day, Daily picked up a phone book and called the only Roche in the book. A man answered. “Is this the home of Lieutenant Tom Roche of the U.S.S. Liscome Bay?” asked Daily. The man on the other end hesitated, then, gruf®y, answered, “Who wants to know?” Daily identi¤ed himself, explaining that he had been a close friend of Roche’s and was checking to see if there was anything he could do for his parents. “How am I supposed to know you’re telling the truth?” the man demanded. “Probably by meeting with me and letting me talk to you about Tom.” Daily didn’t have a chance to say any more. The man on the other end dissolved into sobs. “I’m sorry, son; I believe you, but if you only knew what we’ve been through since this happened. Crank calls laughing at us, people saying they knew where Tom was, requests for money for memorials. Of course we want to see you.”12 For the rest of Daily’s time in Cleveland, the Roches were like a second set of parents to Daily and his wife, Gloria. Years later, after Daily had left the navy, Mrs. Roche called Daily to tell him that her husband had died. The of¤cial cause was heart failure. “But, Frank, you and I know what he really died of,” she added. Daily knew—the lingering effects of a father’s broken heart. Looking back on the dramatic events surrounding the sinking of Liscome Bay, Daily wrote simply, “There wasn’t a man who made it off that ship who wasn’t a hero.”13 Seaman First Class William L. Fisher. Fisher, like Beasley and several other Liscome Bay crewmen, served aboard the attack transport Alpine for the duration of the war. After the war he returned to his job with the Western Paci¤c Railroad, where he worked for the next forty-one years. Rear Admiral Robert M. Grif¤n. In the months that followed the loss of Liscome Bay, Grif¤n’s Battleship Division 3 supported amphibious 218 / Chapter 12 operations in the Marshalls and on New Ireland. Returning to the States in 1944, Grif¤n took command of the Puget Sound Navy Yard. Following Japan’s surrender, he became Commander, Naval Forces Far East. Commander Finley E. Hall. The navy awarded Hall the Silver Star for his valor on board Liscome Bay. The citation read: “Although able to leave the ship, he chose to make a more thorough inspection for wounded and trapped personnel at the cost of his own life. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the naval service and proved a great inspiration to those who saw him.”14 Fireman Third Class Robert E. Haynes. After recuperating in naval hospitals, Haynes returned to sea on board the amphibious attack transport Bottineau (APA-235) in 1944. She supported the invasions of Saipan and the Philippines and landed occupation troops on Japan . After a short postwar stint as a civilian, Haynes enlisted in the marines. Upon retiring from the corps as a gunnery sergeant, Haynes took a more sedate job with the U.S. Post Of¤ce. Today, retired, he lives in Colorado. Seaman Second Class Maxsy T. Homec. Homec returned to Hudson, Wyoming, on his survivor’s leave to ¤nd it a ghost town. Practically all the young men were away at war. Offered a chance to be discharged , Homec declined and shipped out once again, this time on board the hospital ship Bountiful (AH-9). Bountiful supported landings on Saipan, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa in waters where even a hospital ship was at risk of Japanese air attack. The navy honorably discharged Homec following Japan’s surrender. He returned to Hudson , where he eventually took a job as the elementary school’s custodian and coached the boys’ basketball team to many years of success. Today, retired, he lives in Lander, Wyoming. Seaman First Class James D. Honold. Honold, the Arkansas teenager who had been so young when he tried to enlist that his parents had to sign his enlistment papers for him, spent nineteen months in hosAftermath / 219 pitals recovering from his wounds. Even light duty proved too much for his badly injured left leg, and the navy discharged him on May 29, 1945. Seaman First Class Edward Jonas. The ship’s tailor, temporarily blinded by the explosions that wracked Liscome Bay and then saved in the...