Please read the FAQs below...
the answer to your question may be here....
 |
Who is bosamar.com Webmaster - Robert Jon Cox? |
 |
As many of my guests know, I (Robert Jon Cox) am a
Senior Chief Yeoman (Submarines) (U.S. Navy Retired). I retired
from the Navy on 1 May 2004. I am now a civil service employee
with the
U.S. Department of the Treasury -
FedSource.
My last boat....
USS HELENA (SSN 725)
Underway in Alaskan inland waters,
near Ketchikan
By
the way, if you click on the photo of the submarine above it
will take you to a high-resolution photo. Do a right-mouse-click
and
select "Set as Background." This is a great desktop photo.
And yes, I took this photo myself!
"Any man
who may be asked in this century
what he did to make his life worthwhile,
I think can respond with a good deal of pride
and satisfaction...
"I served in the United
States Navy."
-John F. Kennedy |
My Navy bio is here.
Send all email for me to:
mail@bosamar.com
|
Return to top
|
|
Are you a survivor of the Battle Off Samar or Leyte Gulf? |
|
|
No I am
not. My great-uncle Virgil Cox, S1c, USNR, was aboard the USS
GAMBIER BAY (CVE 73) when she was sunk. He survived. See
"A note from the Author" for more insight. |
Return
to top
|
|
Is this an official site of Task Unit 77.4.3 or one of
the ships of Taffy 3? |
|
|
No it is
not. This site is solely the brainstorm and property of myself, Robert
Jon Cox. I am not a member of any Taffy 3 warship, composite
squadron, or survivors association. I have been designated as
the official TAFFY III - 77.4.3 - WW II, Inc.
webmaster....however....this is not an official site of the
aforementioned organization....I am working on my own here and do have
and maintain complete control over site content.
I am supported by several of the official Taffy 3
survivor associations by one way or another which include:
President, TAFFY III - 77.4.3 - WW II, Inc.
USS ST LO (CVE 63) & VC-65 Association
USS KALININ BAY (CVE 68) & VC-3 Association
USS KITKUN BAY (CVE 71) & VC-5 Association
USS GAMBIER BAY (CVE 73) & VC-10 Association
USS HOEL (DD 533) Association
USS JOHNSTON (DD 557) Association
USS JOHN C. BUTLER (DE 339) Association
USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (DE 413) Association
and individual crew members of every ship and composite
squadron of Taffy 3.
The support from the above organizations, associations, and
individuals is mainly in the form of donated material.....allowing
me to tell you their story directly from the source.....as
posted and credited appropriately throughout my web site. |
Return to top
|
|
Who pays for all of this....do you accept donations? |
|
|
I pay for website support
out of my pocket and through donations. All monies received are
considered donations. Anyone who donates $20 U.S. or more will
receive a copy of my book, "The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte
Gulf". Anyone with a PC knows that they consume vast quantities of
money over time. I am forever purchasing new software programs to
stay with the times. $100 here and there adds up very quickly. I
estimate that since May 1996 when I started this web site I have easily
spent over $10,000 on PC's, upgrades, software, printers, scanners, and
the like.
If you are interested in donating to my cause, please send me an
email and I will send you my mailing address. I assure you
that all monies received will go ONLY for web site related matters.
And of course, you will make my wife very happy.... |
Return
to top
|
|
How can I help? |
|
|
Tell a
friend about this web site.
Donate material such as photographs, documents, newspaper articles,
etc.
Donate money, PC software, or hardware. |
Return
to top
|
|
Why did you part ways with the Escort
Carrier Sailors & Airmen Association? Weren't you the ECSAA
Webmaster? |
|
|
I am
asked this question very often from ECSAA members. The story
behind the answer would make a fine Monday Night movie. ECSAA
Founder Tony Potochniak contacted me in 1998 with a request
that I build an ECSAA website. Using my own resources and
internet provider I built the original ECSAA website from scratch
and piggy-backed it onto my BOSAMAR website. During my tenure
as ECSAA Webmaster I spent approximately 250 hours building and
maintaining the ECSAA site over a two-year period.
I carried out my duties as ECSAA Webmaster as a personal favor to
Tony Potochniak. I never signed a contract for my services.
There was never any formal administration or document linking me to
ECSAA. No legal documents were signed attesting to this.
I was never paid one cent*....I would not accept any money. I
did it for the veterans. Just me, gullible and trusting Bob
Cox, doing what I thought was the right thing to do.
In January 1999 I went back to sea aboard the submarine HELENA.
In hind sight, this is where the problems began. I was absent
very often, and unable to make immediate updates to the ECSAA
website.
In July 1999 I moved from Connecticut to California because of my
active duty Navy commitments. I then moved the ECSAA site to
its own server and gave it the web address of
www.escortcarriers.org. At this time I also received
permission from Tony to host my BOSAMAR web site at the ECSAA URL,
free of charge. My understanding was that as long as the ECSAA
owed this URL, my BOSAMAR web site would have a permanent home.
