Macomb (DD 458 DMS 23) - Naval Cruise Book

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From the bridge of the Macomb, the situation appeared definitely foolhardy, and the Captain ordered the boat recall signal made in all avail- able manners .... Meanwhile, the whaleboat, braving the ele- ments in true navy fashion still strove to gain on the unflagging New Jersey. The coxswain noticed an urgent blinking light coming front the Mac, and brought it to Drill's attention. Mr, Drillf' he said, HI think theyire trying to recall usfi Wlihat canit be coming from the Xlacontbf' Drill declared, alive got to get to that confer- 17 CDCC. The Macomb finally gut underway and tht- strangost chase in history clcveloptftl in th-- stroyer chasing a whzilfrhoat chasing a battleship. lnevitalrly the uneven race was ttf-tfitlml against the vuliztnt 26-foot craft. untl the tlisln-arte-nt-rl llrill. tlretu'lu'fl in hotly and spirit. lrourth-fl tht- Xlm' atntitl tht- not-so-gracious tiller-rs ul' his Hlliplllilit'S. Wl'II.l.MAN A NU IHNLA RT Wlwn tht- Ntighty Nlzu' urrivctl in llztkur. l rt'nt'h Wa-st Africa. tht- flnu-rivztn :Xtlniirul pt't's- ent thought that czutse enough for at party. 'l'lu-rv were lllso tht- f'hlllt'l'lt'ilIl tlcstroyers llztll mul lhtllignn its wt-II as at l5U troupe- lu-auh-tl by lltlIllltlll't'N llogztrt und his wife. Nluto Nlvllttrt rt-rtuinlx enough :Xnu-rit'uns to warrant at gala: ttllatir. So tht- ollivers ol tht- tltrm' runs untl tht- liogurt group. local tlignitztries. anal .Xriny nurses were invitvtl. Cognac' atntl lvruntly lloxwtl. ln- evituhlv during tht- evening the Xlaafs lfnsign Zeke Wellntznt. lllllylliltl rt'cling from tht- potent punch. t't-rtninly no less i'tttlcly-clit-ekt-tl than usual. inet haul-nutn liogt'tu and entered ltttu at now-luntous conversation. Claritameetcha. Bogey' Good to know you. Zeke. Suv, Bogey. whois that pig youirc out with tonight '? Why thatis no pig. thatis my wifeli' And that was when Zeke bade Bogey aclieuf And might this not be the reason why had mall Bogey is now Mr. Lauren Bacall? NDYNAM ITE Black flashing light. bearing tt3tl'. came the report from the starboard sky lookout. hatlu ejaculateil the otlicer-of-tlte-dec Wllefef l'luts'fl ilillvtl nwiltulttil reportu that? ' llynaunite is statrboartl skx. sir.. Uv iiuntiti-'fi' N vs lluuserf' t ll I '.. .Xml thus another rvtttmkitlvli- rt-port hint comm ltont tht- fertile nnu-'tnattton of the most st-ns -N t tional of all Xian-otnb lookouts. llvnnnutt llaittser. tht- num who .mtv unxtlting und. pt-rltatps ns at rt-sult. rt-portt-tl luttth-sltips. sulnnatrints ent-nn atitvtxtlit. aunl all ntaunn-r ul' lt.u1tr1ls ol lltt' tlmtp, Xt unotln-i tune. .ts st-ntrv on tht- lxotlinnn llxnnnntt- shot it st-tt :ull with tn tntrx rilh s5' lk ltt'tt !t'tllt'1l tts lu txltt ltt' lttttl tluttt' lltl-. ltt' tt F phwl th.tt ht' hit-I shot tht- ltntt in st-ll-th-lt-It tl XX hen lltlhtlltllt' it-pottvtl .tlto.tttl his his . .1 NWS. lu' .iskt-tl lot gttultt-nw with tht- rnptaun llts git-cling tml'-. llilllHt'l s nn natnu what tours! Xrtstu-it-tl hx nn vxpn-ssion ol punhtl tnrrt-tlulttx. ht- ltowt-tl out with. 1-ull on nu .toxttntv will not-tl on-. anptattn. llmt wus llxnt ut. 'im tnttv. ptwpvtttttl se-ttnmn pe ttntnw-nt lot-to ,. , 1 :atnttmn vttnsnnu-i ol tht- gootl :mtl lvanl It -I 'stills nl -full.-t t-llott, Inttik-sl,tppa'l .intl liivntl tl ztll. l wontlvr whx wt- me-r truth-al into oll to ilu is llotlnmuf x is Q N gm, LUJMWI to . 1.-.-.- Q lsltlp

