LCI (542) - Naval Cruise Book

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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.

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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.