Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0604501	74k	Eric Theodore Andres was born on 12 May 1915 in Flint, Mich., to Reverend Theodore and Vera Marie Andres. The family moved to Valparaiso, Ind., when Rev. Andres accepted a position at Valparaiso University. Eric enrolled in the university in 1933. While he was a student, he participated in athletics, extracurricular activities and student government. During his freshman year, he made the football team, securing the postion of quarterback and joined the Phi Delta Kappa fraternity. In his junior year, Andres was elected to the university student council. The following year, he became the Chairman of the Lecture and Entertainment Committee, President of the Liberal Arts College and Vice President of the Commerce Club. According to a profile of Andres in The Torch, the university newspaper, he expressed that he feared “punching a time-clock twice daily, when, in reality, he yearns to sling a pack over his shoulder and tramp of across country or slip onto a tramp steamer to Honolulu.” In June 1933, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business after which he accepted a position with Sears Roebuck in Chicago, Illinois. Andres enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve as an apprentice seaman on 25 October 1941. In January 1942, he entered the U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School at Northwestern University in Chicago. On 13 February 1942, Andres was appointed as a midshipman to begin his officer training which he completed (15 May) and was appointed ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Upon commissioning, he was assigned to the heavy cruiser USS Astoria (CA 34) of the Pacific Fleet. Astoria was serving as part of Task Force (TF) 17 formed around the carrier Yorktown (CV 5). She had returned to Pearl Harbor after Yorktown had been badly damaged in the Battle of Coral Sea (04-08 May 1942). On 30 May, Andres put to sea in Astoria as TF-17 returned to combat to confront the Japanese at Midway, after which Andres’ ship was back in Pearl Harbor (13 June 1942), awaiting her next combat assignment. In August, Astoria was reassigned to Task Group 62.3 (TG 62.3), a Fire Support Group, for the amphibious assault on Guadalcanal. Late on 08 August, while Astoria steamed off the coast of Guadalcanal, a Japanese force under the command of Rear Adm. Mikawa Gunichi transited the waters off Savo Island and surprised the Allied Forces. Astoria and her sister ships Quincy (CA 39) and Vincennes (CA 44), the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra, and the destroyers Helm (DD 388) and Wilson (DD 408) were caught entirely off guard. The attack proved quick and brutal, giving the ships little time to return fire before Japanese retired. A short time into the engagement, Astoria had sustained mortal damage and was almost fully ablaze. After a valiant attempt by the crew to save her, Astoria sank at 1215 on 09 August 1942, taking Andres and 215 of his shipmates with her. In a memorial ceremony at Andres’ alma mater, Capt. William Greenman, Astoria’s commanding officer, stated that Andres, “unquestionably died at his post of duty with the single thought of inflicting maximum damage on the enemy with entire disregard to his personal safety.” USS Andres (DE 45) (1943-1945) was the first ship to be named in his honor.          (Photo from the Archives Department of the Valparaiso University Library)		Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal.
0604507	354k	February 1942: Philadelphia, Pa. - Keels for the future USS Andres (DE 45) and HMS Drury (BDE 46) are forming on the shipways at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. (Photo by George Strock, Life Magazine. To be used for educational and non-commercial purpose only.)		John Chiquoine West Chester, Pa.
0604504	187k	25 March 1943: Philadelphia, Pa. - Andres (DE45) at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. In the background, to the right, lie USS Olympia (IX 40) and the hulk of USS Taylor (DD 94). (Photo from the Naval History and Heritage Command, RG-19-LCM. Photo # NH 92285 as printed in "The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships")		Bob Hurst Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
0604506	95k	25 March 1943: Philadelphia, Pa. - The destroyer escort USS Andres (DE 45) at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. (U.S. Navy Photo #NH 107305 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
0604502	80k	starboard side, 17 October 1943		Edward M. Eastman
0604503	158k	overhead, underway, 12 July 1944
0604505	89k	National Archives photo used to illustrate Ms 22 camouflage

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Additional Resources

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Tin Can Sailors
The U.S. Navy Memorial
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation

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