6.) On hearing of the attack, the Aldecoa (assumption) headed back to the sinking of U-156's location which had been reported on radio. At 12 kilometers per hour (13.8 mph) the Aldecoa would have taken no more than 26-hours to reach U-156's survivors. If the Aldecoa had poured-on-the-coals it may have taken less than 26-hours. The two-man raft had a sea-anchor so they could not have drifted very far, plus a somewhat visible oil slick would still be at the site to assist in survivor location efforts.

            7.) (Ed. Note: Here's where the heavy speculation kicks in.) U-156's survivors were taken aboard the Aldecoa (or possibly the Gobeo) and waited out their time before the ship could arrive at a suitable port. Brazil, with a sizeable German community, is out of the question however, since it was at war with the Axis powers. So, Argentina, also with a sizeable German community, is in. And, the Aldecoa had been to Buenos Aires before.  

            8.) The difficulty of getting back to Germany is apparent. Spain was 'neutral' and neither the Aldecoa nor the Gobeo could, at the time, arrive in an Axis port. There are also evident reasons why the survivors didn't want to go back to Germany and they weren't really that important for the German Navy's (Kriegsmarine) war effort in order to spirit them back to Germany.

            9.) So, it's off to Buenos Aires where they obtain proper ID's, name changes, and generally assimilate in the European-Argentine community.

            10.) U-156's five survivors get jobs, learn Spanish, date Argentine girls (Lt. Dryden says from his position in the PBY the survivors looked like teenagers), get married, have children, etc., while the war is storming toward conclusion in its final two years. In essence, U-156's survivors invest in Argentina and its varied European communities.

            11.) The war is over!! Germany's scene is bombed-out towns, life difficult, jobs scarce, education and training minimal at best, the Soviet Union has taken over one-half of Germany, families either difficult to locate or no longer exist, (in the intervening years), a lovely Latin wife, children, close friends, etc.

            12.) Decision: Stay in Argentine. That, of course, is with other German escapees during and after the war, as with U-977.

            13.) Secrecy is paramount among the survivors and their close community (e.g. Adolf Eichmann, Martin Borman). Consequently, nothing else is ever heard of them and they live happily ever after. (If still living, they would be in their early 80's."

            Stan continues: The above assessment is open to all inquiries, questions, corrections, and tweaking. To me, it takes more incredulity to think that these guys just evaporated out in the Atlantic on a life raft than they were picked-up by either the Aldeco or Gobeo. 

            (Ed. Note: My two cents---Time and ocean currents would also be deciding factors. Stan and I would appreciate any and all Roundtable members to weigh-in with their comments.) 

 

        The Spark of War ("Chispa di Guera") - Part I of II, telecast by TeleAruba, 2002, compiled/edited by Dufi Kock with video tape provided by Jorge Ridderstaat, Jr.

        The following are "Interviews Regarding the U-156/U-502 Attack, February 16-17, 1942."

            Mooi Franken - Infantry Corporal at The Savaneta Marine Camp.

            "What I heard was a loud explosion and I told my colleagues who were awake, that it must be the Scotch soldiers; most probably they had a celebration and those on shift must be horse-playing. But when I opened the windows I saw a large fire all the way to Savaneta and I said right away that this could not be what I thought it was. I then went to the major on shift and explained to him what I saw. At first he did not believe me, but when he saw the huge flames he told me to take the motorcycle and go take a look because it was in the direction of the Lago Refinery.

            "The attack happened just twelve hours before Aruba was going to test its first blackout. I remember that the headlight on my motorcycle was painted black with only a small opening, the size of a quarter, was left in the middle of the headlight. Upon my return from San Nicolaas I met all the vehicles coming with their unpainted bright headlights making it difficult for me to drive, so I chose to ride along the sides of the road. It was rough riding."

            Alberto Thiel - Government Radio Telegrapher.

