Castor (AKS 1) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 44 of the 1945 volume:

The Lucky Bag When men aboard ship are careless with their clothes and possessions, leave them lying around, they are appropriated by the master-at-arms. They are placed in a repository called the lucky bag, and it isn ' t a lucky thing, paradoxically, to have your possessions in that bag. If the owners are identified they are subject to the performance of extra duty. All clothing which isn ' t identified and returned to its owner after he has performed extra duty, is auctioned off from time to time. Keeper of the lucky bag aboard Castor is R. E. Davis, known universally among his shipmates as Lucky Bag Davis. Lieut. Marvin Park, USNR, and F. J. Mandella, CEM, took all the photos and made them up in the ship ' s own dark room. APC L. A. Gambino helped in the dark room. Lieut. W. E. Huelle, USNR, made the layout for the book and wrote the material for it. Capt. F. C. Huntoon supervised the whole effort. One would think that a department titled Costumes might be going a bit too far on a Can Do ship like the Castor. But after all. Castor had its Queen and the queen had to have costumes. Credit must be given then, to the guy who created and made the costumes Lulu wears throughout this presen- tation, namely, Shelby Minton, signalman first class, whose expert flag maker ' s fingers gave our little dog the finery she exhibits here and there among these pages. SHE WAS INDEED A FRIEND TO MAN DEDICATION The Castor sailed from Seattle January 30, 1945. She re- turned to the Pacific Coast early in August. During a little more than six months at sea she covered about 30,000 miles over Pacific waters. She issued thousands of tons of stores to every kind of Navy ship. Her missions were completed promptly. All orders received were completed with dispatch. When the squadron commander ordered You Do, the Ca5 or silently affirmed Can Do. . Six months at sea becomes tedious and tiresome. This cruise had its high spots and its low spots. There were times when life was good and pleasant, like movies on number four hatch under a starry tropical sky with a fine breeze blowing and a good picture on the screen. There were moments when it seemed as if the day ' s work would never end, the heat so stifling that both spirit and body sagged. Softball and beer on tropic ball diamonds brightened life above and below the equator. Long periods of lying at anchor, waiting, fearing and sweating, dulled the mind and slowed the body. Endless nights lying in thick smoke while fanatical yellow devils looked for targets at which to aim their suicide planes were nerve wracking. Swell holiday dinners of turkey and all the fixin ' s made life more tolerable. Letters from home, even when two months late, gave all hands a new lease on life. Through these high spots and low spots, these ups and downs the Castor sailed on and on until she turned eastward again with all hands knowing full well that her work had been well done. During all these long months there was one creature that maintained an even disposition, a tolerance for all human moods and an unwavering loyalty to every man, jack aboard. No human being aboard the Castor was able to maintain an equilibrium through tension, pain and drudgery and