S 4 Mqg ' Z! ,gig si F AN x 'I kj!! 1 W 7 V-Q X x ' , 2, vlan: , -4' xml: xfkxqf' Emi: 9 1 ,4 Inf- 5' gf Wy.. SQ A.- N1 Yi, ' :AK-eg! A, . .41,,4 ,. L 1? I f New 1 Y.. EMAY 41961 Q' If P3 LIBRARY Hz'5f0ry of U. S. S. LCI 542 1943-1945 ,4I .4 By H FREDERICK R. VAN VECHTEN, JR. U. S. N. R. Qlnzlctivej . X X -X xx HISTORY OF U. S. S. LCI 542 1943-1945 I. EUROPEAN OPERATIONS HE story of the ship begins in mid-September, 1943 at the Amphibious Training Base, Solomons, Maryland, with the forma- tion of LCI ,Nucleus Crew 3226A, which consisted of Lt. Cjgj Van Vechten, QM 3c Bruce, SC 3c Johnson, F lc Cornett, and Beloin, Neff, Chovanez and Sullivan, all S 2c. The purpose of a nucleus crew was to give extended and thorough training to a few men who would be key members of the crew of the future ship and who could therefore train the rest of ship's company and thus shorten their training. We were assigned to observe and assist Crew 3226, a full complement under command of Ensign Butterworth. On 26 September, after two weeks of class-es and drilling at the Base, we all traveled by LCI fthe first one most of us had been aboardj to Little Creek, where we were to join the 428 for training afloat. The 428, engaged in landing operations with the army, was not aware of this and consequently not prepared for Crew 3226 when we finally located her long after midnight. Never- theless, we stayed aboard for four days and obtained some valuable training before being shipped back to Solomons on the 354. Despite the fact that Captain Opie strolled in upon a gambling fest of Crew 3226 and threatened disciplinary action, we set forth again on 2 October aboard the 423. After steaming and beaching in the Chesa- peake, the ship- ventured some hundred seasick miles into the Atlantic off Cape Hatteras on one of the first and few training cruises to go to sea. Seventeen days later we returned to Solomons, where Wicks joined us in time to go on leave the next day. On 24 October we all reported to Pier 92, New York, to study the commissioning, outlitting and shakedown of Crew 3226's ship, U. S. S. LCIQLQ 488. She was commissioned October 30 and proceeded to Pier 42, where she remained for two weeks for fitting out, we of the nucleus crew observed mostly by acting as general handymen. Finally the ship journeyed out into a rough Atlantic, down to Little Creek, and on to Solomons, where Lt. Com. Shubin boarded and hoisted his flag and took us off to join the Shakedown Group. A couple of days later the 488 piled up on a sand bar off Cove Point while trying to tow the 490 out of the sand. It took an LCT to extricate the ship, after which she returned to Solomons for drydocking on the marine railway. There Crew 3226A left her on November 29, having learned a lot and formu- lated some ideas for our own organization. 2 The next day Ensigns Littlejohn and Hand reported, and the three officers sailed on a Chesapeake midshipmen's cruise aboard the 484, while the men went home for ten days. On 12 December we became Crew 3303, and Cox King, GM 3c McCabe, and S lc Matthews joined us. The round of classes and drill began again and continued until Christmas- Eve, by which time Danielson, Carr and Lazarus had been added to our number. A sombre Christmas at Solomons was some- what lightened by a 72-hour liberty the next day. 28 December we and the crews which later manned the 538 and 539 crowded aboard the 503 for the iinal training cruise in the Chesapeake. Despite the cold, cramped quarters we survived, although Mr. Littlejohn, Chovanez and Neff were alittle the worse for it. Upon our return it was an- nounced that Crew 3303 had received one of the highest marks. of all the crews in training, entitling us to fourteen days' leave, so on 10 January 1944 we took off for home and, in Matthews' case, marriage. The second morning after reporting in at Pier 92 we traveled by truck and auto to the New jersey Shipbuilding Company Yard at Barber, N. J. and there found the 542 comp-leted at the pier. There also we met the rest of the crew for the first time: Doc Simpson, Ayn-es, Clenney, Cseripko, Eldridge, Hoblit, Howard, Petit, Roberts, Williams and Winn. Then at 1226, January 26, 1944 U. S. S. LCICLJ 542 was formerly commissioned with the raising of the ensign and commission pennant and setting of the watch, her initial orders as- signed her to Flotilla 9 for training duty in the Chesapeake. After a sandwich lunch and the arrival of a pilot we got under way for the lirst time at 1409, holding the required fire drill upon leaving the dock. The cruise through debris-lilled New York Harbor to Pier 42, North River took about two- hours and provided some excitement when one of the screws struck a submerged log. Upon our arrival we were dismayed to find that the old two-week fitting-out period had b.een cut to five days. The live days were spent for the most part in feverish loading and stowing of supplies and equipment. 'There was a break on the after- noon of the 28th, when the YWCA of New York sponsored us., along with the 5415 that evening the YWCA gave us a line party at their clubhouse, enjoyed by all who could go, but especially by Co-rnett. Early the next morning the old Swedish pilot, Gustav Klang, took us to Bayonne for flashing and then in the afternoon to a small island in the Bay to load ammunition. We returned to Pier 42 to find Ensign Hillman waiting to report for duty. Small craft warnings prevented our Scheduled departure on February 1, neverthe-less the compasses were compensated that morning in a high wind in the lee of the Hudson's Jersey shore. The weather was too foul for the pilot, who brought the ship to Weehawken, whence after lunch a tug towed us back to Pier 42. 3 At 1405 on 2 February we cast off, proceeded down New York Harbor past the Statue of Liberty, dropped the Coast Guard pilot at 1613, and sailed fo-r the Chesapeake. We were on our own-with only our faulty compasses to depend upon, which was all right while skirting the Jersey Coast. Around midnight, however, we came to Delaware Bay, a heavy mist descended, and we were truly at sea. Luckily the water was calm, and after some fumbling the proper channel buoy was located. No one got much sleep, but from then on all went compara- tively w-ell, until late the next day we passed Cape Henry and arrived at Little Creek. Receiving orders to proceed, we set off for Solomons, anchoring off Cove Point at 0400 on the 4th. At ten o-'clock that day we made our first appearance at Solomons, mooring to the .404 at Pier 8. Five hours later Commander Martin held a most unsatisfactory arrival inspection, mainly because we had buoy-hopped rather than navi- gated from New York, it did not impress him that we had at least found the buoys and arrived safely. QThe 540 had torn her bottom out on the jersey shore a few days before.j Shakedown started on 5 February, with the 542 inaugurating -a new system of three-day independent steaming-with a lieutenant in- structor in navigation aboard we traveled continuously up and down th-e Chesapeake, holding general drills and beaching. Back at Solomons the ship joined the Shakedown Group under Lt. Com. Bailey in the 541. After two days of formation steaming the morning of the 11th was devoted to emergency hand steering practice, we rigged block and tackle successfully, but the quadrant was sprung, and the pin ,could not be reinserted for mechanical steering. This required a night at ATB for rewelding and alignment of the quadrant. On the morning of the 12th the 543 joined the formation with anchor ball bravely flying at the yardarm , we at least were not that green, nor was Neff as slow on the radio as the 411 C Radio name, Junior- Junior, junior! Please pay attention ! j. After a night off Little Creek the Group beached at Virginia Beach, returning in a snowstorm to Little Creek. The shakedown continued with more steaming, drills and beaching, ending on the 16th with anti-aircraft practice, firing at a target sleeve. That night we returned to Solomons, where Lt. Com. C. B. D. Brown, our new Group Commander, made his first appearance, by that time we had been transferred to the new training Flotilla 17. ' I On 17 February LaPort-e, fresh from boot camp, replaced -King, and after being delayed by fog we sailed from Solomons for availability at Norfolk, though no one could explain why a HCW ffaining Ship fe' quired availability. Endurance trials were held on the way down the Bay Cflank speed about 17 knotsj until a heavy fog set in at 2000. The rest of the trip to the Little Creek anchorage was nervewracking, 4 especially after narrow brushes first with an unknown ship and then with a column of destroyers. The next morning we proceeded to Nor- folk, docking alongside the 409 at Pier S, Lambert's Point. All the other ships there were Boston-built and all painted Pacific green 5 were we headed for the Pacific? Welders, some of them small boys, swarmed aboard to alter the ramps and make other repairs, while the rest of the ships loaded overseas stores. and later were repainted Atlantic gray. For a while they still said we were to be a training ship, then they said maybe not-we'd better stock up. So we did, and as many of the ship's company as possible went ho-me for a couple of days.. At last they told us we were to go- to Europe with the other ships 5 we were now in Flotilla 12 and Lt. Com. L. R. Henry, in the 408, our temporary commander. On 3 March we moved to Little Creek anchorage, where a convoy conference was held ashore-ten of us were to- trail a UGS fGibraltarj convoy as escorts . There were the LCIS 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 401, 403, 539, 541, and ourselves. At 1034 on 4 March 1944 the anchor was raised and housed for the Atlantic crossing, a trip that only ,three of ship's company had made before, the Captain, McCabe and Roberts. After passing out through the Capes the ship took up her co-nvoy position as last ship in the 12th of 13 columns, astern of the liberty ship'r Wm. E. Borah g before long almost everyone was seasick. For days a head wind and mod- erately rough Northeast sea bounced the 542 about a good deal, but sometimes the rolling Borah seemed to be having a worse time of it. The sky was rarely clear, so that navigation became mostly a matter of following in the wake of the sturdy Borah , a most courteous ship, which passed on all convoy signals and always let us know her prospective movements. S-o we continued for twelve days, most o-f us overcoming seasickness with the aid of dry crack- ers and grapefruit. LaPorte always wore his foul weather stock- ings and white sneakers and carried his bucket whenever he had to get up to take the helm. Finally on the morning of 16 March the LCIs left the convoy and proceeded due North alone. Despite a great deal of signal confusion during the night, especially on the part of the 539, we arrived safely the next morning off the island of Fayal in the Azores, escorted by porpoises-the rich green grass looked wonderful. At 1015 a gnarled Portuguese pilot clambered aboard, and we manned the rails and entered the harbor of Horta, tying up alongside the 412 at the sea wall. Horta p-roved a fine liberty port, although liberty was restricted for a day and a half until Sunday. That was the day that Bruce, Neff and Matthews had a champagne party, topped off by Bruce's lecture in French to the rabble from the top of a woodpile. Several rf I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I , 5 of the afternoon shore patro-l shift were unable to perform, due to morning liberty. The officers enjoyed the wardroom bar of HMS Blackfiy alongside, while Howard enjoyed some Wine, Late that night the captain of the 539 