Anthony (DD 515) - Naval Cruise Book

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ting our blues cleaned up and our plans made for one riotous stayin that most famous metropolis. We had planned for this moment during our entire stay in the South Pacific, now We were there. I The first liberty party left the ship about noon, and from then until we staggered up the gang- way at midnight six days later all hands cooperated to banish all thoughts of the War and to have one grand vacation. It wasn't the states, but ,some thought it was even better. VVe didn't have our families there, but no one can say that the friendly people from down under didn't do their utmost to -make us feel at home. In turn, we invited a good number of their fair sex to help us celebrate at the two ship's parties which were held at one of the halls in the heart of the city. Both parties were smashing successes. ' ' ' . The following Saturday was a sorry one indeed, for we had grown very fond of this beautiful city and its inhabitants, but the war couldn't wait, and we' turned our bow once more toward Ha- vannah Harbor. At least, we had our memories of a Week! of heaven, and that would help until We could finally head toward home. I ' WE HEAD NORTH AGAIN I After a short period of training and rehearsals, in company with the rest of our squadron and eescorting the battleships and joining cruisers and carriers enroute, we headed for the Central Pa- cific. When we got underway on the morning, of June 2nd, We did so for the first time Without our first Division Commander, Commander Edmund B. Taylor, USN. He had gone ahead to take over the duties of Squadron Commander, and Commander Frank J. Walsh of the USS WADSWORTH Wasacting Division Commander. It was truly a period of change, enroute we got orders for a new skipper as Well. ' , ' The group arrived at Roi Anchorage, Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshalls on the 8th, fueled, pro- visioned and on the 10th headed westward toward the Mariannas. We had a new member in our ship's company, Commander Clyde J. Van Arsdall, Jr., USN Cthen Lieutenant Commandery who was to be our new skipper. 'We had done our job in the Solomons, where the enemy had been checked and then turned backg now we were heading for his own territory, Saipan, Island in the Mariannas, Arriving at Saipan with the bombardment force, We lost no time in getting into action. The heavies bombarded until the middle of the morning, when they headed 'out' to se, and in company with the WADSWORTH, we closed the coastline. Steaming along just off shore, we poured 5 inch shells into the various machine gun emplacements and other targets of opportunity. We had been given the privilege of being the first destroyers in the group to bombard the island. The morning of the 15th found us once more screening the heavy units as they covered the initial landing on Saipan Island. Thus we added one more major bombardment to our record as we cov- ered our fourth invasion. The day passed swiftly and nightfall found us ready for more action. We headed south and the first light of the 16th found us off Guam. Here again, the heavy units began the softening-up process that made it possible for the Marines to land. ' FAMOUS FIFTY-EIGHT Our bombardment was broken off by orders to head north to await further orders. The Jap Fleet was going to accept our challenge, and We were going to be privileged to be there. Our Orders came in later in the day, and that night we left our group to join Admiral Mitcher's already famous Task Force FIFTY-EIGHT. This was indeed a far cry from playing guardian angel to LST's, but both jobs were necessary and we went where duty called, There could have been no one on the ship who didn't thrill to the first sight of this mighty task force as we first sighted them in the distance. They covered the entire ocean, and no matter where one looked, there were more carriers, battleships and cruisers, and of course, out in front of all were the sleek grey destroyers. The Mighty A was proud indeed to be a part of this mighty striking force. - The reports of the Jap Fleet were proved correct when on the morning of the 19-th, the reports of Many Bogies began coming in from all directions. It was the all out attack of the air arm of the Jap fleet. Needless-to-say, We were ready for them, and the raids were broken up by our gallant -1o- I

