Macomb (DD 458 DMS 23) - Naval Cruise Book

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both shore and ship AA batteries gave a dis- play, Finally with director and guns on a tar- get, we opened fire. But before damage could be observed, low lying clouds enveloped the Bogey, allowing it to escape. Arriving on sta- tion at 2000, a station 25 miles northeast of Okinawa, we were greeted by 5 LCS's which had been previously dispatched as our tire sup- port. The first night on this station was spent with continuous closing Bogey raids. causing the crew and guns to be alerted. Then out uf no- where a plane appeared to be closing. gun crews readied themselves. magazine crews below tlcclxs tensed, ranges from plots were constantly de- creasing- -l0 miles. ti. Sf -will he divert? IS miles! The captain ordered flank speed. The ahip burst forth with life. liogei now I mile! Came the report from combat. Powder men and loaders readied their cartridges and pt'oji't'liles. Range closed to ltltltl yards. Then the hearten- ing report, range openingn: all hands exhaled as a feeling of relief descended upon the ship. l'iarlv morning continued with these' nuisance raids. Shortly after tltitttl, lwu large formation. of ttogeys were reported to the west. he I 5.5. l.affcv on station til' No. 2 reported shc was under attack. and has been hit on the fantail. The voice circtlit blared forth again. l'.S.5. llob- SUII 2fll ill Nu. t't'pnt'lt'tl sltt' was ulltlct' attack on her station located ill lttiles northwest of Ukinawa. All raids so far seemed to be coming from the north and northwest. Uur guardian angel was hovering over us! No enemy planes had yet been reported eoining for our station. Combat telephone circuits were buzzing with the information. our radar screen was now dot- ted with Bogeys. Once again a report from the Lafiey, she had been hit a third time. The Hobsonis call was again heard through the clamor of the many voice circuits-she had been hit! The general quarters gong sounded through- out the ship- All hands man your battle sta- tions! Enemy planes in the area. The USS. Bryant, while going to the aid of the Laliey. had been hit by a suicidal attack. At 0935 we were instructed to vo to the assistance of these strick- en ships. C The Macomb was now' bustling with activity. Proceeding at top speed we began making prep- arations for towing. handling survivors and oth- er necessary details enabling us to assist these Shllf- -'ll 1015 lookouts sighted a ship on the horizon. As her silhouette became more dis- tinguishable it proved to be the liryant. As we approached. the news that most uf the damage was topside reached us. and no agistanee was needed. she w as able to proceed under llcr own power. .XII hands noticed and recognized the TUTUIF outlined on the forwastle-deck as lnnnan but ttloltutllcss shapes. which eould not be mis- taken for anything but the stillness uf death. ll l 'I'1h'd on our wax. trying to fathom what lax ahead uf us. Xt lltttt the l.alfev was in sight. The lookouts reported .t flashing light in the water. possibly . . s . , , , a downed pilots signal nnrror. t.losing the llihllllltl Hlfivfl. lltl' pilot Hvttltl lw' 5t't'lt llttttllltgl in a lite-raft. lllitle rnancuxcring the ship to rescue hint. .ill hands nianncd the rails to ive A r- liiin assist.nnAe. lli- injuries proved slight but ln- tenipotaiv cxlmiistton disclosed the trials of I-.nth-. tfoniing up alongside the l.allev. preparing to take ln-I in tow. the sttirlwn ship prcscntctl .t never-to-lo--forgotten -ight. Xu unbelievable mass ull twisted steel and snn,uldi-ring destruc- tion the grim piitnre of death lving about the derks. inen a short while ago like ourselves lliits. tossed about as if the detil himself had l'l'il'illt'tl llll itllll il liilll ill' lll'l'. lliilf' V'-Vit Ill! gallant destrover remained at their battle stations with liters and hand- eoverefl by a white llash- burn cream. for protecting exposed skin. but presenting a ghastly-looking sight. llepair and damage control parties were go- ing about their duties. combating fires. pump- ing ntll flooded compartments. Among the busi- ness that aeeompanies destruction. the wounded were cared for and the charred remains of the dead were swept from the ship. Pieces of the lap planes were still visible about the decks. The Nlaeomb was presently in position. and took the stricken Lafiev under tow. Uur combat air patrol circled overhead ready to intercept any incoming raids giving us a greater feeling of securitv while we sat like a duck in the water. The small but powerful fleet tugs approached, 33