hunted spies in cupboards with flashlight and .45, and the 4l2 had a fantail party of a different sort. Mean- while we found time to do a little painting, repair .the broken Seam Over No. 2, and bail out the compartment g we also took on supplies of fresh bread, bananas and oranges. The bumboats made many sales, as the result of which Clenney tried the local brandy and later tried to break down No. 2 hatch with his fists. J I Bright and early on 20 fMarch the LCIs set sail for England, escorted by the DE, HMS Dakins . The sea was rough and the sky more cloudy than ever. All went well until 0730 on the 22d, when our engines and generators stopped, due to water in the day tanks, and left us alone on the ocean. We had no way to signal the convoy, but luckily the Dakins missed us and came back to see what was wrong. After an hour of hard workhby the black gang we were able to proceed. The voyage proceeded without further inci- dent until around noon of March 25, when we reached Falmouth, Cornwall, England and anchored in the harbor. The next day we went on to Plymouth, entering the harbor at 1450. For the next hour we filed up and up the Tamar River, under the Albert railroad bridge, and at last moored to buoy T-21, Saltash, with the 412' alongside. Our ocean voyage was over, successful, except that none of the ships knew enough to render honors to U. S-. S. ANCON just before reaching Saltash. For a while we were left to ourselves, since the Base at Plymouth had not expected LCIS so soon. just before midnight on the 27th, we experienced our first air raid, but were late getting to general quarters because Clenney, anchor watch, was too busy watching .a plane fall in fiames to ring the alarm and let the rest of us see it. The following day the ship tussled with the tide, the Saltash ferry and the rickety pier at St. Budeaux in order to get fresh water-ship- handling in British harbors promised tonbe no picnic. When we went on liberty, we found Plymouth smashed, transportation to and from the city difficult, nothing to do but go to the movies or drink warm, watery beer at the pubs, nothing to eat, the blackout hopeless 'to deal with. Those were the days when the galley came i11'fO i'fS OWU HS an after-liberty club, snack bar and center for Mr. Hand's discus- sion group 3 its only rival in the late evenings was the Saltash CIQHCC- April 4 the first 72-hour liberty was granted Calso the last until. after the invasionj. The Captain, Neff, Bruce, Beloin, ClenneY: Damelsonf Hoblit, Roberts and Lazarus all went to London. I 6 For the most part the days passed uneventfully. There was a five-minute air alert in the early morning of the 10th, while on the 12th Howard, returning fro-m liberty, thought the boathook on the liberty boat was a handrail and fell into the Tamar for Che saidj a refreshing swim. The next day Commander Camero-n, ComFlot 12, arrived in the 414, with 413, 415, 416, 417, 418, 537 and 538, unfortunately Commander Henry and most of the skippers were not there to greet him, being off at Torquay. Thus it was that the fol- lowing morning 'Mr. Littlejohn had to take the ship to Cattedown for deperming, a hair-raising experience, what with the tide, moored Stir- ling bomber planes, the annoyance of the captain in command of Queen Anne's Battery, who happened to be watching, and the lack of co-operation on the part o-f the liberty ship to which we had to moor. The Skipper, returning from Torquay, finally found the ship there after searching for several hours. One day shortly afterward Clenney followed Ho-wardls example and jumped into the Tamar instead of the liberty boat. Another day we entertained a WREN boat crew at lunch-big occasion for johnson. April 21 we steamed out of the harbor fo-r anti-aircraft drill but fo-und it too cloudy, thor- oughly indoctrinated by now, however, we rendered honors four dif- ferent times, coming and going, to ANcoN, U. S. S. AUGUSTA, Cominch Plymouth, and a commodore in a transport. When we returned to Saltash, we found the 488 there, after which old home week ensued. The next day the ship was swung in a novel method, tied to a buoy in Iennycliff Bay. I l On 26 April Lt. Com. Brown arrived in the 420, with 419, 421 and 556 5 ComGroup 35, as SOPA, became the Lord of Saltash Water. A few days after this the 542 proceeded to Baltic Wharf and the marine railway at QAB for a much-needed overhaul. By 1300 she was out of the water, and all hands set to work on the bottom, securing at nightfall. At 0312 the following morning, April 30, the Germans began a blister- ing air raid which lasted an hour: bombs meant for the cruiser anchor- age dropped in the water near by and blew up a neighboring garage, there was heavy gunfire and a hail of shrapnel on the deck. We felt helpless, mustered in a messhall, with the ship high and dry in the middle of it all, although Bruce and a couple of others had to be physi- cally restrained from venturing out on the gundeck to watch. At last it was over, and there was a chance to get a little sleep. Later that morn- ing the painting of the bottom was finished and the ship waterborne once more shortly after noo-n. May 2, after recompensating com- passes in .Iennycliff Bay in a high wind, we stood by Turnchapel Wharf awaiting a chance to unload excess fuel onto a barge. Arriv- ing at the barge proved difficult, for wind and incoming tide swept 7 us past it and up into the shallow reaches of the River Plymg it .was finally necessary to drop the bow anchor in order to turn the ship into the wind. On 4 May came the first real indication of the coming invasion, some of the ships had been out on maneuvers, but the 542 had not. Now we were told to strip ship and attempt a beaching trim. - All that day and the next we loaded spare parts and supplies into an LCVP for storage in a tent ashore. Much of it was never seen again. Since it was thought that the LCIS would load their troops at Harvey's Wharf, QAB, we practiced docking there on three different-days. We also beached at Whitsand Bay 5 o-n 11, May, while approaching the beach, the electric steering gave out, and Lt. Com. Brown almo-st restricted the ship. On the 13th another anti-aircraft practice outside the harbor was cancelledg so casualty drills were held instead, during which every- one in our conn had to play dead. Despite a strong wind on May 16 we managed to maneuver alongside St. Budeaux Hard long enough to get fuel and water, but in returning to T-15 nudged the newly con- verted LCH 520 and crumpled her ventilating intake o-n the gundeck- the first of many collisions. A few days later the 419, to- which we were moored, provided some excitement by losing the mooring ,cable and casting both ships adrift, together with some small boats along- side. That afterno-on another anti-aircraft p-ractice was cancelled due to bad weather, we were getting scant opportunity to become good gun- ners-nopractice s-ince shakedown. Saturday, May 20, after Captain's Inspection the irst photographs of the crew were taken. 22 May a full supply of army K and C-rations were put aboard, and Pvt. Zimrie Akins reported to guard them. Things were begin- ning to happen, for that afterno-on all of Flotilla 12 sailed for Fowey, a pre-invasion diversion move, by 2200 the 542' was moored to LST 56 in Fowey Harbor. There followed a week-of fine weather in a quiet, peaceful and beautiful corner of Cornwall, a week which was the more appreciated because of the battle that everyone knew was now not far off. Small things meant much and were lo-ng remembered: Wicks' favorite record No Letter Todayv which W0kC US at reveille and ran as continuous-ly as the generator 5 the five gallons of fresh milk, the only real milk we tasted While away from 11011163 the brief visit of Lt. Co-m. H. V. Say of the Navy Public Relations Department, the spectacular air raid on Falmouth about midnight ofthe 29th, which from our distance looked like the Fourth of july. Then 011 the 30th we returned to- Saltash, mooring to T-14 with 418 and 420. T116 11CXt day Lt. Kutz came aboard with five men, Donohue, Mulle11S, BFOWI1, Collett and Walker, to arrange the billeting of our invasion cargo. . 8 1 june 1944 was loading day, for hours the Tamar buzzed with LCVPS bringing the troops up from Plymouth to our LCls and also to the square-conned Mediterranean veterans that were to be part of the Utah Beach assault force. f0ur group of 13 LCIS was assigned to Follow-up Force Baker and scheduled to land its troops 12 hours after H-Hour.j At 1322 Company E, 26th Infantry, First Division, First Army, began to come aboard-193 men and 9 officers under the command of Captain Ozell Smootg they were tough, battle-hardened veterans of Africa and Sicily, and their quiet conidence was: hearten- ing to us. That afternoon Pvt. Akins went regretfully ashore, having been an adopted member of the crew for ten days. The ship- was sealed, and we w.ere ready to go g all hands knew the destination was France, since our guests lost no time in displaying their 100-franc notes. The day had not been decided upo-ng so we waited. Half of Lt. Com. Henry's Group had left to join the Coast Guard LCIS in the Omaha assault force, and the 419 had also departed after conversion into an army headquarters ship. 'There was a false start on june 3, when all ships got under way in a rush, only to anchor in Iennycliff Bay for the night and return. Finally, at 1215 on 5 June, we slipped the cable and proceeded down the Tamar to anchor in formation in Cawsand Bay. Shortly afterwards an RAF barge came alongside and tied a barrage balloon to the fantil, which floated just above the top of the mast. At last the word came: 6 june was to be D-Day. Promptly at 0030 on that day we sailed from Plymouth in formation of two co-lumns as Task Gro-up 126.3. LCH 414 was the flagship, in company were LCICLJS 401, 403, 415, 416, 417, 418, 420, 537, 538, 539, 542 and 556. All night we steamed at full speed Q14 knotsj along the coast of Southern England, the DE MALOY, Force Flagship, the AKA ACHERNAR, and an LSD joined us, together with some corvettes and a rescue cutter. The voyage was rough but suffered no enemy inter'- ference. At 1315 the Cherbourg Peninsula was sighted 5 two- hours later we entered the assembly area off Gmaha Beach and anchored. Conditio-ns were confused, loaded landing craft, rescue craft, patrol vessels, and small boats weaved aimlessly in and out among the. anchored ship-s. German artillery was shelling the landing forces, while allied destroyers, close in, returned the fire. Farther offshore to port lay a large French cruiser, her decks filled with civilians and a gigantic tricolor Hying from her stern. It was obvious from the number of assault force ships still lying to fully loaded that the situation on the beach was precarious and that our landing would have more of the character of an assault than of the peaceful reinforcement we had expected. After being anchored only four minutes, we started for the smoke-shrouded beach 3 9 all hands had donned anti+gas suits, and we went to general quarters at 1647. Soon the ship was lying to about 3,000 yards off FOX Green B-each-Easy Red, Our' scheduled landing beach, was too cluttered to use. On signal from the 420 all twelve ships of the task- group made for the beach at 1735. At 1800 the 542 struck a sand barg ramps were lowered and the troops ordered aft while we tried to shove over without success, Roberts volunteered and jumped into the deep water first from one ramp and then the other in a vain attempt to carry a lifeline ashore. After ten minutes the ship hauled off for another try and at 1826 beached successfully closer in, just to starboard ofthe 417. The tide was low