In the Shadow of the USS Franklin

As we wind down the production and filming for the documentary, we are conducting wrap-up interviews with different Franklin families. In September, we spent a little time in Illinois to visit with some familiar faces.

We started in Champaign Country, first interviewing Don Hamm and his son Darren in Mahomet. Don’s father, Bob, was a plank owner on the Franklin – he was in Engineering in the Number 3 Fire Room -and he and his wife Lois attended Franklin reunions over the years. Bob gave an interview in 2007 at the WILL studio on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Oral History Program, which you can see with the following link:

Click Here for Robert Hamm’s Oral History Interview

Don, Darren, Darren’s wife Susan, and the Hamm family have been very involved with the Franklin reunions over the years. Darren and Susan have hosted two Franklin reunions, Darren has served on the board of the USS Franklin Museum Association, and Darren maintains the USS Franklin Museum Association website. Darren and Susan are also planning and hosting the upcoming reunion in Mt. Pleasant, SC to be held 18-21 March 2025. This reunion will be held in conjunction with the USS Yorktown CV-10 museum and will mark the 80th anniversary of the 19th March 1945 attack on the Franklin. Reunion details are available at the following link:

Click Here for Details for the March 2025 USS Franklin Reunion in Mt. Pleasant, SC

Don and his wife Donna were generous in letting us invade their home and move their furniture around to set up the cameras and lights. Don and Darren have been in front of the cameras several times over the past few years for the documentary, and they were reflective and generous with their thoughts and stories in this most recent interview.

The next day, just 23 miles southeast of the Hamm’s, we interviewed Pastor Ken and Elaine Young at the Fountain of Life Family Fellowship church that they lead in Tolono. Elaine’s father, Ray Bailey, served on the Franklin in the 6th Gunnery Division. He and his wife Dottie were very active with the ship reunions, including hosting. Ray kept the reunion roster and was active in the USS Franklin Museum Association. After his service on the Franklin, Ray was a Navy photographer and he continued with photography after he retired from the military. He filmed many Franklin reunions and had a collection of reunion video tapes going back roughly 30 years. Ray sat for an oral history interview in 2015 at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans which can be seen at the following link:

Click Here for Ray Bailey’s Oral History Interview at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans

I began this documentary with Ray in 2018, not long before he passed away. Ray and my father were lifelong friends and both were WWII Navy veterans. When Ray was serving on the USS Franklin, my father was serving on a troop transport ship. Because of their close friendship, I’ve known Ray my entire life. 

Like the Hamm family, Elaine and Ken have continued to attend and participate in the Franklin reunions even though their folks are no longer with us, and Ken is often called upon at the reunions to say a prayer or give a blessing.

Like Don and Darren, Elaine and Ken gave a thoughtful and heartfelt interview. We began this documentary by interviewing them. I’m grateful for their repeated and continued participation in the project, their hospitality when I get home to Illinois and visit them, and also for their generosity with their knowledge, time, and all of their father’s Franklin documents, films, tapes, photographs, memorabilia, and ephemera. This documentary would have been much more difficult to produce without them.

Then the next day, we were 126 miles further north, in the Chicago suburb of Plainfield where we were welcomed into the home of Ken and April Homko. Ken’s father, Harry, served in the K-division on the Franklin and he and his wife Dolores would attend the Franklin reunions. Although Ken’s folks have passed away, Ken and April still continue to be involved with the Franklin group. They have hosted 3.5 Franklin reunions, one in partnership with Roger and Bonnie Hall. I mention a half-reunion because they were organizing the 2020 reunion which would have fallen on the 75th anniversary of the 19 March 1945 attack if the COVID pandemic lock-down hadn’t caused them to cancel it. Ken served on the board of the USS Franklin Museum Association and was the treasurer for a number of years.

Ken told us about his father, his family, and his work with the reunions and the museum association. The story of the Franklin and the veterans and families have been a part of Ken’s life since he was a child and he continues to stay connected with the group and also with this documentary. He gave a very poignant interview.

After the interview, Ken and April allowed us to pack up all of the gear in their front yard, and Ken kindly provide packing tape. On these film trips, Tim and Zach bring their own gear, but usually we need to rent additional equipment, such as a second camera and additional lights and stands. Because the closest film rental house was in Chicago and our first two interviews were down-state, we rented from an online rental house that shipped the gear to us at the start of the filming trip and Tim and Zach packed it all up so we could ship it back once we wrapped up in Plainfield. 

Lastly, you may have learned the sad news that Franklin veteran Mr. Jack Hensel passed away at the age of 99. He was a turret gunner on the TBF Avenger torpedo bomber in squadron VT-5. Mr. Hensel’s story is posted on the USS Franklin Museum Association website which you can see by clicking on the image below.

Mr. Hensel generously gave several interviews for the documentary, the most recent being in June via Zoom that his daughter Mary-Lynn helped to set up. It was sometimes difficult for him to talk about his experiences on the Franklin, but he never refused to provide an interview. He was a kind, decent man and I feel privileged to have known him. My sympathies go to his family and friends for their loss. Clicking on the image below will take you to his obituary.