World War II Database

1. sue price says:
23 Apr 2006 12:22:30 PM

was the ship at pearl harbor my dad was on this ship please let me know

2. W Sofsak says:
24 Mar 2018 02:24:16 PM

Re the comment above:
My father was also on this ship from its commissioning until early 1945. It was not in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. Looking forward to any updates. Thanks.

3. Paige Latta says:
5 Apr 2020 02:06:24 PM

My father, Capt. Bruce Kroger, commanded this ship during the WWII attack on the island of Truk. He told me that the US was concerned that the Japanese on the island would not surrender even after Japan did because they were so well stock piled but they were starving to death. So when they finally surrendered apparently on the Engstrom(which I'm researching now) instead of handing over a ceremonial samari sword they gave my father a bunch of bananas. There is a movie of this which I'm trying to locate that the Engstrom reunions have seen.
I spoke with Sen. Bernie Fowler from Delaware in the past and he was there and confirmed that this did happen and that my father was the commander at the time.

4. paige P Latta says:
1 May 2020 02:26:22 PM

Below is a grainy clip of the Japanese bringing the bananas on board the Engstrom that Sen. Fowler had in his collection at the Calvert Marine Museum in Maryland. Sen. Fowler is from Maryland not Delaware as I incorrectly said. The museum also sent me a 1953 report on the Engstrom and it's history-very interesting. If you want a copy of it Facebook me on messenger with your email and I'll send you the PDF. The clip:
https://youtu.be/gaoVWEspA50

5. Albert DeLay, Jr. says:
24 May 2020 10:11:17 AM

My dad was a Lt. (jg) on the Engstrom at the end of the war. I attended at least one of the reunions in Florida but don't recall the year. He was on the Sumner at Pearl and later on the Argonne. I have been able to locate a lit of related records including ship's rosters but there's a gap between Novemver 1943 and the time he was assigned to the Enstrom. He had to come home to Atlanta in early 1944 to plant the seed that became me but I am missing almost a year of history. Very frustrating.