Macomb (DD 458 DMS 23) - Naval Cruise Book

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, KISMET A conflagration not so disastrous as Pearl Harbor, yet occurring at the same place, oc- curred on the Mac in February, 194-5. It had been only a few weeks since the Mac and her crew had seen the States fand the natives who reside therej, but that incessant longing that every sailor knows had already become ap- parent. So the movie audience that night waited impatiently between the stacks, crowded into every vantage point around the screen. For the movie was HKismet,w starring that sinuous siren, La Dietrich. Finally the opening scenes, lush and sexy, flashed upon the screen, a few sizzling situations had developed, and the kindling point of the screen, the film, and the audience. became immi- nent. Which would break hrst? linfortunately it was the film itself that couldnit hold out. and lurid orange flame suddenly engulfed the pro- jector. All hands beat a hasty and somewhat dis- orderly retreat. with no casualties. Ah. well. there will be other KlSIllt'fS in other places. but House that fag. Mac-li' 'MOYE TIIAT ENGINE ROOM Once again the Niue was at fl.Q. An un- identified plane had been picked up by our radar not ten miles away. Now it was in sight. It was a .lapl ln the after engine room. Howard. CMM, nursed his throttle up to thirty knots. and won- dered if he would eyer again see his ranch full of beef critters in California. ln the forward engine room. liiayer. CMM. looked longingly up the ladder and thought of the days when he had wanted lu become 3 4-om- but sailor. Suddenly the bark of 5 battery jarred through the ship! Then the rattle of the machine guns told them that the foe was close aboard! liabooml :X terrific blast on the port side lifted the Mac halt out of the water. ln the after engine room a fuse blew from its clips and shot across the desk like a bullet. The bulkheads bulged and roared like thunder. 60 Howard rose from his knees where he had been thrown by the blast. Dashing to the throt- tle, with one terrific twist he ran it against the limits. Grabbing his phones, he yelled, iiBayer?i' uSpeaking,i' said a shaking voice. ulsisten, you: -move that goddam engine room over, eaugg lim comin' through! MEK Mers El Kabir is the complete name of the Macombis mascot, a brown and white fox terrier picked up in a town in North Africa. He was named for the town in which he was found. but it proved too much of a mouthful, so the first letter of each word was taken to provide the name of Mek. Some of the men try to pin a nationality on the pooch and call him Arab. but he answers only to his ofhcial name of Mek tif he answers at alli. The story of how Mek came to board the Mae is a tale in itself. lt was one bright African after- noon when several lVfacomb men were out scout- ing around for something to buy with their newly acquired francs. Suddenly, Williams. Coxswain, spied a small pup sitting on a door- step. looking extremely sad and forlorn. Wil- liams, with his pals Booth, Kazlowski and liois. all lN121iSWZ1llliS mates, decided to adopt the little mutt. Now the problem was to get him back Ull board without detection by the eagle-eyed UD. Fortunately the dog was so small that he could be snugly htted into a jumper without a notice- able bulge. Williams was elected to carry thc male. as it were. But he reckoned without tht! alert OD., Mr. Lawrence taffectionately known as Larry the Lump t. Mr. Lawrence immediately detected the animal. and forthwith sent them to the captain for permission to bring the pup aboard. Captain Hutchison gave his approval provided he be logged in at the gangway, df?- loused. and adequate quarters provided for him. Nlek immediately showed his appreciation by shifting into gear and wetting the captainis shoe. So time passed and the Mighty Mac steamed out into the blue Mediterranean, and we find OUT mascot slowly gaining weight and his sea legs' He became salty enough to overcome the motion of the ship and to climb out of his box and wan- der about the ship. During this time his diet Q

