Beranda Perang Houmas military museum founder remembered for restoring history

Houmas military museum founder remembered for restoring history

133
0

(function() {
try {
var cs = document.currentScript,
p = (document.cookie.split(‘gnt_i=’)[1] || ”) + ‘;’,
l = p.substring(p.indexOf(‘~’) – 2, p.indexOf(‘;’));
if (!l) {
var n = window.performance && performance.getEntriesByType(‘navigation’) || [],
st = n[0].serverTiming || ”;
if (st.length) {
for (const t of st) {
if (t.name === ‘gnt_i’) {
l = t.description.split(‘*’)[2];
break;
}
}
}
}
if (l) {
var g = decodeURIComponent(l).split(‘~’);
comply({
country: g[0],
city: g[2],
zipcode: g[3],
state: g[1]
});
} else {

comply();

}
} catch(e) {
comply();
}

function comply(loc) {
if(window.ga_privacy) return;
loc = loc || {};
var host = window.location.hostname || ”,
eu = host.split(‘.’)[0] === ‘eu’,
cco = hp(‘gnt-t-gc’),
sco = hp(‘gnt-t-gs’),
cc = cco || loc.country || (eu ? ‘ES’ : ‘US’),
sc = sco || loc.state || (cc === ‘US’ ? ‘CA’ : ”),
t = true,
gdprLoc = {‘AT’: t, ‘BE’: t, ‘BG’: t, ‘HR’: t, ‘CY’: t, ‘CZ’: t, ‘DK’: t, ‘EE’: t, ‘EL’: t, ‘EU’: t, ‘FI’: t, ‘FR’: t, ‘DE’: t, ‘GR’: t, ‘HU’: t, ‘IE’: t, ‘IT’: t, ‘LV’: t, ‘LT’: t, ‘LU’: t, ‘MT’: t, ‘NL’: t, ‘PL’: t, ‘PT’: t, ‘RO’: t, ‘SK’: t, ‘SI’: t, ‘ES’: t, ‘SE’: t, ‘NO’: t, ‘LI’: t, ‘IS’: t, ‘AD’: t, ‘AI’: t, ‘AQ’: t, ‘AW’: t, ‘AX’: t, ‘BL’: t, ‘BM’: t, ‘BQ’: t, ‘CH’: t, ‘CW’: t, ‘DG’: t, ‘EA’: t, ‘FK’: t, ‘GB’: t, ‘GF’: t, ‘GG’: t, ‘GI’: t, ‘GL’: t, ‘GP’: t, ‘GS’: t, ‘IC’: t, ‘IO’: t, ‘JE’: t, ‘KY’: t, ‘MC’: t, ‘ME’: t, ‘MS’: t, ‘MF’: t, ‘MQ’: t, ‘NC’: t, ‘PF’: t, ‘PM’: t, ‘PN’: t, ‘RE’: t, ‘SH’: t, ‘SM’: t, ‘SX’: t, ‘TC’: t, ‘TF’: t, ‘UK’: t, ‘VA’: t, ‘VG’: t, ‘WF’: t, ‘YT’: t},
gdpr = !!(eu || gdprLoc[cc]),
gppLoc = {‘CA’: ‘usca’, ‘NV’: ‘usca’, ‘UT’: ‘usnat’, ‘CO’: ‘usco’, ‘CT’: ‘usct’, ‘VA’: ‘usva’, ‘FL’: ‘usnat’, ‘MD’: ‘usnat’,’MN’: ‘usnat’, ‘MT’: ‘usnat’, ‘OR’: ‘usnat’, ‘TN’: ‘usnat’, ‘TX’: ‘usnat’, ‘DE’: ‘usnat’, ‘IA’: ‘usnat’, ‘NE’: ‘usnat’, ‘NH’: ‘usnat’, ‘NJ’: ‘usnat’, ‘IN’: ‘usnat’, ‘KY’: ‘usnat’, ‘RI’: ‘usnat’},
gpp = !gdpr && gppLoc[sc];

if (gdpr && !window.__tcfapi) {
“use strict”;function _typeof(t){return(_typeof=”function”==typeof Symbol&&”symbol”==typeof Symbol.iterator?function(t){return typeof t}:function(t){return t&&”function”==typeof Symbol&&t.constructor===Symbol&&t!==Symbol.prototype?”symbol”:typeof t})(t)}!function(){var t=function(){var t,e,o=[],n=window,r=n;for(;r;){try{if(r.frames.__tcfapiLocator){t=r;break}}catch(t){}if(r===n.top)break;r=r.parent}t||(!function t(){var e=n.document,o=!!n.frames.__tcfapiLocator;if(!o)if(e.body){var r=e.createElement(“iframe”);r.style.cssText=”display:none”,r.name=”__tcfapiLocator”,e.body.appendChild(r)}else setTimeout(t,5);return!o}(),n.__tcfapi=function(){for(var t=arguments.length,n=new Array(t),r=0;r3&&2===parseInt(n[1],10)&&”boolean”==typeof n[3]&&(e=n[3],”function”==typeof n[2]&&n[2](“set”,!0)):”ping”===n[0]?”function”==typeof n[2]&&n[2]({gdprApplies:e,cmpLoaded:!1,cmpStatus:”stub”}):o.push(n)},n.addEventListener(“message”,(function(t){var e=”string”==typeof t.data,o={};if(e)try{o=JSON.parse(t.data)}catch(t){}else o=t.data;var n=”object”===_typeof(o)&&null!==o?o.__tcfapiCall:null;n&&window.__tcfapi(n.command,n.version,(function(o,r){var a={__tcfapiReturn:{returnValue:o,success:r,callId:n.callId}};t&&t.source&&t.source.postMessage&&t.source.postMessage(e?JSON.stringify(a):a,”*”)}),n.parameter)}),!1))};”undefined”!=typeof module?module.exports=t:t()}();
}

