiritu Santo to Guadalcanal. When WASP was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, Lt. Comdr. Tatum was among those trapped in the carrier's forecastle, cut off from the rest of the ship by raging flames. Rather than trying to save himself by jumping overboard, Tatum remained in the carrier to aid and comfort the wounded. He apparently went down with the ship when she sank. For his "gallant and intrepid conduct," Lt. Comdr. Tatum was awarded the Silver Star Medal posthumously
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
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