Speaker: John K. Schwarz

This event is open to the public. For more information about the Lifelong Learning Institute, Manassas, visit lli-manassas.org

The USS Houston (CA-30) was a World War II heavy cruiser with a distinguished wartime record in the Pacific theater. During the 1942 Battle of the Sunda Strait, she was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of nearly 700 of her crew. Survivors captured by the Japanese were subjected to horrendous conditions in prison camps for the remainder of the war, including being used as slave labor in the construction of the “Burma-Thailand Death Railway,” depicted in the epic 1957 movie, Bridge on the River Kwai. The story of this ship and her heroic crew will be presented by John Schwarz, son of surviving crew member Otto C. Schwarz, based on his father’s personal experiences and reminiscences.

John K. Schwarz is the youngest son of USS Houston CA-30 survivor Otto C. Schwarz. He has been immersed in this ship’s story his entire life and has known many of his father Otto’s fellow surviving shipmates. He is a retired U.S. Postal Service manager and certified elementary school teacher. Since 2010, he has served as the Executive Director of the USS Houston (CA-30) Survivor’s Association and Next Generation. John is grateful for the opportunity to tell this story, perpetuating the memory of this great ship and her heroic captain and crew.