Bob Holden Shipmate of the Month

                                                                                                           June 2011

L-R Morgan Dudley(Commanding Officer Station Sand key) Bob Holden

Don Hoge, Jimmy Ryder,Max Garrison, Larry O'Brien

                                                                                                         

              

Bob Holden was born July 17, 1925 in Syracuse NY.  He grew up in Pennsylvania and enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1943 at age 17.  He attended boot camp in San Diego and infantry training at Camp Pendleton.  After completing gunnery school,  he was transferred to Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, and then on to Ulithi in the Western Caroline Islands where he joined the crew of the Light Cruiser, USS Santa Fe  (CL-60) as an anti-aircraft gunner.  The Santa Fe  was part of Cruiser Division 13 with the fast carrier task forces which spearheaded the Allied advance across the Pacific.  From June 1944 to December 1945, the Santa Fe  with Bob aboard, supported carrier battle groups Hornet, Essex, Yorktown, and Hancock, and participated in strikes and engagements on Iwo Jima, Guam, Rota, Yap, Peleliu, Mindanao, Saipan, Okinawa, Luzon, Mindoro, and Formosa.  On the 5th of November 1944, Santa Fe experienced its first kamikaze attack near Manila during the allied invasion of the Philippines; an exciting day for a Marine anti-aircraft gunner.  This may have been the day that Bob shot down the signal flags of the Santa Fe.

Santa Fe was later detached to provide direct gunfire support to Marines on Iwo Jima where she silenced Japanese gun batteries on Mt. Suribachi.  She then joined the Hancock group for attacks on Tokyo, Kyushu, Kure, and Kobe.  During these attacks the carrier Franklin was hit by two bombs setting off immense explosions and fires.  Santa Fe maneuvered alongside and despite exploding ammunition, helped fight fires and rescued 833 survivors.  She then escorted Franklin to Ulithi and eventually to Pearl Harbor for repairs.  Santa Fe received the Navy Unit Commendation for her part in the salvage of the Franklin.  After some repairs to the Santa Fe she joined the carrier Antietam for the attack on Wake Island which was cancelled due to the surrender of the Japanese.  Santa Fe was then detailed to assist with the occupation of Japan at Okinawa, Honshu, and Hokkaido.  Santa Fe earned 13 battle stars for enemy engagements during WWII.  Bob was detached from Santa Fe in San Pedro, CA in December of 1945 and was discharged from the Marine Corps in Mechanicsburg, PA on March 1, 1946.  For his wartime service, Corporal Holden earned the Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation, American Campaign Medal, Asian-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Medal.

            In April of 1947, he married Betty Hirnisey.  They celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary this year.

            He enrolled at Penn State University in 1947 and graduated in 1950. Bob played in the 1947 Cotton Bowl as a tight end against SMU.  He then  began a career in heavy equipment operation, maintenance, and sales which took him and Betty and a growing family to Philadelphia PA, L.B. Smith Construction Equipment in Syracuse NY, Lorraine Crane Co. in Lorraine OH, and Pettibone Crane in Savannah GA where he was in charge of crane sales and service throughout the Southeastern United States.  Bob and Betty have five children.

            He retired from paid employment in 1995 and joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary on Virginia’s Easter Shore.  He was soon Flotilla Commander of Flotilla 054-12-2 and a regular at CG Station Parramore Beach where he crewed on the 55’ and 22’ boats.  During periods of sustained heavy operations, he often manned the station alone.  While there, he embarked RADM Thad Allen for a tour of CG facilities in the Easter shore area and also represented 5th District, Southern Region, in the annual Auxiliary International SAR Competition.

            Bob and Betty moved to Clearwater in 2002 and joined Flotilla 11-10 in Dunedin.  He quickly assumed the tasks of Flotilla operations officer, coxswain, vessel examiner, and instructor.   He has been a mentor, advisor, and friend to everyone in the Flotilla.

                                                            The link below will take you to a history of the USS Santa Fe

                                                                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Santa_Fe_(CL-60)

                                                                      Our sincere thanks to Don Hoge for putting this Bio of Bob Holden together...