'It's an amazing story'

'It's an amazing story'

Man's Father's Day gift provides unique first-hand account of WWII naval carrier's travels; document's author sought
Mark Haranas
News Staff Writer
WINCHENDON — Francis O’Connell says he is pleasantly surprised that his Father’s Day gift is now being sought by the U.S. Navy Museum.

“There’s not many first-hand accounts of one of the most famous battles of World War II from this perspective,” said Mr. O’Connell, a Winchendon resident who is a military veteran and lifelong World War II enthusiast. “This appears to be an authentic, rare account that tells the whole story of the battle from the perspective of the USS Kitkun Bay ... I’m really looking to find the person who wrote this, and it could be someone local.”


Mr. O’Connell obtained the 58-page manuscript from the Genesis Store, a downtown Gardner establishment. It documents the operations of the Navy escort carrier USS Kitkun Bay from December 1943 to October 1945, including the naval Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.

“Most of these pages are mundane day-to-day stuff, but that battle caught my eye because it was one of the most famous, largest naval battles in history ... and this perspective has never been seen before,” said Mr. O’Connell, who has collected World War II items for decades.

The battle occurred in October 1944, when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked American ships following the U.S. invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines as part of a strategy to isolate Japan from countries it had occupied.

The Japanese navy mobilized nearly all of its vessels in an attempt to defeat the invasion, but was eventually stopped by Allied forces.

The battle was noteworthy for many reasons. It was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks, taking the lives of several men aboard the Kitkun Bay while the carrier was trying to flee. The vessle survived the attack, but like most ships was taken apart after the war ended.

“It’s an amazing story,” said Mr. O’Connell. “The research on these wars never stops. This document is more than just a bunch of papers ... This is a new look at a famous battle told by the Kitkun Bay.”

After being contacted by officials at the U.S. Navy Museum in Washington, D.C., Mr. O’Connell began searching for clues as to who exactly wrote the document. He believes the author is pictured in a photograph contained within the document.

Mr. O’Connell discovered the document was sold to the Gardner store by a Templeton woman after her husband — Alexander Sawicki — had passed away. Mr. Sawicki was a prisoner of war at the time of the attack, according to Mr. O’Connell, who is searching for anyone with information regarding the document.

“I believe the person who wrote this was on the ship and had access to the logs,” he said.

Mr. O’Connell, whose father Francis was a World War II veteran, also served across the world in sometimes hostile environments, including the Middle East and Somalia. He said every account and story from a soldier is important to the country’s history and should be a learning experience.

“It’s valuable information who wrote it,” said Mr. O’Connell.

(Anyone with information regarding the document can email mharanas@thegardnernews.com.)

Winchendon resident and military veteran Francis O’Connell reviews a World War II document being sought by the U.S. Navy Museum.

This photograph found within a 58-page manuscript outlining the World War II operations of the USS Kitkun Bay is believed to include the document’s author.