but coming in fast, most of the beach obstacles were exposed, although some were close under our bow. Almost dead ahead the Coast Guard LCI 93 was high and dry but with 'her engines going now that the tide was returning. As we dropp-ed our ramps and Company E began to disembark, the beach was under sporadic mortar, artillery and automatic weapon fire. Several Nazi aircraft dropped window and bombed the beach to port. Meanwhile our destroyers con- tinued their close-in bombardment. All went well with the 542 for five minutes, until the 418, minus her anchor, attempted to beach close aboard to starboard. She did not succeed, and the current swiftly carried her down up-on us. She started to retract, but caught her port sponson on our starb-oard fantail chock, throwing our stern over against the 417. Our gasoline drum was bro-ached, and Mr. Hand jettisoned it, cutting loose the barrage balloon at the same time, since it was attracting enemy 88mm fire. At 1840 the port ramp was disabled, and three minutes later the starboard one carried away. By this time we were very close to the 417, while the 418 had maneuvered astern, remaining entangled in our anchor cable, which only the skill of Wicks prevented from parting. Finally at 1846 the 418 was clear, we commenced retract- ing, and just in time, for a salvo of 88mm shells landed where the three ships had been seconds before, doing further damage to the luckless 93. The 542 had been beached for twenty minutes under fire and still had over a score of her passengers aboard. Half an hour later an LCM was located, which took them off. It was later learned, in a letter from the Colonel commanding the 26th Infantry, that the troops landed by our task group were the first to reach their D-Day objectives on Omaha Beach. ' ' As soon as the last soldier had departed, we made tracks for the 414 to report, only to- be sent out to the Assault Flagship U. S. S. ANCON in the Assembly Area for further orders, which were to stand by in the area. At 2320, while we were still under way, a bfiSk Cneml' air raid on beach and anchorage commenced. We steamed for twenty 10 minutes more, trying to keep away from the big ships and narrowly missing collision with a flak boat as well as a stick of bombs. At last the anchor was dropped, and all hands secured below for shelter from shrapnel, since our 20mm guns were useless against the high-flying enemy. In half an hour the raid was over, three planes had fallen in flames, one plummeting directly overhead. The next morning we got under way at 0630 in a rough sea and finally left the Omaha anchorage two and a half hours later, with the 538, carrying Com. Cameron, as guide. We learned that the 416 had been abandoned on the beach after losing screws and cable when a land mine exploded, she was the only ship lost by the Flotilla, and only one of her crew was killed. We ourselves were battered but un- touched by the enemy. That afternoon we arrived off Weymouth and by nightfall had moored alongside the 539 at a buoy in Portland Harbor. Next day we moved to Weymouth docks, where workmen swarmed aboard to repair the damage and install a new starboard ramp. They worked fast, for by 9 June- the ship- was ready for sea once more. In the late afternoon of 10 june we were sent back to Portland for orders. There Lt. P. M. Thacker, RNVR, bustled aboard to ex- plain that the 542 was to escort his nine Royal Navy LCTS to Omaha Beach, carrying no troops herself. I-Ie was surprised to learn that the ship was less heavily armed than his LCTS, some o-f which had 40mm guns. The convoy sailed at 2130, speed six knots, and six- teen weary hours later arrived at the Omaha anchorage without inci- dent. After shepherding the LCTs to the beach to dry out, we an- chored for the night. The return voyage commenced the next morn- ing, after three hours o-f rounding up our charges, which in some cases meant running alongside and sending a man aboard to waken the crews. At 0439 the following morning we arrived at Portland and that evening were back in Weymouth for three days of relaxation. Around noontime on june 16 Z0 nurses, l8 oflicers, and 160 white and colored troops filed aboard-a nice billeting problem for Mr. Littlejohn, although someone helped him out with a fancy sign con- cerning the use of the head. When all were snugly berthed, we sailed in company with 493 and 540, Lt. Roper in command, to escort 18 British LCTS to the Far Shore. The time schedule caused a reversal of course for a few ho-urs in the convoy lane off the Isle of Wight, and thus it was that we ran head-on into a Westbound convoy of coasters in the pitch darkness. Suddenly one illuminated on the star- board bow, and before anything could be done clipped our port cat- head neatly and sheered down the port side-no damage done beyond cutting the port ramp cables. There was confusion all around for a 11 while, as running lights fiashed on and off, but 'no further collisions. The following afternoon we arrived on our first visit to- Utah Beach and anchored inside the Gooseberry of sunken hulks, where the pas- sengers disembarked in LCVPS. Gn the way in Danielson had aj loud-hailer conversation with his stepfather, the captain of the liberty ship T. B. ROBERTSON, Port Control Vessel, and after we anchored for the night, he went off in a small boat for a visit. After dark came the regular nightly air raidi WC dragged anchor and almost hit a large LSI, which had been mined and was low in the water. Dan could not find the ship and had to spend the night on the 540. This 'was a jinxed voyage, for the next morning on the way to Omaha assembly area some uninvited British LCTs joined us, and one, the 455, unaccountably turned hard to port and rammed us in the starboard quar- ter, denting most of the frames in the galley and throwing all of johnny's fixtures o-ut of line. Undaunted, we started back to Eng- land in a convoy of 5 LCIs and 36 LCTS, anchoring in Weymouth Roads very early on june 19. Forthe next four days we rode out a bad storm at anchor. It was the worst Channel storm in years and severely damaged the beaches, the 542 had left the Far Sho-re just in time. She remained at Weymouth until 28 june, when the whole Flotilla moved to the Southampton area, where they moored to trots off Calshot Castle. On the afternoon of july 1 we paid our first visit to the Royal Pier in Southampton in order to embark 209 tro-ops. After anchoring in the Calshot sailing area, we sailed early the next morning for Omaha Beach in a convoy of LCIS and twelve hours later were anchored inside the mulberry, unloading into LCVPS. The return trip the following day found us once more escorting British LCTS 5 convoy, destination was Southamp- ton, but to our annoyance we were ordered to join the 413 shepherd- ing six of them to Weymouth. Our stay there lasted only long enough to get rid of our charges, and by noon of july 4 the ship was back at Calshot. That afternoon Mr. Hand left to have his back treated in the hospital, after which he was shipped home g all hands sorely missed him. Doc's assistant, Tedesco, was transferred the next day, having been with us since just before the invasion. In the evening of 5 july we paid our first visit to Lymington, fol- lowing another ship up the tortuousf channel without too much difficulty, only to find upon arrival that a pilot was always considered necessary. After mooring alo-ngside HMCS LCICLJ 277 many of us St1'e'tChCd OL11' legs ashore by walking up the quiet country lanes near the. Isle of Wight ferry pier where the ships were berthed. Around midnight 239 soldiers cam-e aboard, the greatest number the 542 ever carried, they 12 filled the bunks and slept o-n the decks and even the mess tables. Early in the morning pilot Sublieutenant Taffy Constance C Elank j guided us out of the harbor to anchor in the Solent till daylight. The follow- ing trip- to Omaha to-ok the usual twelve hours, but this time the return trip began the same night, as soon as unloading was comp-leted. We returned to Calshot, where the compasses were compensated. Then on July 9 the Flotilla moved to its new base at Lymington. This time Sublieutenant Poot C Full j piloted us in at a more conservative speed. During the next two days everyone had an opportunity to become acquainted with Lymington, a hospitable, quiet town, almost untouched by the war, although it was there that we experienced our first flying bomb alert on 11 July. Shortly afterwards Pilot 'Taffy flanked us out through the low tide mud, causing us to hit bo-ttom, which p-roduced a heavy vibration in the fantailg so we anchored off Lymington and then Calshot, instead of making the scheduled trip to France. It was off Calsho-t at 0100 July 12 that our first flying bomb was sighted. Three came over, one to s-tarboard, one to port, and one directly overhead, each one trailed by a curtain of anti-aircraft fire from the shore bat- teries-a very upsetting experience, they were landing around South- ampton, and the ship had been ordered to Millbrook, just beyond the city. Millbrook proved to be a pier on a mud flat, where: we moored to the 411 and dried out. While some painted the ship- and helped install the new screw, others to-ok advantage of the first over-night liberties since April and went to London. July 14 brought the second encounter with the 4183 backing onto the mud flat, she contrived to scrape- all along our port side, marring our new coat of rich blue, chalky English paint. Upon leaving the next day the vibration proved as bad as ever, necessitating a return for more repairs. On the 18th Ensign Nave, a survivor of the lost 416, reported aboard as the new Engineering Officer, and the following day we go-t away from Millbrook at last, returning to Lymington. Having been out of operation for eight days, we were quickly put to work, 1-o-ading 162 troops at 0300 the next morning. The convoy this time consisted of 5 -LCIS, led by 408 and trailed, as usual, by 542. It was blowing as was customary on the far shore, even at the anchor- age inside the cr-owded mulberry. In the middle of the night our anchor dragged, followed by forty minutes of hectic activity. We nudged other ships, got caught on an LCT's anchor cable, drifted and steamed, and finally found a place to light in the blackness-not too good a place, since the ebbing tide left the ship half stranded by morn- ing. We tinally pulled off the beach, with a length of electric cable entwined in the screws. That meant a return to Millbrook, and by the -13 afternoon of July 22 we were -drying out o-nce more on the mudflat, with the 4018 and some British LC1s as companions. It took three days to rep-air pitch and screws and disentangle the cable. Then on the way back to Lymington one of the engines broke down, so most of us rested for three days longer, while the black gang repaired the engine. On july 29 168 soldiers were loaded at Royal Pier, and 'the ship sailed at dusk with eight LCIS, 'led by 408. That night, off NAB Tower, HM heavy cruiser FRoB1s1-1'R tried to cut through the convoy from the port hand g Mr. Hillman, who had the conn, did not dispute her, but it was close. At Utah the morning beaching was too far offshore t-o disembark the passengers dryshodg so we had to beach again on the evening tide. F og ,settled in on the return trip- the next day, and the 542, at the tail end of the processio-n as usual, followed Mr. Solomon in 539 on a new and different route to Lymington. Upon arrival the RN base commander's two small boys' assisted Taffy in pilot- ing us in. The next day was devoted to a brief annual materiel inspec- tion by Lt. Com. Henry, which we passed. On 5 August the ship sailed with six others for mysteri-o-us operations near NAB Tower. After a rendezvous with 8 British LCIS, we beached twice in the morning near Portsmouth with all hands at general quarters, sent false radio- mes- sages, and held drills-apparently a deceptive maneuvre to fool the Nazis. Nothing further happened until 12 August, when after taking aboard 157 army we sailed after dark in the midst of a lot of wayward RN LCTs. Following an easy unloading by LCVPS at Gmaha the next day, the ship anchored for the night in a new position off Cher- bourg Peninsula and then returned to England by the newly opened Cherb-ourg-N-eedles channel, acting as SOP for the first time. August 19 brought another load of 153 troops, fo-llowed by an eight-hour trip to Gmaha, leading the 415 and 418. The following evening, while anchored in a strong tide at the new anchorage, along came the 418, anchor out and dragging, from a position half a mile away and smacked us in the fantail, puncturing the starboard corner and tearing a large hole in her own engine room bulkhead. She moored to us while get- ting organized, and her extra weight tore our anchor loose .from the botto-m, straining the cable so that it snapped the next morning when getting under way in a high sea. Thus we lost our original anchor- a good record, since most of the ships had gone fh1'0Ugh SCVCT-31 bl' that time. The able deck gang quickly fitted a new one before we went in to Lymingto-n alongside the repair LCT 564 to have the fallfall welded. 