LCI (542) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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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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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,