ROLLIN A FRITCH WPC 1119
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.
Sentinel Class 154 foot Patrol Boat Keel Laid - Launched |
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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.
- USCGC Rollin A. Fritch WPC-1119 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.
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Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
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POSTMARK TYPE |
POSTMARK DATE |
Note:
Other Information
NAMESAKE - Seaman First Class Rollin A. Fritch, USCG (1920 - January 8, 1945)
The transport ship USS Callaway APA-35 was off the coast of Luzon, in the Philippine Islands on Jan. 8, 1945, when desperate Japanese kamikaze attacks were launched in a determined effort to break up the landings. Eventually a suicide plane broke through heavy antiaircraft fire to crash on the starboard wing of Callaway ‘s bridge. Cool and skillful work against resulting fires kept material damage to a minimum and one of the men who sprung into action that day was Seaman First Class Rollin A. Fritch.
Fritch served as a member of a gun crew aboard Callaway and manned his station aggressively when the Japanese kamikaze aircraft attacked the vessel. He unhesitatingly relinquished all chance of escape as the plane plunged toward the target and remained steadfastly at his gun. He continued to direct his fire with unrelenting fury upon the enemy until carried away with his weapon by the terrific impact.
Ultimately, 29 of Callaway ‘s crew were killed and 22 wounded. With indomitable fighting spirit and unyielding devotion to duty in the valiant defense of his ship he gallantly gave his life for his country. For his heroic and selfless actions in the face of the enemy, Fritch was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.
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