#113

Yesterday I told you I had a great Irish American post coming your way. Here it is.

George, Frank, Red, Matt & Al Sullivan were Irish American brothers, born in Waterloo, Iowa. They grew up in a house with their parents, sister, and grandmother. They lived the American life, until December 7, 1941. That day, like so many Americans, they listened to the devastating news of Pearl Harbor's attack. And that very night, the five brothers decided to enlist in the Navy.

They were determined to serve together, or not serve at all. These five brothers vowed to not separate. And they didn't, even though they had to take the fight all thee way to D.C. and the Navy Department.

But, they stuck together.

After training, they were assigned to the USS Juneau. On Thursday, November 12, 1942, near Guadalcanal, the USS Juneau was struck by the Japanese. The ship was essentially blown to pieces. By some miracle, there were survivors, among them the oldest Sullivan, George.

For four days, the survivors clung to one another and floating debris. For four days, George called out, searching for his brothers. He finally found them on November 16, 1942.

There were only ten survivors from the USS Juneau. Many sons, brothers, husbands were lost. The Sullivan family lost five sons, five brothers.

The Sullivan family continued to support the war effort. Genevieve, the only girl in a house with five brothers, later enlisted in the Navy herself. And in 1995, a destroyer was christened USS The Sullivans.

Really, if you want a few poster boys for the Irish Americans, or for heroism, or for brotherly love... The Sullivan brothers represent it all, with ease. Please, do your own digging in to their tales. There are a ton of websites that will give you more information than I did. And it is all so fascinating.

Oh, and my day? It was great. We finally filed our amendment to our 2008 taxes, so we have that to look forward to. The girls and I went to playgroup, where we had a blast. And then we went to the park with three of our favorite people. The sun was shining, we were having fun, and before we knew it we had spent 3 hours at the park! It was a great day.