“SANTA ONCE CAME BY CLIPPER – It’s been a long time since PA tunaboat skipper EDWARD XAVIER MADRUGA played Santa Claus – *20 years* to be exact.
‘It was December 23, 1942 when Madruga and his crew of 18 sailed into GUADALCANAL aboard the 121’ tuna clipper ‘PARAMOUNT’. They had enjoyed a two-destroyer escort from New Caledonia, which indicated their cargo was a top priority. ‘It was! They were loaded to the gunwales with turkeys, cranberries, Christmas candies, and all the trimmings.
‘Those Marines on Guadalcanal had been eating nothing but canned rations, so they were pretty glad to see us,’ Madruga recalled in an interview. ‘I spent three years in that war skippering ‘Yippee’ boats (this was YP-289) and that was the most satisfying trip I ever made.’
Madruga said the tuna fleet normally carried bombs, gasoline, guns or frozen mutton in the Pacific Theater. So the run from New Caledonia to Guadalcanal was unique.
‘Getting a two-destroyer escort in those days was rare, because ships were awfully scarce,’ he recalled.
‘We made that 1,000-mile trip in three days and three nights. We could only go 10 knots and the destroyers had to crawl to keep pace with us.’
Madruga said the convoy left the ‘Paramount’ just before it arrived at Guadalcanal. ‘We almost went past our destination. In fact we did slip into Japanese waters; and were fired upon. Machine gun bullets flew across our bow. We turned around real quick.’
After three years aboard the ‘Paramount’, Madruga returned to San Diego on leave and later commanded a U.S. Navy tug. The next time he saw the ‘Paramount’ she was near Okinawa. The ship was lying on its side, a sad shattered hulk. A big transport ship had broken loose from its moorings during a typhoon and crashed into the clipper, setting off its depth charges.
Madruga removed the ‘Paramount’ nameplate, ‘and it’s still somewhere around the house, I think.’
It’s Ed Madruga’s reminder of the time he played Santa Claus.”
(*Source: Monrovia Daily News-Post newspaper – December 13, 1962 – Pg. 7 w/Pic) ~