William S. Ausley served as a Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Petty Officer on the USS PT-509 "Sassy Sue", Squadron 34, USNR, during World War II.
Dispatched to the German-held island of Jersey on the 9th of August, 1944 to intercept a reported German supply convoy, PT-509 and her crew passed through foul weather and heavy fog to enter the heavily mined waters along the Southeast coast of Jersey. Using the low visibility to their advantage, PT-509’s crew crept towards shore and eventually sighted several German ships off the beach at Saint Ouen's Bay discharging their cargo onto landing craft. Choosing to remain undetected, PT-509’s Captain remained off La Corbiere Point and launched all four torpedoes into the German formation. From this distant position, PT-509’s crew saw and heard no obvious sounds of torpedo impacts among their targets, so the decision was made to enter Saint Ouen's Bay at speed and strafe as many German vessels as possible before using the PT Boat’s high speed to escape into open waters.
Among the assembled German merchant ships the passage of four torpedoes had not gone unnoticed among the wary crews, and within moments several German escort ships mobilized and proceeded towards the torpedo’s origin at flank speed. Within moments, lookouts on several ships sighted the onrushing PT-509 in the distance and opened fire, catching the crew of the American PT Boat by surprise and in a closing crossfire. With her gun positions already manned, PT-509’s crew returned fire on their attackers as her Captain took evasive maneuvers and for several minutes a fierce firefight raged in the shallow and foggy waters off La Corbiere. Struck several times by large caliber shells, PT-509 momentarily lost headway and thereby her greatest defense against the circling German ships, one of which quickly seized the opportunity and closed in to ram.
Raking the approaching German Minesweeper with machine gun fire, PT-509’s crew abandoned their posts when it became clear their boat was not going to evade the impending collision. Sliced in half by the subsequent collision, PT-509’s topside crews were thrown into the rough waters while those still below deck likely went down with the Stern section which sank immediately following the collision. Set aflame by spilled fuel, PT-509’s bow offered no refuge for any crew that may have survived the ramming and by the time it washed ashore on Jersey. Fourteen of PT 509′s fifteen man crew were killed (including Ausley), along with two crewmen from the PT 503. Of the sixteen USN personnel killed in the battle, nine bodies were never recovered – the sea just off this point taking them to final peace.
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