Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By And/Or Copyright
	28k	Walter Monroe Mosley and Maude M. McMillan were married in Bell county, Texas on 20 August 1905. They became the parents of at least 3 children; Frankie, Lealer M., and Walter Harold Mosley. Known as Harold, he graduated from Austin High School in 1934. He entered the University of Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy in 1934 and graduated in 1938 with a degree in Business Administration and Economics. While in college his extracurricular activities included the Academic Association, Pre-Law Society, and he played in the school's band. Mosley enlisted in the U. S. Naval Reserve (NSN:407-30-14) on 12 February 1940 in Dallas, Texas as a V-5 Seaman 2/c, USNR. He reported to the U. S. Naval Reserve Aviation Base, Miami (Opa-Locka), Florida on 15 February 1940 from the Naval Reserve Station, Dallas, Texas to begin the Elimination Phase (E-base) of his aviation training program. After passing his E-base training which included a short solo flight, Mosley was transferred to inactive duty on 14 March 1940 to await further orders. In early June 1940, the Secretary of the Navy sent Mosley orders to report to the Commandant, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida to begin flight training under instruction and appointment as an Aviation Cadet. Mosley took the oath of office as an Aviation Cadet and accepted his appointment on 27 June 1940. He progressed through his training into early December 1940 when it almost came to an abrupt end. On 05 December 1940, Mosley was on a solo training flight over the Pensacola NAS, when his plane collided with a plane piloted by another student aviator, Aviation Machinist Mate Third Class (AMM3), H.C. White. White bailed out and landed safely. His aircraft crashed. Mosley brought his plane to the ground safely. Mosley continued his training without further mishap. He completed flight training and earned his designation as a Naval Aviator in late December 1940. He was commissioned an Ensign, USNR, (A-VN) on 20 January 1941. Later in the year Ensign Mosley was assigned to Patrol Squadron 22. His squadron was based at Ford Field during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 07 December 1941. In January 1942, he flew with his squadron to Darwin, Australia, to support the Allied attempt to halt the Japanese advance through Southeast Asia. Based on seaplane tender USS William B. Preston (AVD 7), Mosley flew patrols north of Australia into the Java Sea and surrounding waters plotting the movements of the Japanese. As co-pilot of a PBY-5, he departed for a patrol south of Amboina, Moluccas, on 19 February 1942. With Lt. Thomas H. Moorer (later admiral and Chief of Naval Operations) as pilot, the patrol plane spotted a merchant ship off Melville Island, Australia, and turned to investigate. About 0920, nine Japanese fighters, part of a 70-plane force enroute to bomb Darwin, jumped the PBY. Soon, the plane was in flames, its port engine out and fuel streaming along the fuselage. Despite the attacking fighters, Lieutenant Moorer and Ensign Mosley skillfully landed the plane. In Lieutenant Moorer’s words, Mosley assisted by handling the throttle “although dazed and bleeding profusely from a wound in the head.” Florence D., an American merchant ship carrying ammunition to the Philippines, rescued the crew. Later that day, Japanese carrier planes attacked the unarmed ship with 500-pound bombs. Survivors, including Mosley, made Bathurst Island in two lifeboats about midnight, and a RAAF patrol plane spotted them on the 21st. The next morning, HMAS Arranambool, an Australian sub-chaser, rescued them and carried them to Darwin on 23 February. Early in March, Mosley returned to the United States for convalescent leave to recover from his wounds. On 21 April 1942 Ensign Mosley A-V(N), USNR, was a passenger aboard the USS Wharton (AP 7) enroute from San Francisco to Hawaii and duty with VP-44.  (CONTINUED....) USS Mosley (DE 321) (1943-1946) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (Photo posted by Gerry Lawton to the Find-A-Graveweb site)		Gerry Lawton Commander, USN (ret.) Saluda, N.C.
0632103	497k	02 June 1944: off Brooklyn, N.Y. - A starboard bow view of Mosley taken in misty waters near the New York Navy Yard. (U.S. Navy photo #CP-DE-320 19-N-71089 from the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md.; courtesy of  Chris Wright)		Ed Zajkowski Narvon, Pa.
0632102	97k	October 1945: Underway from Charleston Navy Yard, bound for a week long, Navy Day open house celebration in Brunswick, Ga.		Dori Bolen in honor of her father: Grover Clinton Pettigrew GM1c, USCG, Plankowner
0632104	252k	USS Mosley (DE 321) underway, circa 1944-1945. (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #NH 81347 courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974, from the Naval History and Heritage Command)		Mike Smolinski Clifton, N.J. Navsource Archive Manager DE / FF / LCS Archive

Contact information is compiled from various sources over a period of time and may, or may not, be correct. Every effort has
been made to list the newest contact. However, our entry is only as good as the latest information that's been sent to us. We list
only a contact for the ship if one has been sent to us. We do NOT have crew lists, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the
Frequently Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.

Additional Resources

---

Tin Can Sailors
The U.S. Navy Memorial
Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation
Tin Can Sailors Shipmate Registry - USS Mosley

---

To The DE, FF, LCS Photo Index Page

Back To The Main Photo Index

Comments, Suggestions, E-mail: Webmaster.

This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved. Page Last Updated: 16 October 2022