Return to Naval Historical Center home page. Return to Online Library listing

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- PEOPLE -- UNITED STATES --

The Sullivan Brothers

Albert, Francis, George, Joseph and Madison Sullivan were born in Waterloo, Iowa, between 1914 and 1920. George and Francis enlisted in the Navy in 1937. Their three younger brothers joined the service in early 1942. All five were assigned to the commissioning crew of USS Juneau (CL-52) in February 1942. They remained with the ship through her Atlantic shakedown operations and subsequent combat actions in the Guadalcanal Campaign. All were lost with her on 13 November 1942, a tragedy that received wide publicity in the United States and resulted in a new Navy policy discouraging family members from serving together in the same ship.

For more information on this subject, see The Sullivan Brothers ...

In February 1943, the destroyer Putnam, then under construction at San Francisco, California, was renamed USS The Sullivans (DD- 537) in honor of the Sullivan Brothers. More recently, an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, DDG-68, was named USS The Sullivans. This ship was commissioned in 1997.

This page features photographs of the Sullivan Brothers.

If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 52362

The five Sullivan Brothers


On board USS Juneau (CL-52) at the time of her commissioning ceremonies at the New York Navy Yard, 14 February 1942. All were lost with the ship following the 13 November 1942 Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
The brothers are (from left to right): Joseph, Francis, Albert, Madison and George Sullivan.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 49KB; 740 x 610 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 67048-KN (Color)

"the five Sullivan brothers"


"'missing in action' off the Solomons". "THEY did their part".
Office of War Information poster 42, number 1943-0-510254.
It shows the Sullivan brothers on board USS Juneau (CL-52) in early 1942. All were lost with Juneau on 13 November of that year.

Donation of the Steamship Historical Society of America, 1965.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 75,707 bytes; 590 x 780 pixels

 


If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

Revised 17 November 1998