1 , 14 24 August we loaded 187 soldiers at Royal Pier, setting forth the next dawn for Utah leading 502 and 508. We beached on the evening tide, unloaded, and then took aboard 36 seamen and 4 officers, all Royal Navy, together with a great deal of liquor both in and with them, for furloughs in England. After an independent voyage through the fog the following day they were safely depo-sited at Southampton. Upon returning to Lymington, many of us took welcome 48-hour liberties, including the Cap-tain and Mr. Hillman, who went to Bournemouth. Thus it was that Mr. Littlej-ohn, as per custom, had to take the ship to an obscure pier in Southampton for deperming on August 28, he was forced to borrow men from the Flotilla to man her, and of course the usual difficulties of deperming days were encountered. August 30 found the 542 back at Royal Pier, where she loaded a wild assortment of French troops, 134 in number and commanded by a Spahi with ,burnoose and Howing cape. Billeting of oflicers was fur- ther complicated by the arrival of several higher-ranking French mili- tary government officers, with many boxes of documents and one Scottie dog on a plaid leash. We were under way the following dawn, leading four other ships, but were turned back by NAB Tower because of high seas, so we settled down for the rest of the day in St. I-I-elen's Anchor- age, Isle of Wight. Great joke among the French officers, who con- vinced one of their number that we had reached France but could not land them. These soldiers enjoyed themselves even when seasickg for instance they had some sort of game involving batting each other over the head when drinking from the scuttlebutt, apparently to see how many teeth could be knocked out. Petit revealed himself to be a linguist and was kept busy as interpreter. The next day we sailed to Utah Beach, arriving in late afternoon. By midnight the last of the French had departed on LCMS 5 aside from the fact that they all wanted to get into the first boat and had to be coaxed into the next- Les Arabes, ils ont peur des vagues et da la nuit! -the debarking was smooth enough. The ship now entered upon her first t-our of duty on the far shore, relieving the 401 on September 2 as control vessel of S Red and Yellow Beaches at an anchorage close inshore from which LSTS- were directed to the beach. It was a lazy, mono-tonous time, most of the beach was restricted, as was Paris, recently liberated. A few of us made a truck excursion to Bayeux one day, and occasionally we went out to the Port Director ship, T. B. ROBERTSON, for the evening movies or for supp-lies. On the 7th we escorted an army transport fresh from the States to her anchorage. Roberts, as usual, did not need any loud- hailer to shout across a hundred yards of water and find a friend from 15 Weymouth High among the thousands o-f troops jammed on deck, After the 8th we had LCM 102 all to ourselves as duty boat, except when someone else wanted it. Johnson was delighted and soon learned how to run it 5 in fact he practically relieved the coxswain. Finally on September 18 the 489 relieved us, and the next day we returned to Lymington with Group 35, led by 420, departure being delayed some- what because 421 brought up a truck with her ancho-r. There followed 'a week of relaxation, except perhaps for the black gang, who overhauled the engines. On the 24th Major General Sir Dfonald Banks, Chief of British Petroleum Warfare, came- aboard for Sunday breakfast and his first p-ancakes, which he pro-nounced excellent. It was the only time a Hag officer trod the decks of 542. Two days later Colonel Mears, Britis-h Army Retired, came abo-ard in British Home Guard uniform to make a trip across the Channel at the invitation, off Com. Henry. After picking up 160 Canadian ordnance troops at .Royal Pier, we sailed from Gilkicker Sailing Area in a group of 7 LCIS, with 500 as SOP, on our first trip to the British artilicial harbor at Arromanches. We m-oored to the 420 at a floating pier at 0953 the next morning, and by 1005 all troops had disembarked. Departure was delayed for another hour though, due to clogged fuel lines and injectors. Nevertheless, by 2100 we were mo-o-red to 539' at Lymington anchorage, having made the round trip in less than 24 hours. October 2 was notable on two counts: First, while painting the bow at the p-ier Cseripko took a neat tumble into Lymingto-n River 5 second, Mary Moss, the local American Red Cross representative, was our guest for lunch. 201 mo-re s-oldiers were loaded at Royal Pier on the afternoon o-f 6 October, and there we stayed all the next day due to bad weather. We s-ailed, leading three other ships, on the morning of the 8th and by night- fall were anchored inside Omaha mulberry. The 505 was not, how- ever, and in the process of anchoring collided with us and fouled our cable, finally she moored to us, bow to stern. This made it difficult to unload her passengers into- the LCT along our side-it was far into the early morning before all were off and we could sleep. The follow- ing afternoon found us back o-nce more in Lymington anchorage. Two days later, having scarcely rested and with wet paint on the compartment decks and a near hurricane blowing, the ship was o-rdered to Royal Pier. The Captain refused, Operations insisted? SQ Off We s-ailed, andsailed was the word for it that day, when the W111d ll00k us off Calshot Castle and even hard right rudder could not keep the ship from edging into the wind o-n the port beam. The .same wind slammed her into the 408 while coming alongside at the pier, denting her sponson and plucking some of 408's stanchions. 176 troops boarded 16 and bedded do-wn, followed later by 4 Frenchmen. After waiting all the next day for the weather to subside Cthese waits on the weather were becoming too commonb, we set off, leading three ships to Utah, where we beached after dark and unloaded. Upon our return we stayed in Lymingto-n for an unprecedented nine days, there was plenty of room, since most of the Flotilla was at Southampton, fully loaded and waiting, some for a week, until the storms subsided. Shifting from pier to anchorage and back again, we remained idle for sixteen days- our longest period of leisure since the Invasion. Gctober 25 was elec- tion day aboard, between 0900 and 1100 all hands who were of age had an opportunity to sit alone in the sacred wardroom and vote. A few days later our new Group Commander, Lt. Reed, held another materiel inspection-to his dismay he found the hand whistle in the conn inoperative, because it was full -of water. Then o-n October 31 to- our dismay we were told to load up with supplies for another tour of duty off the beaches, which were supposed to be closed by then. Commanders Patrick and Henry came aboard that evening for haircuts, their conver- sation cheered those who happened to hear. November 1 we departed for Utah with the 537 and upon arrival moored to the RoBE.RTsoN so that Lt. Qjgj Scanlon and his gear could be transferred to us. The waves were running high during the fifty minutes alongside, causing four of our lines to part as well as some bad dents o-n the port edge of the gundeck. Finally we cast off and anchored, only to be disturbed at an early hour the next morning by Lt. Newman, Commander of LCT Group 11, who boarded us with instructions to escort 15 LCTs to Le Havre. The voyage across the Bay of the Seine at 6 knots took nine hours, so we anchored off Le Havre for the night. When we sailed the following morning, we were chased and turned back by a PT boat, for no reason that we could see, but after a co-uple of hours they let us go. Back at Utah mooring to the 537 inside the gooseberry proved difficult, since she and her stern anchor cable took up most of the distance between block ships and shore. Consequently we lost a few stanchions. We gained Lt. Cjgj Casey and six more or less ragged fugitives from abandoned beach signal posts, part of the Utah Port Director Party, the rest of which was remaining on the 537. We also received a large pile of rusted and useless firefighting gear to weigh down the gun- deck. We could not do much about that, but Mr. Littlejohn told the ex-beach-dwellers that they would have to shave and clean up now that they were back in civilization 5 at Beloin's insistence they did. When they came out from behind their whiskers, they proved to be a line group of men who added a great deal to the ship in the ten days they .17 were aboard- The 542 'Chen 3SSUI'HCd , her duties as standby Port Director, which meant touring the anchorage twice a day in good weather, signalling the few remaining cargo ships, and finding out how unloading Qby DUKWS onlyj was progressing. The .RO'BERTSO'N, with her amusements, had departed, so we only got to the movies once, aboard the ARL ADONIS. On the 6th the ship went out to the British LSD O'ceanway to pick up the crews from the LCMS she was loading. As soon as we were alongside, almost all hands swarmed over the rails, to the consternation of the Royal Navy. ,They soon came back with the LCM crews, so-me food and two bicycles, of which we were to hear more later. On the morning of November 10, to our surprise, the 509 relieved us, taking over the four officers and twelve men of the Port Director Party and even the firefighting gear. ,By ,that after- noon we were anchored off Lymington, only to find that We Should have gone to Plymouth for drydocking. So the next afternoon the ship jo-ined a slow British convoy of coasters off the Needles, LC1s were no longer permitted to sail alone along the Coast-too dangerous! November 12 found her moored once more at good o-ld Saltash. There followed two days of rest while we waited our turn in dry- dock, we did not mind, for by now we knew the repairs were being made for the voyage home. Many ships, including the 488, had been turned over to the British and their crews released to the general pool. On the afternoon of the 15th we were hauled out on the QAB marine railway fthe first drydocking since April, when we had undergone the air raid on the same spotj. All hands turned to in below-freezing weather to scrape and paint the bottom, 23M hours later the ship was waterborne once more, with paint scarcely dry. Ordered to Baltic Wharf for the night, we moored to the 413, with two YMSS and an abandoned LCT inboard and the 412 outboard. A bad southerly blow had been forecast. It came in the early morning. The untended old lines of the LCT began to part, and soon the whole nest of ships was perpendicular to the wharf, bows out and broadside to the driving wind. When the last line snapped, they began to drift towards the rocks on QAB. It was impossible to maneuver against the wind or to see in the hard rain. Engines were started, and tugs came out to help. The nest broke up as 412 and 413 cast off to blunder about on their own. The 542 was almost on the rocks, when, all else having failed, the engines were backed full speed. She slowly drew out of that danger, miraculously passed clear of the other ships, and backed into the wind. When she was well clear and approaching QAB O11 the other t2lCk, the stern anchor was dropped, and it held. EverYO'ne relaxed until after daylight, when we returned to SaltaSh- n I. L41 1 Jul ll li li P . 