USS The Sullivans (DD-537), the ship named for the five Irish American brothers who were all killed on November 13, 1942, while serving together in the US Navy during World War II, was commissioned on September 30, 1943.
The Irish American Sullivan brothers - George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert - were the first multiple-person namesake of a ship in US Naval history.
Many families have sacrificed their loved ones in the fight for freedom over the centuries, but few have lost so much in so short a space of time as the Sullivan family from Waterloo, Iowa.
The five brothers died on November 13, 1942, when the ship they were stationed on, the USS Juneau, was struck during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
In the tumultuous days following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, young men (who are part of what is now considered “America’s Greatest Generation”), streamed into recruiting offices across the country, eager to defend their country.
Even amongst the hundreds of new recruits streaming in, one must suspect that the recruiting officer at the Des Moines Naval Recruiting Station would have been taken aback on January 3, 1942, when before him stood five brothers who had come to enlist in the Navy. Their one stipulation was that they would not be split up, but would “stick together.”
The five Sullivan brothers enlisted after Pearl Harbor
George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan were born into an Irish American family of seven children (one sister died in infancy) in Waterloo, Iowa.
News of their friend William Ball’s death aboard the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor in 1941 prompted them to enlist in the Navy. George and Francis Sullivan had only been discharged from the Navy less than a year before, having served together on the USS Hovey.
The Navy discouraged siblings from serving together, but George wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, citing his own and Francis’ recent service and asking if he and his brothers could “stick together.” George Sullivan closed with the phrase, “We will make a team together that can’t be beaten.” The Secretary of the Navy granted the request.
After training, the Sullivans were assigned to the newly christened light cruiser, USS Juneau.
Tragedy struck and the five Sullivan brothers were all lost on the same day
In November of 1942, the US and Japanese forces were locked in the deadly struggle for Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. Shortly after midnight on November 13, one of the most dramatic naval engagements of the war occurred in the strait between Guadalcanal and Florida Island. American and Japanese naval task forces engaged each other at point-blank range.
The Juneau was an early casualty, hit by a Japanese torpedo that buckled her deck, destroying her fire control systems and knocking out power. She limped away from the battle but was able to rejoin the task force at dawn when a Japanese torpedo intended for the USS San Francisco struck the Juneau in her magazine and blew the ship in half.
Because of the risk of further enemy action, the remaining US ships did not search for survivors as the commander of the task force believed that no one could have survived the blast. He did ask that a reconnaissance mission in the area report the ship’s location, which it did, but the message was lost and rescue efforts did not begin for several days.
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Francis, Joseph, and Madison were killed in the initial attack and Albert drowned during the second attack. George was one of 80 men who made it to life rafts, but who would die a few days later from shock, exposure, or sharks. Subsequently, only 10 men from the Juneau were rescued.
The sacrifice and devotion of the Sullivan Brothers touched the hearts of the American people with an outpouring of grief and sympathy. US President Franklin Roosevelt sent a personal letter of condolence to their parents. Pope Pius XII sent a silver religious medal and rosary with his message of regret and the Iowa Senate and House adopted a formal resolution of tribute to the Sullivan brothers.
In continuing the family tradition of duty and devotion, their parents made speaking trips across the nation despite their grief and advancing years. Their sole surviving sibling Genevieve later enlisted in the Waves. Hollywood later remembered them with “The Fighting Sullivans” and they were one of the inspirations for “Saving Private Ryan.”
On March 17, 2018, St. Patrick's Day, the remains of the USS Juneau were discovered.
Sacrifice commemorated with the Navy Destroyer USS The Sullivans (DD-537)
The Sullivan brothers were remembered by the US Navy through the commissioning of USS The Sullivans (DD-537), a Fletcher-class destroyer, in September 1943. This was the first time a US Navy ship was named after more than one individual.
Albert’s son James later served aboard the ship named after his father and uncles. The ship would earn nine battle stars in WWII and in Korea before she was decommissioned in 1965.
USS The Sullivans (DD-537) is now an exhibit at The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in upstate New York.
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS The Sullivans (DD-537) pictured here on October 29, 1962. (Public Domain / US Navy)
Later, on April 19, 1997, a second Navy ship was commissioned in honor of the brothers - USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), an Arleigh Burke-class (Flight I) Aegis-guided missile destroyer. This ship is still in active service.
February 13, 2009: The guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) flies the ship's battle flags during exercises at sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker/ Public Domain)
Both of the USS The Sullivans ships adopted the Sullivan brothers' own motto ”We Stick Together.”
* Originally published in 2015. Updated in May 2024.
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