LCI (542) - Naval Cruise Book

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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,

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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

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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-