George W. Demarest
Seaman First Class • U.S. Navy • Serial 08172644
Naval Armed Guard, SS J.H. Senior
Entered service from New Jersey • Died August 18, 1943
Missing in action or buried at sea — Tablets of the Missing at East Coast Memorial, New York City, USA
Introduction
The tanker SS J.H. Senior (top); collision and fire damage following the August 1943 incident (center and bottom).
Seaman First Class George W. Demarest lived on Second Avenue near W. Park Avenue in Lindenwold NJ. On his last voyage he was assigned to a gun crew serving as the naval Armed Guard aboard the tanker J.H. Senior, operated under the Panamanian flag by the Panama Transport Company, which was controlled by the Standard Oil Company, better known then as ESSO. The J.H. Senior was one of five sister tankers built by Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG, Nordseewerke, at Emden, Germany, and first went to sea in 1931. On her final trip, she was carrying aviation fuel to England, with a deck cargo of airplanes.
On a voyage from New York to Mersey in convoy HX 252, in thick fog, the J.H. Senior was involved in a collision with the Liberty Ship SS J. Pinckney Henderson on August 19, 1943. Between the collision and the ensuing fire, both ships were lost. The J.H. Senior lost 40 of her crew and 27 of her naval Armed Guard; only six of the crew and Armed Guard aboard the Senior survived. The SS J. Pinckney Henderson fared little better, losing at least 34 of her crew and 25 of her Armed Guard.
A Canadian River-class frigate in escort, HMCS Hallowell, under the command of Lieutenant Alfred William Bett, Royal Canadian Naval Reserve, of Toronto, Canada, pulled alongside the burning J.H. Senior and, with a volunteer crew, managed to extinguish the blaze and save the ship. For this act Lieutenant Bett was awarded the George Medal. His citation read in part: “This Officer led a volunteer boarding party to S.S. J.H. Senior, an American tanker with a full cargo of gasoline, which was stopped and heavily afire after collision in fog on 18 August 1943, in order to save this very valuable ship and her cargo. This Officer and his party fought the fires for over two hours with hand extinguishers, although they knew the ship was in danger of blowing up at any moment. During this time, he showed complete disregard for his own safety, and his leadership was an inspiration and example of bravery and devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the Service.”
George W. Demarest was reported missing in action in the Camden Courier-Post on September 20, 1943. He was survived by his parents, William and Alverna E. Demarest, a sister also named Alverna, and six brothers: John, Edward, William Jr., Howard, Alvin, and Craig. John was serving in the Army, and Edward in the Navy, during World War II.