at the same time give as much pleasure to their fellow men as this creature did. Although not human, but merely a dog, she was oblivious to change and time and danger. Her indis- criminate charity to all helped make life at sea endurable. She was indeed a friend to man. And so this Lucky Bag, the pictorial record of this cruise of the Castor, is dedicated to LULU, a little dog whose canine benevolence did more than any other living creature to alleviate the tension of six long months in Pacific waters. HONORS MARINE CORP MEDAL PURPLE HEART MARTIN LUTHER MILLARD, Chief Gunner ' s Mate, USN, awarded the Navy-Marine Medal for ' Devotion to Duty, extraordinary courage and disregard of his own personal safety at Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941. The presen- tation of the medal was made by Captain F. C. Huntoon of the Castor, June 5, 1945. Purple Heart CLIFFORD F. HILL seaman first class Purple Heart JOHN M. WILEY seaman second class Purple Heart CAPT. F. C. HUNTOON, USNR The commanding officer and two seamen were awarded the Purple Heart Medal for wounds received as the result of enemy action during this cruise of the Castor. THE CAPTAIN AND HIS SHIP CAFI AIN F. C. HUNTOON, U.S . ' ACTION— MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS!! General Quarters sounded many times aboard Cantor for practice and many times not just for practice but for keeps. Here are shown some of Caitnr ' s men running to their battle stations, the smoke crew on the poop creating a fog to befuddle the enemy and a smoke boat as it started to circle the ship with its protecting smoke ring. In the center — real action over Hagushi anchorage, Okinawa. Japan, one night last May. Lulu, of course, was ready for action at any time. HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS LT. COMDR. ARMANT LEGENDRE. Executive Officer I ) Lieut. H. J. Geerds. USNR, Enginot ' ring (2) Lieut. R. L. Eaton, SC. USN, Supply (5) Lieut, (jg) R. D. MacDonaid. USNR. Navigator (4) Lieut, (jg) Harry Trenery, USNR. Gunnery (5) Chief Boatswain, A. W. Hartley, USN 1st Lieut. (6) Lieut, (jg) R. G. Appenzeller, USNR, Cotntnunications (7) Comdr. T. L. Gemmill. M.C. Medical From the time Bos ' n Mate Second Class Ishmael pipes all hands turn to until secure, the day ' s work includes peeling those spuds, loading and hoisting •■ihat cargo, sweeping, swabbing, and general duties, with Bos ' n Mate First Class Keller keeping the first division on the move and Bos ' n Male First Class Lackey (seen talking to Chief Bos ' n Hartley) minding the second division. BACKBONE of the navy _ild-- , J (left to right) 1. G. W. Miller, CCS, USN 2. H. W. Siocber, CWT. USNR 3. S. W. Dilloway. CSK. USNR 4. Anthony Heintz. CQM. USN 5. F. J. Mandella, GEM, USNR 6. CarlCooper, Jr., CPhM, USNR 13. J. E. DiUoway, CMM, USNR 7. F. T. Ryan, CMM, USNFR 8. A. N. Lockwood, CSK, USN 9. G. P. Blair, CY. USNR 10. Joseph Poliakcvich, CMM, USN 11. M. L. Millard, CGM, USN 12. C. P. Boquet, CBM, USNFR FIRST DIVISION— First and Third Sections „-... e 1 ., m Mm. Inscl — Division Officer Lieut. W. E. Huclle, USNR, and front row, left to right: F. F. Gregory, Sic; E D Williams, S2c; C. L. Zufelt, Sic. Second row, left to right: A. J. Zchner, S2c; A. E. Bunch, CMlc; E. J. Keller, ' bMIc; J. F. Gwiazdon, BM2c; C. H. Vest, Cox.; Will