This Military Service Page was created/owned by
James Sutton ( Hutton), MM2
to remember
Sutton Jr., James, PO3.
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Contact Info
Last Address Milltown
Date of Passing Nov 29, 2006
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Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Junior Sutton (as he was known among friends) was as a patriotic soul that ever existed. He instilled in me, I believe from the day I was born, to be thankful and respectful to this country, and the flag tha flies over her. He influenced (or at least tried) all around him, with his feelings for the USA. And believe me, he wasn't shy about telling folks how he felt. He retired from Dupont in Louisville, Ky in 1984. He knocked around for a bit, but finally fell into a part time job that he worked part time at until he was 78 yrs old and that was working security at Churchill Downs race track. He enjoyed it very much.
My father of course had a big impact on me throughout his life. I realized later, to what extent he was responsible for the foundation that was laid for me to build on. Dad was proud of his country and patriotic to the core. He spoke often his experiences serving in the Pacific on USS LCS(L)(3) – 10 (Brown Jug 10) close support gun boat in WWII, and how he felt honored to be able to serve his country in a time of need. It was no wonder that when the time for me to step up and serve my country, I did so willingly. And by honoring both my father and myself, I enlisted in the Navy in 1969, just as my father did 25 yrs. before. And I also was honored to do so. It was a different era and a different war. As I try to add and improve on my profile, my goal is to research and build my father’s profile. There is finally more information (after all these years) on the LCS(L)(3)’s that has not been available. But thanks to the National Association of USS LCS(L)(3) 1-130 and some wonderful books likeMighty Midgets at War: The Saga of the LCS(L) Ships from Iwo Jima to Vietnam. Written by Association Historian Robin L. Rielly and Fighting Amphibs The LCS(L) in World War II was written by former Association Historian Donald L. Ball, more and more is coming to light. And navsource .org is a wealth of information. It is the primary source of my info and there is some great history to be found there. The link for the “Mighty 10” call sign “Brown Jug 10” is ……….http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/05/050010.htmhope all find it interesting. My research continues, and will add as I am able.
Other Comments: LCS(L)(3)-1 Class Landing Craft Support (Large)(Mark3):
Laid down, 10 August 1944, at George Lawley & Sons Corp., Neponset, MA.
Launched, 19 August 1944
Commissioned USS LCS(L)(3)-10, 10 September 1944
Decommissioned (date unknown) and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet
Redesignated Landing Ship Support Large, USS LSSL-10, 28 February 1949
Reactivated and transferred (loaned) to France, 15 August 1950, named RFS Javeline (L-9024)
Returned to US custody in 1955
Transferred to Japan, 7 May 1956, renamed JSDFS Hinageshi
Transferred to South Vietnam, 15 September 1956, renamed Le Van Binh (HQ-227)
Struck from the US Naval Register (date unknown)
Final Disposition, sunk in South Vietnam, 2 October 1966 Specifications: Displacement 250 t (lt), 387 t (fl) Length 158' 6" o.a. Beam 23' 3" Draft loaded, 4' 9" fwd, 6' 6" aft Speed 16.5 kts. max at 650 shaft rpm, 14.5kts at 585 shaft rpm Armor 10-lb STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning tower Complement 6 Officers, 65 Enlisted Propulsion 8 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, BHP 1,600, twin variable pitch propellers Endurance 5,500 miles at 12 kts. at 45" pitch (350 tons dspl.) Fuel/Stores
76 tons fuel oil
10 tons fresh water
6 tons lubrication oil
8 tons provisions and stores at full load Fresh Water Capacity Distill up to 1,000 gals. per day Armament
bow gun, one single 3"/50 gun mount
2 twin 40mms
4 single 20mms
4 .50 cal MGs
ten MK7 rocket launchers
Baker, A.D. III. Allied Landing Craft of World War II. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute Press, 1989. 47
Lawley, George & Sons Corporation. Instructions for LCS(L)(3) Class Lawley, George & Sons Corporation. Original Plans of LCS(L)(3)
Specifications Sources
Southern Philippines Campaign (1945)/Battle of Mindanao
From Month/Year
March / 1945
To Month/Year
July / 1945
Description The campaign for Mindanao posed the greatest challenge for the liberating American forces, primarily for three reasons: the island's inhospitable geography; the extended Japanese defenses; and the strength and condition of the Japanese forces, which contained the significantly remaining concentration of combat troops in the Philippines.
Like most of the Philippine Islands and other similar places the U.S. Army operated elsewhere in the Pacific, the geographical conditions of Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines, offered very little inspiration for soldiers who would have to fight there. It boasted a long and irregular coastline, the inland topography generally characterized as rugged and mountainous. Rain forests and numerous crocodile-infested rivers covered the terrain, the rest by either lake, swamp or grassland. These grassland regions—along with dense groves of abacá trees, source of hemp fiber—offer the worst obstacles which limit vision and sapping the strength of soldiers who would have to force their way through.
The few roads in Mindanao further complicated the problem of movement. Two of these, was the generously named Highway 1, which cuts across the southern portion of the island, from just south of Parang on Illana Bay in the west to Digos on the Davao Gulf in the east and then north to Davao. The other, Sayre Highway the main north-south road, starts at Kabacan, midway between Illana Bay and Davao Gulf, then runs north through the mountains of Bukidnon and Macajalar Bay (off Misamis Oriental Province) on the northern coast.
The strongest of the Japanese defenses were concentrated around the Davao Gulf area, which was heavily mined to counter an amphibious landing, and in Davao City, the island's largest and most important city. Artillery and anti-aircraft batteries extensively ringed the coastal shoreline defenses. Believing that the Americans would ultimately attack from Davao Gulf and also anticipating that they would be eventually driven from the city, the Japanese also prepared defensive bunkers inland behind its perimeter where they could retire and regroup, with the intention of prolonging the campaign as much as possible.