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

Page 63 text:

orders were Distr ns cn- as the on a :sand rsfor dw' WP y-one tbl swan ili- in 15 days or more. During this availability a hot plastic coating was put on the bottom so that she would not need dry-docking so soon the next time. As soon as the availability was finished, we moved to the loading pier to prepare for the next trip. Cur passengers were to be the 519th Bombardment Group, known in the Mediterranean area as Holzapple's Flying Circusf' after their famous commanding oHicer, who developed the system for Hying his airplanes off the ground seven Cmaybe sixj abreast in order to save fuel and thus increase their bombing range. They had two Presi- dential Citations to show for their work in Africa and Italy so that there really must have been something to the stories they told us. They were on their way to Okinawa now, to fly the new A-26,8 and win the war in the Pacific. They carried the baggage of important passengers, too. It took four full days to load their IO53 tons of equipment and our ship only carried part of it. The flyers and their supporting units came aboard on the 6th and 7th of May and we sailed for Pearl Harbor at noon on the 7th. For the first two days out of Seattle we ran into the roughest weather the ADMIRAL CAPPS had yet encountered. As com- pared with later trips in the Atlantic, it wasn't especially bad, but in that it was the first, it tested the ship out to see how sea-worthy she was. She was plenty sea-worthy, but things weren't very well secured. Garbage cans and crates of potatoes were rolling freely back and forth across the mess deck, books and papers were thrown out of desks and bookcases in the oflices and officers' rooms, but the worst of all was the safe in the finance office which broke loose from its moorings, slid across the deck and pinned a storekeeper ,s - - a ' a ' z 1 Loading the Flying Circus in Seattle between it and the opposite bulkhead. An X-ray examination revealed that he had a fractured sacrum and multiple fractures of the pubic bones, with ruptured urethra membranes. It was neces- sary to operate immediately and with the ship slowed down and headed into the sea, two doctors performed a successful operation. The patient was transferred to the Naval Hospital at Pearl Harbor. We arrived at Pearl Harbor in the evening of I2 May and

Page 62 text:

Internees watching King Neptune and his court . The adult male civilians were in the poorest physical condi- tion. They had been worked the hardest and fed the least in the internment camp. Three days at sea from Leyte one of them died and was buried at sea with military honors fhaving served with the Marine Corpsj. The ship's photographer got several good pictures of the services but when he sent them to Washing- ton to the public Relations Department someone got mixed up and sent them out for publication with the following caption: GRAVE IN THE PACIFIC - A Marine guard salutes in final tribute to a comrade whose life was part of the price of Americals advance on Okinawa. On the deck of a Coast Guard Manned Troop Transport, the Chaplain reads the service as Coast Guards- men stand ready to drop the deceased over the side from beneath the folds of the Stars and Stripes . The ADMIRAL CAPPS sailed from Leyte in the afternoon of 20 March in convoy Qas commodorej with four mer- chant tankers and two escorts. The destination of the convoy was Man- us, Admiralty Is- lands, where we arrived at noon on 26 March. We Burial ut S eu were only there four hours-long enough to receive our orders - and then we sailed for San Francisco unescorted. We were soon diverted to Pearl Harbor where we picked up F .B.I., Immigra- tion and Customs Officials who were to process the civilians en- route to San Francisco in the morning of 8 April. That was the morning that the radar men plotted the Faralon Islands on a course of 1040 T. at a speed of 4 knots. All of the passengers and cargo were off the ship by 2300. We made the newspapers for the first time since commissioning in that this group of civilian internees was the largest to arrive in San Francisco on one ship. The next day the ADMIRAL CAPPS sailed for Seattle to go into a shipyard for drydocking and availability. Twenty-one days were allotted for the work, and it was all finished in that time. Long leaves were granted to lucky ones in the crew- especially lucky because this was the only time in the ship's his- tory that she came into port knowing 'that she would be there IS days or more. During 1 was pu' on the bottom so ti so soon the next time. As soon as the availabz loading pier to prepare for th the 5rg1h Bombardment Grt as 'KI-It lzapple's Flying Circ officer, who developed the the grnund seven Cmaybe and tlus increase their bo dentia Citations to show f that Here really must have told ks. They were on the new ..ee .-26's and win the wa 'Iiey carried the bag It toot four full days to lo our slip only carried part 4 units :ame aboard on the 6 Pearl Harbor at noon on t I or the first two days t weatiier the ADMIRAL C parer with later trips in tht in th it it was the first, it tes she vas. She was plenty se secured. Garbage cans ant back and forth across the in out of desks and bookcases f wort of all was the safe i from its moorings, slid act

Page 64 text:

departed 24 hours later with orders to proceed to Eniwetok, Mar- shall Islands for further onward routing. We arrived at Eniwetok in the morning of 20 May and upon entering the harbor were ordered to go alongside the tanker S. S. MARICOSA for fueling. The MARICOSA was quite a bit smaller than the ADMIRAL CAPPS and with a strong wind blowing on the first attempt to tie up, the tankeris anchor dragged and we had to cast off and try again. On the second attempt the anchor dragged again but in addition, some damage was inflicted on the tanker's boat davit, liferafts, and running light so that it was decided not to make a third try. In the afternoon the tanker, S. S. SPARROWS POINT came alongside the ADMIRAL CAPPS. This time the damage Sharpening our eye before leaving Peagiblarbor SA' 9' - , ii. Sm 5 44- nk ' 4 N v if , +V . - A AQ , ' , 4 Ac, f fgfatlg . ,ff!.,,5,,,gjH.vp mid., -,A ,kiln 7, ' f , M M ,ri is y ,- . , I ss..aa.s.., .. W . --1. ..,.e,... ,.,,, -,,....,,, ,..,., A . , , . . , . .,, 4: , , - , , ,V ,I ,,,,,,,,,,,,M,,,,,,,, . , A . , , , ...S A , 3 , I r f . I - ,f , -f 1-.f'. s f- Y .mt - MM' X V l?lS'?'f 'S .. ., 0-'Ziff as 6, i X V V-f :iff ,IM , Eniwetolq on the starboard bow was inflicted on the ADMIRAL CAPPS' life rafts and accommo- dation ladders but the fueling was Hnally completed. We lay at anchor in Eniwetok until Iune 5th. Iudging from the news reports at that time, the battle for Okinawa was not going as it had been planned-necessitating a delay in the arrival of units such as the bombardment groups which were to operate from the island rather than over it. It was also signihcant that the AD- MIRAL CAPPS sailed on one and one-half hours' notice the day following the first good news indicating the capture of the Naha airdrome. In the meantime we were sweltering in the sun and ee e t P' gli-ii Q - A K r i, 1' A T L U. ,W - a .fr 9'-in ' ' vt , is was as A W gif gs Troops en enjoying QFD a ulibertvw or QFD cent: r. Perry Island vw was giver the works by nr atoll. A. a result there wer shade. 'lhe beach was very have to s ay there too long, The ADMIRAL CAPl fore but never women passei 50 Army nurses and two Re source o pride and trouble the superstructure deck aft