Hail at last the USS Achernar and those that sailed it on that fateful June 6, 1944.
The crew of a World War II-era ship has finally set the record straight about the vessel’s name and its role in the D-Day invasion.
A June 1944 issue of Life magazine included an account of the ship, Achernar, loaded with communications equipment to help choreograph the invasion. But the reporter gave the ship a false name — USS Acamar — to protect the secretive nature of the mission.
A group of nine veterans gathered Saturday to receive citations commending the ship’s role as one of four command vessels for the mission — and recognizing it by its actual name.
“I’ve been trying since the war was over to get the ship recognized properly,” said Phil Gentilcore, 82, who was a gunner’s mate.
The Achernar’s existence is well-documented, but there’s been no reference to the fact that the Acamar and the Achernar were the same until now, said Gentilcore, of Hyattsville.
U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen and other politicians drew up citations acknowledging the ship and its crew in time for the veterans’ annual reunion and the 61st anniversary of D-Day on Monday.
The veterans said their adventures were numerous. Gentilcore remembers seeing the first medical tent go up on Omaha Beach, and feeling glad to know that the Allied forces were making progress and that the wounded could be treated.
He also recalled how all the sailors on destroyers wanted to come aboard the Achernar because it was one of the few ships with an ice cream maker.
The Achernar, which could carry about 400 people, received three battle stars for World War II service and three battle stars for Korean War service. The ship was scrapped in 1982.
I find it absolutely amazing that it took just under 61 years to correct the history from Acamar to Achernar.