            "Alberto says that Captain Werner Hartenstein of U-156 worked at the Lago Powerhouse before the war. He was a German, along with others, who were living and working in Aruba with liberty to move everywhere. Therefore, it was easy for them to cooperate by sending letters and photos to the Nazis. As far as Mr. Hartenstein, he was a very social person who knew many people here (in Aruba); one of his dear friends was Mr. Jacobo ("Cobito") Arends, a doctor in Oranjestad. I heard that he (Hartenstein) had a map of Aruba and had all the strategic areas marked on the map, thus making it very easy for him to navigate to Aruba. It probably was just a hobby for him in the beginning, but at the end it resulted in a great necessity for him. He was familiar with the Lago and Shell refineries in Aruba and the Shell refinery in Curacao. and most probably had frequent contacts with Germans residing in Aruba. He left Aruba just before the war began and went back to Europe. These Germans were well prepared and when the U.S. War Department considered them as risks for sabotage on both islands, many of these potential saboteurs were interned on Bonaire."

        (Ed. Note: I almost did not include Mr. Thiel's narrative in the Newsletter. There is no indication from past history that U-156's Commander Hartenstein ever worked at the Lago Refinery or anywhere else on Aruba. Perhaps Mr. Thiel has his "Hartenstein" character confused with someone else of like name who worked at the Refinery. "Werner" and "Hartenstein" are not uncommon given names and surnames in Germany. Could it be that Mr. Thiel confused his character with a like-named person? Any pre-war information on Commander Hartenstein would be appreciated.)
            Vincente Provence - Sailor on Lake Tanker Amazone.

            "We left Curacao heading for Maracaibo with Ramona, a Shell Lake Tanker, to load crude oil. As we were navigating close to Aruba when we saw a flash and thought it was a Lago (refinery) boiler that had just exploded. When the sun came up, we reached between Aruba and Macoya, Venezuela, and found the Gulf tanker Monagas on fire. We immediately approached the tanker in order to pick-up anyone who might have gone overboard. We came across Jose Semeleer in a lifeboat and immediately threw him the pilot's ladder; Mr. Semeleer fortunately grabbed it and we pulled him aboard the Amazone. He told us that they were torpedoed and then we realized that the explosion we had heard earlier was from a torpedo. Not even our captain knew of the situation.

            "We then started to pick more survivors for a total of 37 from the Tia Juana, San Nicolas, and Monagas. We then continued to Maracaibo with all survivors. However, in the meantime a submarine fired a torpedo at our ship, the Ramona, but they missed. Again they fired another torpedo. Fortunately, they missed again. We saw the submarine with its telescope atop the water circling us. Two aircraft arrived in our vicinity (they were Oriols [KLM] in those days), which made the submarine move away from us. Later another aircraft came and we believed it was an American fighter plane because it had a star on it. The aircraft dropped some bombs which scared off the submarine. We then continued our route to Maracaibo with survivors from the three tankers.

            "At 09:35 on May 6, 1942, the unescorted Amazone was hit on the port side by a torpedo by U-333 and sank within two minutes of Miami. Fourteen of Amazone's crew members were lost, 12 from the Dutch Antilles, one Dutch gunner and one Swiss crewman. Survivors of the Amazone were picked-up by the American sub-chaser USS PC-484."

            Karel van Meeteren - Infantry Corporal.

            "The morning after U-156 fired three torpedoes on Texaco tanker Arkansas tied up at the Eagle Pier, one torpedo hit the empty Arkansas with hardly any damage to the ship, one torpedo disappeared into the ocean, and one landed at the Eagle Beach. At a certain moment I was instructed to go patrol along the beach from Savaneta, Balashi, to the Eagle Beach. As we all know the Eagle Refinery was also doing its share in the war. I met a young man by the name off Sloterdijk. When we got to Eagle Pier, Mr. Sloterdijk, whose hands were dirty, decided to go wash them with water from the incoming waves. When he got closer to the water he saw something like a piece of pipe, but did not worry too much because of the numerous pipes from the Eagle Refinery. He then sat on it in order to wash his hands. Suddenly he jumped up and yelled 'Jesus Christ, it's a real torpedo!' We then realized that it was a torpedo and we immediately reported it to the authorities. Immediately it was decided that it must be disarmed. A request was sent to Curacao asking for a Dutch demolition team in order to disarm it."

