November 27, 2017 - Hi Russ, I have a story for my webpage.  Feel free to edit or not use at your discretion. Life Can Be Stranger Than Fiction 

In 2010, a few friends approached me to join their Air Force Club. I told them, "I'm ex-Navy." They said there were ex-Navy men in the club already. The common thread was that we all took our training at Sampson. I joined and once a year we drove up to Sampson from Long Island, NY. 

On arriving we had a sumptuous dinner and then retired to a "Happy Hour" room where we were given free beer, peanuts and pretzels. In 2015 we drove to Sampson, had our meal and retired to the happy room. 

A very nice woman sat down at our table with a German accent and proceeded to tell us what it was like for her and her brother to grow up under Nazi rule. She said that at age 16 her brother was drafted into the German Navy, U-boat division. Someone at the table asked Clara how her brother faired during the war. That when she dropped the bomb. She said he was unlucky to be on the last submarine to be sunk at the end of the war off the coast of Argentina. I sat there in stunned silence. It was my DE, the Howard, that was responsible for his death. Verification of this kill is in Item 84 of my webpage. I have not been back to Sampson due to ill health. 

Irv Messinger 
Douglas L. Howard 
DE138