My name is Lu Ann Cooper and my father was aboard the USS Salt Lake City during WWII. I don't know what division he was in. Do you have any records that may indicate what division he was in? His grave stone says MM2.

His name was Ernest Truett Cooper Jr. and he was from Waco, Tx. I would love any information you may have about him...even if it's just his name written somewhere. I haven't looked at all the pictures yet, but I will.

The F1C must be a mistake because my father worked in the boiler room and the engine room. I remember something about him making fresh water out of the salt water too.

I talked to my mother about your site and how excited I was. She said she was happy to hear about the website and said that it would have made my dad so happy.

There was a movie made when they sank the SLC and my dad just bawled like a baby when he saw it. He never wanted to talk much about his experiences. He suffered from severe shell shock and had nightmares just about every night until he died in 93. He would soak his pillow in sweat. My mother says it was like he fought that war every night in his sleep. I think he lost some of his best friends on board.

He did tell us one story about once when he went into the bathroom that had a lot of stalls all lined up. He sat down on one, then just had the urge to get up and move. Another man went in and sat in the stall my dad had vacated and some shrapnal came in and killed him.

I asked my mother to look for what few pictures she has of my dad from his navy days. I'm not too sure about the years he was on board the SLC. He joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor was hit and I think he left the ship in 46.

Thank you so much for setting up this site.

Lu Ann Cooper