John Q Roberts (APD 94) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 16 text:

FIRST TRIP We left Norfolkon May 7th in company with 3 APD's and one cargo transport, enroute to Panama Canal. A week's sailing time was -required to reach Panama and a day to transit the magnificent canal. On the other side the ROBERTS, still with the other APD's, but now minus the cargo ship pointed her bow toward California. We arrived at San Diego on May 23rd.K Knowing that this was our last chance for stateside liberty all hands made the very most of the pitifully insufficient two days. All preparations were made for another sea' voyage and we headed west. May 30th found us in Pearl Harbor. After a week there we were ordered to Maalaea Bay, Maui, inthe Hawaiian Chain. Upon our arrival we found that' we were to engage in training exercises with Underwater Demolition Teams for a period of five days. We weren't kept very busy, so we had an opportunity-to discover that swimming was just as good in Maui's clear Maa- lalea Bay as at the famed Waikiki Beach. At the completion of this Assign- ment, we returned to Pearl Harbor, stayed long enough to prepare for 'an- other voyage and headed further west.

Page 15 text:

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 ,-

Page 17 text:

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII mmmmuuumunlnumnluulmuumm numI.......u,.nI..as1m..m1I..fma.....zuI1....mulnuulnnnlllnuuuuuuu Our next orders sent us to Eniwetok Atoll, where we picked up two ships that we were to escort to Guam, via Saipan' and Tinian, where one of the ships was stopping. On the way from Saipan to Guam we passed close to the Iapanese-held island of Rota. We were fortunate enough to pass the island at a time when some of our aircraft were bombing it, and this little incident served to remind us that the war was close at hand. It was also on thistrip that the ROBERTS had her first opportunity to demonstrate the skill and efficiency of her medical staff. One thousand miles from the nearest land one of our passengers was stricken with appendicitis. Quickly and skillfully the wardroom' of the ROBERTS was converted into a sterile, gleam- ing white operating room. With several members of the crew watching through the ports constituting an audience, the doctor, assisted by a Chief Pharmacist's Mate, removed the troublesome appendix. V I On Iuly lst the ROBERTS reached Port Apra, Guam. The next two days were spent anchored in that harbor awaiting sailing orders. When we received them, we found that we had been routedto Leyte Gulf in the Philippines, the scene of one of our most important invasions. The USS LEE FOX KAPD 455 ac- companied us on the four day voyage. Upon our arrival we were given two weeks to rest and wonder and worry about the future. When we finally re- ceived word about our next duty we found that we, along with a number of other APD's and some Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts, had been assigned to escort heavy units of the THIRD Fleet on maneuvers in the Philippines Area. L We were honored indeed to be chosen to escort ships like the TEXAS, MISSISSIPPI, IDAHO, SUWANNEE, GILBERT ISLANDS, and the NEW MEX- ICO. We now considered ourselves a part of the third fleet, Halsey's Fleet, THE Fleet in the Pacific. We gave our all for the ships we escorted during the next month. At the conclusion of that month, disaster struck. Not dis- aster as it is usually thought of in connection with a ship in a combat zone, but something almost as deadly. At this time most of the crew of the ROB- ERTS fell victims to Dysentery, and the dread disease ran rough-shod over almost all of our crew.