            Bruno Bremer - Aruban Soldier.

            "I went to the airport to pick-up four Dutch Marines from Curacao. They were Lt. Pieter Joose, Major Dirk Andrianus Cornelis de Maagd, and two other soldiers---Leonardus Kooyman and Johannes Vogelenzang. When I picked them up I told them that we would go to the Savaneta Dutch Marine Camp, but they told me to go to the Eagle Pier instead. We went where one of U-156's three torpedoes had beached near the Eagle Pier. First thing they told me after getting out of the car was to take a picture of the torpedo. One of the officers pulled out a wrench and told me that I could start unscrewing the bolts on the torpedo. I sat down on the torpedo and started to unscrew two bolts, while the Lieutenant started to dress himself with a plastic suit. He then took over continuing to unscrew the bolts. The disarmed piece of the torpedo was tied with a rope to be pulled from the main part of the torpedo. At the same time there was a flatbed truck waiting to do further pulling on the disarmed piece.

            "The Lieutenant said that he was going to put a dynamite stick underneath the torpedo to blow it up. We distanced ourselves about 1000 meters. When he inserted the dynamite, he lit it, and ran to where we were standing. Apparently nothing happened when the dynamite exploded, except sand was going everywhere. Next, the Lieutenant went to get a cable to pull the torpedo apart. The moment that he bent over to hook-up the cable I started to walk toward the truck. All I saw at that moment was a flash of lightening. I didn't know if there were casualties, all I knew was that I was lying in the hospital with bleeding ears.

            "Karl van Meeteren said that the moment the Lieutenant shook the torpedo to take the "disarmed" part off the rest of the torpedo, it exploded. All four members of the Dutch Marine demolition team died on the spot. Bremen and another Aruban, Mr. Kock, who were there at the time, suffered severe problems with their sense of hearing.

            "Mr. Franken said that he had just arrived to tell the Commander that he had to return to Curacao to get more instructions (on the dismantling of the torpedo). I arrived at Eagle's south gate and saw Bremen underneath a pipe and Kock was close to the beach...and then I heard the loud explosion. When the people from Oranjestad saw all the soldiers at the beach quite a few came to see what was going on. Fortunately, they were not allowed to come too close.

            "Mr. Thielman who was at the Dutch Marine Camp said that later they brought the nine-foot long torpedo to the Camp. The torpedo had lots of instructions in German, had thirty-six batteries inside, with firing instructions on it."

            William van Putten - Fireman Aboard The Pedernales.

            "I was on watch in the early morning when the Pedernales got hit by a torpedo. In all the oil and fire we got down a lifeboat. The Captain, Chief Engineer, and a few of the crew, got into the lifeboat when it started to drift without any set course because everything on board the lifeboat got lost in the turmoil. We kept praying for daylight in order to see where we were going. Later we were picked-up."

            George Granger - Sailor Aboard The Hooiberg.

            "Sixty years ago, I was a Lago employee and working on the Lake Tankers bringing raw crude oil from Venezuela to Aruba. I had been doing that since 1937 and when WWII arrived I was working on Lake Tanker Hooiberg. That particular day we got the pilot who was going to guide us into Lake Maracaibo, but we were turned back because we were told that Aruba had been attacked. After a lay-up of four hours we went back to Maracaibo and told that the ship ahead of us had been torpedoed and that many people had lost their lives. I lost a brother and a cousin who died on one of the torpedoed ships in front of the Powerhouse.

His ship was anchored outside awaiting orders to go inside San Nicolaas Harbor because there were no berths available at the time. Nevertheless, from that day of February 16, 1942, I continued as a sailor bringing in crude oil, picking up ships, going to Key West and Guantanamo Bay to bring crude to Aruba. It was a great experience, in the heart of war, and I did not worry too much because we had to fight for our country."      

