How a Mess Cook Saved Dozens of Sailors from Shark Infested Waters Off the Coast of Guadalcanal

On the night of September 5, 1942, the USS Gregory (APD-3), a converted destroyer turned high-speed transport, was caught in a deadly ambush near Guadalcanal. The ship had been supporting U.S. Marine forces, ferrying troops and supplies, when it was mistaken for a larger threat by a group of Japanese destroyers. Outgunned and unable to escape, Gregory was hammered by shellfire, set ablaze, and ultimately sank in Ironbottom Sound.

Lieutenant Commander Harry F. Bauer, refusing to abandon his men, fought to the end and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. As the surviving crew struggled in the water, Mess Attendant Charles J. French emerged as an unlikely hero, tying a rope around his waist and towing wounded shipmates for hours through shark-infested waters to safety. Against overwhelming odds, he kept them together until they were finally rescued. Join us as we uncover this harrowing tale of sacrifice, heroism, and the unbreakable spirit of the USS Gregory’s crew.

To discuss this story is today’s guest Carole Avriett, author of “Midnight in Ironbottom Sound: The Harrowing WWII Story of Heroism in the Shark-Infested Waters of Guadalcanal.”

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