2 from Schuylkill perish in WWII Liberty ship tragedy 79 years ago
Apr. 19—April 20 is the 79th anniversary of the worst U.S. Liberty ship disaster of World War II, the sinking of the SS Paul Hamilton in the Mediterranean Sea by a German torpedo bomber.
Forty-one natives of Pennsylvania died in the disaster, including two men from Schuylkill County, William G.R. Boyer and Covert Henry Furman.
The nonprofit Stories Behind the Stars have written memorials honoring the deceased.
William G.R. Boyer was born on Dec. 28, 1919, to Ralph and Carrie (Unger) Boyer in Muir, Porter Twp. His siblings included Hilda and Clifford, and later Hattie, Ralph Jr., Arthur and Harvey. The family settled in Ashland.
Boyer attended Ashland High School for three years. He followed his father's footsteps into employment at the Locust Gap Colliery. Tragically, a mining accident took the life of Boyer's brother, Clifford, at the age of 18.
On March 14, 1942, Boyer married June C. Miller. The couple welcomed a son, Carl, before Boyer enlisted in the Army on Jan. 28, 1943.
Covert Henry Furman was born on July 20, 1923, to Asher Krall Furman and Elizabeth Sarah Young in Jonestown. The family settled in Tremont, where Furman graduated from Tremont High School, Class of 1942. The household also included Furman's two brothers.
When Furman registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, he was employed by the Civil Service School in Harrisburg, and unmarried.
He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in Allentown on Feb. 16, 1943.
Furman received training at Miami Beach, Florida; Denver, Colorado; Ontario, California; Redmond, Oregon; Gainesville, Texas; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Boyer was assigned to the 228th Medical Dispensary Aviation Unit. Furman served in the 32nd Photographic Squadron, 5th Reconnaissance Group.
The two men and their units embarked on the SS Paul Hamilton (Hull 227) on April 2, 1944, bound for Venusa, Italy, and the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.
The Liberty ship departed on her fifth voyage from Hampton Roads, Virginia, as part of Convoy UGS 38.
She was carrying supplies, ammunition and ground personnel of the 485th Bombardment Group and the 5th Reconnaissance Group of the Army Air Forces.
The convoy included dozens of merchant ships, two Navy tankers and a Coast Guard vessel.
Torpedo strikes
On the evening of April 20, 1944, the convoy was attacked by 23 German Junkers Ju-88 torpedo bombers.
The location was approximately 30 miles from Cape Bengut near Algiers, Algeria, in the Mediterranean Sea.
One aerial torpedo hit the Hamilton, igniting the high explosives in the hull.
The ship, her entire crew and passengers — a total of 580 men — were lost in 30 seconds. The 831st Bombardment Squadron lost 154 officers and men; the 32nd Photoreconnaissance Squadron lost 317 men.
The Hamilton's losses were the worst suffered by any U.S. Liberty ship during WWII. Only one body was recovered from the tragedy.
The destroyer USS Lansdale (DD-426) and SS Royal Star were also sunk during the attack.
Boyer and Furman were listed on the Tablets of the Missing, North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia.
They posthumously received the Purple Heart. Furman is memorialized in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Annville.