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BAEARDING THE LION IN HIS DEN Shortly after the middle of February, one of the squadrons of destroyers who was acting as the covering force was ordered to bombard Rabaul, New Britain Island, to destroy supplies and any enemy shipping found in the harbor. It was really something for a group of destroyers to steam right into the mouth of the vaunted enemy stronghold of the South Pacific, but the raid was very Successful and not 9- Ship Wa-S damaged- We sighed with relief for them, and the comment was freely passed that they had been lucky to catch the enemy by surprise, but woe-be-tide the next ones to try it. Two nights later we were speeding up St. George Channel for that very purpose! We left Purvis Bay on the 23rd for Treasury'Island, practicing torpedo attacks enroute. It was a grand sight watching the squadron steam out of Purvis Bay, trim grey little warships, bristling with guns and eagerly awaiting the opportunity to trade punches with the enemy. The next night we left Treasury Island and headed up St. George Channel between New Ireland and New Britain. At the entrance to the outer harbor our ,division headed in While the other division 'steamed on, look- ing for shipping and waiting in reserve just in case. As we approached Credner Island, we saw a light blinking as if to warn of our approach, but for some reason we were allowed to steam in unmolested. Opening fire with all five guns, we poured the shells out at almost machine gun rate of fire. Our sister ship was doing the same, and in but a matter of seconds, there was a brilliant fire blazing in what had been an enemy supply dump and barracks area. Still the batteries on Credner Island were silent, and we were thankful. A battery in the Vunapope area fired a few shells at us, but we put it out of business before he got the range. As we steamed back and fourth pouring shells into the blazing supply area, PT boats were re- ported heading our way, and we decided that it was time to withdraw. Shifting our fire to the inner harbor area where we struck what possibly was a supply ship at anchor we started' to retire. Again we safely negotiated the most dangerous part of the harbor, right imder the very muzzles of the shore batteries and out to comparative safety. We continued to sweep north in the hope of running into enemy shipping, but we had no luck, and soon it was time to turn our bows toward friendlier waters. Miles away, our other division could see the fires we had started, and pictures of the area taken the next day proved the success of our venture. So ended our second bombardment. We never could figure out why the shore batteries didn't blast us out of the water, but there are many of us who are satisfied to give the 'credit to some higher power looking down on us and protecting us as our gtms 'spoke out in the name of humanity and freedom. WE JUIMP RIGHT PAST KAVIENG Our next invasion took us beyond Kavieng, that other stronghold of the enemy, and the morn- ing of the 20th of March found us covering the landing of Marines on Emirau- Island, one of the St. Matthais Group about 75 miles northwest of New Ireland. The trip up was uneventful, and our principal hostile act at the objective was to strafe the south end of a small adjoining island when machine gun fire from this island was seen to be endangering our landing craft. The reports on the actual presence of .laps on this little island were contradictory, and it was even reported that there were no Japs on Emirau at allg however, the effect of our 40 MM fire must have made the Marines: feel better, and when we ceased firing, there were definitely no further splashes near our boats. We don't claim this for a bombardment, but we sure made a lot of noise and we almost made a landing ourself as we approached within 1000 yards of the beach. . With the marines firmly entrenched, and the Seebees hard at work on the airstrip, we steamed between Guadalcanal and Emirau to bring in supplies. This continued until the 20th of April, when we left Purvis Bay on a surprise escort trip with a merchant ship. Upon beings detached at sea, we were ordered to proceed to Havarmah Harbor, Efate, for duty with the battleship task force--Some- thing was in the air and we hoped that it would be good. BACK TO CIVILIZATION We had not reached our destination when the news came in that we were going there to escort the Battleship Task Force to Sydney, Australia, for Rest and Recreation . That was good news if' there ever was good news. We left Havannah Harbor on the 24th of April and arrived at the en- trance to Port Jackson, Sydney on the morning of the 29th after a journey that was spent in get-- , -9-- .

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i11 flyers long before they approached within striking distance of our force. Those few who did manage to break through were quickly disposed of, and by 1400, even the few remaining sporadic at- tacks had stopped. The final score, 369 planes 'shot down meant that the Jap force now had little or no air cover available for protection from our own attack. As our planes searched for the Jap fleet, accompanied by the BRAINE, We made a short trip toward Guam to rescue the personnel of two cruiser planes who were reported down on the Water, We found the planes afloat just north of Guam and after futile attempts to assist them in get- ting into the air, we took on board both the crewmen of the seaplanes as well as the carrier crew- men whom they had landed to assist. After destroying the planes by gunfire, we headed back to the task force at high speed. Bogies were reported in the area, but we were unmolested and, just after dark, once again took our places in the formation. The next day found us still searching for the Jap fleet, and when the word came in as to their whereabouts, about 250 miles away, our own planes took to the air for the kill. Meanwhile, we waited impatiently, praying that they would have the best of luck, and that all could return and make safe landings. Our prayers must have been answered as they found their quarry and made the most of the opportunity. Then came the long trip back, and when they finally did reach tlhe force, it was well after dark. With the arrival of the first planes, the mighty armada put aside all fears of submarines in favor of the safety of the flyers, and all ships turned on their truck lights. At times as directed, we turned our 36 inch searchlights on and their brilliant beams shot up into the clouds to guide the planes to us. We hadn't been able to help them strike the Japs, but we could assist them to return safely. As all were extremely low on gas by this time, many failed to make it to their carriers, and were forced to land in the water. Their rescue was assigned to our division, and as the force sped onward toward the Jap Fleet so as to be ready to strike again in the morning, we remained behind scouring the waters on a mission of mercy. By morning, we had covered the area thoroughly, and with our rescued airmen aboard, we headed for a rendezvous with the tankers. Then, since the Jap Fleet had fled, we were to return to our bombardment group to continue our work as a covering force. Our part in the First Battle of the Philippines had been one of mercy, but we felt that we had done our bit. CHANGE OF COMMAND Hardly had the excitement of our latest activity worn off, when on the 30th of June Captain Fondeville L. TEDDER Cthen Commanderp of Berkeley, California, came aboard, via a boatswain's chair , from the escort carrier which had brought him out to our operating area. He assumed the duties of Commander Destroyer Division NINETY and we were once again a flagship. Meanwhile, we were getting ready for the ceremonies to be held Uhe next day. , On the lst of July, after general drills had been completed, the crew and officers assembled on the fantail in much the same manner as they had done sixteen months previously. This time it was to be good-bye, and after a short speech, Captain Van Mater read his orders. He was followed by Lieutenant Commander Van Arsdall, Jr., who read his orders and who then relieved him as Com- manding Officer. The new skipper made a brief but impressive talk, and we were certain that we would have at least as much confidence in our new skipper as in our old one who had found us an inexperienced and untried group of individuals and had welded us into the trained fighting team that we now are. A few days later the old skipper left in the same manner as Captain Tedder had arrived. LIBERATION .hings had just begun to get monotonous when we got orders to proceed to Guam and com- mence the processing which was to make it ready for the Marines. Our little group of cruisers and destroyers arrived at Guam on the morning of the Sth of July and the cruisers began their bom- bardment, That night. the group retired, and the ANTI-I-ONY remained to bombard during the night and harass the Japs with star shells. One of the other destroyers of our squadron was per- forming the same mission on the other side of the island, and between us, we made life very inter- esting for the Japs on the island. ' ' ..11...