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? 4 S il 5 i i t i 5 5 1 i i The course Mr. Brock chose was not the straight line to the ship. Ah, no. He chose to circle practically every ship in the harbor, Brit- ish and American alike, zipping up the gaHgW2lY, waiting until challenged by the O.D., and then shouting taunts and curses in reply, then giving the motor the gun and racing for the next victim. This was real sport, and was carried out with great zeal and glee, until he was informed that there was little if any fuel left. So Mr. Brock steered giddily for the Macomb. After some dif- ficulty he found the ship, and made a masterful approach to the gangway. The only trouble was that he forgot to give the signal to reverse in time, and they rammed the ladder with enough force to rattle the chains on every bunk on the ship. With some dilliculty, Mr. Brock made the quarterdeek. After insulting the 0.0.D., he started walking aft. under the impression that he was heading for the wardroom. After bodily eontact with several depth-charges. K-guns, and the like. he found himself on the fantail. The figure' of the sentry loomed before him, rifle in hand. The sentry paused. shocked into immo- hilily by this sudden apparition. But the exec was not faxed. not one hit. Crahbing the rifle from tht- seanianis hands. he raised it to the dark sky. fired two rounds. returned it to the sentry, and said in a matter-of-fact voice, Hit worksfi and with great dignity turned and weaved his way forward to his room. DRILUS EPOCHAL FLIGHT Autumn, 1943. Lt. Walter Lloyd Drill. QCD USNR, had reported aboard the Macomb only two days before his momentous voyage, one that was to make his name known through. out the ship--and the story of that perilous trip was whispered from ear to ear, until it became legend. Upon reporting aboard he became communi- cations officer, and it was in this capacity that he ventured forth in the lVlac,s indomitable whaleboat, The New Jersey had been sighted steaming down the Delaware Bay. A conference of communication officers had been planned to take place on this battleship that afternoon and Drill was to be one of the participants. It was assumed that the NJ. would shortly anchor in the vicinity of the DD,s. Soooo, our story begins .... The Mar s whaleboat, with Drill aboard, and two or three other whaleboats from nearby destroyers shoved off for the approaching ship. The Mae's repre- sentative, naturally, was in the lead .... The New Jersey swept down on the anchorage, past it, and on out to seal Other whaleboats soon became discouraged, but not Mr. Drill and his craft. Lighting off all boilers, jamming the OIJCII throttles against the stops, the whaleboat leaped through the water and for awhile it looked as though they might be gaining on the ponderouS battlewagon, which apparently took no notiCC of the frail boat .... Q 'Wil 1 f ., - , ft f qw! t OUR INTREPID A ' ' tw I WHALEBQAT , ty X 'and l'f's crew .... , if T E i, .AV A i - B , Xa .W fe- g ' fa up f ff .e t' 't ll l with 3 EW-'Q f 4 i A f ,.,!,f W t i i Q'v 51515335555 14 ,L -. T25 vu T! i - - -- 2.4 ,A f- 'UU' HT Q f . . Q, B 6 9 , D , p HS-ST f 1 A J uhfam' l 1 2 Q yWll fs.- ' ia -' fi-7'4 fx? K ','f f 'aWW . X-,Tb-, 4,7 'gg Z:55 , :- 1? A .A 5' ii 1 i I 4 N p it Q ,Je P' , i I I

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THE BATTLE OF DAKAR There are innumerable battles listed in the history of World War ll, but in the minds of the lVlacomb's crew there remains the memory of one which will never appear on any official battle list. Nevertheless there was such a battle, and it was unique in the annals of warfare in that there was no objective, either moral or geo- graphical, there were no weapons used other than the ones with which all mankind is born, and each and everyone of the belligerents was terrifically intoxicated. It was at the port of Dakar where the scene of this great battle was set, the first liberty party had gone over in the morning, and had found