Lexington (CV 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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Q W 91 CUMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT M i1

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now and then. lt is a tough iob which requires great skill and accuracy. Often they receive code messages at twenty-five to thirty words per minute and our press man copies at more than forty-five words per minute Our radio men have copied messages without a single mistake while ships guns were repelling enemy attacks, and even when the ship was hit by a suicide plane and the radio shack filled with smoke. When the torpedo struck on 5 December l943 Radioman Banks was thrown from his seat. I-le calmly stood up and continued typing his message without missing a single character. Messages which have marked the highlights oi the Pacific War have been copied in the l.ex's radio room. During the second Battle of the Philips pine Sea, when our early morning search had finally contacted the fapanese Fleet, the Radiomen recorded the famous message, Carrier burning. lt was confirmation that the attack was on and the cue for Admiral Mitscher to launch a full-scale at- tack. The drama in the radio shack is the same as the drama of a big league baseball game watched from a box seat. Our communications yeomen who handle moun- tains ot paper each day in the Comm. Office, the Captains Office, and the Execs Office deserve loud praise for the magnificent job they have done to keep the flood of administration details in accurate files. They make order out of what seems limitless chaos. They work until the early hours of the morn- ing on personnel and operational details and when General Ouarters sounds they man the dune Oni yeomen have struggled, and been killed side cf side with the aunners. Then, when secure trf CLO. sounded, they went below to catch uri on :lf work which was interrupted by the incoming attack Their work has been a splendid example of skill intelligence and infinite courage Our yeomen sgtana high on the list for acts of individual heroism ana sacrifice. The Communications Department boasts cf two other, smaller branches which have made their influence felt more strongly than any other groups The Mailmen, who work like ants around their stacked bundles of mail and somehow straighten the mass of letters and packages out, and the printers who in addition to their regular chores print the newspaper, the Sunrise Press, menus and sous venir bulletins. They have helped make the long months away from home seem more bearable With out them wed be a pretty unhappy lot of sailors, We pay special tribute to our deceased comrades, Lieutenant Commander Lane D. Coss, our boss, was killed in action when the Kamikaze crashed into the signal bridge. With him a number of our closest friends perished. We revere their memory and are proud to have been close to such grand people, A vital link in the life of our carrier, Communica- tions has fulfilled its duties with efficiency and hero- ism. When the deeds of the Lex are summedvup, a notable contribution will be credited to the com- municators. K-3 Division 0'l.Qf I 5 3 fl il -

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PPLY DEPARTME T Every man has seen the Supply Department in action every day. The crew depends on Supply for what it eats and wears and the equipment it works with, for the money it spends and for something to spend it on. Commander lohn I. Iecklin organized the department originally, and Commanders Allan M. Gray and Warren E. Cliver have carried on the work. The heart of Supply are the CfeeEssKay boys, who are experts on how many copies of what forms to fill out in order to get a screwdriver or an airplane. They keep wonderful records that are guaranteed to tell, within a few hundred per cent error, just how much of anything but dust there is in any storeroom. Their job is a tough one, because besides knowing the correct source of supply for any item of equip- ment, they have to know all the places and tech- niques for completing rush orders and obtaining supplies when routine methods fail. And after an item of supplies comes aboard it is consigned to one of thirty-odd storerooms, all of'which have to be kept clean and orderly and painted. Who has not stood in line for an hour until he was second man from the window, only to see a sign go up, Clothing and Small Stores Closed? But the C and SS boys have troubles of their own, from ordering shoes in assorted sizes and getting back ' ' fgff-..8eff-EA, mostly sixes and thirteens to explaining where Il1C1f one missing black sock went. The closest section of Supply to every man aboard is Commissary. The cooks and bakers can't miss a meal, whether the ship is in battle or at anchor and whether the storerooms are loaded with turkey and fresh vegetables or nothing but Spam. Usually the cooks are hampered by lack of a variety of food supplies to work with, but they have shown what they can do with a couple of sensational Thanks giving feasts. The job of feeding the crew under the best of circumstances is staggering for size-a mere scrambled egg breakfast means 600 dozen cackle- berries, and every week's feeding takes six tons of flour and five tons of potatoes. ln combat, half of commissary moves topside to provide warm food for gun crews, and for night working parties there are midnight snacks. The bakers deserve special men- tion, not just for the l500 loaves of fresh bread they can put out in a day, but for their 4.0 line of pies. However, we suspect that in years to come the fondest memories of Commissary will be for that great innovation, canned butter, and the various forms of stew, hash and Spam. The oldest unit of Ship's Store is the canteen, specializing in toilet articles and stationery at far below civilian prices. From time to time Ship's Store S-I Division -qv it fm A pm, in 31 -f il l 9 l ,J