Qualla: USS The Sullivans: Five Brothers, One Ship, and a Lucky Shamrock https://qualla.com/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537 en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:15 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/x/g/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: USS The Sullivans: Five Brothers, One Ship, and a Lucky Shamrock https://qualla.com/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537 USS The Sullivans: Five Brothers, One Ship, and a Lucky Shamrock: Introduction https://qualla.com/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537/ Photo credit Public domain. President Franklin Roosevelt personally changed the name. The Navy had planned to call her Sullivan, but Roosevelt insisted on The Sullivans - plural, emphatic - to make clear the ship honored all five brothers. George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan, aged 20 to 27, had died together when the light cruiser Juneau was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. It was the greatest military loss by any one American family during World War II. The destroyer that bore their name became the first ship in Navy history commissioned to honor more than one person. Their mother, Mrs. Thomas F. Sullivan, sponsored the launch on April 4, 1943.

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]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/x/g/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537-wp/dpxg-uss-the-sullivans-five-brothers-one-ship-and-a-luc-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full USS The Sullivans: Five Brothers, One Ship, and a Lucky Shamrock: Into the Pacific Crucible https://qualla.com/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537/ Photo credit Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Ships. 9/18/1947-5/1/1966, Public domain. Commissioned on September 30, 1943, The Sullivans wasted no time. By January 1944, she was steaming out of Pearl Harbor with Task Group 58.2, bound for the Marshall Islands. At Kwajalein, she screened carriers Essex, Intrepid, and Cabot during near-continuous air strikes against ...

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Image: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Ships. 9/18/1947-5/1/1966 | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/x/g/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537-wp/dpxg-uss-the-sullivans-five-brothers-one-ship-and-a-luc-into-the-pacific-crucible.mp3 0:06 2 full USS The Sullivans: Five Brothers, One Ship, and a Lucky Shamrock: Rescuer of the Desperate https://qualla.com/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537/ Photo credit US Navy, Public domain. The Sullivans earned a reputation not just for fighting but for saving lives. During the fierce air battles off Formosa in October 1944, when 50 to 60 Japanese aircraft attacked over six hours and the formation executed 38 emergency turns, she helped guard the cruiser Houston aft...

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Image: US Navy | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/x/g/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537-wp/dpxg-uss-the-sullivans-five-brothers-one-ship-and-a-luc-rescuer-of-the-desperate.mp3 0:06 3 full USS The Sullivans: Five Brothers, One Ship, and a Lucky Shamrock: The Lucky Shamrock https://qualla.com/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. On December 18, 1944, Typhoon Cobra tore through the Pacific Fleet with catastrophic force. Three destroyers sank outright; several more ships were badly damaged. The Sullivans, her lucky shamrock painted on the funnel, emerged untouched. Two days later she was searching for men ...

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]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/x/g/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537-wp/dpxg-uss-the-sullivans-five-brothers-one-ship-and-a-luc-the-lucky-shamrock.mp3 0:06 4 full USS The Sullivans: Five Brothers, One Ship, and a Lucky Shamrock: Cold War and Cuban Crisis https://qualla.com/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537/ Photo credit Public domain. The Sullivans earned nine battle stars in World War II and was decommissioned in January 1946. The Korean War brought her back. Recommissioned in July 1951, she screened carriers off Korea, bombarded railroad targets at Songjin, and on Christmas Day 1952 scored direct hits on a r...

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]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/x/g/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537-wp/dpxg-uss-the-sullivans-five-brothers-one-ship-and-a-luc-cold-war-and-cuban-crisis.mp3 0:06 5 full USS The Sullivans: Five Brothers, One Ship, and a Lucky Shamrock: A Ship That Refuses to Sink https://qualla.com/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537/ Photo credit LEROY A. RUBINAS, CC BY-SA 4.0. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986, The Sullivans now rests at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park in Buffalo, New York. But 'rests' may be generous. In April 2022, a severe hull breach caused the ship to partially sink, with part of her settling on the...

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Image: LEROY A. RUBINAS | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/x/g/uss-the-sullivans-dd-537-wp/dpxg-uss-the-sullivans-five-brothers-one-ship-and-a-luc-a-ship-that-refuses-to-sink.mp3 0:06 6 full