[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5712-5714]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      U.S.S. ``J. WILLIAM DITTER''

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, in honor of their reunion to be held this 
month, I am pleased to call the Senate's attention to honor the crew of 
U.S.S. J. William Ditter who served during World War II.
  I commend the dedication and courage of that crew of the minelayer 
named in honor of former Pennsylvania Congressman J. William Ditter.
  Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 5, 1888, J. William 
Ditter received his law degree from Temple University in 1913 and was 
admitted to the bar the same year. As a school teacher and baseball 
coach at Northeast High School from 1912 until 1925, one of Coach 
Ditter's team members was Jimmy Dykes, who later went on to become 
Connie Mack's star third baseman during the Philadelphia Athletics' 
glory years in the nineteen-thirties. Less famous, but equally 
important were the hundreds of young men and women who studied at 
Northeast High under ``Doc'' Ditter's tutelage. They constantly sought 
his advice and retained their affection for him in the years that 
followed.
  In 1925, Mr. Ditter moved to Montgomery County, where he practiced 
law

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and became an active member of his church and community. In 1932, 
Montgomery County was made a separate Congressional district and Mr. 
Ditter was elected to serve as its first Representative.
  As a member of the House of Representatives, he quickly became known 
for his tireless work, dedication to our country, and consummate skill 
in debate. Congressman Ditter took a prominent role in defeating 
President Franklin Roosevelt's efforts to pack the Supreme Court in 
order to insure that New Deal legislation would not be declared 
unconstitutional. As the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Naval Affairs, he led the fight to establish a two-
ocean Navy. The success of the Navy in World War II, including the ship 
which was named after him, was due in part to the leadership and 
dedication of Congressman J. William Ditter.
  In recognition of his leadership, Bill Ditter was selected to be the 
Chairman of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, a post he 
held until his death in 1943. While in Congress, Mr. Ditter explained 
his positions on public affairs by writing a weekly newspaper column, 
Trend of Events. During his years in Congress, he was much in demand as 
a public speaker, not only in Montgomery County but throughout the 
state and nation.
  Congressman Ditter's political career was cut short by his untimely 
death in a Navy plane crash near Columbia, Pennsylvania. He was 
returning from Boston where he had been on a trip to participate in the 
commissioning of the Navy's new carrier, U.S.S. Wasp. Among the many 
dignitaries who attended his funeral were former President Herbert C. 
Hoover, a close, personal friend and my colleague Senator McCain's 
grandfather Admiral John S. McCain, Sr., Commander of Carrier Task 
Force 38. Congressman Ditter was buried with military honors at 
Whitemarsh Memorial Cemetery. In light of his distinguished service to 
our nation, the Navy named a destroyer-mine layer in his honor, U.S.S. 
J. William Ditter (DM 31).
  U.S.S. J. William Ditter was a fitting tribute to Congressman Ditter. 
The Sumner class destroyer, which was converted to a high speed mine 
layer, was christened by Mrs. J. William Ditter on July 4, 1944. It was 
commissioned on October 28, 1944, and served as a unit of Division 9, 
Mine Squadron 3. Congressman Ditter's dedication and service to his 
country was mirrored by the actions of the men on U.S.S. J. William 
Ditter. The ``Fighting J. Willy'', as the crew called the mine layer, 
destroyed many Japanese suicide aircraft and boats during its years of 
service.
  The end of April marks the fifty-fifth anniversary of the brave 
actions of the crew in the early days of the operations in Okinawa. 
U.S.S. J. William Ditter greatly contributed to the success of the 
first landings on April 1, 1945 by escorting transport ships carrying 
American invasion forces.
  On April 12, U.S.S. J. William Ditter joined the radar picket line to 
protect ships against attacking Japanese aircraft. On April 26, U.S.S. 