Kovich, Sic. Standing: W. F. Crew, S2c; E. Hill, Sic; W. J. Kilponen, S2c; J. W. Harmon, S2c; E. P. Corbet, Sic; C. N. Westmoland, Sic; L. G. Wcngrowski, Sic; G. A. Ray, Sic. Insec — Ass ' t Division Officer Ensign R. V. Grekowicz, USNR, left to right, front row: R. J. Kirk, Sic; James Belden, Sic; J. J. Dzierzyk, Cox.; Harry - -Grabarczyk, Cox.; R. W. Wood, Sic; F. F. Weiler, S2c. Second row: R. L. Kennedy, S2c; W. R. Heath, S2c; C. R. Williams, S2c; J. W. Hanks, Sic; R. E. Davis, Sic; W. R. Avalone, Sic; E. V. Baer, S2c. SECOND DIVISION— First and Third Sections Inset — Division Officer Lieut. A. H. Koldewey, USNR. Left to right, front row; 7 Y J- L. Hallock, S2c; J. A. Witkowski, S2c; E. E. Truster, Cox.; K. W. Lackey, , — — BMlc; R. A. Avila, Cox.; L. M. Waniska, Sic; T. E. Krawczyk, Cox. Secor row: C. H. Kerr, Sic; J. A. Hampton, Sic; M. S. Warshawsky, S2c; J. L. Wootcrs, Sic; M. Hnatt, Sic; J. W. Kecvcr, S2c, and R. T. Jones, S2c. 4: -4 ' , SECOND DIVISION— Second and Fourth Sections Inset — Ass ' t Division Officer Ensign D. G. Raymer. Front row. left to right — D. Kendall. S2c; I. Anion. CMIc; C. M. Uhmael. Jr.. BM2c; B. W. Seaslrand. BM2c: E. P. Hodges. CMJc; E. J. James. S2c. Second row— D. E. Halliday. ' S2c; K. Coins, S2c; N. K. Wood. S2c; I.. O. Wendling. Sic; J. L. Honcycutt, S2c; C. T. Walt, Sic; H. W. Hendershot. S2c; J. G. Hefner. S2c; B. C. Hodges, S2c. S DIVISION Inset — Division Officer, Ensign D. E. Michel, USNR. Left to right, first row: J. M. DeShazo, SK2c; V. K. Copeland, F2c; W. J. Jones, SK3c. Second row: H. B. Lee, SKlc; R. L. Vaughan, SKlc; G. F. Hansen, SKlc; G. L. Moore, ' SKlc; S. G. Weaver, SK2c; H. K. Smith, SSMB2c; N. A. Requa, SSML2c. ' Third row: N. A. Kamp, SSML3c; C. F. Hill, SK3c; A. D. LoPilato, SK3c; J. L. Hart, SK2c; P. T. Wesley, SKD3c; W. R. Aycrs, SK3c; L. O. Grissom, Jr., SK3c; P. J. Anuszkiewicz, Sic. Inset — B. Holcomb, CPC, and left to right, front row: L. G. Spencer, SK3c; v. R. Tuttle, SK2c; F. O. Dodd, SK3c; T. T. Weston, SK2ci E. Vega, SK3c. ' ' second row: L. E. Finch, SK2c; D. L. Astor, S2c; H. A. Cleaton, SKIc; A. S. Williams, S2c; E. L. Wilson, S2c; H. E. Flinn, SK3c. M DIVISION Upper inset — Division Officer Lt. (jg) J. H. Crum, USNR. Lower inset — Ch.M. Diclt Carlisle. Front row, left to right — D. L. Harris, WT2c; R. V. Boyd, SF2c; E. J. Van Loo, MM2c; H. H. Wilkinson, MMlc; B. E. Weinberg, -MMlc; W. R. Goldsberry, EMlci R. O. Hartman, MM2ci A. D. Nyman, EM2c; R. R. Davidson, MM2c. Second row — E. C. Brewer, M2c; J. D Wallace, F2c; E. E. Woodson, MM3c; J. W. White, WT2c; W. J. Lidgett, Flc; J. R. Williams, F2c; C. L. Peterson, Jr., MoMM3c; L. E. Selcsky, EM2c; L. A. Woodhouse, Flc. Inset — Ass ' t Engineering Officer, Ll. (jg) Arnold Binder. USNR. Front row, left to right — E. W. Smith. WT3c: E. C. Whitmorc, MMJc; R. B. Eldridge. MM2c; E. M. Schnetzler. MoMMlc; H. H. Pack, SFlc; R. N. Hooker. EMlc; ' G. N. Simpson. MMlc; C. R. Sloddart. WTlc; G. H. Ward. EM2c. Second row— A. D. Wilson. MM3c; L. E. Noftsker, MM3c; B. R. Hedgecolh, Flc; L. L. Hatfield. Flc; H. Gursky. WT3c; W. R. Nock, Flc(EM); J. F. Hanak. Jr., Flc; W. E. Rogers. Flc; D. B. Wilde. Flc; J. B. Gribble. WT3c. H (HOSPITAL) DIVISION H Division stands for hospital and corpsmen, pharmacist ' s mates and