1? l 1 W 1, . l , li 1 1 r W I lwg 1 'L li . 'A 1. , 1 l ll 1 r 1 r J l l li l rl ll l l ' . . 1 F E l l ll ll li l l :- 2? ,I 5 li il, . 18 The next day we returned to Weymouth with 401, 403 and 413, mooring to the docks, where a top overhaul of the engines was begun. There the ship stayed for ten days, except for short runs to test the engines and compensate compasses. December 1 was spent fueling to capacity at the Portland Fuel Pier. The Captain had forgotten how much added momentum a full load of oil gave to the ship, con- sequently, when mooring to the 414 back at Weymouth he did not back down soon enough, and we nudged the flagship right at the com- mander's porthole. Commander Patrick, who was sitting under the port, was knocked out of his chair to the deck. The Captain had to do some fast talking. Luckily, no harm was done beyond a few scratches on the new paint Qlt always was newj of the unmoving 414. The follo-wing week passed in last-minute preparations and rejoicing that we were still going home, when twelve ships C401, 403, 412, 413, 414, 415, 538, 539, 540, 541, 556 and 4081 were being held in Europe for further cross-Channel trips. QThey did not get home until june, 1945.5 December 7 Ensign Paul E. Allen, former Communications Offi- cer of the 411 and Group 34, reported aboard for transportation home, so did Vahlbruch, BM 2c, an ex-small boat coxswain. Two days later we bid goodbye to F lot 12' and sailed fo-r Plymouth, leading 417, 418, 419, 420 and 421 through high seas and arriving at Saltash in the afternoon. Lt. Pinson, who had been skipper of the 491, lost on D-Day, was now Commander of Group 35 for the voy- age home and would travel on the flagship 420. The next morning the 1 Captain attended the convoy conference and learned that we were to go in a towing convoy 'consisting of 4 damaged LSTS, one wrecked tanker, tugs to tow them, some extra tugs, 2 net-tenders, a Navy oiler, and 4 DEs for escort, convoy speed was to be 4 to 5 knots, if all tows could make that speed. At that rate it wo-uld take four weeks to get to the States. Since weather prevented sailing on the llth, we topped off with water and also took aboard Y lc Menagh of Group 35 Staff as a passenger. December 12 at 0922 the 542 left Saltash, our old stamping ground, slipped under Royal Albert railroad bridge, and passed through the Plymouth Harbor nets for the last time. The convoy assembled in Cawsand Bay and sailed at noon, with the 6 LCIs bringing up- the rear. At 2318 Lizard Light was passed, our last glimpse of England. By the next morning the convoy had formed into seven shallow columns, with the 542 as third and last ship in the sixth column 5 the convoy speed o-f four knots could be kept using one-third speed on one engine in each quad. The convoy commodore was the captain of U. S. S. MATTOLE, the oiler, while the escort commander was the DE division commander 19 aboard U. S. S. F OGG CD'E57J 5 the destination was Charleston, South Ca1'01i11H, With 110 Stops 011 the WHY- Thus we continued at walking speed for two- days, whereupon We ran bows on into a moderate two- day storm. In this it was at times impossible to maintain headway, and the ship was forced to travel in circles in order to keep- station 5 ,convoy speed dropped to almost nothing, but even at that a couple of the tows- had to give up and return to- England. As we traveled southwards, the seas abated, leaving us in calm, pleasant seas. ,y When, at 1045 on December 20, Mr. Littlejohn, the o. o. d., rang general quarters, everyone thought it was a drill, everyone except those in the conn. They had seen a white spout shoot up amidships in LST 359, which was in tow a few hundred yards on our po-rt beam. The LST had been torpedoed but did not realize it and sent up a Haghoist that they had had an internal explosion. The FOGG immediately came back from the van at Hank speed to investigate and when well astern of us took a torpedo in the fantail. The other DES started off to hunt the submarine, aided by two RAE liberators, which appeared overhead at that point. The whole port side of the LST looked to be blown in QShe was cut adrift and later sunk by guniirej, and the stricken FOGG was way down by the stern. The LCIs steamed back to her and lay to for a couple of hours, while most of the rest of the convoy p-roceeded. Finally the 420 went alongside the DE to take off her wounded and instructed us to take 417, 418 and 421 back to the convoy, which We rejo-ined in midafternoon. By night all excitement had died down, whereupon the 420 loomed close aboard out of the darkness with loud- hailer orders to go back and stand by the FOGG, which had been taken in tow and was- now some 50 miles astern towards England. There was nothing for it but to start back before dawn-the 542 all alone in the Atlantic Ocean with hostile submarines in the vicinity! We set off at 0412 steaming at full speed in Ta following sea, until at 0730, to the Captain's great relief, the crippled ship and escort hove into view on the starboard bow. The escort was U. S. S. IRA JEFFERYA CDE 63D, which suspected us of being a submarine, even tho-ugh she computed our speed as 17 knots and too fast for a submarine, luckily she waited to challenge visually. The EOGG was being towed in tandem by the net-fender U- S- S- CHINABERRY and a small army diesel tug LT643, with the 419 abeam to port, we took station abeam to starboard, speed about three k110'CS, destination the Azores. Later in the morning we moored to the. star- board side of the JEFFERY, which, being unused to LCIS, g1'9-C10US1QY slowed to her two-thirds speed--about the equal Of OUI' Standard. If was quite a job, especially since the swarms of men on the DE's deck 20 were more interested in looking than in catching lines. We transported some gear fro-m her to the Poco, which also presented mooring dif- ficulties because of her damaged stern and lack of rudder. Finally we fetched some acetylene gas from the CHINABERRY to the FOGG. That night the cripple lost 90 feet of her stern, but retained her water- tight integrity and even keel. As the group progressed at a snail's pace the sea increased somewhat. The DE began to yawg so she passed the 542 an 8-inch manila line, fashioned in a yoke, and for three hours the ship dragged astern of her to keep her steady, until the lines parted. That day, December 23, the is-land of Terceira, Azores, was sighted, and shortly after dark the convoy anchored in Praia Harbor, Terceira, in the open ocean swells. The lighted town looked wonderful after the past eleven days 5 Mr. Littlejohn was especially interested in a red neon display, which he said must be joe's Place . The sea increased during the night, until at 0420 the waves sud- denly s-topped slapping the ship's fantail, and she began to roll-the stern anchor had carried away. By the time the main engines were going and the ship under way We were within 200 yards of broaching on the beach. The bow anchor was dropped and held for two minutes before the cable snapped in the big waves. There was nothing for it but to remain under way the rest of the night, as we had no- spare anchors 5. so we steamed around in the harbor mouth until morning, when a rhino barge came out and moored us to a buoy. Later the Captain went ashore for lunch and a conference, where Captain Martin of the FOGG, as senior officer present, announced that he had received permission from Washington to keep the present group of ships to- gether to escort him to the U. S. Since Praia was a neutral port, all ships would have to move to Horta that day, except the cripple and tug, which would remain for temporary seabee repairs. While the conference was going on, our mooring line s-lipped off the buoy. There followed two hours of strenuous work by all hands, led by Mr. Little- john, after which the ship was finally secured astern of the anchored CHINABERRY by means of a yoke of lines until our departure at night- fall. Early Christmas morning the group was lying off Horta Harbor, all were ordered to anchor outside, which did not help the 542. After we convinced the British that we could not anchor, a pilot took us- in to moor to HM tug Sampson at a b-uoy, just in time for some of the officers to visit HMS Chaunticleer , the sternless headquarters ship, for some Christmas cheer. That afternoon the ship ventured out of the harbor once more to moor to the IRA I. for water. A Christmas service was held, after which most, of the crew attended the movies aboard the DE. Meanwhile some of the officers joined those from the DE at a 21 glorious champagne p-arty and dance at the Amor da Patria Club ashore returning in the small hours for some sobering coffee on the IRA J. , Next morning the 542 returned to her berth alongside the Samp- son and commenced two pleasant weeks in semi-tropic I-Iorta. It was there that johnson and Chovanez exchanged the two bicycles they got from the LCM crews at Utah Beach for some old watches. Not long after bo-th bikes were seized by the British shore patrol and placed aboard the Chaunticleer . The Captain was then summoned by the RN Commander and asked to explain how American sailors came to dispose of British property, plainly marked with the Royal Navy arrow. An international incident was averted somehow, probably because Johnny was present and, after a short lecture by the Commander, con- vinced him of his innocence. The following days passed with nothing to record except good liberty in the wide open town. Messrs. Littlejohn and Hillman demonstrated their singing voices to all hands late one night after a dinner with some officers from the F OGG, which had ar- rived after temporary repairs at Praia. The night of the 30th was a big liberty night, that was when Dan tangled with a good part of the local populace and police but got back safely. Meanwhile the Samp- son had departed, and we were shifted to I-IM tug Salvonia along- side the moored tanker Empire Garden , which had been cap-tured from the Nazis. 