J. William Ditter drove off an attacking enemy aircraft, and on April 
27, the crew helped to down two enemy aircraft. On April 28, the crew 
shot down an attacking suicide aircraft and combined its fire with 
another ship in order to shoot down two other hostile aircraft. On 
April 29, the crew detected and attacked an enemy submarine.
  By May 28, 1945, U.S.S. J. William Ditter had shot down eight 
Japanese aircraft and assisted in destroying three others. On June 6, 
1945, in the radar picket line of Task Force 51.5 patrolling southeast 
of Nakagusukua Wan, U.S.S. J. William Ditter shot down four. However, 
one suicide plane hit U.S.S. J. William Ditter, inflicting heavy damage 
and numerous casualties. Ten men were killed and twenty-seven were 
wounded on that fateful day.
  Although the ship was repaired enough to make it home to the United 
States, it was decommissioned and struck from the Navy's fleet when the 
war ended. Despite the short term of service, U.S.S. J. William Ditter 
had a distinguished war record, keeping in honor with the person for 
whom the ship was named--Congressman J. William Ditter.
  The crew deserves special recognition for their service, and I am 
pleased to be able to commend them on the floor of the United States 
Senate. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the list 
of the names of the crew members who served on U.S.S. J. William 
Ditter.
  As an addendum, I think it is appropriate to note the distinguished 
public service of Congressman Ditter's son, J. William Ditter, Jr., who 
is a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of 
Pennsylvania where I knew him as a practicing attorney in that court.
  There being no objections, the list was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                Crew of the U.S.S. ``J. William Ditter''

  Anthony R. Amoroso, Robert Amoroso, James D. Anderson, Harold W. 
Andrews, James Carlton Annis, Bernard Appelbaum, Armin Argullin, Hans 
Arnbel, Thomas E. Ates, Lester Bailey, Hayden B. Baker, Harold G. 
Baker, Robert A. Baker, John L. Balog, Archie Y. Barhardt, Jack L. 
Bates, Lester E. Bausch, Bruce J. Baxter, Jr., George William Baxter, 
Robert W. Beale, Bertram D. Bekemeyer, Stefan Belajsak, Loyd D. Benton, 
Harold L. Berger, Frederick Binder, Coy Blair, Jr., Martin Block, Jr., 
James O. Blow, Ronald Clarence Blucher, Tyrus Augustus Bohler, Joshua 
G. Bosley, Jr., Oscar S. Bowden, Joseph E. Brackett, Charles F. 
Bradley, Grady H. Bradley, William I. Bradley, Cameron C. Breedlove, 
John E. Brennan, Wallace C. Brought, Jr., Robert Joseph Bruckbauer, 
John M. Bryan, Ranson G. Buff, Chester Durward Bullard, Henry A. Bunch, 
Jacob L. Burkett, William T. Burns, Charles E. Burriss, Joseph F. 
Burrows, Lester Earl Busby, Jake L. Bynum, Ralph W. Byrd, John P. 
Byrne, Carl R. Cagle, Jr., Herman Leonard Cain, George Henry Cambria, 
John R. Carpenter, Melvin Edward Carpenter, Elijah C. Carter, Joseph S. 
Caruso, Ronald F. Cashin, John W. Caulk, Jr., John G. Chambers, Howard 
C. Childers, Kenneth H. Chitty, John C. Church, Luke E. Church, Charles 
H. Clark, James Franklin Clark, Harvey G. Clendenin, James P. Clouse, 
Kermit T. Cocherham, Walter Fielden Cochran, Otis Elbert Cochran, Frank 
W. Collins, John I. Colvin, Jack L. Connelly, Eugene C. Cook, Garland 
V. Cook, Aubrey Bernard Cousins, Alfred R. Cox, James H. Craig, Alton 
V. Cranfield, Jr., Bruce Alvin Crauswell, Russell B. Crawford, James V. 
Creasman, John William Crown, Howard J. Cummings, Theodore L. Cunard, 
Jr., Andrew Joseph Cuneo, John R. Curry, Ralph Ray Curtis, Walter 
Czarnecki, Doyle O. Daniell, Robert A. Darrah, Franklin Armfield 
Daughton, Cecil C. Davis, Edward T. Davis, Wilbur A. Davis, Charlie A. 
