The Houston Volunteers were a group of 1,000 men[1] who volunteered for U.S. Navy service to avenge the loss of heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30) after the ship was sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy on 1 March 1942 in the Battle of Sunda Strait.
[4] At 6 pm[5] on Memorial Day, 30 May 1942, a mass rally and induction ceremony took place in downtown Houston, the namesake city for the lost ship.
[6] After the parade, the volunteers lined up on Main Street in rows 16 abreast and were administered the Navy Oath by Rear Admiral William A. Glassford, who then gave a speech describing Houston's final battle.
[5] A message from President Franklin Roosevelt, who had taken several pre-war cruises on the ship, was read by Mayor of Houston Neal Pickett.
[1] Not one of us doubts that the thousand naval recruits sworn in today will carry on with the same spirit shown by the gallant men who have gone before them.