Attu War Stories: Wilbur Green's 10th ERBS Scrapbook

The Disney Studios cobbled up this design, and we painted plywood disks about 18" diameter for each side of the pilothouse on all our boats, although we used blue tints instead of green as the North Pacific waters are NOT tropical, if you'll recall The year was 1942. I was living in Ketchikan, AK. at the time, and WWII was in full swing. I made the decision to enlist in the 924th Boat Squadron. We received our training at the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) camp located at Ward Cove, AK. I received additional training aboard the "Chacke," a mail boat running between Ketchikan and Annette Island. The next stage of training involved several of the enlistees being sent to an Air Force Base located at Gulf Port, Mississippi to receive training in Celestial Navigation. Several months later we were sent to Treasure Island, located near San Francisco Bay, for gunnery training. We were finally billeted at Steven's Boat Yard, Stockton, CA. where the 104 footers were being built. Our objective here was to become familiar with the construction of the ships. When we took delivery of P-145 I was assigned as the Executive Officer, with the rank of Staff Sergeant. We proceeded all the way to Chernofk harbor on Unalaska Island, located just across from Umnak Island. It was from that duty station that the P-145 Proceeded to the B-24D crash site on Herbert Island, located in the Islands of the Four Mountains. CWO Mike Hatton was the Skipper of the P-145 (Mike was a former Bristol Bay Alaska Fisherman when sail was the only legal means of propulsion when fishing that area in the 1930's). Our Chief Engineer Eckly Guerin, and the first Mate Jim Hartley went ashore in a dingy to retrieve the survivors (see "Loss of 42-40080"). Both men received the Soldier's Medal for their efforts. We then returned to base where the survivors and the body of the Pilot, 1st Lt. James H. Jones, was turned over to the Doctors for their checkup. The P-145 also provided support for outpost missions in the area. Shortly thereafter part of the crew was sent to Los Angeles, CA ( a Long Beach Shipyard) to man five new 85-foot crash boats and transport them all the way to ATTU. I was fortunate to have been chosen to be the skipper of one of them. I was commissioned WO/JG as Executive Officer on the P-145, and then CWO Skipper on the P-510 when we arrived at ATTU. We were assigned a station off Alexei Point in Massacre Bay, Attu, Aleutian Islands. At one Point we went through an Air Raid by the Japs but they missed every ship in the harbor. They had lost their touch, not to mention the element of surprise, since Pearl Harbor. At one point we were tied up at the dock in Casco Cove when a B-25 crashed on take off. We tried to retrieve any survivors, but none were found. All we found were some body parts. One of our Radio Operators went into shock as a result of this mission and had to be taken to the base hospital. We never saw him again. He was sent to the States for rehabilitation, and is doing fine to date. According to two rescued crewmen at a recent reunion, the P-510 picked them up off the island after a return flight over the Jap Islands. I do not recall the details but neither do several others now in their late seventies and early 80 's. Wilbur (Bill) Green [Bill Green passed away on the 14th of October, 2014, in Fairbanks, AK at age 93. Like his brother’s in arms…Bill had a very interesting personal history as well. Click HERE to view his obituary and life’s story]

Originally published 22 June 2001

L-R: P-512 and P-510 on their way to Alaska, 1943. [Wilbur Green]

#1. L-R: P-512 and P-510 on their way to Alaska, 1943.

L-R: Wilbur "Bill" Green, Axel Nelson, and William "Bill" Johnson on the P-510, 1943. [Wibur Green]

#2. L-R: Wilbur "Bill" Green, Axel Nelson, and William "Bill" Johnson on the P-510, 1943.

At Dutch Harbor, AK refueling. Around 1942-1943. [Wilbur Green]

#3. At Dutch Harbor, AK refueling. Around 1942-1943.

General Johnson (L) and CWO Wilbur Green, skipper of the P-510 in Adak, AK. [Wilbur Green]

#5. General Johnson (L) and CWO Wilbur Green, skipper of the P-510 in Adak, AK.

Here we are at Kodiak on our way down the Aleutian chain.

#4. Here we are at Kodiak on our way down the Aleutian chain.

P-510 at Duty Station located on the west side of Adak. [Wilbur Green]

#6. P-510 at Duty Station located on the west side of Adak.

P-510 located in Bay Of Islands, Alaska, 1944. [Wilbur Green]

#7. P-510 located in Bay Of Islands, Alaska, 1944.

P-510 on standby off Attu Island, Alaska, 1945. [Wilbur Green]

#8. P-510 on standby off Attu Island, Alaska, 1945.

Here's a group of fly boys getting their moral boosted by visiting our boats, and knowing that we were there should they ever need our service. [Wilbur Green]

#9. Here's a group of fly boys getting their moral boosted by visiting our boats, and knowing that we were there should they ever need our service. I don't know the names of the guys, but that's me front row center with no cap on. If anybody knows who these guys are, please get in touch with either myself or this web site's web master.

Here's a bunch of the old crew members at our re-union. Our boats look better today than we do! This was also taken at Newport Beach, CA. [Wilbur Green]

#11. Here's a bunch of the old crew members at our re-union. Our boats look better today than we do! This was also taken at Newport Beach, CA.

Wilbur Green, waving the flag, and Bob Nesmith (left) attending 10th ERBS reunion, Newport Beach, CA. [Wilbur Green]

#10. That's me, Wilbur Green, on the right waving the flag, and Bob Nesmith on the left while attending the 10th ERBS reunion at Newport Beach, CA near Los Angeles on the 11th of November, 2000.

The Army Air Corps wanted the service at any air base from which they would be operating, from the Arctic to the Tropics and in foreign countries if necessary. The US Navy had argued that they were already mobilizing their units for war and the USCG advised that they were willing to assist, but only in areas that they were then operating and supporting. Rescue operations were assigned to the Water Transport Division (ATC) of the Army Quartermaster Corps. The 10th ERBS was organized and based in Alaska. They patrolled and performed rescue operations from Ketchikan, through the Aleutian Chain, to the Kuril Islands.

Wilbur Green’s 10th ERBS Scrapbook by Wilbur Green