Frank Evans (DD 754) - Naval Cruise Book

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So we left Yokosuka for Long Beach on the morning of 2 April. During the long two weeks transit we did all the things we had been doing at sea throughout the cruise. We refueled . . . Forty-eight times we went along- side an oiler or the HORNET to take on the fuel which kept us going. Re- fueling at sea is a tough and dangerous evolution. It requires precision ship- handling by the conning officer. It demands experienced seamanship on the part of the deck technicians. It requires the entire crew to be especi- ally alert and safety conscious. It is an all-hands job. Throughout the cruise, the men of the EVANS performed this job bet- ter than any other crew in our task group. We had countless compliments on both our station keeping (this amounts to keeping the ship between 90 and 120 feet from the fuel ship for an average period of 30 minutes) and our seaman- ship (this amounts to pulling over an eight inch hose, uncapping it, securing it so that 100 pounds of pressure will not loosen it, and send- ing it back all in a period of 6 minutes. ) With Chief ATT AW AY at the for- ward station, TIMMONS , BM1 at the after station and GRAMLICH, TM1 , WARSON GMG1 and Chief BARNES at the amidship ' s station, we had an outstanding team which practiced almost impeccable seamanship. There was no serious accident during refuel- ing on the entire cruise. Our rig and unrig times were good enough to garner us a mention on the front page of the monthly WESTPAC Replenishment Re- port as being one of the three WEST- PAC ships to maintain outstanding times.

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The bowling teams participated in only one tournament while in Pearl Harbor, and although they failed to win, did serve notice that they were a team to be reckoned with as they later clearly demonstrated. Upon arrival in Japan, football and softball faded from the scene, and the crew of the EVANS concen- trated on basketball and bowling. The basketball team which repre- sented the EVANS made up with hustle for what they lacked in height and won twelve games while losing seven. It is significant, however, that five of the seven losses were to large com- batants, and within DESDIV 231, the FIGHTER lost only to the USS WALKE (DD723), a loss which she later avenged. This team, composed of MC ARTHUR, CLOPTON, DILLARD, DELL, KOONTZ, SHEELEY, YEAR - WOOD, LT (jg) JOHNSON, ADAMS, and MOORE, was expertly coached by PURTZER, PN1, and devoted many hours to representing the ship in the manner to which The Fighter has become accustomed. In bowling, the EVANS, went all out, and was represented by three teams, The Fighting Cocks , com- posed of MARRIOTT, HODGSON, MARSH, GALILEY, HOWARD, and DIERKS; the Banty Roosters , made up of GRAMLICH, ROBINSON, SCHMIDT, SITNIC, ROSE, FLAHERTY, and ROSS; and the Gold Braids , with Captain SANDERS, CDR LOHR, LT BRENNEN, LT (jg)WEEGAR, LT (jg) HAHN, ENS BENSON, and Chief CANTWELL chalking up the strikes. All three teams competed well, and the Fighting Cocks proved to be the best in theHUK Group, bringing home the Commodore ' s Trophy. . . . and bidding fairwell to the mobile canteen. The Bowling Team: From left to right, top row: KLEMKIEWITZ, GALILEY, MARRIOTT; front row: MARSH, HOWARD, HODGSON.

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and transferred personnel . . .