John Q Roberts (APD 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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COMMISSIONING CEREMONIES

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IllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIlllllIllllllllflliiilfiiilIIIIIIIIIEIIIIffiiillfiilil l!flEEIf!lllffiil!!IiiiffiiillllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 1 V 10-22-45 .... ..... - ........... L eft Otaru 10-23-45 .... .... A rrived Hakodate, Iapan 10-23-45 .... ..... L eft Hakodate, Iapan 10-24-45 Arrived Otaru 10-26-45 .... ......... L eft Otaru 10-31-45. .... .... A rrived Tokyo Bay ll-7-45 ..... .. ,V ...... Left Tokyo Bay 11-8-45 ..... ..... A rrived Nagoya, Iapan 11-10-45 .... .............. L eft Nagoya 11-19-45 .... .... A rrived Hiro Wan, Iapan 11-23-45 Left Hiro Wan 11-23-45 .... .... A rrived Bungo Suido Entrance, Iapan 12-1-45 ..... .................... L eft Bungo Suido 12-1-45 ..... ..... A rrived Kure, Iapan 12-7-45 ..... ............. L eft Kure 12-7-45 ..... ..... A rrived Bungo Suido 12-14-45 .... .... L eft Bungo Suido 12-14-45 .... ...... A rrived Kure 12-15-45 .... .............. L eft Kure 12-16-45 .... .... A rrived Nagoya. Iapan 12-16-45 .... ............ .... L e ff Nagoya 12-23-45 .... .... A rrived Eniwetok, Carolinas 12-23-45 .... ............... L eft Eniwetok 12-29-45 .... ..... A rrived Pearl Harbor. T. H- 12-31-45 .... ............. t .Left Pearl Harbor 1-6-46 .... .... A rrived San Pedro Bay, Calif. 1-25-46 ..... .......... L eft San Pedro Bay 2-2-46 .... ..... A rrived Cristobal, C. Z. 2-3-46 .... .......... L eft Cristobal 2-8-46 ,,,, ..... A rrived Norfolk, Va. 2-15-46 ,,,,, .................. .... L e ft Norfolk 2-17-46. , , , , . . . .Arrived Green Cove Springs, Fla.

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lllllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllIlllllllllillllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEIIiiifIiiiIIIIEiiEIIIIIfiiI2!IiiiffiiillllllllllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII COMMISSIONING The crew of the United States Ship IOHN Q. ROBERTS was first assem- bled on Ianuary 26, 1945 at Norfolk, Virginia. The Navy was old to some of us: the sea was old to some of us: both were new and exciting to some of us, but we all had one thing in common-each of us was a part of the later ef- ficient crew of the APD 94. It was cold that morning in Norfolk and it was cold a lot of other morn- ings. but we hardly noticed it as we clashed from class to class in pre-c,om- missioning school. 4 We worked hard at swimming, firefighting, recognition, specialty classes and even the so-called physical torture. We knew that such training made better sailors and we wanted to be better sailors. Our training in Norfolk lasted five busy weeks. Then, early in March, we went to the Charleston Navy Yard, in South Carolina, the birthplace of the good ship ROBERTS. The next few days were spent in preparation for the commissioning ceremony..- On March 8th the IOHN Q. ROBERTS became a commissioned vessel in the United States Navy with Lieutenant Commander ROBERT N. BAVIER, Ir., in command. She was commissioned by CAPTAIN GUY E. BAKER representing the Commandant, SIXTH Naval District. -Iust prior to the commissioning the ship was christened by Mrs. DEANY ROBERTS GARNER mother of the late Ensign IOHN Q. ROBERTS. It was an impressive ceremony, and we were all proud to be associated with the ship. After the commissioning exercises we discovered that pride was not quite enough to keep a fighting ship in operation. It took lots of hard work, too. The next few days were spent loading supplies and readying the ship for our first sea voyage. It is amazing how much equipment is required for the safe naviga- tion and efficient operation of a' vessel of this size. We finally ,got her ready and in the two weeks made several trial runs. All sea trials having proved satisfactory, we departed from Charleston on March 26th on our shakedown cruise. Shakedown is that period in the life of a new ship in which the ship and her crew composed partially of old salts with a good sprinkling of green hands are welded together in a well-trained, well-equipped fighting unit. Our shakedown exercises took place in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where we were put through every type of gruelling exercise and maneuver known to the United States Navy. X The conditions under which theexercises took place closely resembled actual combat. We were taught what we could expect in the Pacific and what to do about it. From there on it was up to us. ,At the conclusion of our training we proceeded to Norfolk for post-shakedown availability and Amphibious exercises. Toward the end of April a short leave for all hands was granted. Immediately upon the return of the crew, all preparations were made for departure. . .YW . . - . ........ ' -------I---V - M- . ...1 . . . .f. f-.. if .Q-we.---4: ...ff -,,, M, M. Vw ,-