USS Harwood DD-861
a US Navy destroyer

The USS Harwood was named after Commander Bruce Lawrence Harwood who gave his life while leading a fire fighting crew and saving the lives of Shipmates aboard the aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL 23) after she was mortally wounded by a 500 pound bomb during the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea on 24 October 1944.

Design (c) 1998 USS Harwood Shipmates organization

Emblem - USS Harwood DD-861 - Approx. 5" x 2 1/2" This embossed emblem was furnished
courtesy of the USS Harwood Reunion organization of Shipmates and is worn on members'caps.

Shipmates' Organization

A 2008 REUNION is scheduled for 3-7 September 2008 in Washington, DC. Contact Tony Jandron for details (Tony636@juno.com).

Former USS Harwood crew members have organized under the name of "USS Harwood Reunion" and they have held several successful reunions.

The organization has a list of 2,305 Shipmates' names, but only 542 addresses and 112 e-mail addresses. They ask former crew members to send email and snail mail address updates to: USS Harwood Reunion % Tony Jandron (tony636@juno.com)

Naval History Resources

- U.S. Navy Memorial Log: PO Box 96570, Washington, DC 20077 202.737.2300 #730
- Tin Can Sailors % Tom Peltin (dd719@inxpress.net)
- US Naval Institute, 118 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21402-5035
- Marine Photos: a source of ship photos, emblems, etc., including a USS Harwood postcard
-- Email: marine@adnc.com; Web: http://www.marinephotos.com/
-- (619)460-5741, Fax(619)589-1593; PO Box 425, Spring Valley, Ca. 91976
- US Navy official web site: http://www.navy.mil/

Annotated Bibliography

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (3)1968, p.267,
- - Naval Historical Center, Dept. of the Navy, Washington. Government Printing Office
- - Authors (1991 Ed.) James Mooney and Naval Historical Center.

Janes Fighting Ships, 1950-51, p.434; 1953-54, p.401; 1961-62, p.339

Flat-tops and Fledglings: A History of American Aircraft Carriers;
- Gareth L. Pawlowski; 1971 Castle Books, NY [out of print, but Amazon.com will try to obtain it through its net of used book stores.]
- Very well written and comprehensive, this book presents the stories and photos of America's carriers from the USS Langley (CV-1), converted from a 1911 collier and commissioned as an aircraft carrier in 1922, to the keel laying of the nuclear powered USS Chester W. Nimitz CVA (N)-68 in 1968. The book also includes photos of most of the carrier based aircraft.
- One chapter of the book chronicles the final hours of the USS Princeton CV-23 during which Commander Bruce Harwood lost his life.

Destroyer books: Several books are described at: http://www.novagate.com/~schoonerman/book/dest.htm
Including:Sumner-Gearing-Class Destroyers: Their Design, Weapons, and Equipment by Robert F. Sumrall [Hardcover; 289 pages; Published by United States Naval Inst.; July 1,1995; ISBN: 1557507864]

Acknowledgements

This is a "living" web site that will continue to grow as information is received. From the very beginning, former personnel of the USS Harwood and member's of Bruce Harwood's family have generously contributed information and materials. Contributors include (in alphabetical order):

Contributing Individuals
Richard W. Armstrong [photos and documents]
Bob Beers (rnbeers@99main.com)[photo and information]
Richard G. Bullack [photo and commissioning program]
Capt. Jim Burpo, USN(Ret.) (suedjimb@aol.com)
Joan Louise Gentry Frasco (niece of B.L. Harwood) [materials and information]
Barbara Harwood Gentry Howell (sister to B.L. Harwood)[materials and information]
Charles C. Hotaling Jr. (bosun3c861)
Mort Hyman (morth@continet.com) [information and photos]
Tony Jandron (tony636@juno.com) [assistance, contacts, information, materials]
Steve Laroe (s.laroe@genie.geis.com)
Martin Lesny [information and air navigation scarf]
James C. Marshall [photos]
Cdr. Robert Neyman (2nd USS Harwood CO) [cruise information]
Tom Peltin (dd719@inxpress.net)
Joe Pusateri [information and photos]
Bob Snyder (bsnyder@isoa.net) [memoirs, cruise book and ship's roster updates]
Martin Stowe (cousin of B.L. Harwood) [materials and information]
Paul R. Yarnall at NavSource [photo research]

Contributing Organizations:
USS Harwood Reunion % Tony Jandron (tony636@juno.com)
NavSource Naval History (NavSource.Org/Archives/DD) [photos of the USS Harwood]
Tin Can Sailors % Tom Peltin (dd719@inxpress.net)

Author's Note:

This is an unofficial web site commemorating Commander Bruce Harwood, the USS Harwood (DD-861) and all of the Shipmates who served on her. It also serves as a contact point for USS Harwood Shipmates, reunion information, etc. The organization's official web site is www.harwood851.org My intent is to also make this an educational site where children of all ages can learn about destroyers and what it might have been like to serve and live on one. I am seeking sea stories, unusual photos of the ships interior and deck, drawings, paintings and crafts, 8mm and 16mm movies, diagrams of the Gearing Class destroyers, etc. Contributed Sea Stories should be reasonably short, but contain elements of humor, adventure, history, etc. that would trigger memories in other Shipmates and enrich the educational experience of children who visit this web site. All photos will be returned after scanning. If photos are already scanned, please e-mail high density scans to the address below. Film footage (8 mm or 16 mm) will be transferred to video and returned to the owner with a video copy.

Copyrights to all materials submitted will remain with the original owners, and used on this site only with the copyright owners' written permission. Please do not submit any materials of value without prior e-mail contact for shipping instructions. Also, please include correct authorship/source information with your submissions and permission to use the material, if it is yours to give. Otherwise, I will attempt to obtain permission from the original source/author.

Any material submitted for inclusion on the web site may be edited for reasons of space availability, appropriateness or format. I will attempt to scan and post materials in as timely a manner as possible, but the building of the site is a time intensive process and it may take some time to complete the scanning and inclusion of materials on the web site.

I would welcome hearing from individuals who might have spare web server space that could be used, if necessary, to house relevant photos or film clips for seamless linkage to this web site. If you already have a closely related web site, I would welcome the opportunity to establish mutual linkage between the sites. I will be grateful for e-mailed corrections to the information presented. Please also include citation information for corrections. Suggestions for links to other related sites will also be welcome.

Thank you,

Gerald Harwood
(a cousin of Bruce Harwood who, as a child, attended the Launching and Commissioning Ceremonies of the USS Harwood)

Scott's site is detailed and well researched, containing: history, statistics, photos, links to former crew and to naval and many martime sites.

The two USS Harwood web sites have been and continue to be developed independently, but there is a degree of parallel content overlap. Scott and I have agreed to provide easily accessed reciprocal links between the two sites. You can switch to Scott's site from any page on this site by clicking the brass seal link image (left). Your back arrow or the plaque link image (right) will return you to this site.

These images are for illustration, but live links may be found below.

The Destroyer Photo Index - includes 2 photos of USS Harwood
http://NavSource.Org/DD/Archives/

A web site dedicated to a USS Harwood sister ship, the USS Norris (DD-859) may be found at:
http://www.ussnorris.homestead.com

A Brief History of U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/cv-hist2b.html