Alice Louise Gieseke [56848]

  General Notes:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~chute/gp5780.htm#head1


George Albert Chute & Alice Louise Gieseke:

"Known as 'Albert' to the family. Expert radio man. He and his son Richard both served in World War II. Now lives in Mobile, Alabama."
Ann Gertrude Chute, Family Data Worksheet sent to George M. Chute, Jr., 21 FEB 1950
A letter from Mary Elizabeth Lowey Chute, dated August 30, 1951 to George M. Chute., Jr., also provided birthdates of son George Albert and his children. However, she was discrepant on two birthdates, that of Alice Mary and Richard, making them both a year younger than their records. The original letter has been filed in George Albert's family group (GP5780-1); we will use the birthdates provided by Richard Harry and Nancy Alberta Chute LaFave, which are consistent. According to son Richard Harry, his father lost an arm while working for the Coast Guard - his car was side-swiped by a large truck. While in the Merchant Marines, his boat was torpedoed twice.
He was mentioned in a letter written by George Roger Chute <gp2160.htm> of Seattle:
"George S.* Chute, of Mobile, Alabama [*George Roger is incorrect; he meant "George A."], also a transplanted State-o-Mainer, is a radio officer aboard ship. He used to be in this vessel**, but when this ship was moved from Mobile to Puget Sound, he returned home. He is a member of the "Radio Officers Union", as also am I. So as to prevent confusion in handling mail, I have dropped the "George" from my name."
**He was writing from the S.S. Seattle.
George Roger Chute to George M. Chute, Jr., 24 October 1967
"George Albert Chute worked for the U.S. Coast Guard as a Merchant Marine Radio Officer. He fought in World War II, during the Minsk Run, and survived the sinking of the SS Pan Royal. Due to his work, the family moved often, living in Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Mobile, Alabama. Because of her husband's long absenses, Alice raised all four of her children as a "single parent" much of the time."
Notes courtesy of Nancy Chute LaFave, 2002.
[Additional Comments - Jackie]: The Pan Royal was lost in the North Atlantic, sinking after a collision, on 2/9/43. The ship is described as a freighter with a crew of 8. No information was provided on the other ship with which the Pan Royal collided. Nancy may have meant the "Murmansk Run", and not "Minsk", and in fact history of the "Murmansk Run" includes one of the more controversial actions of the U.S. military. While not directly related to George Albert Chute's incident on the Pan Royal, it does provide some idea of the lack of respect with which the Merchant Marines were treated by the traditional armed forces.
"There were 40 convoys sent to Murmansk, USSR, above the Arctic Circle on the Barents Sea. Through the Murmansk Run, the United States supplied the Soviet Union with 15,000 aircraft, 7,000 tanks, 350,000 tons of explosives, and 15,000,000 pairs of boots. The most deadly of these convoys was PQ17, which left Iceland carrying cargo worth $700 million. A large battle fleet of British and U.S. Navy ships sailed with the merchant ships on a parallel course. The Allies hoped to lure the Germans into an uneven battle. But when the British Admiralty mistakenly thought the German battleship Tirpitz with firepower superior to the British ships and the battle cruiser Scheer were on their way to intercept PQ17, the Admiralty ordered British and American warships to abandon the convoy to avoid heavy Navy losses. They told the convoy to: "Scatter fanwise. Proceed to destination at utmost speed." Some of the escorts ran for safety; many bravely tried to help the merchant ships the remaining 700 miles to safety. Between July 4 and July 14, 1942, Nazi torpedo-bombers and U-Boats launched repeated, devastating attacks on the lightly armed ships. Only 11 of the 34 merchant ships reached port. Twenty-four were sunk, along with 153 mariners and Armed Guard, 250,000 tons of war material, including 3,500 trucks, 200 aircraft and 435 tanks. Lifeboats brought some mariners to German-occupied Norway where they became POWs. Some survivors spent up to 3 weeks on rafts and open lifeboats and lost limbs to frostbite.
Ironically, the German battleships never did put to sea."
"From 1941-1946 the Merchant Marine took part in all invasions and deadly Murmansk Run. Merchant Marine Casualties at highest rate of any service - 1 in 32 persons. Statistics kept secret during WWII to avoid informing the enemy of their success, and to maintain mariner morale."
"Merchant mariners were civilians, employed by companies hired by the government to haul badly needed war supplies: oil, gasoline, guns, food. Those who weren't too old to be drafted, or classified as physically unfit, were exempt from the draft only while sailing. U.S. Merchant Marine was a Naval Auxiliary by law. Though they were relatively few in number, the merchant mariners faced the worst odds --- one out of every 32 who served died, compared with one in every 34 Marines or one in 48 GIs --- and they are considered by many experts to be a prime reason the Allies won the war."
"But it wasn't until 1988 that Congress granted the merchant seamen of WWII --- more than 10 percent of whom were African-Americans, serving on integrated crews --- the status of military veterans. And then it applied only to those who sailed between Dec. 7, 1941, and Dec. 15, 1945. Last Veterans Day, President Clinton signed a measure extending the cutoff date to Dec. 31, 1946, the same as that for those in the armed services."
Seems appalling that it would take the U.S. government that long to recognize the sacrifices made by the Merchant Marines in World War II.



Type: Book
Title:Chute Family in America in the 20th Century
Author: George Maynard Chute, Jr.
Publication: University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan & London
Date: 1967
LOCA: Privately held

Type: Chute Family Worksheet
Title: George Albert Chute & Alice Louise Gieseke
Date: 2002
Submitted By: Nancy Chute LaFave


Type: Family Data Worksheet & Supplemental Letter
Prepared By: Anne Gertrude Chute
Date: 21 FEB 1950
Sent to: George M. Chute, Jr.
LOCA: Chute Family Records/GP3855-1


Type: Family Data Worksheet
Title: George Albert Chute & Alice Louise Gieseke
Author/Researcher: Leslie Chute-Surch
Date: 2 FEB 2003
HARD COPY LOCA: Chute Family Records/GP5780-1

Alice married George Albert II Chute [56847] [MRIN: 551615116], son of Clarence Haskell Chute [56842] and Mary Elizabeth Lowey [56843], on 27 Jul 1922 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, USA. (George Albert II Chute [56847] was born on 12 Dec 1902 in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA, died on 21 Jun 1982 in Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama, USA and was buried in Jun 1982 in Mobile Memorial Gardens, Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama, USA.)