Deal, Edward J. Derricott, Charles H. Di Francesco, Battaile Stevenson 
Dickenson, Ed Lawrence Dickerson, Earl W. Dillon, Philip Dinerstein, 
Edward P. Domme, Kenneth F. Dommel, Kenneth Cedric Dowell, Elwyn T. 
Drew, Roland A. Du Sault, Marvin Leroy Dukes, Carl G. Dunn, Francis R. 
Dymck, Lloyd E. Eagleson, Frank S. Echternach, William L. Eckrote, 
Charles K. Edmonds, John C. Effner, Keith A. Emerson, Frederick J. 
Ernst, James E. Erwin, John E. Evans, Ludwig M. Eymann, Theodore Fabey, 
Warren Harding Fanning, Francis R. Farney, Edward C. Faytak, John 
Fernandez, Joseph F. Ferriols, Nathan Feuerstwin, Harold R. Fisher, 
James E. Fleenor, Charly L. Flynn, Urben G. Foley, James Gordon Foley, 
Melvin L. Ford, Otis Leonard Forehand, Ellis Joseph Foster, Vernon 
Alfred Frederickson, James L. Freeman, Edward J. Freet, Jr., Dudley V. 
Frye, Loy J. Gammel, Peter Gardner, R. Giachelti, Travis C. Gilchrist, 
Robert M. Glover, Sherman L. Goggins, George E. Gold, Lawrence J. 
Gordon, Eugene Franklin Graves, Louis W. Graves, James J. Greenwood, 
Elbert Gregory, Alderman Lewis Griffis, Stephen Grigos, Norman A. 
Gross, James Hasil Grubbs, Jr., William Franklin Gurkin, Jr., Anthony 
M. Gurnari, Harvey E. Hall, Lawrence Ray Hamilton, Kelse J. Hamlin, 
Vaughn L. Hanson, Lester L. Hardy, Leo C. Harris, Jr., Lester Harris, 
Thad Harris, Herman D. Hartman, Jr., Arthur H. Hawkins, John

[[Page 5714]]

B. Hawthorne, Edward J. Haywood, John W. Heafner, Hugh Plonk Heauner, 
Herbert Kenneth Heim, Donald E. Heiner, Herbert K. Helm, William R. 
Helms, Sr., Robert A. Herman, Howard L. Herthel, Joe Shafter 
Higginbotham, Clarence E. Higgs, Richard L. Hinton, Dewey T. Hobgood, 
Francis J. Hoey, William E. Hoffman, Thomas Alexander Holden, Lester 
Manford Holladay, Harold Arthur Hollstrom, John L. Holt, Jr., Marvin J. 
Holtz, Harold G. Holzworth, John Henry Honour, Jr., Clyde E. Hooper, 
Marvin G. Hoover, Clay T. Houchin, John M. House, Leslie C. Hovis, Jr., 
James Samuel Hughes, Stanley J. Humphrey, Robert Angelo Iafrate, James 
Bernard Ingley, James Michael Irwin, Robert Lee Jacobs, Albin Maynard 
James, James Oscar Jarvis, Lee N. Johnson, Robert R. Johnson, Wilbur N. 
Johnson, Carl Chesley Johnson, Ralph Ross Johnston, James E. Jones, 
Walton Hailey Jones, Norman Emmett Jump, Arthur Louis Junker, Henry 
William Kaiser, James L. Keever, John Y. Keith, Jr., Charles Fenwick 
Kendall, Raymond F. Kennedy, Galin Kerr, John E. Kirkpatrick, Andrew F. 
Klacskiewics, Berry L. Knight, James Knowles, Arnold Stuart Knudsen, 
Arthur J. Koch, Theodore Koch, Hazel L. Kolb, Edward J. Kolenski, 
George E. Kondas, Joseph G. Krakow, Walter A. Laarser, Kenneth S. 
