Macomb (DD 458 DMS 23) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE GGEXECSM LT. COMDR. FENELON H. BROCK Lt. Comdr. Fenelon A. Brock was the first per- son to report aboard the hull that was to later take form as the U.S.S. Macomb, and in Jan- uary 1943 he relieved Lt. Comdr. Jerry C. South to become second executive officer of the Mighty Mac. ln September, 1943, he was succeeded by Lt. Richard Mansfield, as he left the Mac to take command of the U.S.S. MacCormack. During his tenure of office as chief engineer and exec, Mr. Brock became one of the most legendary characters in Macomb history, with his China-patrol background, his great stock of tales of the Far East, his explosive liberties, and his definite ideas about washing down bulk- heads. To Mr. Brock, the shipis first and very able chief engineer, we owe great credit for the solid foundation of one of the finest engineer- ing plants and departments in the destroyer Navy. As executive officer he was a capable navigator and administrator. Lt. Comdr. Brock, a Texan by birth and a bachelor by preference, was a graduate of the Naval Academy, class of 1935. Before report- ing at Bath, Maine in the Summer of 1941, he had served on four-stack cruisers and gun boats of the Chinese river patrols from which duty streamed most of the colorful aspects of his personality. He was a born engineer, and few men have been more intimately acquainted with the Macomb's Hblack gang spaces. LT. RICHARD MANSFIELD Third executive officer of the Mighty Mac was Lieutenant Richard Mansfield. Lt. Mans- field relieved Lt. Comdr. Fenelon Brock as executive officer in September 1943 to become one of the youngest and most junior destroyer execs in the Atlantic fleet. Mr. Mansfield was an NROTC graduate of Harvard University, class of 1941, and upon graduation he was immediately called into active duty as an Ensign, USNR. After several months of Communications school, he was assigned to the pre-commissioning detail of the U.S.S. Ma- comb as the junior Ensign on board. For the next year and a half he was Communications Officer until he relieved Mr. Brock as exec. Throughout the Fall of 1943 and the Winter of 1944, he became one of the most popular of all Macomb executive officers. ln March of 1944, while the Macomb was on plane-guard duty with the U.S.S. Ranger south of Narragan- sett Bay, Lt. Mansfield showed the stuff he was made of when a Ranger dive bomber crashed into the water, and the Mac was sent to rescue its crew. As the ship stopped alongside the struggling Hiers, Mr. Mansfield and J. P. Sweeney, fire-control striker, stripped off their clothes and risked their lives in the frigid waters to rescue the injured radioman. As the Macomb sailed for the Mediterranean in April of 1944, Mr. Mansfield was visibly elated as it appeared that he would be able to put into practice under battle conditions his long period of training. But on April 26, 1944, tragedy stalked the Macomb. On that day the ship tossed and spun in a heavy Atlantic storm. As usual, Mr. Mansfield made his daily inspec- tion of the ship, giving little thought to the boil- ing, treacherous sea. A sudden lurch and a heavy wave must have caught him off balance, for unseen by anyone, he was washed over the side and lost at sea. By the time his disappear- ance was realized, darkness had settled and it was impossible to find him. Seldom has such an aura of sadness pervaded this ship, for few men or officers were as well admired and liked as had been Lieutenant Dick Mansfield, a man of brilliant mind, winning per- sonality, high ideals and unwavering purpose. When the saddened ship reached Oran five days later, memorial services were held on board by the Chaplain of the U.S.S. Vulcan, and every ship in the crowded harbor half-masted its colors that day for a man who had served his nation sincerely and well. LT. JOSEPH N. BEHAN, JR. Fourth executive officer of the Macomb was Lt. Joseph N. Behan, Jr., USN, graduate of the Naval Academy, class of 1942, the 4fWar Babiesw who were sent to war in December 1941. 'fExec Behan came to the Macomb from the sister ship U.S.S. Emmons on April 26, 1944 under tragic circumstances to fill the gap caused by the loss of Lt. Richard Mansfield. For 13 months, Lt. Behan was ubossw on the Macomb. Finally, he received orders, now as a Lieutenant Commander, in November 1945. to proceed by quickest transportation to take com- mand of the U.S.S. Cosselin QAPD 1261. ln this period, uExeci' Behan put in the longest tenure of duty of any Macomb officer in that capacity. Lieutenant Commander Behan was born in Newport, Rhode lsland, in April, 1918. His father served in the Navy during Wo1'ld Tvar l. and worked for the Navy most of his life: his step-father and uncle graduated from the Naval Academy and served with distinction during the present war. uBoss'7 Behan was always a loyal and sincere Naval officer. whose high ambition in life was to serve well and faithfully the United States Navy. i i-1 l

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CAPTAIN GEORGE HUTCHIN SON Lt. Corndr. George Hutchinson, third skipper of the Mighty Mac, was a great contrast to jovial, extrovertist, Jerry South. Captain Hutchinson was taciturn, reserved, and aloof. Always a gentleman and always a sincere officer of the Navy, in many ways he was a typical New England seafaring man. He accepted command of the U.S.S. Macomb from Commander Jerry C. South on March 2, 19441 in the South Boston Navy Yard. George Hutchinson started his active naval career when he graduated from the Naval Acad- emy in the class of 1935, and before coming aboard the Mac had been executive officer of the U.S.S. Fletcher during the hazardous, nerve- wracking days of Guadalcanal, after which he commanded the ufour-stackerw John D. Edwards. Sometimes seeming a quick-tempered, almost nervous person, no man proved more calm than Captain Hutchinson on that memorable night in May 1911-44 when the Macomb sank a sub, or that breathless morning off the coast of the French Riviera. A cool, courageous commanding officer, Captain Hutchinson skippered the Mighty Mac effectively and well during a sometimes trying, sometimes happy, duty period, climax- 1ng his term in office by granting the longest leaves in the ships history when we arrived in Charleston, South Carolina. Commander lilutch- lnson left the ship in December of 1944 to take post as executive officer of the Naval Reserve Midshipmenis School at Notre 'Dame University. 6 CAl I'AIN Al.'I'0N I.. C. WALIJRON 'fo Lt. Comdr. Alton lied Waldron, the Macomb could hope only to be an adopted home, for it will be long before he will reclaim all of his heart from the old lHS.S. Hopkins tDMS l3t on which his naval eareer was bred and matured during hve years of service from boot ensign to commanding ollieer. Captain Waldron brought about many changes on the Macomb. Here for the hrst time the crew and officers found a eonnnanding officer. young and completely informal. to whom they could bring all suggestions and grievances for a hear- ing and airing. As the ship set out from Pearl llarbor on that last long lap westward. Captain Waldron ac- curately forecast that the Maeomb would par- ticipate in every major eampaign until the US. Fleet steamed into Tokyo Hay. At Okinawa. Captain Vlfaldron. with steady nerves. exeellelll ship-handling. and an ever-ready sense of humor. gave eonhdenee and assuranee to the shipis 1161 sonnel, and when the smoke had cleared. ill? Macomb had eompiled a reeord as liadar Picket- equalled or surpassed by few ships. llnder Captain Waldronis influence. the Macomb reaehed its height in teamwork. Bild its height in infornntlity. A man of many ffiflllfls throughout the fleet and of many interests with- in and beyond the Nayy. Captain Waldron Wlll always stand high in the esteem of the men who served under him during the lN'laeontbis illfllll' lent days as a destroyer-minesyyeeper.

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