No legal documents were signed attesting to this. Between the
period of September 1999 and June 2000 Tony and I worked hard to
improve the ECSAA web site, adding a large amount of new material.
It was during this time that I knew there was some friction
between Tony and some of the ECSAA Governors. I was told by
Tony that the current ECSAA Governors wanted to fire me. (my words,
not theirs). Tony told me, "....everything will be fine."
(my words, not Tony's). I was never told what the concrete
reasons were for the friction between Tony and the ECSAA Governors
until much later. I will not post those reasons here, as I
consider them private and between Tony and the current ECSAA Board
of Governors.
In June 2000 I departed for a six-month deployment to the Western
Pacific. By the time I had returned on 13 December 2000, I had
already been removed as ECSAA Webmaster by the current Board of
Governors.
First and foremost, I did not part ways with ECSAA on my own
accord. I was removed without any
notification by the current Board of Governors, "...because I was
not updating the ECSAA web site in a timely manner." (my
words, not theirs). However in hindsight, it was because
they wanted to dump ECSAA Founder Tony Potochniak.
In my opinion, I was removed as ECSAA Webmaster because I was
controlled by then ECSAA Governor Tony Potochniak. As
everyone should know by now, Tony was removed from the
board of ECSAA Governors. And in this lies the
true reason for my demise with ECSAA.
I was never formally or publicly thanked for my service to ECSAA
by the current Board of Governors (2000)....*I was just very quietly
given a check for $500 to move my BOSAMAR web site off "their"
server. Believe me, the inconvenience was all mine.
I will not support the current ECSAA Board of
Governors again unless they reinstate ECSAA Founder Tony Potochniak
as a member of their Board of Governors.
I deeply believe the ECSAA membership deserves an explanation
from the current ECSAA Board of Governors as to why Tony was given
the boot. Let the membership decide.
ECSAA Members: Write to your Board of
Governors and demand an immediate written explanation in the CVE
Piper newsletter!
My loyalty has always remained with my dear friend Tony
Potochniak. Tony has done more to assist me in my ventures than
anyone else and for this I am very thankful to him. Tony does
not do these things for himself, he does them for you! Tony's
current project is
Our Old Navy. I am the
OON webmaster. |
Return to top
|
|
When will the
History Channel documentary, "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" be
shown again on TV? |
|
|
 The
documentary, "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" based on author Jim
Hornfischer's award-winning book was first shown on History Channel
on Veterans Day, November 11, 2005. Upcoming showings:
History Channel
January 31, 2006
February 1, 2006
April 30, 2006
 In
April 2005 I was contacted by a representative of Lou Reda
Productions, the creator of the documentary, for assistance in the
development of this program. I provided over 90 still black
and white shots from BOSAMAR.COM, most of which are included in the
film and I also provided comments and suggestions on the
Intermediate Cut of the program. My name and BOSAMAR.COM
appear on line two of the credits.
|
Return to top
|
|
In the 20th Century Fox movie "Men of
Honor", Robert DeNiro's character "Billy Sunday" mentions he was
aboard the ST LO (CVE 63); is this true? |
|
|
This
is a very popular question. My contact from the USS ST LO (CVE
63)/VC-65 Survivors Association, President Holly Crawforth, has
assured me that:
quote "...there was no Billy Sunday on the ST LO..... The
incident that mentions the ST LO is pure fiction. DeNiro's
character (Billy Sunday) stated that the ST LO
hung up on a reef on it's way down and he was trapped in a
compartment five decks down in the fire room (too many decks)
and he rescued 6 men by leading them out through flooded
compartments. MacArthur supposedly was on the intercom when he
was in the fire room and gave him his (MacArthur's) corn-cob pipe as
a reward when he surfaced...." unquote.
Hollywood at it's best.
|
Return to top
|
|
My father was a survivor of the Battle Off Samar. Can you
help him locate old shipmates? |
|
|
Each
warship and composite Squadron of Task Unit 77.4.3 has an active
survivors association. These folks run absolutely tight-knit
organizations and they would be thrilled to be informed of a "lost
shipmate".
I now longer post association addresses. As time moves on it
gets harder and harder to keep good contacts. However, several
Taffy III associations have excellent websites:
Gambier Bay
St Lo/Midway
Another St Lo/Midway web site
Johnston/Hoel
Samuel B. Roberts
I am very proud to state that my site has been responsible for
reuniting several "lost shipmates" with their respective survivors
association. |
Return
to top
|
|
Why doesn't the information on your site display
correctly in my browser? |
|
|
Check your
browser version number. For best results, you should use Microsoft
Internet Explorer version 7.0. My website was created using
Microsoft FrontPage. My current version of FP is v2003. In
addition, for optimum browsing, your monitor should be set at 1024 x 768
pixels and at least 16-bit color. |
Return
to top
|
|
I am having difficulty viewing the information posted on
your site because the fonts you used are too small to read. Can you
help? |
|
|
The top two
internet browsers, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator,
Firefox, Opera each have a TEXT SIZE KEY. YOU
have control over font size and font face at your PC.....set it for
whatever you like. Your size choices are "Smallest, Smaller,
Medium, Larger, and Largest." For font face....I would choose
"ARIAL".....the choice is yours.... HTML has its restrictions....