31 December ten men from the FOGG came aboard for transportation to the U. S. New Year's Eve was celebrated by all ships present with signal rockets, Bruce contributing our share with a Very pistol. just when everything was in readiness to- depart, a bad storm arose 3 IRA I., CHINABERRY and the 419 were forced to move to the other side of the island. The 542 stayed relatively comfortable in harbor, pound- ing against the tug and snapping mooring lines now and then. For nightly liberty we had the use of the IRA jfs motor whalebo-at, which had been at the dock when that ship sailed, its crew and two officers were our welcome guests for the six days the storm lasted. By Janu- ary 9, 1945 the storm had abated, and the rest of the group had re- turned. That morning we moored bow to the stern of the 419' while her bow anchor was secured to our stern cable so that we would have some so-rt' of anchor for future emergencies. Dan and Lazarus went over to the army tug to straighten out its diesel difficulties, after its crew claimed at the last minute that its engines were not ready for sea. That evening all ships got under way to escort the FoGG to the States, sailing in the same formation as before, with the tug towing and the CHINABERRY acting as seco-nd escort. For more than three 22 days we crawled along at five knots in a mounting following sea, alter- ing course more and more to the south in order to put the waves on the damaged ship's quarter. Nevertheless her temporary wooden bulk- heads began to break down, and on the 13th the FOGG ordered us to take her back to I-Iorta. By January 16 the convoy was back again in Fayal Roads. The' crippled ship was left at Horta to await a Navy salvage tug from Africa. On the morning of the 17th, after taking on fresh water from the IRA J., the 542 sailed again for home in company with the JEFFERY, CHINABERRY, 419 and LT643, speed 10 to 12 knots. The next few days reacquainted us with the monotonous grind of ocean steam- ing-bouncing around day in and day out, sometimes more, sometimes less, but always tossing. Then, on january 23 the storm began, a storm to end all storms. Spray flew over the conn. Waves tore the cover off the bow ready box. The ship frequently crashed down on the sea as if it were a rockpile CWe later learned that several frames were torn lo-ose from the bottomj. The barometer dropped and con- tinued to drop. It seemed never-ending. Finally, after five days, the weather began to get better. Instead of turning south to stop at Ber- muda, as originally planned, an oiler, escorted by a PCE, came out to fuel the IRA I., while we ran alongside the 419' to borrow oil filters. On the last afternoon of January, Cape Romain Lighthouse was sighted- our first glimps'e of home! The JEFFERY bade us farewell and steamed off to the north, as we hoisted Matthews' handmade homeward-bound pennant. A pilot took us into Charleston, South Carolina, I-Iarbor, and at 1905 the ship- was moored to a berth in the Navy Yard. Wait- ing for us was a Red Cross refreshment stand with coffee, milk and ice cream, a treat even though the temperature was in the lo-w 20s. Our reception was complete when the Admiral commanding the Base turned up with his guest, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. No one could ask fo-r higher recognition from the Army we had been serving these past months. Such a welco-me almost made up for the seven-week voyage--not that I-Iorta didn't help-. The European tour o-f duty of U. S. S. LCIQLJ 542' was over. Her role was not glamorous nor glorious, yet she had fulfilled her mis- sion and more. I-Ier mission was to land combat troops on D-Day, having survived that fand she was not necessarily expected to-she was expendablej, then her further task was to help maintain a steady How o-f fresh so-ldiers over the beaches and into battle. Altogether she made fifteen round trips across the English Channel and carried over 2,500 men. Among the units transported were: 97th Evacuation Hospital Company, Company A, Battalion C of the 204th Engineers, 23 725th Engineer Base Depot Company, HQ and SV Company gf the 95th Engineers, Company I-I of the 118th Infantry, Company F of the 156th Infantry CSI-IAEF Headquarters Companyjg part of the Znd French Replacement Battalion g 6Olst Port Company, Transport Command 5 and a company of Canadian Engineers. In addition She twice served as a control ship off Utah Beach, escorted LCTS, and assisted in the salvage of the torpedoed U. S. S. F OGG. In all of this the 542 was only performing duties assigned, but the manner in which she performed them iS S0-mething of which all hands could justly be proud. She was more than just a transport, her accomplishment was in furnishing hospitality as well. People had a good time on the 542 and showed it, by coming back to visit us when they had the chance and in many other ways. Knowing this, her crew could also know that they had succeeded, that their efforts had been both rewarded and worthwhile. Our ship had played a small, but vital part in the greatest cam- paign in history, what General Eisenhower's D-Day Orders of the Day called the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. II. AMERICAN OPERATIONS The day after the 542 arrived in Charleston her preparation for Pacihc duty was begun, ammunition was unloaded up- river in the morn- ing and all movables stored in a bin at the Clyde-Mallory Docks in town in the afternoon. The same day the ten passengers from the FOGG were transferred to the Receiving Station. On February 2 half of the crew, those who were to remain with the ship, started on their thirty-day leaves, and the yard -overhaul of the ship commenced. Ensign Rohde and a crew of 12 reported aboard to work with the men they were to replace. For the rest of the month the ship swarmed with yard work- ers, while her crew lived ashore. The damaged bottom was repaired in floating drydock No. .58 from February 7 to ll. After the river run test in the Cooper River on the 27th came the power run the next day, which was interrupted by fog and the bending of four stanchions in a minor collision with the 419. March 4 those of us who- had been on leave returned, and we loaded fuel fro-m a tanker alongside. The next morning, after collecting all of our gear that had 110l3 diSaP' peared from the Clyde-Mallory Docks, Mr. Nave and the balance of the old crew departed for their thirty-day leaves and for transfer to Camp Bradford. On 6 March we were depermed and also suc- , 24 ceeded in selling our old washing machine to the depermers. Then came the reloading of ammunition and a move to the Charleston Section Base on the other side of town, where we relaxed for a couple of days and lost Aynes and Eldridge to the hospital. Finally, on March 9, the 542 sailed for Key West, dropping the pilot at 1705. For the next three days we cruised down the coast in calm seas, never far fro-m shore. After passing Miami Beach, crowded with war workers relaxing, we arrived at Key West early in the morning o-f the 12th and moored to LSM 146 at Craig Dock. Since a generator needed repairs, it was necessary to move to the Naval Operating Base the following afternoon. This proved to be quite an undertaking as we had to stand off the entrance to the basin in a narrow channel and strong current, waiting for a group of mine- sweepers and a French submarine to get out of the way. Repairs took two days, allowing us a little time for relaxation. Meanwhile the 419 had arrived with only three officers, so Mr. Allen trans- ferred to her, after being our welcome passenger for three months- especially welcome to the officers, because his being aboard permitted four watches instead of the usual three at sea. On the morning of 16 March we sailed from Key West fo-r the Canal Zone, with the 410 in company. After skirting the western edge of Cuba that night, the ship headed south in the hot and rolling Caribbean. All went well except her compasses, which were affected strangely by- the change in latitude. Thus it was that on the 19th we passed to starboard instead of to port of Quenta Suena Reef, not that anyone noticed it until the bottom appeared where there should have been deep water. The coral knobs looked very close to the sur- face, so a wide sweep to starboard was executed, even though the 419 wanted to stop for swimming. Finally the ship reached deeper water and headed back to the proper channel. We arrived at Coco Solo late the next afternoon without further incident and moored to a pier at the Naval Base. The next day all hands indulged in some rest and recreation, and the base wo-rkmen checked the pitch control, neglect- ing to replace all the bolts in the port gear box, a fact we were not aware of for some time. A Early on March 22, after swinging ship, we anchored off Balboa to await a Panama Canal pilot. None came, and after three hours orders were received to go thro-ugh, or transit',, on our own. We shared the locks with an LSM and the 410, feeling like a toy boat in a bathtub, nor did the electric engines help us through. The 542 entered Gatun Locks at 1200, spent 50 minutes there, and then sailed through tropical Gatun Lake until 1530, when she entered Pedro Miguel 25 Locks. 'The journey through them lasted only 25 minutes, followed by a short trip to Mirallores Locks lasting 17 minutes. Then we were in the Pacific Ocean having spent exactly four and one-half hours transitting the Canal, and set o-ur course west and north for San Diego, California. . Ten lazy days of good weather and calm seas followed, seas of rich blue set off by the barren brown hills of Latin America, with occa- sional tall mountains, sometimes volcano-es, in the distance. We were escorted at times by flying fish and once or twice by large schools of dolphins--as many as thirty or forty would cluster under and around the bow, maintaining position without seeming to move, although the ship was making better than twelve knots. Occasionally a giant turtle would float by, asleep in the sun, sometimes with a bird perched on its back. These aroused the sporting instincts of Bruce and some of the other more ardent shots, so the small arms were broken o-ut for hunt- ing. One turtle was wounded, and we came close aboard in hopes of ho-isting him onto the fantail. All went well until someone emptied a tommy gun into the animal, sinking him without a trace-no turtle soup. Another time we saw a giant manta ray leaping out of the water close on the port bow, but did not go fishing. Very early one morning the port engine co-mmenced a high-pitched whine, which grew louder and worseg investigation showed that all the oil had leaked out of the gear box due to the carelessness of the Coco Solo pitch control boys. Luckily the trouble was located before the gears were stripped, though the engine was noisy from then on. The morning of April Z, the day after Easter and the invasion of Okinawa, we arrived at San Diego. After threading our way up the harbor for an hour, we reached Berth 9, South Quay Wall, Naval Repair Base, and moored to the 581 in the midst of ab-out 100 LCIS. Shortly after tying up, we had an arrival inspection and learned that we were to remain at San Diego for a period of overhaul, followed by several weeks of training. No one could have any leave, however, and liberty was restricted to 48 hours. For almost three weeks the ship sat at the pier while minor repairs were made, the Base would not replace the noisy gear box. During this period Beloin left for treatment in the hospital, and Roberts succeeded to the Bosun's position. Finally the training exercises commenced the week of April 20. In company with a group of other ships we beached in the Bay, maneuvered out- side the harbor, practiced mooring to an AKA and to Mole Pier, and beached and maneuvered some more, The following week was taken up with classes ashore, including the fire-fighting sch0O1, 3 valuable, 26 if soaking, course culminating in a trip into a Haming tank with the nozzle of the hose to tame the flame.. . - May came and with it the first outside training cruise. We set forth in a group on the 4th, tiring at a towed sleeve that afternoo-n. Beaching on San Nicolas Island began bright and early the next morn- ing, followed by power runs that afternoon. After anchoring off the island for the night, we beached again and practiced to-wing other ships off-the