doc- tors. The group above includes, left to right: T. G. Wilson, HA2c; Harry F Thompson, Jr., PhM2c; R. E. Alber, PhM2c; John H. Ready, PhMlc, and H. M. Brammer, PhMZc. Lower right: Lt. Comdr. Gemmill, ship ' s surgeon, assisted by Castor ' s hos- pital corpsmen, performed emergency operation on battle casualty. F Dii-ision (Gunnery). Inset — Lieut. M. C. Park, USNR. Left to right, — front row: R. A. Douglas. Jr., GM3c; O. P. Anderson, GMlc; E. C. Wright. CL,. ' fCIc; R. L. Rawlings, GM2c. Second row: D. R. Thurman, Sic; E. Goodner, GM2c; J. D. Sammon, FC2c; R. E. Cardon, GM3c; G. R. Hodge. Sic. OFFICERS COOKS AND STEWARDS MATES Inset — Shorter and Hinson. Group, left to right, front row — L. Shorter, Jr., St3c; Joe Cranford, Ck3c; W. H. Deas, Stic; E. Gabarda, Ck. Second row — S. Owens, StMlc; J. Weldon, Jr., StMlc; T. Hollingshead, StMlc; J. Hinson, StMlc. Upper insci — APC L. A. Gambino USN. Lower inset — Joe Cranford, Ck3c. Left to right, front row — H.R. Hantz, SC2c, J. G. Gorden, SC3c, D. H.. -Brown, SClc, E. L. Williams, Bkr2c; second row— E. E. Bankert, Slc(SC), K. H. Hulbert. S2c, M. J. Jurasko, S2c. Inset — Lieut, (jg) T. T. Trujillo, USNR, Division OfRcer. Left to right, front row: L. E. Ready. RdM2c; E. N. Anspach, RM3c; G. C. Phillips, .RM2c; J. W. Shelby, Y2c; B. R. Carson, RdM3c; I. T. Lansdown, Y2c. Second row: M. O. Ervin, SM2c; D. R. Wiseman, S2c; C. H. Harper, Jr., QM2c; G. R. Hogan, RdM2c; J. M. Wiley, S2c; D. E. Warneke, Sic; H. W. Smith, SM3c. Inset — Lieut. K. G. Browtl, USNR. Left to right, front row: Don F. Austin. RM3c; R. R. Tripp. RTIc: L. T. Herinan, Y3c; J. E. Callens. RMlc; Bert ' Humphreys, QMIc; S. H. Minion. SMlc; T. J. Crimmins, RMlc. Second row: J R Smith. RdM3c; G. R. Thurman. RdM3c; W. H. Jarvis. MaMic; R. G. Cochran. Sic; C. A. Arnold, Sic; W. J. Ditsch, Y2c. NEVER A DULL MOMENT —the pause that refreshes When there was time, and there were some lazy Sunday afternoons at sea with holiday routine, the choice of forms of relaxation veered from check- ers to sun bathing. In officers ' country a medicine ball and punching bag ' appeared occasionally as a medium for keeping the torso fit. Members of the crew punched their striking bag daily. They skipped rope or plaited fancy canvas mats, wrote letters home, worked on correspondence courses or just had another cup of Jo. SOFTBALL CIRCUIT PACI FI C Upper left — Dulces C-F-H Division, the Champs. Lower Kit — bl ippt-r losses out first ball. Center — Ship All Stars. Lower right — Sluggers (2nd Division) runnersup. Castor ' s crew played ball on seven different ' islands, moving in on coral diamonds which had been battlefields a few months before. Castor ' s own band made its appearance early in the cruise under the leadership of Lowell Finch. Members of the band, shown left to right, standing: are Lowell Finch (saxophone), Stanley Dilloway (piano), R. E. Davis (drums). Seated: -Geo. Ray (trumpet), R. D. Wood (trumpet), J. W. Ditsch (trumpet), and Wayne Harris (saxophone). Entertainers featured with the band were always introduced by the inimitable Emcee, Alf Zehner, and included the trio, E. E. Benkert, Chief A. N. Lockwood and E. L. Williams; the duo of Williams and J. G. Gorden as well as the buffoon of the bilges, Will Kovich, shown telling Zehner where to get off — at. Lucky Bag Davis (in circle) leaves his drums to do his burlesque of a Tokio radio commentator. King Neptune and his Royal Entourage boarded the Castor one day in March, on the equator, and made Shellbacks out of PoIIywogs. ASHORE ON TROPICAL ISLANDS The only difference between the pictures on this page and those featured by Life Magazine is that Castor ' s ship photographer. Chief F. J. Mandella. r ' f took these. These are authentic shots of the natives as they Hvc in the — - Uhthi Islands and the Admiraltys with APC L. A. Gambino of Castor, En- sign Don Michel and Chief Mandella himself thrown in for good measure against a tropical setting that eclipsed anything Hollywood ever faked. ' ONCE IT BELONGED TO JAPAN OKINAWA A ship ' s party from the Castor saw Okinawa when the battle was still raging. These pictures show the refugees from shell-torn Okinawan villages, a tomb of honorable ancestors, the Castor group at Mayer ' s Marine Fliers ' Mess and other shots. The i.ative internee came from Kerama Retto. SPECIAL SERVICES It takes lots of special service to keep a ship running smoothly. Just like any ' illage, it has to have laundries, cobblers, mailman, tail or, soda fountain, barber shop, movie operators and store managers. Here are Castor ' s merchants ' and tradesmen: Forrest Gregory, cobbler; Requa, Ray and Kamp, laundrymen; Anuskciewicz, the tailor; Jarvis, the mailman; DeShazo, the fountain man; Smith, the barber; Noftsker, the film man; Mandella and Nyman, movie operators; LoPilato of the ship store. SEAMANSHIP ENGINEERING Daily work in the machine shop, the carpenter shop and in the armory as well as the work above decks keeps the Castor in the war. Taking cuts (bearings) ' on the bridge when entering or leaving port, steering and all the other activities aboard add up to determine when that anchor will be backed out or heaved around. FOR INNER MAN AND OUTER MAN The butcher, the baker— no candlestick maker, but a fine bunch of cooks keep Castor ' s inner man happy as pictures of baking and roasting testify. Not all the roasting is done in the galley. The outer man browns himself all over against that stateside rendezvous so that he can show off that Pacific tan. Tanning is healthy and so is aired bedding which is accomplished weekly as shown. ;f:NSonED you can ' mil it The SUNDAY STAR Because C tii or is a star, it had (o be named The Star. It is issued on Sunday because thai is sometimes a day of rest. In other words. there is a reason for the ship ' s newspaper to be called The Sunday Star. The first issue (Vol. 1, No. I was published March 18. 1945. Its founder was I ieut. Salter E. Huclle, t ' SNR. who hadn ' t been without a newspaper for 20 years and uas lonely. Yeo- man Louis Herman was interested in helping and so was ' ayne James Ditsch. Between the three the first few- issues were written, minieoed and distributed clipped to the Radio News ever ' Sunday morning at breakfast time. The staff grew. The paper continued to be pub- lished weekl without a lapse until 2 i July 194 ' y when the final issue for this cruise was put to bed. Due credit must be accorded to Miss Lulu Q. Caslorbilt. queen of the Castor, to whom this Lucky Bag is dedicated, for furnishing lead stories when humankind failed to do any- thing startling enough for