            (Part II of the "Chispa di Guera" interviews continue in Newsletter #12.)

 

            Allied and Axis Warships Visit Aruba - Part I, by Vic Lopez.

            "The German pocket battleship Deutchland docked in Oranjestad. The whole Colony went aboard and drank German beer from a bucket. Several high school girls came away with officers' caps. The Deutchland was the sister ship of the disabled Admiral Graf Spee that was blown up by her crew off Montevideo, Uruguay, December 17, 1939. 

            (Ed. Note: The Graf Spee's Captain Hans Langsdorff committed suicide several days after the scuttling of the ship, wrapped in the Imperial German Navy flag with a pistol at his side. I guess in the old days of the Imperial Navy that was the thing to do. There have been recent efforts to raise what (little) remains of the Graf Spee from its shallow grave. I believe more information can be obtained regarding the Graf Spee by Roundtable member Warren Norcom, who spent a considerable amount of time in Argentina.)

            "Cruiser USS Omaha visited Aruba in April 1937.

            "The British cruiser HMS Ajax took part in the action of impending doom for the Graf Spee.

            "The newly christened US submarine Pollack visited Aruba July 20 - 23, 1937. Count Felix von Luckner was in port at the same time as the Pollack, with his yacht, and took part in the activities organized for the personnel of the Pollack. (A copy of the organized program for the Pollack is autographed 'Felix Count von Luckner.") The Count was the famous German naval officer of WWI. Gilbert Brooks, Jr. was at the ceremonies and recounts visiting the small Dutch submarine docked alongside." 

            (Part II of Vic's "Allied and Axis Warships Visit Aruba" continue in Newsletter #12.)

 

            U-156/U-502 Roundtable #5 - Oklahoma City, September 15, 2007.

            Roundtable #5 was held at 9:00 a.m., Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, with moderator Don Gray presiding. Main speaker was Stan Norcom who spoke on U-156: From The Beginning to Das Ende. Stan spent many hours in preparation for his talk and it was quite evident from the interest shown by the audience. Stan put together a 50-page booklet under the same title. If you are interested in purchasing this well researched, please drop Stan a line at smnorcom.bobbini@att.net

            After a brief delay in getting the power-point computer to work, Stan regaled the audience with his take on U-156, its demise, and the possibility of survivors, which may be a topic for a future Roundtable discussion. Doug Frazier and Warren Norcom are to be complimented in assisting Stan with his presentation---Doug with his substitute computer and Warren with his orchestrating behind-the-scene events. Thanks guys.

            Several news article exhibits for the period February 16, 1942 to March 23, 1942, from The Aruba Post (now defunct) and Time magazine were provided by Dolores Grissom and other members. Ray Burson's When Lago Was Lucky was a sell-out as was Stan's U-156: From The Beginning....If you wish to purchase Ray's booklet, please contact him at rbmo@semo.net 

            I believe it is fair to say that between Stan and Ray's booklets, Bill Hochstuhl's German U-Boat 156 Brought War to Aruba..., and the Aruba Esso News' October 18, 1946 to January 17, 1947 series titled "1939-1945: The War Years at Lago" (also attributed to Bill Hochstuhl), and Dan Jensen's "A Short History of The Lago Oil & Transport Co, Ltd.", that these gentlemen have covered the waterfront for Lago/Aruba WWII events for that period. That is not to say future news articles will not be forthcoming. (The Roundtable already embraces one writer who has authored fourteen books on WWII and is currently working on a Laconia-Hartenstein book.)

            Fourteen people in the audience became new U-156/U-502 Roundtable subscriber-members, bringing our total membership to 119. There has been more e-mail correspondence generated from Roundtable #5 than any other meeting; the 2007 Oklahoma City meeting attendance (40) was second only to the 2006 Aruba Roundtable (#4) which hosted 45 members and guests.

            After a round of questions and much discussion the Roundtable adjourned at approximately 10:45 a.m.

            (Roundtable #6 is scheduled to meet during the June 2009, Aruba-Lago island Reunion.)

