Sullivan brothers

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The brothers on board Juneau; from left to right: Joseph, Francis, Albert, Madison and George Sullivan

The Sullivan brothers were five siblings who all died during the same incident in World War II, the sinking of the light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52), the vessel on which they all served.

The Sullivans were natives of Waterloo, Iowa. They were:

George Thomas Sullivan, 27 (born 14 December 1914), Gunner's Mate Second Class (George had been previously discharged in May 1941 as Gunner's Mate Third Class)
Francis "Frank" Henry Sullivan, 26 (born 18 February 1916), Coxswain (Frank had been previously discharged in May 1941 as Seaman First Class)
Joseph "Joe" Eugene Sullivan, 24 (born 28 August 1918), Seaman Second Class
Madison "Matt" Abel Sullivan, 23 (born 8 November 1919), Seaman Second Class
Albert "Al" Leo Sullivan, 20 (born 8 July 1922), Seaman Second Class

1 History
2 Legacy
3 Further reading
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The Sullivans enlisted on January 3, 1942 with the stipulation that they serve together. The Navy had a policy of separating siblings, but this was not strictly enforced. George and Frank had served in the Navy before, but their brothers had not.

The Juneau fought in a number of naval engagements during the months-long Battle of Guadalcanal. On November 13, 1942, during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the Juneau was struck by a torpedo and had to withdraw. Later that day, as it was leaving the Solomon Islands' area, the Juneau was struck again, this time from a torpedo from Japanese submarine I-26. The ship quickly sank and rescue efforts were not forthcoming due to communication and coordination problems. Eight days later ten survivors were retrieved from the water. The survivors reported that Frank, Joe, and Matt died instantly, Al drowned the next day, and George survived for four or five days.

The brothers' parents were notified of their deaths on January 12, 1943. The brothers left a sister, Genevieve. Albert was survived by a wife and son. Later, the mother of the brothers participated in the launching of a destroyer The Sullivans, named after her sons.^[1]

[edit] Legacy

As a direct result of the Sullivans' deaths, the U.S. War Department adopted the Sole Survivor Policy.

A museum wing is being built in honor of their service in WWII. The museum is located in downtown Waterloo, IA, their hometown. Completion date is 2008.

The Navy named two destroyers The Sullivans to honor the brothers: The Sullivans (DDG-68) and The Sullivans (DD-537). These were the first American navy ships ever to be named after more than one person. The motto for both ships was the very motto of the Sullivan brothers, "We stick together."

Al Sullivan's son, James, served on board the first USS The Sullivans. His grandmother christened the first ship. The second USS The Sullivans was christened by Al's granddaughter Kelly Ann Sullivan Loughren.

Thomas and Alleta Sullivan toured the country raising war bonds and asked that none of their sons died in vain. However the grief overwhelmed Thomas and he died in 1947 a broken man.^{[citation needed]}

Genevieve, one of their sisters, served in the WAVES. She was the girlfriend of Bill Ball, whose death at Pearl Harbor prompted her brothers to join the Navy to avenge him.

The brothers' story was filmed as the 1944 movie The Sullivans (later renamed The Fighting Sullivans) and inspired, at least in part, the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan.^[2]

One of the biggest hits by the band Caroline's Spine was "Sullivan", a song about the grief of the mother of the Sullivan brothers.

The brothers' hometown of Waterloo, Iowa has a convention center named "The Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center"[1], and the town also renamed a street and set aside a public park in their honor. The park is the location of their childhood home.

The Sullivans were not the only brother sailors on board the ship. There were at least thirty pairs of brothers including the four Rogers brothers from New Haven, Connecticut. Before the ill-fated Savo Island operation two of the Rogers were transferred to other commands. According to those who survived, had the ship returned to port safely at least two Sullivans would have also transferred.^{[citation needed]}