Anthony (DD 515) - Naval Cruise Book

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We had learned what a picket station could be like in this quiet station. To hear the word h ' . . , . 1 e S Commg' 1113 then to heal' the 5 mchf 40 mm, 2o mm all barking out their song of destruction as the attacker comes .into their range is something that is indescribable, but when the 30 caliber machine guns on the bridge commence their sharp stacatto, you dive for the deck, and Wish you could dig a foxhole in its steel plate. A picket station is no place for anyone with a weak heart! '. We got a first-hand View of the damage sustained by our sister ship when we closed her to fight the fires that were raging, and we also got a first hand picture of what stuff our men were made of asiour repair parties went aboard her with fire fighting gear with complete disregard for their safety. Our remaining period at Okinawa was made up of picket duty, and the short logistics and re- laxation period between tours on station. We added to our collection of planes shot down as well as our collection of planes brought down. One overly ambitious pilot came so close that the blazing gasoline covered the entire ship forward of the bridge and Lt. Cjgj D. Ross Dennison, USNR, had his hair singed while he was up in the gun director, the highest point on the ship! We knew With that one that either the mighty A had truly been built of melted down horseshoes or that some higher power was looking out for us. Most of us will agree that it is more likely to be the latter. This was truly the climax of our career, and the rest that followed Was anti-climatic. For our work at Okinawa, several of our shipmates have been recommended for various awards as a result of their outstanding work, courageous action, and devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the Navy. As Captain Van Mater predicted, the Mad ANTHONY bode no good for the enemy. MOVING FORWARD t i Our duty at Okinawa finished, we departed on the 24th of June, heading for the Philippines and our next duty. The stay in the islands was pleasant and all hands were completely relaxed when on the morning of July 13th, we steamed out in a fast striking force. We were escorting a fast cruiser task force and were heading into the East China Sea. ' Here we did our bit to maintain the naval blockade that was to strangle Japan, and there was no question as to our complete control of the sea lanes there. It was during this duty that we received the news that we were to lose our skipper who had brought us safely through the most dangerous spots. Comdr. Jackson H. Raymer, USN, of Al- hambra, California, Cthen Lieutenant Commanderl reported aboard, and as prospective commanding officer, accompanied us on our last sweep of the China Sea. On our return, we got ready for the usual ceremonies, and on the 7th of August, 1945, we once more gathered on the fantail to say good- bye to our true friend and second skipper. After relieving Captain Van Arsdall, our new skipper, Captain Raymer, said a few words, and assured us that he was proud to have been given the AN- THONY as his first command. THE GOAL ACHIEVED Between sweeps and typhoons, We returned to Okinawa, where appropriately we first learned of the surrender offer made by the Japs. We thrilled to the sight of the fireworks display that re- sulted from the announcement over the radio, and then wisely counselled by our new skipper, we took cover. It would have been indeed sad to come this far and then have anyone injured by shrapnel from a victory celebration! Fate kept our new skipper from guiding us on any expeditions before the war had come to an end, but on his shoulders is the honor and responsibility of guiding the A over the strained days when peace was becoming a reality, and through her activities during the occupation of Japan. Just as we had moved through the South Pacific, the Central Pacific, and then the Western Pacific to bring the war to Nippon, now we are supporting and covering the forces who are to occupy Japan and safeguard the peace for which we have fought. The story of the Mad ANTHONY and her part in the war now has become one of her part in the PI'eSeI'Vf1ti011 Of the PS9-Ce, -and we lock to Cap' tain Raymer to guide her activities and eventually bring us back to that paradise, the United States. Meanwhile, some of us are leaving to return to civilian life, others will stay with the. A , but all can be proud to say that he served on the ANTHONY and the ANTHONY can be confident that she has carried her marine sergeant's name in honor. .-.15....