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Ship. Thirty minutes elapsed, at which time the Macomb received orders to escort the Greg- ory to Kerama Retto leaving the Sterrett be- hind. The two ships proceeded to the anchor- age, they for battle damage, ourselves for much- needed engine repairs. Approaching the entrance to the anchorage, we received the report that the USS. Badger lDD657,l had been hit by a suicide boat. Con- stantly over the voice radio circuits some re- ports were coming in on the activity of these suicide craft. Ships in the immediate vicinity were spotting them visually. They were small in size but made up for their size in speed and inancuverability, making it necessary for even greater vigilance on the part of lookouts and men top-side. As the days passed, these attacks increased in number against our shipping. Large nnniliers ncre found hidden in caves and other plat-vs ol quick access for suicidal runs upon un- suspecting and unwary ships. Anchoring short- ly In-lore st-wir in the morning, the Mac began ln-r availability one spent isith an ever cau- tions vw tnrin-tl skynard. Continuously attacks ni-rn nnnh- on the picket ships during our stay in lXl'I'itlllil livtlo. Svarrcd. battle-torn ships nvri- oltvn brought in under tow. The crew Firing at low-flying bogey - ' I .-,,f ,., Q H..- was alerted many times throughout ihe day a d . n night. Our smoke generator added its bit to the camouflage ol the anchorage, helping pro tect the ships of the Train with their viii Su plies for the fleet. P Timti passed slowly, and on the 13th the USS. St. Louis slipped past our anchorage berth, set- ting her course for the open sea. As the light cruiser passed through the AXS gate, the men topside noticed a HVal77 closing the St. Louis, the We were quickly assured that the men on cruiser had also seen the plane, for her ant' 1. aircraft battery spoke only one salvo and the enemy seemed to disintegrate in the air. The great ship continued majestically on her way without so much as changing course or altering speed while downing the Jap. April 15th saw the Macomb readying herself for sea. At 1540, she weighed anchor and steamed through the gate, passing from lhv peaceful anchorage once more into an arena nl Hell. Proceeding to our newly assigned station in RP No. 3, the air search radar indicated many Bogeys in the vicinity. Combat sent out tht- usual info to all parts of the ship. The liogcfys continued to open and then close again. llcavy anti-aircraft fire was observed on all sides, as

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quickly relieving us of our burden, and we in turn proceeded back to our station-Roger Peter No. 3. April 17 on the 00-04 watch we were once again patrolling RP No. 3 with all hands tense from the strain of the previous day and with the memory of the Laffey vividly engraved upon their minds. Bogeys closed but always opened before coming within range of our main battery. Ships were holding down RP St2:1ti0f1S at VHTIOUS well chosen spots encircling the island. From these positions radar could pick up in-coming raids from enemy held islands north of the Okin- awa chain-Kyushu and Honshu to the North, Formosa and China to the Xvest. Any island with air strips large enough for planes to take oll on their one-way' trips represented potential danger as such. tiontinually over the voice radio circuits were heard the emergency' calls of RP stations under attack. Ships damaged or Sllllli-'f'-Ulllt'I'S moving up to take their places a seemingly endless chain. As time crept along we were beginning lo ponder oyer the question. was it necessary' for our ship to be literally' torn apart by these suicide attacks. with inevitable death lor many ol our slnpmutes. ltelore ridding ourselves of this duly 'f ttyttn. general cpxarters. sunrise alert: Our S. tif. radar repeatedly made its 360 degrees sweep without any indications ol enemy' ac- tiyity. :Xt 0000. lil' No. 2 reported they were under attack. The general announcing system lvlared lorth throughout the ship Mall hands stand hy to repel air attaekln Combat reported 3 Bogey 'l ?! in and we directed one cap to inter- eept them: ll-T0-'7-8 miles. closing rapidly. On the bridge. flank speed was rung up-out of Nowhere. as one enemy' plane came diving in l'l ' Us lmlll Putt. too close for the main bat- tery and plot to track. The speed was increased to 30 knots: hard right rudder. hard left rud- der. The ship was swerving and swaying, 20nnn's opened up. The plane was dropping nearer and nearer. Then it released its bomb. .-Xnnd the crashing sound of a loud explosion the ship jumped from the water-it had missed! F00 Cl0Se for comfort, but it had missed! It P35503 ever us amidships so close. that the radio 34 I t I--. . Suicide plane over Hagushi Anchorage antenna strung between the stacks was cut down. This was our closest view of the emblem of the rising sun. No personnel were injured. and there was no serious damage to the ship. A few' bent frames and strained plates caused by the eon- cussion served as a reminder of the narrow es- cape. Almost invariably, the opinion ol the members of the crew was that high speed and rapid course changes had saved us. April 18th rolled around with us patrolling flip No. 3, accompanied by 3 LCS's and a Ptiitl as fire support ships. At 1754 combat reported 3ogeys on the screen. CQ sounded with all iands manning their battle stations, donning their prescribed wardrobe of life jackets and iielmets. The engine room answered the ring for flank speed. A deafening roar as the mall! battery opened up. Plane coming in to star- board-is this another suicide attack? Over the phone circuits, much to the amazement of the crew, came the word to cease firing-friendly plane. The Mac as a whole breathed a sigh of relief. Reconnaissance plane reports warned the ships with a short and terse sentence that dal? Nfor all the ships Okinawa area to expect heavy air attacks. Such messages had been received many times previously, and were not to be taken lightly.