April 15 would have been the 99th birthday of Lewistown native Carl Robert Weaver, Jr. Tragically, he died at the age of 19 during World War II. Weaver and hundreds of his shipmates were sent to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean not by the targeted force of the enemy's brutality, but by the random force of nature's fury. Weaver was a victim of Typhoon Cobra, a small but intense storm that hit east of the Philippines on Dec. 18, 1944.

Weaver was the son of Carl R. and Mary E. (Maddox) Weaver. He was born in Lewistown and was raised with his younger sister Bertha in Granville. Both of Weaver's parents worked for the American Viscose Corporation. It was Weaver's ambition to work someday with his father at the rayon manufacturer. Weaver graduated from Lewistown High School in 1942 where he took vocational courses and was recognized on the academic Honor Roll. He participated in the school's rifle club.

Weaver enlisted in the Navy in Philadelphia on Aug. 6, 1942. He likely received basic training at the Naval Training Station, Newport, Rhode Island. Weaver was transferred from the Navy Receiving Station in Boston on Jan. 19, 1943 for permanent assignment aboard the destroyer USS Spence (DD-512). His rank was Fire Controlman Third Class (FC3c).

The USS Spence was commissioned on Jan. 8, 1943 as the 32nd ship of the Fletcher Class of destroyers. She was the original flagship of Destroyer Division 46 during World War II. After a shakedown cruise to the West Indies, the Spence escorted a convoy to Casablanca, Morocco before deployment to the Pacific to support the U.S. landings at Baker Island during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign. In late September 1943, the Spence aided in destroying twenty Japanese barges at the Solomon Islands. This was followed by the screening of cruisers during airfield bombardments at Bougainville. During the Battle of Cape St. George on

Thanksgiving Day, USS Spence helped finish off the Japanese destroyer, Makinami.

Weaver and his shipmates conducted additional operations at the Solomon and Bismarck Islands, operated off New Guinea, and participated in bombardments at the Caroline Islands. In June and July 1944, the USS Spence screened aircraft carriers during the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. After a six-week overhaul and sea trials, USS Spence joined Task Force 38.1 in November 1944 with the carriers Wasp, Yorktown, Cowpens and Intrepid from Ulithi. On Dec. 10, Spence and the task force sailed from Ulithi for airstrikes against Luzon, Philippines.

In the foreshadowing of a far deadlier collision, the USS Spence had a scraping incident with USS Thatcher at Bougainville in November 1943 at a combined speed of sixty knots. A near miss collision occurred in November 1944 with the USS Wasp when a rudder jammed on the Spence. With the approaching typhoon's mounting winds and seas, the Spence nearly collided with Admiral Halsey's flagship, USS New Jersey, on Dec. 17, 1944.

By December 18, the fierce storm built into Typhoon Cobra. At noon, the rudder again jammed on USS Spence. The destroyer could not survive the collision with the typhoon. With insufficient ballast for the extreme wind and waves, the destroyer capsized and sank. Weaver was one of 317 sailors aboard USS Spence to perish. Only 23 shipmates, all topsides crew, survived to be rescued by USS Tabberer.

Two other destroyers were sunk by Typhoon Cobra: USS Monaghan (DD-354) lost 256 while six survived, and USS Hull (DD-350) lost 202 while 62 survived. Twenty-seven ships, including nine warships, were damaged by the typhoon. A total of 146 planes were smashed, sent overboard or jettisoned.

Weaver's remains were unrecoverable. He was memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Philippines. A cenotaph in his honor was placed at the Birch Hill Cemetery in Burnham.

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This article was prepared for the Lewistown Sentinel by Stories Behind the Stars and published 12 April 2024.