Chevrons and Diamonds

In our continuous effort to tell the stories of veterans who played the game and served their country, we have discovered and shared details that were long forgotten or never revealed. Artifacts have a way of helping to expose facts that are truly incredible.

One artifact led us down a path that we couldn’t have imagined. What should have been the story of a professional pitcher who led his Navy team to two regional titles while boosting the morale of area military personnel was actually one of a man who reached the game’s pinnacle and told an incredible lie about his service, along the way.

Peeling the layers back on the highly popular and heroic narrative of Gene Bearden’s naval service resulted in three articles spanning 21 months.

Our story began following the acquisition of a team-signed baseball, that cast a spotlight upon Bearden’s incredible account of survival and a long road of healing to return to the game he loved.

• Rainiers Ink: World War II Veterans Converge in Seattle – September 21, 2021

In the process of attempting to uncover details regarding his naval service, Bearden’s often published account was not only rife with inconsistencies, but the official records were not in alignment. The further our research progressed; Bearden’s story fell apart.

• A Sinking News Story: World Series Hero Gene Bearden, a Sub-Chaser and the Loss of the USS Helena – October 2, 2021

Questions continued to arise throughout the process; details surrounding the origin of the USS Helena narrative were unknown. Initially, it seemed that the story first appeared in print in 1948. What transpired between January 1945 and his rookie season in 1948 and why did it surface during his rookie campaign? Did an overzealous and patriotic reporter craft it? Those questions were answered after we published the first segment.

• Sea Stores and Tales of Survival: 1948 World Series Hero Gene Bearden’s Knuckling Narrative – October 9, 2021

While the available facts clearly demonstrated that Bearden was never aboard the Helena, we sought rock-solid proof through the most reliable and accurate source: Gene Bearden’s service record. After months of waiting, we received all 114-pages which proved all our previous research to be accurate while also surfacing facts that nullified every aspect of Bearden’s published account.

• Laying Gene Bearden’s USS Helena Story to Rest – June 28, 2023

Our work has only begun in correcting the story and honoring the USS Helena men who perished as a result of the Kula Gulf battle as well as those who survived and likely wondered why a major league pitcher was dishonest about his service and chose their tragic event as a banner for his wartime experience. In addition to publishing our articles on Chevrons and Diamonds, the next step in setting the record straight was to author a replacement to Bearden’s biography for the Society of American Baseball Research’s (SABR) Biography Project.