Woodring "Woody" Fryer

Petty Officer 2nd Class - Radioman - U.S. Navy

Reserves 1943 -1945

World War II

U.S. - European Theater (Atlantic Ocean & Mediterranean Sea - Panama Canal - Pacific Theater (Pacific Ocean) - Philippine Islands 

SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES

Woody was in the original crew of the Destroyer Escort U.S.S. Ahrens - assigned to killer group with four DE's and an aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Block Island which was the only aircraft carrier that was lost in the Atlantic Ocean in June 1944.

On his first Atlantic crossing a German submarine surfaced next to the carrier, U.S.S. Block Island.  Woody's sister destroyer, the U.S.S. Buckley made radar contact and rammed the sub at the conning tower, cutting it in two.  Germans jumped aboard the Buckley and hand to hand combat resulted with 38 Germans captured.  Later received eight POWs aboard our ship.  On the return voyage from Casablanca, a German sub torpedoed the carrier Block Island and the U.S.S. Barr.  The Ahrens rescued more than 500 of the Block Island crew.  The ship's soundmen tracked the sub under the ship and another DE, the U.S.S. Paine made contact and sank the German Sub.

Through the Panama Canal in December 1944 and assigned to Pacific 7th Fleet

Woody was injured at Luzon Bay, Philippines on 3/15/1944 and evacuated on the hospital ship U.S.S. Refuge, then to California for rehabilitation.

Woody lived in Sutton Walk.

 

Woody Fryer passed away at Lexington on December 8, 2004 and is buried in Kentucky. 

 

 

 

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