Macomb (DD 458 DMS 23) - Naval Cruise Book

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P.T. boat alongside during exereises in liuu.arel's Bay again took over the escort lor the middle leg. A few hundred miles from Bermuda is e nere relieved to proceed to that eoral isle lor luel. On this 3500 mile jaunt the Mae added another laurel for she had completely outhested her younger 2100-ton sisters in luel eeouomy and engineering performance. At Bermuda happy orders were received lo proceed to Boston for a three-week availability. The warm, peaceful water had spoiled us. so oltl Neptune stirred up a tempest to make the Ber- muda-to-Boston passage well-remembered. Waves and winds grew higher and higher, and the Macomb tossed and rolled and pitched but kept coming. Who cared? We were going home lor Christmas to our favorite port of call, to a good- sized yard period, and to the longest leaves in the shipis history thus far. So ended 1943 with the Mighty Mac at home for Christmas and New Yearis Day in Boston Navy Yard. lt has been an eventful, well-traveled year, but with no eon- tact with the enemy. New Yearis Day, 1944, found the Macomb starting the year completing a yard period in the South Boston Navy Yard. During the 'lirst quarter of the year on to April 20 the time was divided between Seal Island and Casco Bay. Maine, Quonset Point, Rhode island, Boston. Mass., and Norfolk, Va. Much of the time was spent operating with the Ranger as anti- submarine screen and plane guard. Between 18 tune- was spent in anti-sulnuarine and Bunlwry exe:-rise-. Nleauultile. on Nlttrt-lt 24. IO44, Lt. Comix, lieolggt' lllllflllllbtlll Iselietetl iitIll'ltlY', Jen-Y C' South as eouutuuultug ollteer. llutiup one ul the exereises with the Ranger, it plane eareened oil het side during an attempted landing. l.t. llieliattl Nlauslield and Seaman 17C ,lohu l'. Sueeuex nent over the side to rescue the ratlioutau. 'lille pilot drowned before the luo suiuuuets eoultl reaeh him. Both men re- eeixed the 'Nant and Marine Corps Medal, April Zttth lound the Nlaeomh underway for the Mediterraueau Sea. destination Oran, Al- geria. lfreuelt North Alriea. While refueling at lfayal lslaud. in the Azores. l.t. ,loseph Behan reported alioard lor duty as executive officer, replaeiug l.t. Mansfield Milli had been lost at sea during the stormy erossiug. Our entrance into the iVlediterraueau allorded us our first View ol llle lzttltolts lioelx ol liilbl'8llHl'. Alter eompleting a seven day availability alongside the l1.S.S. N ftf ulean. at Mers-El-Kabir, l rt-neh North Alriea. the ship proceeded to Gi- lvraltar. ioined a eouxfoi and returned to Oran as a memlner ol the anti-submarine screen. We were then ordered lo join a 'fkiller groupn seareliiug lot' a reported sulnnarine off the south- eastern eoast of Spain. A len minutes lvelore midnight, on May 16th, the surlaee radar reported a target which turned out lo lie the German sulnnarine. The sub WHS illuminated lu the !Vlaeomlm and the main bat- tery opened fire, 'llhese were the opening shots in a suln eltase that lasted T2 hours. Cullninatmg in the surlaeiug ol the suli ln depth Charges, and its sinking lu gunfire. A few hours later another tlerman siulnnarine hred a full salvo of aeonstie torpedoes. uhieh exploded in our vvakei at whieh time another group arrived to relieve ll.S.S. lown. Presiclenliul Yllfhl

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lowed the usual Casco lflay training period with abbreviated, hurried liberties in soiled Portland. From there the Macomb paid her lirst visit to Quonset Point, Rhode Island and a new vista in Providence was opened to the lVlac's rollick- ing libertv hounds. The rest of October followed the September pattern closely: Norfolk-Boston- Casco Bav-and a trip with the New Jersey, who was readying herself for her Pacific battles-to- be. Then the Macomb went to Norfolk to take departure on her ,most blissful, peaceful trans- oceanic trip. On November 3, the Mighty Mac plus the 2100-ton destroyers Hall and Halligan set course for verdant Bermuda, mission and destination but vaguely known, despite much authentic scuttlebutt emanating from the forward fire room. After six Warm days in that vacationland, the three cans were off again. The news was out-the three destroyers were one-third of the rotating escort for the USS. Iowa, who was making a 25-knot run from Norfolk to the Medi- terranean, carrying President Roosevelt to the Teheran conference. After we were relieved as escort we veered northward to the widespread Azores to Horta Harbor for fuel replenishment. From the Azores, the little group meandered southward, over sun-splashed becalmed waters with little incident, to tropic Freetown in the British West African Crown colony of Sierra Leone. There another week was spent at anchor visiting small, reeking Freetown, enjoying At- lantic swimming in November, peering at native women who dressed as native women are sup- posed to dress, laughing and cussing at the Fueling front U.S.S. Alabama local bumboatsg and beating the Hall and Hal- ligan in softball . . . yes, every time. After seven torridlv blissful days at rest, the Mac made a dramatic departure in a pre-dawn downpour, barely missing the gate vessel and other obsta- cles, to join the hunt for a lurking U-boat. For three days the search continued and because of diminishing fuel, the ships returned to port. The next port of call was Dakar, a surprisingly quiet French colonial port. It was here that tie Macomb, in preference to the Hall and Hal- ligan, had its own USO show by Humphrey Bogart and troupe. Two days were all that the Franco-American relations could have survived, so, with cofferdams filled and the most economi- cal engineroom set-up in operation, the three destroyers set out to sea. Halfway across, the presidential wagon Iowa came booming up over the horizon, and the Mac, Hall and Halligan Hvalfjordur A ,fa

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t Q5 54, f Top: Mother, granflmother, daughter, re-afling Frcctown family from lop to llottom Center: Dakar street sm-nw Native markvt plavv, Dakar Bottom: Wlr. llolnws and Wlr. llrill on short- patrol Ensign flutllriv anfl llw goals ill Dakar l'l