Admiral W L Capps (AP 121) - Naval Cruise Book

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Got any mattress covers, C hzco? , out. One O. D. earned the nickname Timeball because of his great preference for using the timeball for executing orders. He wore out two anchor balls on that trip alone. We had one en- counter with a uprobablev enemy submarine in this leg of the journey. The convoy executed an emergency turn to get out of the way and the escorts dropped depth charges - waking every- one up below decks. We didn,t stay around to see if it was really a submarine or not. We arrived at San Pedro Bay in the afternoon of 4 March and anchored so far away from Tacloban, Leyte fwhere the Port Directorls olhce was locatedj that it would have taken our boats Wharf-rats on az Lcytc' waterfront A - Q t f K - w'f2'aY4XQ, N ' 1 t s x I . , . , sv sf f '- - X , 4. . 'i . -114351. - QQQ.. H It ' 747' , VW , . s I-. L 5,0 ,, . , t 1. A touch of America on the Maine Drag in Taclobah Q A PIf.ygf'ou12d on like supeffi two lays to make the were trying to put us out boths' them and then juSt 1 a fast one though. He Wei' then mitch-hiked into Taclt in tba Port Directofs other lgavq He did get our ancl' day 1fter that we disembai steamed to the Guinan Roa passengers. With all the t Pedrm Bay to unload carg anotier convoy to form.

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.1a.g..- iw. , T ' t, 'Z' , . X cfzrsif? T'5,:f:5: .r. ., , '.J11'x is :rf nz ace' ff--mf A Playground on the superstructure for the lqids from Santo Tomas two days to make the round trip. It looked as though they were trying to put us out so far that we couldn't get in to bother them and then just let us rust there. The Captain pulled a fast one though. He went to the nearby beach in a boat and then hitch-hiked into Tacloban to build a fire under the people in the Port Director's ollice so that We could get unloaded and leave. He did get our anchorage changed the next day and the day after that we disembarked the army passengers. Then we steamed to the Guinan Roadstaed, Samar to disembark the Navy passengers. With all the passengers ofl, we 'came back to San Pedro Bay to unload cargo, embark passengers, and wait for another convoy to form. Our passengers for the return trip included about 1100 sol- diers and marines and 800 civilian former internees in the Santo Tomas Uapanesej internment camp in Manila. Among the latter were about 200 women and children. The superstructure deck was transformed into a playground for the children and the sick bay into a nursery for the babies. The carpenterls mates worked overtime to make swings, sand boxes and play tables. The seamen had to make a network of lashing between the rails to keep the little rascals from falling through. The ones who were small enough to fall between the railings were no trouble at all. It was the ones who were too old for the swings and sand boxes that caused the trouble. OH limit signs meant nothing to them. They went anywhere they pleased and did anything they dared - until forcibly ejected by a sentry or crew member with no patience. -wiv ci. X Z, ,sts s M Q. - i V I K Pill l 1 X l -. - The Captain and tufo friends, lately at Santo Tomas