Lancaster, Joseph Landers, Charlie M. Langley, William D. Langley, 
Laurance John Langley, Norman L. Langlois, J. Larney, Nick T. Laudas, 
Albert F. Lechewicz, Curtis F. Lee, Allan Marley Lee, Sabatino Donato 
Leo, Albert A. Leuesque, Walter Leuthold, John W. Lewis, Arthur L. 
Linker, Robert P. Llewellyn, Warren E. Lloyd, Vincent J. Luei, Robert 
W. Lultrell, Jr., William N. Lynch, William Wallace Lynch, Paul S. 
Manzone, Elliot G. Mapp, Tony Marcello, Creighton William Marshall, 
Billy B. Martin, Terrance M. Mason, Russell E. Mattson, Vincent D. 
McCall, Lloyd A. McCraney, William J. McCrudden, William R. McKay, Jr., 
George W. McQueen, Joseph A. Mezzanotti, Warren Calvin Milard, Daniel 
Millard, Joseph A. Minieri, Peter F. Monahan, Martin Mondzak, Richard 
L. Montgomery, William B. Morgan, Bennie W. Morris, Sr., Henry A. 
Mueller, John K. Murray, Frank H. Nearing, Norman D. Nipping, Wilbur O. 
Niven, Lee S. Nordigan, Paul Peace Norris, Donald V. Northrop, Donald 
W. O'Shaughnessy, Milton P. Orr, Joseph F. Ott, Jr., John Edward 
Pacheco, Melvin Painter, Paul Gregory Paltakos, Chester Ray Park, Frank 
A. Patalane, James O'Neal Peatross, Abner Hartfield Perry, Henry R. 
Peter, Chester G. Polad, Reginald Smith Porter, John G. Porto, Woodrow 
W. Potter, Albert W. Price, Roy Prince, Nathan Prizer, Theodore F. 
Profant, Paul C. Raddatz, Jr., Louis H. Rauschenberg, Eugene A. Reese, 
Albert Reid, Jr., Lucas Reyes, Guy H. Rhodes, Arthur H. Rich, Zerney W. 
Roberts, Sr., Marvin E. Robinson, Joseph Rus, Claude C. Samples, 
Anthony Santamaria, Thomas F. Sarafield, Arthur A. Saunders, Elmer G. 
Schleif, Donald L. Schnurr, William Schoene, Jr., Joseph Schrippe, 
George Schroeder, Kenneth R. Schwarz, Harry L. Segal, Roland O. Sewing, 
Earl F. Shank, Earnest L. Shelley, Thomas Wayne Shexhan, James L. 
Sikes, Paul S. Smith, Hugh Berkley Snyder, Paul Samuel South, Frank A. 
Spiller, John W. Sprouse, Andrew A. Staske, Brune S. Stee, Alexander A. 
Steiner, Frank D. Stewart, Randolph T. Stickhouse, Charlie W. Strader, 
Jacob Straf, Anthon T. Stricklend, Michael J. Strusinski, Joe H. 
Summerlin, Benar L. Thompson, William Leslie Tiffany, Ben Lyman Titus, 
Henry Gustav Toepfer, Wykliff N. Tolari, Jack E. Tompkins, James Henry 
Torian, Warren E. Traak, Clinton A. Trick, Fernando B. Tucker, James L. 
Turner, Mark C. Turner, William M. Turscanyi, Earl C. Umlsuf, Joseph 
Valenti, Jess Marnell Van Cleave, George Richard Venerable, William E. 
Vogel, John P. Walsh, William D. Warner, Helmuth J. Weber, Herbert Roy 
Weber, Frank William Whitfield, Billy B. Williams, George Willie 
Wilson, Robert W. Winke, Frederick A. Wirth, Joseph Wozny, James R. 
Yates, and Carl L. Young.

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