USS BUSH (DD 529)

Commanding Officer - R. E. Westholm

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R. E. Westholm Close Up Commander Rollin E. Westholm, USN

Lt. Cmdr. Westholm assumed command of the USS BUSH on May 30, 1944. He was promoted to Commander in September, 1944 and continued as the BUSH's skipper until the ship was lost April 6, 1945.

Commander Westholm was a 1934 Annapolis graduate. Prior to taking command of BUSH, he commanded a squadron Motor Torpedo Boats.

In the first hours of January 11, 1943, then Lieutenant Westholm's boat (#112) was lost after being hit twice by Japanese Destroyers as his squadron was attempting to stop the "Tokyo Express" in the Solomon Islands. During his stint with the Motor Torpedo Boats, Mr. Westholm earned a Silver Star.

R. E. Westholm Standing

After the war, Commander Westholm remained in the navy retiring as a Captain in 1964. For those interested in learning more about Mr. Westholm's time with the Motor Torpedo Boats, or just Motor Torpedo Boats in general, visit the following website:

Knights of the Sea - PT Boats of World War II
(just click on the underlined blue text!)

The details about Mr. Westholm's MTB adventures were found in the Action Reports of the PT Boat website, along with many other interesting facts and stories about MTB's in World War II. It is a great website!


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