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ComCarDiv4
Fleet Post Office
San Francisco,
Calif
11 Sept. 1945 |
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From:
The Lieutenant Commander.
To
:
All You Fine People.
Subject:
By More War Bonds:
Since the war is over, and the censorship regulations have been
withdrawn to a “common sense” level, preventing only the
disclosure of future movements, I think a brief resume of my
activities with ComCarDiv Four is in order – so here goes—
Reported to Commander Carrier Division Four in San Diego on 5 March
– the old staff then being on leave which was due to terminate
around 20 March. On March
6th, orders were received to cancel the remainder of the
leave, and report back to ComAirPac in
Pearl
immediately. Frantic
telegrams were sent to all portions of the
U.S.
, (
Miami
and
Boston
included) ordering all hands to report to
San Francisco
by midnight 8 March. Those
of us in
San Diego
were flown up to Frisco on the morning of the 7th, stopping
in at
Santa Barbara
to pick up the Admiral. The
people at Frisco made the necessary arrangements for us on the evening
clipper – the clipper trip was fun, we took off around 9 p.m., had a
few drinks while the steward set up the bunks.
The sleeping was fine, and the breakfast delicious.
We landed 11 a.m. at Honolulu, and were taken to Ford Island
(the island in the middle of Pearl Harbor – most of the naval air
activities are run from Ford Island), and spent the rest of the
afternoon running errands around the island; however, work ceased in
time for cocktails – Manhattan – 3 of em – which turned me a bit
woosy – and dinner. We
intended to take in a movie after chow, but didn’t get around to it.
The date for departure
Honolulu
was 11 a.m. the next morning. Left
without error, in a C-54—a four engine
Douglas
transport – which had bucket seats and was a far cry from the
comforts provided by the clipper.
We stopped first at
Johnson
Island
, around 5 p.m. – the at Kwajlein at midnight – then arrived
Guam
at 6 a.m. The hop was O.K.
– tiresome but long and everyone got cold as we flew at 8000 ft. and
whereas the temperature on the ground would be in the 90’s it was
cold enough for a heavy sweater at 8000 ft.
We were just 33 hours flying time out of Frisco.
We had a “powered breakfast”, (gee, they are awful) at
Guam
, and realized then we were at last back in the war.
Transportation out of Guam for Ulithi was tight, as all the
heavy traffic between the Guam Headquarters, an the Fleet Base at
Ulithi was over-taxing the Marine utility outfit which flew DC-3’s
up and down the
Marianas
and to Ulithi. The Admiral
and Chief of Staff were a couple planes behind – so we didn’t have
the “rank” to get a special plane; however, there was one Captain
who also was stranded” in Guam on his way to Ulithi, and he arranged
for a plane – we hopped in also – and arrived about 1300 in
Ulithi. The darn runway is
so short at Ulithi that unless a DC-3 puts down in the first 50 yards,
it is apt to run out of rolling space before stopping – resulting in
the land plane converting into a taxiing sea plane which had dire
consequences. Salt water
is so hard on one’s shoes – leather being priceless today, of
course. After arranging
for boat transportation, we headed out for some ship.
At this point, we didn’t know what our job was to be, which
ship we were to hoist CCD-4’s two star flag – just didn’t know
nuthin except - Got thar quick! Admiral
Mitscher was flying his 3-star flag in the Bunker Hill, so we thought
we’d get the straight dope from him – then, with 10 Essex class
carriers all lined up in a row, we began making passes in order to
find the Bunker Hill – the eighth pass did it, and our Operations
Officer went aboard. He
returned shortly to the boat, with instructions to go aboard the
Hancock for the night. The
had planned to put us up overnight on the Randolph, but changed their
minds at the last minute – so we spent the night of 11 March on the
Hancock. While attending
movies, that evening, there was a terrific boom, explosion and a
raging fire – The Randolph had been hit aft by a Kamikaze, twin
engine Francis, flying 25 feet above the water.
Where this guy came from, nobody knew – he just flew in from
the ocean (there were two of em, one crashed dived into a barracks on
the atoll) kept flying straight and level until he hit something.
As luck would have it, he hit a carrier – passed a hundred
feet astern of a battlewagon – I don’t think he ever knew what he
hit.
Well, the next morning, we transferred aboard the “
Franklin
”, with orders to relieve ComCarDiv 2 (R.Adm. Davidson and Staff)
– the idea was for CCD-2 to run the group, CTG 58.2,
consisting of four carriers, a couple of battlewagons, for cruisers
and sixteen destroyers, until about March 20, at which time CCD-2
would be transferred to the oilers, and CCD-4 would take over command.