long strands of kelp together with the surf made this difficult, and our score was not too good. The next night was devoted to inde- pendent night steaming on set courses, after which came more anti- aircraft target practice, until we anchored in Wilson's Cove off San Clemente Island. May 8, while making speed runs over the measured mile at San Clemente, the radio brought the news that Nazi Germany had surrendered. The efforts of the 542 had contributed to that victory, -and she saluted it with blasts on the whistle, even though the other ships did not join in. The following morning we returned to- San Diego. . Next on the schedule was another week of classroom training, so on the morning o-f the 15th we were lying quietly at the pier, with half ship's company at classes and several more on liberty in Lo-s Angeles, when the 552 came alongside and disgorged 11 officers and 135 men on our decks fo-r transportation to Morro Bay, half way up the coast to San Francisco. Th-ere was little water and less food, and some of the compartments were being painted, the ship had no radar for a trip that was sure to be foggy, and she was sho-rthanded. Nevertheless, we had to get under way as soon as possible, after some bread was obtained and the nearest students rounded up, we sailed. At first the voyage was uneventful, with clear weather up past San Pedro- and Los Angeles, but entering Santa Barbara Passage a head wind and sea developed, bringing fog. The passengers got seasick and so did not need the food we did not have. The paint buckets in the forecastle overturned in the heaving waves and decorated the passengers' gear stowed there. By morning the fog had closed in completely, which meant that the navigation department was in for a tough time 3 what with the inaccu- rate Compasses and strong current and seas, dead reckoning proved dif- Hcult. The ship went no-rth until it was judged that Morro Bay was abeam and then turned east for the coast. The coast came sooner than expected, for breakers were heard dead ahead when the ship was going about 8 knots and co-uld be seen by the time she was stopped and anchored. When dawn came without fo-g, Morro Rock was only a mile or so away. Presently a pilot came- out to guide us through the narrow entrance to the harbor , which had never seen anything larger' than an 27 LCM before. It was- a tight fit, but the ship was finally moored and the passengers d-ebarked. Johnson and Mr. Hillman went off to get some more food, fortunately, because two hours later 11 mo-re officers and 100 men came aboard for transp-ortation back to San Diego. After getting under way and turning around with the help of an LCM, we set off in clear weather and a sea still rough but following. Reaching San Diego by 0830 the following morning, we threaded another narrow channel to the Amphibious Training Base at Coronado and moo-red to a pier to unload. ' There followed four days of rest, which' were especially welcomed by those of ship's company who-se, wives had come out to live in the quonset hut settlement next to the base. Early on May 22' W-e sailed to participate in a landing exercise, designed to- train an amphibious staff. After rehearsing off Coronado in the morning, the ships pro- ceeded to Oceanside for the exercise, which was to fo-llow a night of independent steaming. While steaming, at 0435, our starboard pitch control froze, making it necessary to operate on the port engine alone. After engaging in the Hnal' rehearsal off Oceanside that morning, the anchor was dropped while repairs to the pitch were attempted by the black gang. Bruce tried out the new shallow water diving outfit, enjoyed himself, but accomplished nothing. The only thing to do was to return to San Diego for parts. Mooring at South Quay Wall proved interesting with only o-ne engine 5 the ship finally had to be backed in. An engine overhaul was then begun, during which time we stayed at the base for about three weeks-time enough for most of the crew to see Los Angeles and movieland, to say nothing of frequent trips to Tijuana, Mexico. June 4 Doc Simpson left to get his discharge, and Doc Stewart replaced him. On 18 June orders were received to proceed once more to Morro Bay, this time in company with the 528, which had radar and could navigate through the fog somewhat better. An hour after being noti- fied of the trip we were loading 6 officers and 112 men at the Coronado Base. We sailed, and this time nature was kinder g visibility was good all through the night, and the fog did not settle' in until the next morn- ing, two hours short of Morro Bay. After anchoring off the port and unloading into small boats, we sailed for San Diego that afternoon, arriving at the Repair Base the following day. . The 542 had now been at San Diego for almost three months, much longer than anyone had hoped. The war in the Pacific continued, mostly at Okinawa, but LCIS seemed to be available in surplus quantities. Pearl Harbor was said to be full of them 5 San 'Diego certainly was- another group had arrived after us, veterans of the Mediterranean. 28 The rest of Flotilla 12 had finally returned from England and were being converted to gunboats on the East Coast. Always there was some new scuttlebutt about our future, until at last the word came 3 all of the LC1s in port were to be converted to gunboats, without rockets, to serve as picket ships, presumably in the invasion of japan. On the afternoon of june 21 our conversion began, when a tugtowed us to a floating drydock. In less than 24 hours the bottom had been painted, ammunition un- loaded at Mole Pier, and the ship moored to the 420' at Pier 5. Navy yard workers littered the decks in short order and added to their con- fusion by training Welders on the job, which did not make for neat work. The 28th was a big day, for we got a sound movie projector, due to the efforts of Mr. Littlejohn, who collected money from several sources, the largest amount being a gift from the San Diego Rotary Club. 'Movies every night became the rule, and at first they were triple features. 15 July we officially became U. S. S. LCIQGJ 542. On the 17th an inspection was held with the crew in dress blues on the gundeck and Lt. Theo W. Pinson, the Group- Commander, in attendance. Roberts was summoned to the fore and being a conscientious Bosun's Mate began to worry about what had gone wrong. He was really surprised to be decorated with a well-deserved Bronze Star Medal for his heroism and conduct at the Invasion of Normandy. He and Bruce went off to Hollywood to celebrate. V .On July 20 Lt. Qjgj Donald G. Buchan, a Pacific LCICGQ veteran, reported for duty as Gunnery Officer. Next the ship was towed to the drydock once more, this time for the overnight installation of a fatho- meter. Back at Pier 5 the work continued, with the usual hitches, such as changing the type of radar after what had been shipped to us had all been unpacked or the time a yard worker rigged a bosunis chair from our old and battered yardarm and tumbled to the deck when it broke, luckily escaping with only bruises. 27 July ship's complement was increased to gunboat size with the arrival of Anwyl, Bishop, Co-n- nelly, McGovern, Pearson Polichak, and 16 seamen fresh from boot camp, all but one of whose names began with H. As of 2400 August 7 the conversion to gunboat was completed. The 542' had lost her ramps, bow winch and anchor, bow 20mm gun, and bunks in compartments 1, 2 and 4. She now sported three single 40mm guns, 4 2'0mms, 4 .50 caliber machine guns, a fathometer, radar complete with radar shack, several more radios, a Sperry gyrocompass with repeaters, a new officers' cabin where troop officers had berthed, new crew's quarters in No. 3, and a 4.0mm magazine in No. 2. After loading fuel, fog oil and ammuni- tion at Mole Pier, the ship was ,once more ready for sea by the Sth. I 29, After the compasses had been compensated, we sailed for a training- shakedown cruise on the afternoon of August 9, with Lt. Com. Pinson aboard and the 417, 418, 516 and 948 in company. When we arrived at Wilson's Cove, San Clemente Island, we anchored for the rest of the night. In the morning we made speed runs, finding that conversion had reduced maximum speed, followed by anti-aircraft target practice in the afternoon and firing at surface targets at night. Those o-n duty in the conn preferred surface firing, since the muzzles of the new 40mms practically joined them there during anti-aircraft. The next day we had our first opportunity to shoot at drones, the small radio-controlled target airplanes, and we knocked one down. Following a night at anchor off San Nicolas Island we bombarded its beach target range from 0900 to 1430--the fire-po-wer of the old 542 was tremendous, even awe-inspiring, as she steamed along parallel to the shore and blasted the rocks. Anchored off the island again that night, all ships mad-e smoke for a while, which, if nothing else, filled the compartments with fog and its o-ily depo-sit. The 13th was a full day: Shore bom- bardment again in the morning, firing at towed sleeves in the afternoon, radar plotting exercise in the evening. That day the radio was full of reports that the Japanese were about to surrender--perhaps due to the wo-rd that the 542, bristling with armament, was o-n the way. At all events we returned to Pier 5 at the San Diego Rep-air Base the morn- ing of August 14, and at 1600 came the news of VICTORY! Bruce went to work on the whistle so that we should not be shamed by any other ship in harbor. All hands now wondered what would happen, we had been due to sail west very shortly and rather suspected that we still would. III. PACIFIC OPERATIONS-POSTWAR At last the orders to sail came, Washington had not seen fit to cancel them just because the war was over. 19 August, after loading ammunition at Mole Pi-er, we tied up at South Quay Wall for final preparations. At 0955 on the 20th the 542 got under way with 26 other LCIs, many of them square-conned veterans of the Mediter- ranean which had been converted to gunboats at San Pedro-. The desti- nation was Pearl I-Iarbor, T. I-I., and the convoy sailed under Lt. Com. Moore, aboard the flagship 514. Word of o-ur departure had appeared in the San Diego papers, so many of the families of the flotilla bade us farewell from the shore as the ships paraded single file down the harbor. Outside the 542 took up her position as leader of the port column of five columns, with four ships astern. The sea proved calm and following, making for a pleasant voyage. Not only were movies shown every night, but for the Hrst time the , 30 Captain permitted the growing of beards, even producing one of sorts himself. On the 23d all ships held anti-aircraft practice, firing at helium balloons, of which we shot down two. On Z8 August there was more target practice, but this time we were detailed to blow up and release balloons for the port column. That was the day the engines acted up, which required dropping back out of formation to change filters. The next day we woke to see the island of Oahu's famous Diamond Head on the horizon, and at 0830 the ship entered Pearl Harbor, proceeding up into the West Loch, where she moored to the 528 at a buoy about an hour later. West Loch was filled with LCICGDS. There followed a week of inactivity and speculation as to the future. All hands enjoyed liberty in Honolulu, even though it was a job to get there: First you had to wait for the LCM liberty boat to come around, that took you to Waipio, where you had to change to another LCM or LCVP, which took you to the Fleet Landing at the Navy Yard, then you had to walk or take a bus to the Yard gates, finally you rode by bus or train to