USS Allentown monument in West Park, Allentown
One of my favorite walking paths takes me through Allentown’s West Park, where there’s a row of war monuments, including one that stands out by its shape. It’s in the form of a ship’s anchor and reads:
TO THE OFFICERS AND CREW OF THE USS ALLENTOWN
FROM THE PEOPLE OF ALLENTOWN PENNSYLVANIA
JUNE 1944
What’s that about, anyway?
Google the name and you get 46,600 hits, including a website, http://www.pf52.org/, dedicated to the ship and its men.
The Morning Call archives contain numerous stories about the Allentown, the most definitive of which was written by my friend Gerry Shields in August 1990. It revealed the captain as having a personality like the fictional Capt. Queeg of The Caine Mutiny.
Seven years after Gerry’s story appeared, one of the Allentown’s officers made a poignant confession concerning the captain during the crew’s last national reunion, held in the city.
The Allentown, called the “Amazing A” by its crew, was among 75 patrol frigates built by the Navy and manned by the Coast Guard during World War II. It was the kind of ship my dad, a radio operator, served on. Ultimately it was scrapped.
Named after U.S. cities, patrol frigates were used to track weather conditions – the duty my father had in the North Atlantic – escort destroyers and fight submarines.
The Allentown, PF-52, was launched July 3, 1943, and christened by Allentown High School teacher Joyce Breary, daughter of Gen. Frank D. Beary, a Spanish-American War vet and the civil defense chairman in the Lehigh Valley.
Crew members made their first trip to Allentown on July 10, 1944, with the city holding a party for them at the Americus Hotel. After that, the warship left for the Pacific, where its captain, Garland W. Collins, made their lives miserable.
“It was a hell ship for a while,” wrote Philip Garlington, a lieutenant on board. “The crew figured he was more of an enemy than the Japanese.”
Another lieutenant, Allan Emery, said the captain sent him and another man on a mission to a refrigerator ship for frozen peas and strawberries — during a Japanese air raid. They were rebuffed and returned empty-handed. Collins hurried to the loudspeaker and announced to the crew: “Mr. Emery has failed us again.”
At the crew’s last reunion in September 1997, Emery told a story he’d “never told before because it puts me in a poor light.”
Morning Call columnist Jim Kelly covered the event, in what was then the Hilton in downtown Allentown, and wrote the following:
“I was not a favorite of the captain and he was not one of mine,” [Emery said]. On the evening Collins was relieved of command…, “Suddenly the source of all my problems was going to be taken away. I was staggered.”
It was a dark night and Emery had walked up to the flying bridge and was silently pondering the news when the captain also reached the bridge. Emery stayed in the shadows and listened as the captain spoke aloud to himself.
“They’ve beaten you, Collins,” he said. “All your life you’ve planned for this and they’ve taken it away. But you’re not going to let them know how hurt you are.”
Emery did not come forward, he said, but wanted the crew to know that over the years he had come to realize what a lonely and frightened man the captain was.
“Perhaps I could have reached out and helped….It has been an important lesson of my life…to realize that some of our most noisy, bothersome people also deserve our help.
“I make that confession unproudly because that’s the way it is,” he said, and quietly walked to his seat to the applause of the men.
A footnote: The only sailor from the Lehigh Valley to serve on the USS Allentown was George R. Holko of Catasauqua, who died in 1979 at age 56.
David Venditta 
I served on the USS Allentown in ww2. Write to me please
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Hi Mr. Bauer, what can you tell me about the USS Allentown and your time on it?
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Thank You David for what I call the “rest of the story”. I have heard bits and pieces of it over the years as related to the Anchor monument over at West Park.
…..PJF
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Hi, My Dad, Jacob J. Klein, Jr served on the USS Allentown. I remember some of the stories he told us about having to paint the boat while under attack and more. Jane-
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Jane, thanks for writing. It’s nice to hear from a family member of a USS Allentown crewman. That’s scary, though, about having to paint the ship during an attack.
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I served on the Allentown for a week or two in 1950 during the Korean war. The ship was at anchor in the harbor at Yochuka (sp?) when it was towed into dry dock for repairs by American and Japanese workers. It was in terrible condition as left by the Russians and was soon determined to be not suitable for return to duty in the US fleet. The American crew, including me, was taken off and I understand then was given to the South Koreans. Should have given it to the North Koreans considering the horrible shap it was in. All the American crew was assigned to other ships. I was assigned to the Hospital Ship Repose where we spent a lot of time in both South and North Korea.
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Joseph Krum from Carbon County< Lehighton Pa also served on the USS Allentown. He was my uncle passed away in April. 2007
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My father, George Stavis served on the Allentown. He was very young 17 or 18 and apparantly not well liked. He passed away in 2000 from multiple myeloma. Sadly, he felt no pride from his service.
We wonder whether other radio/radar – men were affected by radium paint on the dials of their units and radiation emmitted, especially by the equipment on which they trained. Similarly situated members of the Navy who wound up with multiple myeloma are considered ‘radioactive veterans.’
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Greetings – My name is PO1 McPeek currently serving at NOSC Lehigh Valley in Allentown PA. Our First Class Petty Officers Association is looking to contribute to the USS Allentown Memorial with providing any upkeep to the Memorial. Would anyone have any contact information for this organization? We also have a historical encasement wall located at our Navy Reserve Center. If any family members would like to encase any USS Allentown memorabilia for other sailors and family members to see please let me know.
Best Regards,
PO1(EXW/SW) Doug McPeek
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Hi Doug, I am the daughter of a former crewman on the USS Allentown(Everett C Olson). I attended many of the reunions with my parents, who also hosted a reunion in Sioux Falls, SD one year. The reunions were wonderful and I feel honored to have known many of those former crew members!
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Hi Doug, thanks for the note. I’m working on getting contact info for you.
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My Dad, Roy Herd, served on the Allentown as a Yeoman Second Class. He spoke to me as a child about his service. I clearly remember that he would not speak of the Captain as my Dad said he would have nothing good to say about “that man”. I do know that my Dad, who would have had to answer directly to Captain Collins, was very happy that he was replaced…
All in all, my Dad was proud of his service aboard the Allentown and he felt the crew did their best.
Memories:
The ship made it through at least one major typhoon and almost capsized from very high seas. Most everyone ate crackers for days on end.
Once the film on board caught fire.
On one occasion, the rocket depth charges were fired almost straight up by accident and fell into the sea very close to the ship.
Stories of going ashore in Vladivostok and then how the Captain tried to unsuccessfully scuttle the ship when ordered to turn it over to the Russians after the war…
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Hi Jim, thanks for the note. Great to hear from someone with a connection to the USS Allentown. I like the memories your father had of the terrifying typhoon, the depth charges that almost landed on the ship, the failed scuttling of the ship. They show how dangerous it is to be at sea. Fascinating, too, that your dad so reviled the captain that he wouldn’t even talk about him.
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