She was hit by a kamikaze on Dec. 7 1944 on the morning of 7 December, three years to the day of Pearl Habor. She was abandoned and then sunk by gunfire by the desroyer USS O'Brien.
The captain of the O'Brien? William W. Outerbridge who was the captain of the Ward on Dec. 7th 1941.
I thought P.E.T.A. meant People Eating Tasty Animals
I never realized that but someone must have been looking out for that captain and any crew that was also a crew member back at Pearl. Although the ship was lost near the end of the war they were still some lucky folks aboard that ship considering.
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My favorite: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Odd coincidences happen like that in wartime.
Another weird tale is that of the Submarines Squalus and Sculpin.
Before the war in 1939 USS Squalus was performing a test dive when the Main Induction valve bringing air for the Diesel engine room failed to close. The after part of the sub flooded taking her right to the bottom. She was found by her sister submarine, USS Sculpin, and a major rescue effort saved the lives of those that survived the initial sinking.
Squalus was salvaged, refitted, and recommissioned with a New name, USS Sailfish.
On her 10th war patrol in late 1943, USS Sailfish encountered the Japanese carrier, Chuyo.
3 torpedoes sent Chuyo to the bottom of the pacific, taking with her, unknown to Sailfish, 20 of the 21 American Prisoners of War aboard her which were from the recently sunk USS Sculpin, the same submarine that found sailfish when she was sunk in 1939,
I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!
Another odd coincidence, or at least an unusual story was a man overboard story on the USS Washington while she was operating in the North Atlantic. The Washington was operating with the USS Wasp and several other ships. She was enroute to the UK to assist if the Tirpitz decided to make a foray while much of the Home Fleet was participating in operation Ironclad.
During the trip, the lookout thought he saw a man fall overboard. They did the man overboard muster, counted everyone on the ship, and all were accounted for. When they tried to find the Admiral to report regarding the man overboard, he was not found. Turned out it was the admiral who had fallen overboard, possible due to a large wave or maybe he had a heart attack. But his body was never recovered.