Article about: A named Navy jacket that I’ve had for many years but without much research. The Navy dinner dress white was that of a WW2 vet although the jacket was not tailored until the 1950s so I’ve
A named Navy jacket that I’ve had for many years but without much research. The Navy dinner dress white was that of a WW2 vet although the jacket was not tailored until the 1950s so I’ve classified it as post war.
It has a 5-piece medal bar pinned to the lapel but it is also devoid of the shoulder boards. The medals in order are; the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign with two service stars, WW2 Victory Medal, China Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. There is a tailor label of Johnson Tailors, Hong Kong is sewn on the inner left side. This was the premier dress maker in Hong Kong for many decades. The three locations listed includes that on Nathan Rd in Kowloon that was not opened until 1953. When this was manufactured I do not know but it was tailored after 1953. To the right inside is the owner’s name A.D. Haigh sewn in.
I believe this belonged to LtCdr. Alfred Douglas Haigh Jr. (1924-2007). This is not confirmed; however, I have seen minimal evidence on ancestry that would point to someone else. A NARA request might not reveal much with the only information being A.D. Haigh, an officer in the USN. Alfred Haigh was in the Navy during WW2, Korea, and Vietnam following in the footsteps of his father, Alfred Douglas Haigh Sr., who was also a Naval officer. He passed away in 2007 and was buried at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.
This is only my long standing speculation to the owner’s identity.
Regards, Ben
I was finally able to do some research into Alfred Douglas Haigh Jr. although still no information about his father, Alfred Douglas Haigh Sr., who I suspect was a Navy veteran of WW1 and WW2.
Alfred Douglas Haigh Jr. was born 10 April 1924 in Johnston, Rhode Island. He registered from Esmond, Rhode Island once he turned 18. He was working for the grocery giant Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P). His enlistment date was 25 January 1943. He first appears in a record dated 19 October 1943 from the U.S.S. LCI (L) 482. Landing Craft Infantry (Large) 482 had sailed from Pier 42 North River New York to Little Creek, Virginia. Alfred is listed as a Quartermaster 3rd Class at this time. Quartermaster 3rd Class Haigh Jr. is then seen in the 14 January 1944 commisioning report of the U.S.S. LCI (L) 728. At some time they sailed to the Pacific with LCI Flotilla Three.
It was renamed the U.S.S. LCI (G) 728 on 15 June 1944. The gunship version heavily upgraded the craft from five single 20mm guns and two .50 cals to a formidable two 40mm AA mounts, four 20mm AA mounts, six .50 cal guns, and ten MK7 rocket launchers. 728 was in service around the Palau Islands 6 September-14 October 1944. It was apart of Group 39 that consisted of nine landing craft under LCDR E.L. Yates preparing for the landing at Peleliu. LCI (G) 728 and 404, and the U.S.S. Fullam (DD-474) patrolled the shoreline of Peleliu two days before the invasion to recon enemy positions. All three ships exchanged fire with Japanese ground forces on both days while very close to the shore. 728 was in Unit Baker under command of Commander John H. Morrill. The landing crafts sent rocket barrages to soften the Peleliu shore before the LVT’s began the Marine assault.
On D-Day at Angaur, the LCI of Unit Baker commenced a close-in rocket salvo and “grass-cutter” bombardment (700 yards from shore) before dropping the 321st Infantry Regiment on Blue Beach at Angaur. The landing crafts found themselves in a large minefield.
After the landings, 15 to 20 craft formed a semi-circle in a reef between Peleliu and Eil Malk to guard the island from Japanese resupply efforts and attacks coming from the northern islands in the chain. The LCI and Destroyers sent many Japanese barges to the sea floor as they attempted to bring supplies to the Japanese defenders on the northern end of Peleliu. There were also many nights that the flotilla was attacked by kamikaze swimmers. There was one incident against LCI (G) 730 in which 35 kamikaze swimmers attacked.
Dick Arnold, Quartermaster on LCI(G) 730, described the scene:
There were dozens of Kamikaze swimmers in the water, all wearing yellow caps (we found out the significance of that later). They all had grappling hooks and bamboo poles and some of them were pushing rafts of bamboo loaded with explosives.
Their objective was two-fold; to board the ships silently and kill the crew (whom they assumed would be sleeping) and to place the five hundred pound bombs under the sterns of the LCIs and blow them up. All of the swimmers had large sashes tightly bound around their waists to protect them from the blast of the bomb going off.
The problem was that many of the kamikaze swimmers were too close to the boats for our 20mm and .30 caliber guns to be leveled at them.
Our shouts brought the entire crew topside and everyone started shooting at the swimmers with their .45’s. It was like shooting clay pigeons. Those further away were dispatched with the machine guns. We also had to be careful not to hit any of the other LCIs close to us.
LCI (G) 728 was in the Okinawa fleet near the end of the war. They were still in the fleet when the October 1945 Typhoon Louise struck. Waves were up to 35 feet high. 12 ships were sunk, 222 were stranded, and 32 were wrecked as a result of these waves. The crew struggled to save the vessel from sinking. After the war, they performed occupation duties in the Far East until December 1945 before being decommissioned. Alfred was then released on 25 January 1947. He had served on LCI 728 since it was commissioned in January 1944. He re-enlisted for the Korean War on 6 June 1952. He continued as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy during Vietnam until his final release from military service on 30 June 1972.
LCI (R) 77 taking part in the rocket barrage before the assualt on Peleliu.
USN Dinner Dress White Jacket
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