plenty to amuse them-shops, cafes, theatres, and other places of amusement. With so many divcrsihcd forms of recreation, the boys were kept too busy to succumb to demon alcohol, and consequently arrived back at the ship in rela- tively good shape, and with glowing accounts of the delights of liberty in Dakar. These descrip- tions whetted the appetites of the men in the second liberty party. and they set off into town like a hunt-h of wolves in sailoris clothing, which is just what they were. The afternoon wore on. and the three de- stroyers basked in the warm Dakar sun, bliss- fully unaware of what was transpiring in town. The first indication of the state of affairs came when the U.D. happened to glance up along the dork. only lo do a swift double take as a strange sight met his eyes. Meandering along the dock came an ancient donkey, pulling an equally ancient two-wheeled cart, and perched atop this veliiele. singing an obscene ditty at the top of his obviously drunken lungs. was our coxswain, Williams. The O.D. looked farther. Running madly after the cart was a swearing Arab, clad in a regulation mattress cover, yelling unin- telligihle but unmistakable curses at the unper- turhed Williams. Whoa, girl, spoke Williams, ignoring the animals obvious sex. The animal came to an abrupt Slvp. precipitating the driver to the ground. Picking himself up. Coxswain Williams made his unsteady way to the back of the Cart. in a blissfully unconsicous state, lay Ray ,Sig- nalman lfc. The Arab, obviously the owner of the e age, took this moment to arrive puffing on the scene, and between his French-Arabic swearing, and Coxswain Williams, alcoholic babbling, it was some time before the O.D. could elicit the facts. It seems that Williams had come upon Ray lying in a Dakar gutter, about to drown in its contents. You know what runs in the gutters of Dakar. To save a shipmate from this horrible fate, he had commandeered the only vehicle at hand and brought Ray back to the ship. With an air of smug righteousness, Williams completed his report and staggered aboard ship, leaving the whole affair in the hands of the O.D. Now while this scene was taking place, several other imbibers had arrived, among them Big John Walsh, gigantic brother signalman of the unconscious Ray. Seeing his shipmate lying in the cart, Wialsh sat down on the tailgate to shoot the breeze, utterly ignoring the fact that llay was out like a light. But lohnis great weight C230 lbs.l was too much for the undersized don- key, and it rose majestically in the air, sliding both John and the unconscious Ray to the ground. This bothered Ray not a bit, for llc slumbered peacefully on, but Walsh rose from the ground with wrath burning in both his cognac-inflamed eyes. Confronting' the donkey, which had now regained its normal earthbound condition, he accused the animal of malice aforc- thought. ln great rage, he cursed the p00f equine, casting slurring remarks upon its ances- tors, and dropping broad hints that its mothers husband should have stayed home and waiCl'lCd the billygoat next door. Working himself UP into a frenzy, he challenged the animal to fight like a man, obviously an impossible feat. FUT' ther enraged by the animal's stubborn sileItCC, he raised his great fist, and drove a terrific right squarely between the animalis eyes. The poor beastas legs buckled, its eyes crossed, and it quivered throughout its body as it sank slowly to the ground, a perfect K.O. ear The screams of the Arab owner were nog Ish . . , . . 3 piercing, but, with a magnificent g6StUlC, wa ' flung a roll of francs at the man, and S 5 CU1'i0U5: the O.D. followed. There in the cart, gered ayyay. The A1-ab pounced upon the long 54 3 e l p ,,,,, all c Sk' . W , i 4 s quiv-