A Time of Sacrifice

In November of 1942, Alleta Sullivan made a sacrifice of unimaginable proportions. That month the Navy informed her that all five of her sons had been killed in action while serving on the same ship. This had been their choice. Navy policy, then and now, separated family members; however, the Sullivan brothers successfully protested to be stationed as a family:

We will make a team together that can't be beat.

Their ship, the Juneau, was sunk off of Guadalcanal in what would come to be known as "Iron Bottom Sound." Only 10 sailors out of a crew of 623 survived the sinking.

The Sullivans were strong American stock, and the surviving Sullivans did not surrender even after paying this terrible price. Genevieve, the sole surviving sibling, enlisted as a recruiter for the Navy. Exhorting Americans to work harder, she and her parents visited more than two hundred manufacturing facilities:

By January 1944, the three surviving Sullivans had spoken to over a million workers in sixty-five cities and reached millions of others over the radio.

Those who whine because they are inconvenienced at airports are not worthy of the heritage earned by the Sullivans and countless others who made tremendous sacrifices to preserve freedom.

This Newshound pays tribute to all of the Sullivans.

In the words of many hardcore drill instructors: You WILL see this material again.

The US Navy

The US Navy

The Sullivan Poster