On 14 March, the entire TF 58 left Ulithi and started north.
On the 18th, we struck the airfields of Kyushu; then
on the 19th we were working over the naval shipping in the
Inland Sea (
Kure
, Kobe etc).
As you know, the
Franklin
was hit about 0707 that morning. I
had been standing Staff Watches with Frank Wallon-USNA ’38—who now
is skipper of a new destroyer – and we were scheduled for the
morning watch (8-12). The
phone had rung at 7 o’clock, notifying us of the time – The Marine
Orderlies always announce the time over the phone – like, “Its
seven o’clock, Sir”, rather than saying, “It’s time to get up
and take over the watch you sleepy-heads”.
Our room was forward, one deck below the flight deck.
Frank had reached over and taken the call – we were just
discussing why we had to get up when ZOOM – SWISH – BOMB
– All hell broke loose. We
dressed almost as fast as the “embarrassed gent” – and headed
aft, think to go down to the hander deck, then up to ladder to Flag
Plot – We just started aft, when the smoke hit us, which turned us
back forward – We just started down a ladder to get below the hanger
deck, and smoke again hit us – so, as we couldn’t go up, left or
right – we walked forward, and reached the forecastle.
There was a gang already there, and more men were coming to
join us from the flight deck, and very shortly, we were packed like
sardines on the forecastle. We
remained there for two hours, watching men drop over the side as they
were being driven from the flight deck – wondering if the order
“Abandon Ship” had been given – feeling the ship tremble before
hearing each new explosion – cringing as the rockets swooshed
overhead and exploded n the water alongside.
Finally about 11 o’clock, the explosions were out, and we
were able to make our way to the Flight Deck.
We watched the gallant
Santa Fe
come alongside once – take a few of the wounded, then back off as
the wind threw the
Franklin
around. On the second
pass, the
Santa Fe
’s skipper used his gun turrets as a camel – nudged up and stayed
there until all wounded and unnecessary people left the ship.
I scrambled over at this time, by way of the radio antenna –
found me a bunk and went to sleep!
It just so happened that the guy had a copy of “Forever
Amber”, so I spent the next two days reading same.
Even in my unsettled state, I thought it lousy!
On the 21st, we boarded a destroyer – Bonham –
promptly got seasick, and the next day, we were transferred to the
“Wasp” who had also been nicked, and the cripples started back to
Ulithi – Franklin,
Enterprise
and Wasp.
We came back to Ulithi, and transferred to the
Randolph
. We went over to the
Franklin
to salvage what gear we could – I was completely cleaned out, and I
got $377.00 out of my five hundred buck claim; however, I knew from
Pearl Harbor
how they treated ya, so I didn’t fare too badly!
We took the Randolph out on a short 3 day shake-down cruise from
Ulithi on 1 April – then, as the Enterprise was all set to go, we,
Randolph and Enterprise, headed back to the war.
CCD-2 and staff stayed on the Wasp, and the Wasp and Franklin
headed back to the States.
We rejoined TF 58, which was now operating about 100 miles east
of Okinawa, around 10 April, and TG 38.2 was reformed.
During the next four days, the destroyers took such a beating
on the picket line that there were not enough of them left to maintain
the four groups. Adm.
Mitscher dissolved TG 38.2 (our command), leaving TG 58.1, TG
58.3, TG 58.4. It just so
happened that Brer’s ship,
Astoria
, was a part of TG 58.3 to which the
Randolph
was assigned – so now, I begin sending him “MSG’s” (visual
hellos). CCD-4 were now
just passengers – watching how CTG 58.3 (R. Admiral – now Vice
Adm. Sherman) ran his group. We
did take over occasionally during the night, when TF 58 supplied night
fighters to cover
Okinawa
. Then, during the first
week in May, the Bunker Hill got hit—The Bunker Hill was one of the
Carriers of TG 58.3 – she was about 1500 yards from us (aboard the
Randolph) when she was hit. Our
radars failed to pick up those two gents, due to some freakish
atmospheric condition, and they came in through the clouds without our
covering fighters seeing them--. Ad.
Mitscher and staff transferred to the
Enterprise
– then, the
Enterprise
was hit, and Ad. Mitscher came aboard the “
Randolph
”. The
Enterprise
’s Kamikaze was being fired on, but again due to the cloud cover, he
was difficult to hit – in a slight break in the clouds – the base
was around 1500 ft. – the joker spied the
Enterprise
, and down he came. The
Enterprise
also was a member of TG 58.3, and was about 2000 yds. away from us
when hit. As CCD-4
wasn’t working, four of us stood watches for the Big Flag, and it
was an eye opener to see the inter workings of that staff.