a headline. Miss Lulu obligingly got kidnapped by the crew of another ship, met other dogs, fell through a hatch and broke a hip. received fan mail and generally fulfilled the expectations of a top billed star. The staff of the Star shown poking their physiogues through a typical issue on this page are. left to right on top: Lieut. Huelle. advisor: Ivan Lansdown. associate editor; Louis Herman, editor; Norman Kamp. car- toonist, who drew 20 consecutive original cari- catures, and Lt. (jg J. H. Crum, also an advisor. Left and right below are: J. R. Smith, a regular contributor, and Bob Carson, press- man. SEND L SOIvE NEVS ' guppl ' ment to the Radio and Press Mews of the U.S.S. CA3T0R AIIG-i OL. I i:o. 16 SUNDAY 1 JULY 194:- FRZ :. FOR ASKTiV SIZ IJEN GO IT? IN RATE ON CASTOR AS OF TODAY on tl -day, rst BIG GAI IE HUNT LIVE NS V eary signalmen lounging about the b_ :o do but send messag ' j their first real excit ube other day. Led by ;oie 57, himself) as chief beater, the signal bridge safari drove a monster Into the open and exterminated him, (and with a mere handful of men, too). So it was only a rat. But that rat out up a helluva battle throwing con- are tr.70 new seamen ass on board, Iters and L.G.Wengros AIN FliroS SHIP IN _ -NE COl IDITION DURING the war - ' .b SURPRISE INSPECTION intz According to Capt, Hun toe the Castor shov ed up very wc during last- v eek ' s surprise inspection. Said Capt.Huntoc I was vory much surprise THE NEWS DAILY RADIO-NEWS USS CASTOR JULY 1 1945 BBUSSELS 6 30 (AP) THE WARTIME MARRIAGE OF BELGIUM ' S -KING LEOPOLD TO A DARK TRESSED BEAUTY OF THE PEOPLE VMS DRAGGED, THURSDAY Y THE COMflUNIST NEVJ3- PAPER ' LA DRAPEAU ROUGE ' INTO THE PRESS CAMPAIGN TO FORCE THE AB- DICATION OF THE iviO-NARCH. A-FEATURED ARTICLE IN THE NE ' iSPAPER BORE THE TITLE IS GOVERNOR BAELS, REMOVED 1 MAY 1940 GETTING A PENSION? HIS ONLY CLAIM- FATHER IN LAW OF LEOPOLD THE THIRD . Up-to-the-minute news ready to read at breakfast every morning kept Castor ' s crew informed on what was going on in the rest of the world. It was the radio men who did it, day in and day out, through heavy traffic, and all other exig- encies. Shown with the Radio Neus they re- ceived by wireless, edited and printed, are the boys who did it. They are J. E. Callens ( right ) and D. R. Wiseman (left). AR IS. 6 29 (AP) MANS DRED ED SU CORNE ■£Ar KECK SE A U S ARMY ORDNANCE DIVISION OFF- ICER SAID- THURSDAY THAT THE GER- HAD CONSIDERED A TWO HUNDRED TON TANK, A GUN WITH A FOUR HUN- FOOT BAR ' L. A POCKET THAT COULD BE LAUNCHED lOM A SIiR ' ' PRG- J %yi [TH A CURVED BAR ITEMS AS lERICAN AR P ' 7 TM ' c .AUNCHED lOM OUND THE rcoL A X 0-- .N and t MAC ' AR, BAT7 .lUSSETY .OT IN A L. S. HAI BEEN RECErJTLY uucc.iE IN HOUL ■ f X ' BETWEEN 430 AND VE HU1DRED AM- ERICAN B29S UNLO .DED MORE THAN - BOMBS ON FOUR JAPANESE CITIES, SASEBO, ,. „w v.,s r.n u,Nn,n,v,n .N A PREDAWN RAID AGAINST THE NIPPON MAINLAND THURSDAY. THEY WERE THE FIRST ENCENDIERY ATTACKS ON THE FOUR ' .. ' AR INDUSTRY CENTERS BRINGING TO EIGHTEEN THE NUMBER OF JAP- AiiESE CITIES FIRE BOMBED IN TWENTY NINE STRIKES BY B29S OF THE 2iST 30i;iUER COMMAND. THREE • MOJI THOUSAND TONS OF FIRE NOBEOKA, AND OKAYAMA I K 2 -D ■ ' ■ ' ■ ' ■■ ■ - • ' ' ' .. . i ' !. -,- .7-v ' . .■■ ' ' ■ ' T ' • ' : ' ■_. ' -- ■ , ' , . '