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A S'1'ONE'S THROW FROM TOKYO Upon arriving at our base in the Philippines, Captain Edward Young, USN, of Coronado, Cali- fornia, Commander Destroyer Squadron TWENTY-FOUR came aboard and hoisted pennant, thus making the A a Squadron Flagship. We had left Captain Tedder just shortly before we left Iwo and were now completely a unit of our new squadron. With the Commodore came his staff of of- ficers and enlisted men, and it Wasn't long before these new faces were as familiar as any of our older shipmates. Here, we also made friends with the men and officers of the other ships of our new unit, and by the time we had completed rehearsals and logistics, we were completely at home in our new role. We left for this next operation on the 27th: of March, escorting one of the transport groups and expecting to do some more bombardment when we arrived at the objective. We had been some- what awed at the prospect of this invasion as it truly was but A stones throw from Tokyo or at least from Kyushu. We expected that this was to be something to make all of our previous efforts look feeble, but it would have been impossible for anyone to imagine just what was actually in store. Even now, just the name of Okinawa Island brings back the memories of moments that one thought couldn't happen, and even time itself can't erase some of the scenes that we witnessed there. We arrived at the objective without incident, but the picture of things to come was portrayed by an air attack on one of the other groups as we arrived. We were in a position where we could see the tracers going up and the burning, diving planes coming down. Having brought our transports safely into their unloading area, we took our place as a fire sup- port ship in time to commence the initial D day bombardment, and to help out with the curtain of fire behind which our troops anded. They encountered little opposition, and, although slightly sur- prised, we were thankful. We continued our bombardment duties for the next nineteen days, before We left for a time out trip south. This made 8 invasions and 6 major bombardments. During our 'first stay at Okinawa as a bombardment ship, We learned what it really was to spend long hours at our battle stations,a.nd just as We had secured, the alarm would come and back we'd rush to man our battle stations before a prospective air attack could become a reality. It was during this time that we saw our first Kamikaze attacks, but we were still being looked over by that protecting power who had looked over us at Bougainville, Rabaul, Iwo and at the many other places where we were in' danger but came through safely. As we saw our first batch of cripples , we realized just what this sure hit-sure death business could mean. It was unbelievable that a ship such as a destroyer could take a hit like these ships had, some by several planes, and still fight back. It made us both proud and humble, proud to be destroyer men serving on one of these light units and humble in the presence of the heroism shown by the men who served on these sister ships. But as yet no Kamikrazy pilot had looked our way, and we were just as happy about it. - On the 19th of April, we headed afconvoy to the rear area or what is called the rear area now. Here we got a chance to see some movies and relax a bit while the ship got a few kinks ironed out and then back to Okinawa. ' We brought our convoy into the transport area on the morning of the 10th of May, and we lost no time getting back to work. . No longer a fire support ship, we reported to the screen commander' and for the neggt several days moved around the various screen stations. Each time we moved, we seemed to get out just ahead of an attack, and the climax came on the evening when ships in the stations on both sides of us were hit. By now, we had begun to get the idea, and wondered when our time would come to go out to a picket station. By now the newspapers had written up these courageous ships who had been doing picket duty and who had either been sunk or damaged. We were proud to be asso- ciated with them, but we'd have gladly forgone the opportunity to become one of them. Never have any ships been called upon to serve as these ships had done. ON THE PICKET LINE ' Our number came up on the 23rd of May, and we headed out for our picket station for duty as a support ship. We were somewhat soothed by the fact that we were heading for a quiet station. In the next 4 days this quiet station was under attack at least once each day, 7 planes were shot down, 1 bullet riddled attacker crashed harmlessly close aboard us, and the ship with us was hit. ...14..

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CITATION S NAVY moss LETTER OF CONIMENDATION espn. Edward W, YOUNG, USN Lt. fjgn Ernest c. 1-npr, USN comar. Clyde J. VAN ARSDALL, Jr., USN Lt. fish Douglas B. MCMONAGLE, USNR A Lt. qjgp Eldon G. ELDER, uvrcy, USNR SH-VER STAR Percy G. SYLVA, CBM, USN Lt. Comdr. Norman c. WIATT, USNR Robert I- EVANS, JR-1 CWM' USNR Lt. cjgm Ross D. DENISON, USNR Joseph A- BROGNA SOM 2!2- USNR Walter Lee HOUSTON, EM 2 jc, USNR BRONZE STAR Robert A. RoULs'1'oN, Ram sfo, USNR Lt. C0mdr. Robert S. BACKUS, USNR LeRoy N. GARDNER, CMM, USN AN ACKNOWLEDGEMEN T To our good friends, without whose assistance the printing of this book would have been impos- sible, we wish to thank Mr. Bernard Katz of the H. W. Fairfax Advertising Agency, New Yorkg the Es-Kay Printing Company of New Yorkg and Mr. Louis A. R. Nelsong President of the Southern Print- ing and Publishing Company of Charleston, South Carolina. The above contributed to the publish- ingrof the story of the Mad A at cost and enabled us to prepare this book with the limited funds available. , 'I -16-