 

            Book Review by your Editor - The Lago Colony Legend, Vol. III, by Vic Lopez.

            Well folks, Vic has done it again. Another volume, and if possible, just as good as the first two volumes, if not better. Only this time Vic has added many photographs, the layouts bring attention to the reader, with interesting biographical stories that you can associate with and grab your attention. Have to admit, libro numero tres is the best yet! The clarity of the photos in Vol. III is exceptional.

            What Vic has done is provide a biographical sketch of expatriate life on a tropical isle between the 1920's and 1970's. Vic Lopez's The Lago Legend---Our Stories series joins Ginger Bassett's Aruba Chronicle, Bob Schlageter's Pan Aruban, the Aruba Esso News' special series on WWII, the Aruba Post, Larry Riggs' Lago Bulletin Board newsletter, Dan Jensen's Lago Colony web site, Johan Hartog's Aruba--Past and Present, Bill Hochstuhl's German U-Boat 156 Brought War to Aruba, Ships of The Esso Fleet in WWII by Standard Oil Co. (N.J.), and Jorge Ridderstaat Jr.'s forthcoming book,The Lago Story, are the pieces d' resistance when it comes to telling the whole story of life on a barren little island in the Caribbean.

            Now that you have "gotten the hang of it" Vic, there has to be a Vol. IV in the works. You can't stop now. You're on a roll. Just keep digging deeper into you dad's voluminous Lago/Aruba photographic and biographical files.      

            The Lago Colony Legend series is a real contribution toward telling the Lago story. I strongly recommend adding it to your library.

 

            Help! I Need Help! Does Anyone Remember?

            Question #1: Does anyone know the location of The Bund's meeting place/building? San Nicolaas? Oranjestad?

            I believe I've asked this question before, but here goes anyway: The Bund movement. It was cited in Newsletter #10, pg. 6. The Bund movement consisted of individuals showing allegiance to Nazi Germany. In and around New York City during the early 1930's it was very active. From Vic Lopez's The Lago Legend, Vol. II, Jim Lopez states "We heard about the building where the Bund held its meetings. It was decorated with the German flag and had pictures of Hitler and other Nazi leaders."

 

            Question #2: Am I the only one who remembers anti-aircraft pom-pom guns (no, not the boom! boom! cannons atop Colorado Point) mounted on the southeast side of the coral cliffs facing the 4th Lagoon? (.50 caliber bore anti-aircraft pom-pom guns were used by the U.S. Navy on their ships against Japanese aircraft in the Pacific during WWII.) 

            In 1945, Donald Cahill and I use to scout Colorado Point on the 4th Lagoon side looking for spent artillery and cartridge shells. I distinctly remember two sets of pom-pom guns in that location.  

 

            Question #3: Does anyone remember the story of a German collaborator being caught with a radio transmitter in the trunk of his car at Colorado Point?                  

 

            Question #4: The ammunition cache in the coral cliff (it's still there) opposite the Picnic Grounds. Does anyone remember seeing ammunition being stored there during the war? And what is the "hole/tunnel/space in the cliff" being used for today, if anything?

 

            What's in The Future Mix?

            Topics to be covered in future Newsletters:

              1.)  More information on the French mystery super-submarine Scouf is forthcoming. In Newsletter #8 Bill Moyer reported on the Scouf and in Newsletter #9 Jerry Casius also reported on the Scouf. The Scouf sank under mysterious circumstances on February 14, 1942, or two days prior to U-156's attack against Lago/Aruba. Jurgen von Rosenstiel of U-502 reported sinking seven tankers in the area whichScouf was located at the time; only six of the tankers, however, have been accounted for. There is the possibility that Scouf was the unidentified "seventh" sinking, although that has never been confirmed. At the time of Scouf's sinking it was 32 nautical miles southwest of Aruba and 5 nautical miles from Venezuela's lighthouse at Peninsula de Paraguana.

