1941 – Pedernales (supernumerary 1st. Mate, sailing as 2nd. Mate)
1944 – Valera (1st. Mate)
1946 – Ambrosio (Master)
1946 – Inverrosa (Master)
Some time after the birth of my sister Jane, in 1946, my father worked as a tug captain in San Nicolas Harbor. He retired from Lago in 1965 and died in 1979.
Dad was also in Guiria, Venezuela, with my mother in 1943. I not sure, but I believe he was the Harbor Master. I have a letter from a Capt. Hunter who appears to have been my father’s boss while in Guiria.
I have been corresponding with William Russell in the UK, Great Nephew of Capt. William M. Russell. Capt. Russell was Master of Valera when torpedoed and sunk by U-518 on 7 March, 1944. He was the only crewmember to perish. My father spent 8 days floating on a raft before being rescued by the U. S. Coast Guard and taken to Margarita Hospital, Panama for treatment.
I have attached a picture of Capt. Russell and his wife in Aruba in the 1930’s. I can’t identify the building, but it appears not to be one of our Colony houses. Perhaps it is the Marine Club, or the old elementary school? I have also attached another photo of Capt. Russell taken around 1912.
William Russell was able to locate a former German sailor (Peter Petersen) from U-518. Miraculously, Peter and his wife live only 2 hours from me in Ohio. I was able to meet with Peter and his wife for several hours a few months ago.
If anyone has any information on Valera, Capt. Russell, my dad, their ships, photos, etc., please share it with us!
Best regards,
John S. Turner. Capt. USN (Ret.)
Capt. Russell & wife
in Aruba
in the 1930’s
Capt. Russell taken around 1912
Captain Henry John Turner
At 0140, 07 March, 1944, Valera, steaming from San Nicolas, Aruba to Cristobal, Columbia was torpedoed and split in half by a German submarine (U-518) under the command of Hans-Werner Offermann. Her position was approximately 11 30’ N, 76 27’W – Grid EC 7470, which is directly north of Barranquilla, Columbia. The ship’s Mate, Captain W.M. Russell was killed while the remaining 34 crew members, including my father, Captain Henry John Turner, survived.
Sailing as First Mate, my father and a few other survivors spent several days drifting on a raft before being rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel. I remember him telling me that they were followed by a large shark the entire time. They were taken to Margarita Hospital in Panama where he spent a month recovering.
Valera, one of Lago’s lake tankers was a 3401 gross ton ship built by Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc., Duluth, MN in 1943. With a full load of Navy fuel oil at the time of the sinking, she was owned by Lago Petroleum Co., Panama and sailed under the Panamanian flag. 355’ long with a 60’ beam, Valera had a draft of 15’ ¾” and a depth of 17’ 6”.
I found an article in the Saba Herald, written by a Saban named Peter Avery. According to the article, there were five survivors on the raft: the Chief Steward, a Norwegian sailor, the Second Mate, my father and Peter Avery. The article, also mentions another Saban, Quartermaster Walter Woods. This article is available at: www.books.caribseek.com/Saba/Saban_Lore/of-ships-and-men.shtml.
The article is somewhat inaccurate since it reports the voyage was in mid-April 1943. Official reports on Valera’s sinking show March 7, 1944. This is confirmed by a letter held by my sister, Jane Turner Harding. The letter, written by my father and mailed to my mother is dated 03/23/1944 and postmarked 04/10/1944. Secondly, construction and delivery of Valera was not completed until October 1943.
Shortly after I posted this information on Dan Jenson’s website, www.Lago-Colony.com, I was contacted by William Russell, Captain William M. Russell’s Great Nephew. He also was interested in the Valera story and was somehow able to locate a former German submariner, Peter Petersen, who was on board U-518 during the attack on Valera. Amazingly, Peter Petersen and his family, live in Toledo, Ohio, about a 2-hour drive from my home in Brecksville, Ohio.
I was able to personally visit with Peter Petersen and his wife Irma. We spent about 3 hours discussing and recording his life experiences including his tour on U-518, his childhood, WWII, life as a German submariner, life in Germany during and after the war and the circumstances surrounding his moving from Germany to the United States.
My father was probably rolling over in his grave knowing I had visited one of the German sailors who had been onboard the submarine during the attack and whose mission 64 years earlier was to kill Valera. To rub salt into the wound, the voice recorder I used during the interview was manufactured in Japan and my car built in Germany.
Peter does not specifically recollect the attack on Valera since he was assigned to the control room monitoring gauges and turning valves. Shortly after sinking Valera, U-518 returned to its home base in France where Peter departed the submarine to attend submarine officer training school.
On April 22, 1945, U-518 was sunk by USS CARTER (DE-112) and USS NEAL A. SCOTT (DE-769). There were no survivors.
CAPT John S. Turner, USNR (Ret.)
Peter Petersen as a young man in the German Navy
Peter Petersen and his wife Irma in their home in Toledo, Ohio. This photo was taken in 2008.