William L. Hewes, Jr., Papers
1943-1945
Manuscript Collection #656- Creator(s)
- Hewes, William L., Jr., 1922-
- Physical description
- 0.074 Cubic Feet, ship's war diary 21 pages compiled from an official war diary and a summary of important events.
- Preferred Citation
- William L. Hewes, Jr., Papers (#656), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
- Repository
- ECU Manuscript Collection
- Access
- No restrictions
Papers (1943-1945) including official war diary, and a narrative detailing activities of the MILLER and its crew, as well as other ships, in the Pacific Theatre. Narrative written by crew member William L. Hewes, Jr.
Biographical/historical information
William L. Hewes, Jr. (b. 1922), joined the U.S. Naval Reserves and was assigned to the destroyer USS MILLER (DD-535) during World War II. Hewes served as officer of the deck, anti-submarine warfare officer, torpedo officer, and navigator.
Scope and arrangement
Hewes used the official war diary of the MILLER to compile this account and included personal observations and opinions as well.
The collection consists of a narrative detailing activities of the MILLER and its crew, as well as other ships, in the Pacific Theatre. Described are battles and operations in the Caroline Islands (April-May 1944, p. 2); Marianas Islands (June 1944, p. 2); Iwo Jima (July 1944, p. 3); and the Leyte Gulf (October 1944, pp. 4-5). Specific events are also detailed including the rescue of Japanese and Korean survivors of a sunken supply ship in the Marianas Islands (June 1944, p. 2); a typhoon that sank three destroyers (December 17-18, 1944, pp. 6-7); and the crippling of aircraft carrier USS FRANKLIN (CV-13) near Honshu, Japan, and subsequent rescue and fire-control efforts (March 19-24, 1945, pp. 7-8). At the end of the narrative, statistics for the MILLER are listed including specifics concerning its operation in battle, fueling, maintenance, repair, and fleet assignments (pp. 10-20).
Administrative information
Custodial History
August 5, 2019, (addition 1), 0.05 cubic feet; This addition includes the War Diary of the USS Miller (December 1, 1943 – August 31, 1945). Gift of William L. Hewes, Jr.
Source of acquisition
Gift of Mr. William L. Hewes, Jr.
Processing information
Processed by S. Mercogliano; A. Merriman, November 1999; Updated by N. Hardison, October 2025
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Copyright notice
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
Metadata Rights Declaration
Key terms
Personal Names
Hewes, William L., Jr., 1922-Corporate Names
Franklin (Aircraft carrier)Miller (Ship)
United States. Naval Reserve
United States. Navy--Officers
Topical
Fletcher Class (Destroyers)World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Ocean
World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American
World War, 1939-1945--Search and rescue operations