Honolulu, all of which required about two hours. The ship- spent two days in the pontoon drydock at Waipio Amphibious Base for bottom painting and the installation of new shafts, the only time she ever was out of water for more than 24 ho-urs. The next night during movies on the well deck there was a small fire on the ramp, which provided excitement but did no harm. . On 8 September, after fueling to capacity from a barge in the harbor, the ship returned to Waipiio to moo-r in a big nest at T-4. By now the main topic of conversation was discharge points, and it began to look as- if some of the crew might actually be on their way home soon. The rumor that the 542 was going backto the U. S., caused by the' fueling, proved false. Nevertheless, her complement was being cut, for the next day 7 men were transferred asho-re. On the 10th she was shifted to a mooring on the port side of the hulk of U. S. S. OKLAHOMA, and johnson departed for the hospital and discharge, to- the regret of all hands, who would miss the personality that had contributed so much. September 14 most of us repaired to the Navy Yard's Richardson Field for a softball game between the deck gang and the communicators, and for beer. That was the day the majority of the fleet arrived in Pearl Harbor from the peace signing at Tokyo, we had a fine view of them as they circled Ford Island and came into their moorings. Beloin made a surprise appearance at the game. Havlin played ball so vigor- ously that he threw his shoulder out of joint and had to go- to the hospital. The next day, Danielson, Cofer and Lunn, the lirst men to acquire enough points to get out, were transferred for transportation home with the Beet. On the 17th the ship resumed her Navy gray 31 coat, when the last of the wartime green, yellow and mud color was painted out, the Pacific camouflage she had carried since Charleston. Finally the word came that all the LCICGDS were to be reconverted to troop carriers for use in demobilization in the forward areasg 20 ships were to be done every twof weeks. On the morning of 19 Sep- tember all ammunition was unloaded at the ammunition depot, and in the afternoon the fog oil was p-umped into a barge. The same afternoon Mr. Buchan successfully detonated the cap of a .50 cal. cartridge while his hand was in the wayg medical treatment was necessary. A busy day was climaxed when we tied up to LST 126 to discharge excess fuel oil, a task that took until 0400 the next morning because the for- ward tanks had to be pumped out by handy-billy. After returning to the QKLAHOMA, a second big time was had at a repeat beer and ball game on Richardson Field. September 21 the complement was reduced once more to LCICLD size, when 11 men were transferred. The follow- ing two weeks were spent waiting, the ship only moved once, to get water at Waipio. On 5' October our turn came for reconversion, and we proceeded to Dock B-13 at the Navy Yard, located at the inboard end of a narrow slip, more or less plugged b-y U. S. S. SoUTH DAKOTA. It was a tight squeeze getting by her, complicated by a cross tide, but finally the ship was safely moored to the 528. After two days the yard work- ers commenced to tear the ship up. It took them 8 days, and on the 16th reco-nversio-n was done: The 40mms were gone, also the magazine in No. 2 5 150 bunks had been installed in Nos. 1,2 and 3 3 otherwise things remained as before. The same day Mr. Littlejohn left for temporary duty at Waipio and ultimate transfer homeg Mr. Buchan succeeded as Exec. Then we filled up with fuel, loaded ammunition for our skeleton armament of 20mms, and tied up at Waipio. p October 19, after Matthews, V Doc Stewart and Summers were transferred for discharge and 2d Lt. David Gilchrist, USMCR, and 20 marines had come aboard for transportation, the 542 sailed for Guam as part of TU 13.l1.19, with ARL 26, LCCFFD 627, and 20 LCIS, most carrying Marines. Once more the sea was follow- ing and not too roughg movies were shown on the well deck at night, the films being traded throughout the convoy. On the 21st the flagship came alongside to trade and rammed two holes in the crew's messhall forward 5 repairs were made forthwith by welders Winn and Sullivan, working from a bosun's chair slung from the gundeck. At midnight on the 24th we crossed the International Dateline and so never had an October 25, 19455 the next day was the 26th instead. On the morning U 32 of November 4 we entered Apra Harbor, Guam, after a voyage of al- most 16 days, our longest continuous period at sea. After mooring to a buoy in the deep harbor, we sent our Marine passengers to a larger ship en route China. The sojourn at Guam was short, hot and rather rainy, with little to do, except that some of us took a bus tour around the island, end- ing with a swim and beer at Hoover Beach. On 7 November, 27 Navy men unexpectedly came aboard for transportation to a barracks barge in the Philippines, making it necessary to take on more water from a barge. While we were doing this, the convoy left the harbor, but we caught up with them at nightfall outside. The destination was Leyte and the company the same, minus the ARL. Once more we had a calm and following sea and an uneventful passage of six days. i November 13 we entered the famous, hot, rainy Leyte Gulf and anchored among about 40 LCIS off the Village of Tolosa. Next day we made a 10-mile trip across the Gulf to the shores of Samar Island to discharge o-ur passengers- alongside APL 3, the barracks barge, which resembled an outsize houseboat. Now that the ship had been reconverted and sent out this far, there seemed to be no use for her- there were few docks, and she could not beach because of the fatho- meter. We sat for a couple of days, but by this time were very short of water, so we cro-ssed the Gulf again to Samar, this time to the water hole at Balusao, where the ship nudged the shore at a pier for four hours while the water trickled in and naked little Filipinos dived for coins and cats-eyes, using old army life belts for skiffs. We found that fresh foods were scarce out here, and we were very short. We finally located an LCI. that had visited a store ship and managed to get some supplies from her, though we almost lost Dubose, who got so interested in some equipment that he was left behind temporarily. Then on November Z0 the Captain received his orders back to the States, and Mr. Hillman relieved him as Commanding Officer. The ship also received orders to enter the ferry service between Tacloban on Leyte and Guian on Samar and on the Zlst moved to Guian to begin her new duty. The 542 had reached her postwar field of operations, far from home in a backwater of the late war. She remained in the Leyte area for about live months, finally returning to San Diego 4 June 1946 for decommissioning. 33 PORTS VISITED U. s. s. LCICLJ 542 New York City . So-lomons, Maryland Little Creek, Virginia Norfolk, Virginia Horta, F ayal Island, Azores Falmouth, Cornwall, England Plymouth, Devon, England Saltash, Cornwall, England F owey, Cornwall, England Omaha Beach, Normandy, France Portland, Dorset, England Weymouth, Dorset, England Utah Beach, Normandy, France So-uthampton, Hampshire, England Lymington, Hamp-shire, England Millbrook, Hampshire, England Arromanches, Normandy, France Le Havre, Normandy, France Praia, Terceira Island, Azores Charleston, South Carolina Key West, Florida Coco Solo, Canal Zone San Diego, California Morro Bay, California U. s. s. LCICGJ 542 Pearl Harbor, Oahu Island, Hawaii Apra, Guam Island Tolosa, Leyte Island, Philippines Guian, Samar Island, Philippines 34 U. HS. S. LCI 542 Crew Lists QNote: Blank space under date of end of service indicates' man was still aboard November 20, 1945.5 I. CREW DURING EUROPEAN OPERATIONS Name Highest Rafe Held A Frederick R. Van Vechten Charles B. Littlejohn Herbert F. Hand Donald L. Hillman Paul L. N ave Paul E. Allen Raymond H. Aynes William D. Beloin Clyde J. Bowers William L. Bruce Thomas D. Carr Frederick S.'Chovanez John E. Clenney William T. Cornett joseph Cseripko A. Vance Danielson Roy Eldridge John R. Hoblit Milton H. Howard Frederick H. Janes B. Clyde johnson H. D. King Kenneth B. LaPorte James G. Lazarus G. Edwin Matthews Archie W. McCabe William B. Neff Roger L. Petit John W. Roberts Alexander L. Simpson Harold F. Sullivan Arthur C. Vahlbruch Fred T. Wicks Russell Williams Melburn Winn Lieutenant Lieutenant Cjgj Ensign Lieutenant Qjgj Ensign Lieutenant Cjgj Ship's Cook 3c Boatswain's Mate lc Ship's Cook 3c Quartermaster lc Coxswain Signalman Sc' Coxswain Motor Machinist's Mate Zc Seaman lc Motor Machinist's Mate lc Seaman lc Gunnerfs Mate Zc Coxswain Fireman lc Shipfs Cook lc Coxswain Seaman lc Motor Machinist's Mate lc Signalman lc Gunner's Mate Zc Radioman lc Motor Machinist's Mate 3c Boatswain's Mate Zc Pharmacist's Mate lc Electrician's Mate 3c Boatswain's Mate Zc Motor Machinist's Mate Ze Coxswain ' Motor Machinist's Mate 3c Period of Service 1126144-11120145 1126144-10116145 1126144- 71 4144 1129144 7113144 31 5145 1217144- 3115145 1126144 31 7145 1126144 4113145 9129144- 31 5145 1126144 1126144- 31 5145 1126144 31 5145 1126144- 9121145 1126144- 31 5145 1126144 31 5145 1126144 9115145 1126144 31 7145 1126144- 1126144- 31 5145 9129144- 31 5145 1126144 9110145 1126144 2117144 2117144- 31 5145 1126144- 1126144-10119145 1126144- 31 5145 1126144 31 5145 1126144- 31 5145 1126144- 1126144- 61 4145 1126144- 1217144- 31 9145 1126144- 31 5145 1126144- 91 9145 1126144-11116145 35 II. CREW DURING AMERICAN OPERATIONS Name Highest Rate Held Period of Service Robert L. Rohde Gerald E. Adams Donald E. Bitson Maurice L. Cofer Leslie V. Downs fames D. DuBose David Henderson E. Victor House George R. Koester Carl A. Lichtenstein Paul Lunn Paul R. Payne Charles W. Snyder John E. Stewart Wilson W. Sydnor Howard Walters John H. Wittpenn III. CREW Donald G. Buchan Robert D. Anwyl Robert D. Bishop Ernest E. Burlington Robert G. Connelly Lowell R. Haberer Llyle W. Hagen Stanley F.. Hagen Billy D. Halley Gordon F. Hammergren William R. Hankins Richard H. Hardesty Wyatt M. Harris Willard Havlin Gene M. Hawk Lester E. Heck Robert G. Heffernan VVilliam F. Heffernan Robert C. Hendry Raymond R. Herp Joseph M. McGovern Lieutenant Q jgj Motor Machinist's Mate 3c Seaman lc Gunner's Mate lc Motor Machinist's Mate Zc Electrician's Mate lc Steward's Mate lc Coxswain - Signalman 3c Radioman Zc Seaman lc Motor Machinist's Mate 3c Seaman lc Pharmacist's Mate Zc Seaman Zc Seaman lc Coxswain 21 3145 21 3145 31 9145 21 3145 Z1 3145 21 3145 31 6145 21 3145 21 3145 21 3145 2122145 21 3145 4117145 9115145 41 4145 9121145 9115145 9121145 91 9145 61 4145-10119145 21 3145- 41 4145 21 3145 21 3145 DURING PACIFIC OPERATIONS Lieutenant Q j gj Signalman 3c Radarman Zc Ship's Cook Zc Radio Technician lc Seaman Zc Seaman Zc Seaman Zc Seaman lc Seaman lc Seaman Zc Seaman lc Seaman 2c Seaman Zc Seaman lc Seaman Zcl Fireman lc Seaman lc Seaman Zc Seaman Zc Radioman 3c 7120145 7127145- 9121145 7127145 91 7145-11116145 7127145- 7127145 9121145 7127145 91 9145 7127145 91 9145 7127145- 7127145- 7127145- 9121145 7127145- 7127145- 91 9145 7127145- 9114145 7127145- 7127145- 91 9145 7127145- 7127145- 7127145- 91 9145 7127145- 9121145 7127145- 9121145 4-ff-'A 36 Name M - Highest Rate Held James M. Montgomery Motor Machinist's Mate Ze Curtis OfNea1 . Gunner's Mate 3c Norman R. Pearson Radarman 3c Paul Polichak Radarman 2c Truman R. Richardson Seaman lc Wayne, J. Summers Storekeeper Sc Edward G. Ward Radioman 3C F Period of Service 9f15f45-11f18f45 8f15f45- 9fZ1f45 7f27f45- 9f21f45 7f27f45- 9f21f45 7f27f45- 8f14f45-10f19f45 8f19f45- 9f21f45 qi Axmnqguuz, T . K.
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