            Harry Cooper, Editor and Founder of Sharkhunters ("The Official History Publication of the U-Bootwaffen") about a year ago forwarded an article written by Dennis Stocks for Harry's Sharkunters journal (KTB# 123) regarding the Scouf. From Harry's letter of February 19, 2007: "(One of our members) reported that U-502's Jurgen von Rosenstiel claimed sinking a certain number of ships on his Caribbean patrol...(All) of these sinking were confirmed but one, and...von Rosenstiel described the unaccounted sinking as a small tanker...(D)ue to her shape, Scouf could easily have been (mistaken) for a small tanker through the submarine's periscope. And so, it's possible that U-502 sent this French giant to the bottom. This will be a tough one to solve." 

            More recently, an article in Harry's journal KTB# 204, November 2007, titled "The Incredible Scouf" by Raul Colon, tends to lend more mystery to the French super submarine and its questionable allegiance to Vichy France? the Free French?

            Sorry that I have droned on so, but I need Harry's permission to quote from his recent KTB (#204) before doing a follow-up article on the Scouf. The Scouf is a story that keeps on "giving".             

              2.) We'll learn more about the night/early morning attack of February 16, 1942 from Dufi Kock's "The Spark of War" aka "Chispa di Guera" interviews. 

              3.) Vic Lopez will regal us with more shards and barbs from his "Allied & Axis Warships Visit Aruba".              

              4.) Review of Ray Burson's When Lago Was Lucky. (I've been remiss in not reviewing Ray's booklet before now. Bear with me, Ray.)

              5.) Review of Stan Norcom's booklet U-156: From The Beginning to Das Ende.

              6.) "Varied and Informal Methods/Classifications In Reporting History", by your Editor. You may agree with me on this one....then again, you may not.

              7.) Special Newsletter---"Spain's False Neutrality During WWII", by your Editor. This is going to take some time and effort, so hang loose and don't expect it tomorrow.               

              8.) Wall Street and The Rise of Hitler, by Anthony C. Sutton. On target correspondence between Stan Norcom, Warren Norcom, and other Roundtable members regarding the subject.

              9.) Bill Moyers and Jerry Casius' translations of U-156's log between late 1941 and early 1942. 

             10.) What's a "wonker"? (I thought you'd never ask.) 

 

            And in Closing...

            Newsletter #12 should be in the mail by mid-August, 2008.

            If you know someone who'd like to join our merry band of Roundtable member/subscribers, please drop me an e-mail and we'll welcome them aboard.

            If for some reason you, as a member of the Roundtable and subscriber to the Newsletter, find you did not receive the current issue, please notify me and we'll zing you a copy asap.

            If you change your e-mail address, please notify me as soon as possible. We do not want, nor like to, lose loyal subscribers.

            Correspondence---The Newsletter, literally speaking, lives for your correspondence. If you have a story to tell, or know of someone who could add interest to our collection of events, please, please, drop us a line. We appreciate and look forward to all correspondence---whether it's positive or negative. If it's negative I can take it. I might cry a little, but I'll get over it.

            Let's not forget Dan Jensen's web site (www.lago-colony.com) for information A to Z on Lago and the postings of prior U-156/U-502 Roundtable Newsletters; and, Larry Riggs' Lago Bulletin Board for the latest Aruba news.

            And finally, if I've been remiss and not thanked you before now, thank you Dufi Kock, Stan Norcom, Doug Frazier, Guy Goodboe, Vic Lopez, Dan Jensen, and Vicki Markle, for the DVDs and CDs which you've sent regarding Lago of yore, Aruba photos before the arrival of turistas, Aruba during WWII, and other topics of interest to readers of the U-156/U-502 Roundtable Newsletter. We couldn't have put together a Roundtable or a Newsletter devoted to telling the history of wartime Aruba without you. 

 

            Thank you.

            Until next time...

            Your man in the trenches....and Davy Jones' Locker.

 

            Don D. Gray, Moderator/Editor

            U-156/U-502 Roundtable & Newsletter

            arubagray@aol.com

 

            Copyright 2008 by Don D. Gray.

            All rights reserved.