USS HOUSTON CA 30
“The galloping Ghost of
the
Leo Edmond Plude
Submitted by
Bruce Guy, President
Gladwin County Historical Society
WWII: US NAVY, S2 Leo Edmond Plude, Born: 30 Mar 1917, Enlisted: 17 Sep
1940, SERVED ABOARD THE USS HOUSTON CA-30. KILLED IN ACTION ON MARCH 1,
1942 IN THE BATTLE OF SUNDA STRAIT. Died: 1 Mar 1942, Memorial Marker:
Sacred Heart Cemetery, Gladwin, Michigan.
TWO
GLADWIN BOYS—both in the Navy but on different ships—met in Honolulu on March
22nd and had this picture taken to celebrate the event. On the; left is Harold Ruttan, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Ruttan,
and on the right is Leo E. Plude, son of Mr. and Mrs.
John Plude, of Gladwin. In the center is an
unidentified young Hawaiian lady. Young Plude is on the U. S. S.
Jouett stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Ruttan is on the U.S.S.
Yorktown, a first line aircraft carrier. "We like the navy fine," writes
Plude, "but we'd like to get back to Gladwin for a visit." Gladwin
County Record 4/16/1941
JOHN PLUDE tells us that his son Leo has been transferred from the Hawaiian Islands to the Phillipines.
Leo's in the navy and is on the destroyer USS Houston. Gladwin County Record 7/23/1941
LEO E. PLUDE, 2nd class seaman with the United States Navy, has been reported missing following action in the performance of duty with naval forces in the battle off Java last week. Leo is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Plude, of Grout township, and is the first Gladwin county boy to bereported missing since the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7th. Leo was on the cruiser USS Houston which has since been reported as one of the two ships lost in the naval battle in East Indies waters last week. Word that Leo was missing following the engagement came to his parents in a telegram Sunday from Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs, chief of the bureau of navigation, which said, in part: "The Navy Department deeply regrets to inform you that your son Leo Edmund Plude, seaman second class, U.S.N., is missing following action in the performance of duty in the service, of his country. The Department appreciates your great anxiety and will furnish you further information promptly when received. "Leo was born in Grout township on March 30, 1917. He graduated from the Gladwin Rural Agricultural School in 1937 and was vice-president of his Senior class. He enlisted in the Navy in 1939. In addition to his mother and father, twelve brothers and sisters anxiously await further word from the Navy department of Leo's fate. They are Mrs. Elaine Wolfe, of Midland; Rita, Rosella, Margaret, Jean, Josie, Delores, Karen, Edward, Walter, Richard and Jack, all at home. Gladwin County Record 3/18/1942
MUSTER ROLLS: 31 Dec 1940, USS Jouett (396), Leo E. Plude, 3115077, REC’d onboard 11/25/1940
MUSTER ROLLS: 15 May 1941, USS Henderson, S2c Leo E. Plude, From Manilla to Tsingtao, China
MUSTER ROLLS: 30 Jun 1941, USS Otus, S2c Leo E. Plude, TRAN 6-14-41 USS Houston for duty.
MUSTER ROLLS: 31 Dec 1941, USS Houston (CA-30), S2c Leo E. Plude,
SEAMAN 2/c LEO E. PLUDE Previously reported missing the Navy Department reveals that Seaman 2/c Leo E. Plude is now listed as dead. He is the son
of Mr. and Mrs. John Plude of Grout Township. Gladwin County Record
1/23/1946