[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 4202-4203]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            DON'T SINK THE SHIP--A TALE OF TWO WWII BUDDIES

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 2014

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, throughout life, people come and go. 
Some stay for a lifetime. Some you might wonder how, out of the 
billions of people in the world, you end up next to them again after 90 
years with everything from a war and life's triumphs in between. It's a 
rare occurrence, but the life story of two World War II veterans right 
here in Houston, Texas.
  Hymie Abramson and Milton ``Mittie'' Tartakov celebrated birthdays 
together for years. They were both born on June 6th, 1924, at St. 
Joseph's Hospital in Houston. The coincidence of their birth date and 
place are only the beginning of their life story. Twelve years later, 
Mittie and Hymie found each other again on the San Jacinto High School 
baseball field. And that's where their true story began.
  Mittie was a talented middle infielder and Hymie a utility 
outfielder. They stuck together through all the games, practices, and 
championships. Whatever event it was, they stuck by each other. Little 
did they know, that was only preparing them for what was to come. 
Shortly after graduating high school, Mittie and Hymie received their 
draft cards. Though it wasn't quite a surprise given the demand in 
WWII, going off to war is never easy to process. Questions and doubts, 
rightfully so, arose, and they had each other to help answer them. The 
first question became Army versus Navy, with many to follow. Mittie's 
older brother served in the Navy and Hymie's older brothers served in 
the Army. But they decided the U.S. Navy was for them. When Hymie 
questioned Mittie about how happy he was with his decision to join the 
Navy over the Army, he grinned and said, ``We're still alive, aren't 
we?'' That became their life motto.
  During a conversation with Mittie, he smirked and said, ``We were two 
green-faced kids fresh out of high-school, who thought we were going to 
San Diego for boot camp where there would be beaches, sun and girls. So 
we gathered what little money we had and, with the shirts on our back, 
planned for our travels. But the Navy had other plans, in fact, we were 
sent to Chicago, in the dead of winter, to train on Lake Michigan.'' 
The two battled the brutal winter on Lake Michigan while preparing for 
War, having never been further from Houston than Lubbock. This was the 
first of many realities they would face during their service.
  After training together, both Hymie and Mittie were commissioned as 
Aviation Machinist Mates for the same ship the USS Savo Island--an 
escort carrier departing from the Kaiser Shipyard in Astoria, Oregon, 
heading for the South Pacific. During this time, both men learned a 
lot. The USS Savo Island was nicknamed a ``jeep carrier'' because of 
the relatively small size of the aircraft carrier. It held 40 planes, 
15 bombers called TBM Avengers, and 25 fighter planes. The Avengers 
were torpedo bombers targeting enemy surface ships. They had internal 
fuel tanks in the wings for additional fuel storage that would allow 
them to travel farther distances. Additionally, they had Yehudi lights 
which were used to match the brightness of the sky creating counter-
illumination camouflage. The camouflage would allow them to get closer 
to the enemy without being seen until they were within the 3,000 yard 
range. Quite a different life from the baseball field where they first 
``officially'' met.
  The journey was unpredictable for both of the men who, at this point, 
were basically brothers. Every day was different. One day, about 6 
months into deployment, Mittie and Hymie were playing football. Given 
their love for sports, it was their way of unwinding but maybe not on 
this day. During a casual game of football, Hymie went for a pass and 
fell off the flight deck, causing him to break his leg. No break is a 
good break but the outcome for him wasn't exactly what he had hoped 
for. There was no other option but for him to be taken to the hospital 
on Tulagi Island,The two men were separated at this moment for several 
years.
  The days weren't easy. Nights were warm and days registered around 
120 degrees with the sun beaming down on the men. On those

[[Page 4203]]

kinds of nights, Mittie would seek refuge from what felt like an 
inferno by sleeping on the flight deck instead of down below in the 
bunks. Most of the nights anyway, men would rarely sleep through the 
night as they always had to be on-guard: submarine attacks and bombers 
were a frequent occurrence. There was a critical shortage of tail-
gunners during this time. The tail-gunner position was the most 
dangerous on the bombers. Enemy aircrafts targeted this position often, 
as it was the most vulnerable on the plane. But Mittie volunteered for 
the position as a tail gunner. Courtesy of the TBM's camouflage, it was 
the most forward plane of the squadron, closest to the enemy and 
furthest from the ship. While Mittie was working as a tail-gunner down 
range, Hymie regained his health and was sent stateside to continue 
work as an aviation machinist for the remainder of the War.
  The USS Savo Island made a remarkable journey, fighting in seven 
invasions. The last combat mission they fought was in Okinawa, where 
the ship's radar tower was hit by a kamikaze. From there, the ship 
sailed to Guam, and there it was repaired before traveling to Alaska 
for refuge. It was off the shores of Alaska when Mittie was finally 
told the great news: Victory over Japan. The USS Savo Island continued 
its voyage for port at Pearl Harbor. While in Hawaii, the Navy treated 
the men to a 6 month R and R before heading back home. But as far as 
Mittie was concerned, Houston, Texas, sounded more like paradise than 
Hawaii. Before he finally returned home, the USS Savo Island earned the 
Presidential Unit Citation--the highest honor a ship can earn. That 
marked the day Mittie was permitted to wear the ribbon with ``the 
star'' on his uniform.
  In 1946, Mittie and Hymie were both discharged at Camp Wallace in 
Galveston, Texas. Shortly after being discharged, the two veterans 
joined A-Jayes, a young mens social club. Mittie went on to attend 
college at the University of Houston. Upon graduation, he began working 
for a lumber yard, of which he eventually took ownership. He renamed it 
Milton's Lumber and Building Co. It was a success for 53 years.
  Hymie owned Metropolitan Furniture with his brothers, where he worked 
on developing advertisements, design and even helped with the 
construction of the building. Despite everything Hymie and Mittie had 
in common throughout life, they chose different career paths. But that 
didn't come between them in any way. Both businesses were down the 
street from each other on Jensen Drive, and the best friends managed to 
eat lunch together almost every day.
  The year 1953 would change both Hymie and Mittie's lives. It was the 
year they both met their wives, Blanch and Sally. These two women not 
only brought the two men closer but the two couples became best of 
friends. They did everything together from bowling leagues every week 
to traveling the country.
  Five years ago, Hymie and his wife, Blanch, moved to the Hampton Post 
Oak. Sure enough, 2 years later, Blanch convinced Mittie to move there 
as well. Up until yesterday, Mittie and Hymie spent their days playing 
Texas Hold'em with their friends at The Hampton on Post Oak.
  On March 10, 2014, Mittie went to be with the Lord. We are forever 
indebted to men like Mittie and Hymie for their service to America. 
They are the rare, special breed that has shaped our country into the 
great Nation we are today. They are the Greatest Generation.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________