if (gpp && !window.__gpp) {
window.__gpp_addFrame=function(e){if(!window.frames[e])if(document.body){var p=document.createElement(“iframe”);p.style.cssText=”display:none”,p.name=e,document.body.appendChild(p)}else window.setTimeout(window.__gppaddFrame,10,e)},window.__gpp_stub=function(){var e=arguments;if(__gpp.queue=__gpp.queue||[],!e.length)return __gpp.queue;var p,n=e[0],t=1function OptanonWrapper() { }Skip to main content

Family and friends remember a historian and Houma museum founder whose efforts to correct history took him to the Pentagon.

Veteran and historian C.J. Christ died May 20 at age 97 of natural causes. His family and friends will hold a memorial at 10 a.m. May 29 at the Regional Military Museum, 1154 Barrow St. in Houma. The memorial is open to the public.

After the memorial Christ, will be taken to Lake Charles to be buried with his family. Christ was remembered for his love of history and his tenacity. That drive led Christ not only to correct the military historical record, but restore a lieutenant commander’s honor.

Christ founded the Regional Military Museum in 2004, and is credited with correcting the official military record from 81 years ago over the sinking of the German U-boat 166. According to Walsh, the official record was not only incorrect, but it dismissed the claims by Lt. Cmdr. Herbert Claudious Sr. that he sunk the sub. According to the Navy Times, the Navy doubted Claudious's account because he and his crew lacked anti-submarine training. 

“What is unique about this story is that most people go, ‘Isn't that great, and my name is going to be on it.' But once it was found, two things happened: he started a writing campaign to the Navy… and then dad began looking for Commander Claudious, because dad actually has a copy in his book of the reprimand letter,†Christ's daughter Cheryl Christ Walsh.

“Navy officials dismissed Claudius’ report, however. Instead of a hero’s welcome, they removed him from command and sent him to anti-submarine warfare school,†The Navy Times reported. “Even when German documents seized after the war confirmed the U-boat was lost in the area, the Navy gave credit to a Coast Guard aircrew that dropped depth charges there more than one month later.â€

Christ's efforts not only corrected this record, but saw Claudious posthumously awarded a Legion of Merit citation fitted with a Combat “V.â€

Walsh was visiting the museum May 21 to plan for her father's memorial. She was in mourning as she embraced the Museum's Executive Director Linda Theriot, who said Christ taught her the job for more than a decade. Sorrow turned to pride as Walsh told of her father's campaign to get the record straight about the sub's sinking.

She explained that her father was researching how German subs were patrolling the Gulf to harass tankers bringing oil to and from the United States. Claudious was dispatched in the PC566 to protect a vessel named the S.S. Robert E. Lee on its route carrying 400 passengers from Trinidad to Louisiana.

Through declassified American documents and recordings from the German side, Christ was able to piece together the events that day. During the trip, the Lee was fired upon by U-Boat 166 and sunk. Claudious retaliated, dropping nearly a dozen depth charges on 166 and destroying it July 30, 1942. Claudious then turned to help the passengers of the Lee.

Christ was interviewed by the Houma Courier in 2015. He said the Lee was trying to hurry to New Orleans out of fear of sub attacks that took place at night. According to Christ, the Lee radioed the PC566 that it would be traveling at 18 knots. Christ said Claudious told the Lee that at that speed they couldn't properly defend the passenger vessel, and 166 torpedoed it.

The official military record credited a Coast Guard plane with sinking the 166 on Aug. 1, 1942. In 2000, British Petroleum and Shell Oil crews discovered the carcass of the 166, 140 miles from where the Coast Guard documented it. Emboldened, Christ began a 14-year campaign of letters to get the record corrected.

The letters eventually reached the Pentagon, and they contacted Claudious's son Herbert Gordon Claudious Jr. to posthumously recognize his father's actions. According to Walsh, Claudious Jr. wanted Christ there with him. Photos at the Regional Military Museum show the men together as then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and then-Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Grennert shook Claudious Jr.'s hand Dec. 4, 2014.

Christ was given a Challenge Coin for his efforts, and that same year the Regional Military Museum built its Atrium. The coin is also on display at the museum.