When FINALLY, TF 58 was no longer needed to furnish Air
Cover for the
Okinawa
fight – we had been on station from March 23-28 May, and Ad.
Mitscher was being relieved, the
Randolph
detached herself and delivered the good Admiral to Guam, the other
groups proceeding to
Leyte Gulf
. The
Randolph
stayed in Guam one day, then proceeded to
Leyte Gulf
, arriving there 3 June.
From 3 June until 1 July, we lay at anchor, except for a short
three day practice cruise 21-24 June.
It was during this lay-over in
Leyte
, that I had the several visits with Brer, and Karl Blanchard.
Also, we flew up to Manilla one day in a PBM (Mariner) for a
look-see. We went down low
over the city, and the town is really torn away.
As a side light to one of Brer’s visits – he was scheduled
to come over – the
Astoria
was anchored about ½ mile from the
Randolph
– one day for luncheon. An
Army P-38—the Lockheed Lightning—was flat-hatting over the
anchorage, and as luck would have it, he came too low once, and bang
into us near the bow. A
big fire started – some 14 of our planes were destroyed, and we lost
about 25 men. Brer watched
all this from the deck of the
Astoria
– then, when the fire was about out, he came over, and we had our
visit, and I was able to give him a close-up view of the damage done.
Having been punched aft in Ulithi and forward in Leyte, the “
Randolph
” wanted to convert into a submariner before someone got in a lick
at her amidships—however, we had no more tough luck.
CCD-4 relieved Ad.
Sherman
as boss of TG 38.3 (We now used the designation of Third Fleet, rather
than Fifth Fleet (58.3), as Ad. Halsey runs the show instead of Ad.
Spruance), consisting of 5 carriers, 4 cruisers (
Astoria
), two battlewagons and 20 destroyers.
On this trip, having departed Leyte 1 July, we hit Tokyo on the
10th, ran up to Northern Honshu—Hokkaide for a couple of
days, back down to the Inland Sea shipping (Kuro, Kobe etc) and were
hitting Tokyo again on 15 August when the Nips threw in the towel.
We were beginning our 13th strike day when they
quit; however, we had been in a position to strike “em several other
times but the weather was closed in solid.
Also, during this time, the battlewagons would dash off and
pound ‘ell out of some unfortunately coast-located industrial plant
as you were told in the papers.
Promptly at 0640 when the Fleet was notified of the surrender,
we recalled our attack planes, landed them, and pulled back a hundred
miles to await developments. During
this withdrawal, some 10 Nip planes came for a look-see at us; and
they were promptly “splashed” for their curiosity.
From the 16-24, we milled around in this withdrawal area (300
miles SE of Tokyo), received fuel, ammo, some Dry Stores, and your
letters post marked up to and including 1 August.
For the occupation of
Yokosuka
, we established a line of destroyers from Okinawa to
Tokyo
—visual and radio guide, and fighter protection—for the Army Air
Forces flying the troops in. On
the 25th we ran smack into one typhoon which took 40 ft. of
the Wasp’s flight deck off – but eluded the second one on the 26th.
From 26th – 3 Sept., we milled around 125 miles SE
of Kobe, dropping supplies to POW Camps, and patrolling the enemy
airfields to see that all was quiet.
FINALLY, we were ordered to proceed into
Tokyo
Bay
on the 4th – the
Astoria
left straight for Puget Sound on 2 Sept. – but late on the third,
the
Randolph
received orders to proceed immediately to Pearl Harbor – and
that’s where we are now –
Pearl Harbor
on the 11th of Sept. after some 73 days at sea.
The trip from Vicinity of Tokyo to
Pearl
is 3323 miles – the longest straight trip I’ve ever made.
Brer, of course, can top this, as he started from the same
place and ended up in
Bremerton
– how many miles, I don’t know!
Admiral Bogan is being relieved here by Admiral Duncan.
We have a new Chief of Staff, Capt. McClusky; a new Operations
Officer, Comdr. Snowden; and a new Communications Officer and Flag
Secretary. I am among the
members of the old staff remaining with the new one—The Gunnery
Officer Havey Seim (a classmate)—the Flag Lieutenant, Bob Kortlander
and I are still serving!
My best to everyone,
P.S.
You will please note that I’ve made no mention of the women
in my life during the period 5 March – 11 Sept.
To be frank about the matter, there were none – darn it!
Also, very little regarding wine in included—I might have
added a paragraph on the rot gut which Karl offered at Leyte, but the
stuff was so awful that I sometimes have nightmares just recollecting
the odor – the taste of same excludes meals for six hours!
And as for songs – we still think “Pistol Packing Mama”
is the current favorite in Uncle Sugar!
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