By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
The USS Houston (CA-30), a battleship that had served as a cruise ship for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was sent to the Java Sea near Indonesia to defend against Japan’s Navy at the onset of WWII.
The ship was attacked in the late hours of the night on February 28, 1942, before finally sinking the following day. Over 1,000 sailors and Marines were on the ship that night and only 368 survived the battle. An Australian ship, the HMAS Perth, also went down that night; of their 681 crew, 324 survived.
The survivors became prisoners of war and were taken to Burma. There, they were forced along with thousands of other POWs to work on the Burma-Thailand Railway. At the end of the war, only 291 survivors of the USS Houston came home.
In honor of the historic event, Indonesian’s consulate in Houston has added a USS Houston exhibit to their museum. The exhibit was opened on February 28, 81 years after the ship was attacked.
Indonesian Consul General, Andre Omer Siregar, along with other distinguished guests, took time to remember the event and honor the fallen US and Australian military personnel.
“Remembering history is part of what we do so that we will not repeat history,” shared Katherine Ho, Regional Director of the Office of Foreign Mission, Department of State
We are not here to celebrate something but to remember that event so that we always remember to continue to contribute positively to the nation,” said Omer Siregar.
Shortly after the news of the ship sinking reached the United States, 1,000 Texans signed up as volunteers to defend our nation.
In 2014, remains of the ship were identified in the Java Sea and the government of Indonesia has collaborated with the US to help secure artifacts from the ship. The ship’s bell is hoisted on top of a memorial to the ship at Sam Houston Park in Houston.
