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755. Pensacola's November Loss 11-30-1942 WWII

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Updated: Feb 27, 2022

William Francis McKinlay was born in Pensacola, Florida on June 3, 1912, the son of Alexander "Alex" McKinlay (1865-1933) and Beulah McKinlay (1884-1950). His father was a native of Scotland and immigrated to America in 1887. He would marry Josephine McKinlay (1872-) from Mississippi in 1894 and they made their home at 725 Cedar Street. At the time, Alex was supporting them as a stevedore unloading ships at the docks. Nothing else is known of Josephine from this point on. Alex would marry again to Beulah (last name unknown) McKinlay in 1905 with the couple taking up residency at 717 West Zarragossa Street. Alex was well-known on the docks and even took a job for several years as a bartender for William E. McCauley (1864-1924) at 501 South Palafox. McCauley was a Union Civil War pensioner from Baltimore, Maryland who had served with the 8th Maryland Infantry Regiment (3rd Artillery). After working for McCauley, Alex worked the local waters as a "bayman" in the fishing industry. Then, he was hired by the US Post Office prior to 1913 and would spend the next twenty years delivering mail. He would pass away at his home at 1790 East Lakeview Street after several days illness and was buried in Bayview Cemetery. By 1940, Beulah had moved out of their home and was living in Ensley with her son William and her daughter Annie Nora. William was running a poultry farm at the time until WWII began.


Almost immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, William would enlist in the US Navy on December 18, 1941 and was sent to Birmingham, Alabama for processing and orientation. The Navy at the time was desperate for men to fight in the South Pacific therefore they didn't have time to train them properly. Some spent only one week in basic training before being shipped off to war. Luckily, William received a little more training and was finally assigned to the heavy cruiser USS Northampton (CA-26). He came aboard on March 27, 1942 while his ship was docked at Pearl Harbor. William and his ship left almost immediately afterwards to take part in the famous Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. He would miss the famous battle of the Coral Sea but was present and accounted for at milestone Battle of Midway where they screened the carrier, USS Enterprise. On September 1, 1942, William was promoted to Seaman 1st Class just before his next battle. During the battle of Santa Cruz on October 25th, the Northampton went to the aid of the damaged carrier USS Hornet before she sank.


On November 30, 1942, she was a member of a small task force of cruisers and destroyers off Savo Island that was sent to prevent the Japanese from reinforcing their troops on Guadalcanal. Confronting an enemy force of eight destroyers, the Americans attacked with their five cruisers and six destroyers. However, the Japanese at this point of the war were far superior at night fighting and their torpedoes were much better than the American version. Before the Americans knew it, the enemy destroyers had maneuvered into positions to fire their torpedoes. In quick succession, the cruiser New Orleans had her bow blown off, the bow of the cruiser Minneapolis was completely folded over, and the cruiser USS Pensacola was hit by a torpedo and on fire with the loss of 125 men. Then William's Northampton was hit by two torpedoes at 2348 hours so close together than most aboard just heard one explosion. One of them struck her ten feet below the waterline and the other right at the surface. Three hours later she sank beneath the surface taking Pensacolian William Francis McKinlay with her. Many of the survivors were picked up by an American patrol boat PT-109 and brought to safety. Five months after the battle, the PT-109 would gain fame with her new skipper John Fitzgerald Kennedy (35th President of the US).


The Battle of Tassafaronga was a tactical defeat for the Americans especially since they had an overwhelming advantage in ships and firepower. However, one saving grace was that it prevented the Japanese from reinforcing Guadalcanal thus ensuring the Marine Corps victory there.









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