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Argument which raved on for many and many on Jungle Jim denied all accusations and turn accused the Sailor of making up the story ln . X . .i f not avinfr off. 'lhe Sailor said as an excuse or P . o that anY man who would cheat under such cir- cumstances should be punished with an awful Punishment. lHe suggested shore duty at Nor- fotkj The argument continued until the Sailor was transferred. Some say this came about due to the expiration of his enlistment, but we have it gn good authority that the exec initiated his transfer by popular request, so that peace could once again be restored to the HMighty Mac. WEST COAST ARRIVAL Proceeding from Panama to San Diego in seven days, the Macomb arrived January 17 with vague orders, issued on the preivous day to prepare for arrival inspection by operational training command, Pacific fleet, then stationed at San Diego. The inspection was made on time, and it covered personnel and material in a man- ner to which wartime personnel, we are happy to say, were not accustomed. One Captain Roger Simpson, USN, conducted the inspection using unforeseen methods calculated to endear himself to the hearts of all ollicers and men present. His tact, and low, well-modulated voice held all hands spell-bound, as he pointed out the Mfew' deficiencies he noted among the personnel. His gracious manner of addressing division of- ficers, concerning the business of their divisions, gave one the distinct effect that each oflicer felt he would like to work in the gentlemanly aura surrounding this most unusual hero of the battle of Vella Lavella Gulf. Capt. Simpson completed his tour of the ship, and it was with 'csad hearts' that we saw him leave the ship for his lair on the beach. We spent four arduous days on the firing ranges in the vicinity of San Clemente, and San Diego, firing the guns almost constantly in an effort to perfect personnel and materiel, then returned to Desbase, San Diego, for minor re- Pairs. This period ended on 24 lan. Our final eXC1'C1SCf the battle problems. again brought us in contact wlth Capt. Simpson. who again distin- guished himself by the self-etlacing manner in which he conducted himself on the bridge throughout. His organization helped bring home to the Macomb the serious difference between Atlantic and Pacific war. and was of great as- sistance in pointing out expected problems under simulated conditions. We like to think that the methods used were all necessary. 'lille general objective certainly was achieved. any coni- placency felt. concerning the change from :Xt- lantic to Pacific war theaters. was shattered. and the need for constant training was estab- lished. On january 20. 10-LS. the Nlaconib look her first definite step toward the war area. then we left San Diego for Seattle. lo join at convoy which was bound for Pearl llarluor. i i liinlffz fi V1 1 if . ftfqtfzstdvsen scgazssi Aww F-.gp CQi,ffsffi' fait' -lk ,-, ,' ' ',' -1 , 1 Aix, AJ X56 ff'-'firms aatsc To slr Q INT - S7 Yzbfc 3 at 't'woSE5X?'g'LU! -QSM i EI: R 4 tNgi3 zg6'! f ff it rw ff 16, li!! 1 . f Areas G f ff. f. I 6 C tug 4 , x 'Vie 6 if :nf 'I 1 .9 X .Z I f Q' ff K, ry 8 n -ll f ,, tht' 'f I ff fi 3 ff 5' f:, ,fig.f 1 l l 'TN kk. O QS? U tf' X, t lv V' :kill IJ If , ffff A , f 'A qi i n A f . . .1 p 5 0 w L P +':lf-- ft l in-1 t ' ,JZMAM .. - g V K 'T .. 59

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consisted of almost anything he could find lying around the ship in addition to what the men gave him. On the foc'sle, when the men were scrub- bing bulkheads with salt water soap, Mek was gf the definite opinion that this soap was for the express purpose of assisting his digestion. and he gobbled it up at every opportunity. r astronomical s lurffes consisted of Ot e g P ca grease, burnt matches, gum, tinfoil, and orange peels. On these the Arab thrived and grew. As he grew, Mek acquired habits as salty as the sea on which he sailed. He had his morning coffee with the first division tblond with one sugart. His rate was still AS., assigned to the first division, but he was learning fast. One duty. for which a man was appointed each night. was to hold Mek during the movies. If the movie was a good one, he would remain perfectly still. If it was a stinker, however, he would show his disapproval by yanking the electric cord from the movie machine. He had excellent taste, loo. Like all seamen, Nlek had to start at the bot- tom aml work up. He reached the rate of cox- swain, but not easily was this rate gained. More thau once he had to start all over again. as. for instance, when one day he took his duty too seriously and did it all over the quarterdeck. This was a big mistake. as he was told later by proper authority. lint later on he committed an even bigger mistake in the captain's cabin. .lus- tice must be appeascd. so Melt was called up before the mast and found guiltx of the above charges. lle was given a deck court. and as Liberty hound Mek U result N U5 llrllktwl ln xiii Unfp again. In addition he was In lose one month's liberty. flowex er. the charge being a minor one. the cap- tain decided lu let him go with a warning. lint in Saipan he again pushed his luck. Hating exerx day liberty there. he would go ashore with the recreation party. time one hilarious time. and return to the ship for the same thing the next dai. Xlhile in Saipan. and while the bccr lasted. cu-ix man rated lttai cans of beer on his liberty dai. .Xltei sntltt' experience with Nh-lt. the crew came lu the conclusion that two t'ZlIlS ttt'It' lou Itlllt'll ful' lltis Ht'tl-tltlltltl tlug. began lu get in the habit ul getting drunk and tlltsslttg the boat. flue dai. as eierxone was about to return lu the ship. Xlek. was nowhere to be found. After luulxltltl about for some time. it was decided that lit' wottltl ln' lttttgltl it les'-ull. so llta' luiztl 2-lluvctl ull. without him. lime par-sed. and. figuring he had learned his lesson. a boat was sent back to the beach for him. Sure enough. there he was on the tloclx and glad enough to return to the ship. Xlek. as a member uf the erew. had his own lxapolx lift-jm'lu't. dog lags. and iflclilificalioll card. which ul course he must have to get out nf ani Navy yard. One experience with the women our tough sea dog will never forget. It happened while the Nlightv Mac was tied up in Charleston. S. C. The pup was missing for several days. A search was made high and low' for him, but he was 61