My web site is no different than any other and therefore has the same
restrictions. I believe on par, my web site is much more user
friendly than others.
Finally, I'm not familiar with AOLs browser.... I only use MSIE
and from my vantage point, it works just fine. |
Return
to top
|
|
Where can I obtain photographs of U.S. Navy warships? |
|
|
You may
obtain 8x10 black and white or color photographs (if available) by
contacting the:
Photo Service
U.S. Naval Institute
118 Maryland Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21402-5035
Fax (410) 269-7940
Price per photo for members $16.
Price per photo for non-members $20.
Plus postage and handling.
The Online Photo Store is
here. |
Return
to top
|
|
Where can I obtain a copy of my official military service
records? |
|
|
Submit your
request on
Standard Form 180, "Request Pertaining to Military Records",
available at most government offices such as the Veterans
Administration. The form is broken down by service...Air Force, Coast
Guard, Marine Corps, Army, and Navy. A list of custodians corresponding
to your category of service (active, reserve, officer, enlisted, etc.)
is provided with a specific mailing address to where your records are
kept.
Information from records of military personnel is released subject to
restrictions imposed by the military departments consistent with the
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act of 1974. A service person
has access to almost any information contained in his own record. The
Next of Kin may obtain the records if the veteran is deceased.
Precedence of Next of Kin is: unmarried widow or widower, eldest son or
daughter, father or mother, eldest brother or sister.
|
Return
to top
|
|
Shouldn't your web site be named "The Battle of
Samar?" |
|
|
You
would be surprised to find out how many people tell me that I've
misspelled "off", as in "The Battle Off Samar."
Naval historians, not English Professors, have named the battle as
follows...if you don't believe me....go to your library and do some
research for yourself.
The Battle off Samar
The Battle of Samar
Samar
I like the first and have taken the liberty of
capitalizing the "O" in "Off" when used on my web site.
The battle took place off the island of
Samar....as in off-shore oil platform.... To say "of Samar"
just doesn't sound right to me.
My apologies to all of my English student guests.
You obviously came here for a lesson in Naval history.....not an English
lesson. |
Return
to top
|
|
What is going on with your book? |
|
|
My book "The Battle Off Samar -
Taffy III at Leyte Gulf" is posted online for all to enjoy.
My old internet book, "The Battle Off Samar - The Tragedy of Taffy
III" is no longer available online. The new version is much
better....
I decided to place this book online for
a few different reasons:
-
So the survivors, their families,
and enthusiasts would have unlimited access to this history.
-
It's too good to just let it sit on
my PC.
-
To raise money via donations to keep BOSAMAR.COM
self-supportive and online.
All chapters are now posted.
I started writing this book in November
1992. In August 1996 I decided to post the condensed
version of what I had ready onto my web site under the tile "The
Battle Off Samar - The Tragedy of Taffy III". Since
then work continued on my book.....I gathered huge amounts of
information concerning the battle via my web site.....and in its
finished form, my book consisted of 14 chapters, 194 pages, 48
photographs, size 8½ x 11, soft cover (perfect-bind), on 70-pound
acid-free paper....and it sold like hot cakes....
I sold the First Edition of this book to the general public from June to December 1998 via this web
site. My first run of books sold out very quickly. Just as I
was getting ready to have another run of books printed I received
Permanent Change of Station orders to another submarine and those plans
went out the window.
I continued to conduct research and
completed the Second Edition of my book in February 2001.
These additions consists of about six pages of additional material and
corrected a few spelling, technical, and layout errors.
In February 2001 I was contacted by the late John Ibe, Vice President of
Task Unit 77.4.3 (aka Taffy III) Organization who then purchased 500
copies of the Second Edition of my book to support their venture
in the Bob Hope Military Tribute.
In March 2003 I completed the Third Edition of my book. It
was only available on CD-rom in PDF format (Adobe Acrobat) because I
could not find a reasonably priced local printer for my book.
Due to modern technology and the advent of Print on Demand my book is
once again available in printed format as of January 2006. The
Fourth Edition is available in soft cover (perfectbind) and hard
cover (casewrap). You can obtain a copy of
the Fourth Edition of my book in print by going here:
BOOK SALES
INFO
|
Return
to top
|
|
I don't see my question listed here....can you help? |
|
|
You bet!
Send me an email now!
 |
Return
to top
|
