LCI (542) - Naval Cruise Book

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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-

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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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, 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