Macomb (DD 458 DMS 23) - Naval Cruise Book

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CAPTAIN WILLIAM H. DUVALL Lt. Comdr. lnow Captain! Williarn H. Duvall accepted the command of the U.S.S. Macomb for the United States Navy in Boston Navy Yard on January 26, 1942 to become first skipper of the Mighty Mac as she commenced her diverse and colorful career. Captain Duvall was a graduate of the Naval Academy class of 1925, and he had served a varied career in the Navy, including the com- mand of one of the Navyis old minesweepers. He was a typical uOld Navyl' captain, quite different from the average destroyer skipper of 1945. He was a stern, serious man, a disciplin- arian andexcellent shiphandler who maintained an impenetrable aloofness to his oflicers and his men. Under his tireless and efficient leadership the Mighty Mac was transformed from a ship- fitteris piece of floating steel to a fighting, capa- ble destroyer. He led the ship through her first frigid winter at Boston and Casco Bay, on her long ferry trip with the Ranger, on her first visit to Argentia, Iceland, and Scapa Flow, and in climax, through the invasion of Casablanca. Commander Duvall was relieved by Lt. Comdr. ,Ierry South, executive officer in January 1943 while the Macomb was in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Captain Duvall later became a destroyer squadron commander and ofIicer-in-charge of C destroyer training and shaking-down at Bermuda. CAPTAIN JERRY C. SOUTH Jerry Curtis South was a huge bodied man, well-framed and well-fleshed, standing over six feet in height. It was easy to believe the stories of his athletic prowess during his midshipman days, and he demonstrated his ability many times in athletic contests held by the ship. Upon assuming the duties of executive officer of the Macomb in November 1941 he imme- diately began to show the zeal for efficiency which characterized his every action. His ex- perience in naval procedure, his attention to detail, and his unfailing energy will cause him to be remembered as one of our most efficient executive oflicers. In June, 1942, Mr. South was advanced to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander, a well-de- served promotion in every respect. On January 10, 1943, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he re- lieved Commander Duvall as captain of the Macomb. Captain South was a ship-handler par excel- lence, and there were few destroyers which were maneuvered with as great precision and ef- ficiency as the Macomb. His superior skill was recognized on the Ist of November, 1943. when he was advanced to the rank of commander. On the 24th of March, 1944, Captain South was transferred to Admiral M. L. Deyois staff for duty. As the Macomb had proved her worth as a ship, so had Commander South proved his worth as a commanding olhcer, and those men who served under him will long remember and admire him for his outstanding ability. 5

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There There There There HIC RTC HTC HTG I some of these femmes that are others naughty but nice, some that are dumb but pretty, some you might ask for advice, There's the hot, the cool, and the frigid, The fat, the short and the tall, 4 l l , new +'l 'v f ' Q-Ali YU . .Wg .. , 'i,,p -.J-. - -wr -1 . - E9 Tll E W LADY!! fickle, 'l'ln-ro was Boston, Casco and Quonset, Scapa, Dakar and tho Med. Sho took them all like a trooper. A lady, and a lady w'c'll-liiwl. On tht- blur' Pacific she ventured, Weary and sick of it all. A queen sho was, so she started Thereis the smart, the dumb and the witty, Thereis Turner, Lamarr and Bacall. There's hundreds and hundreds of others In classes all of their own, ' But you can take 'em, love ,em or hate 'em, I,ll take the lady Macomb. I know she's a ship like the others, It would be hard to tell them apart, But to us she's a champ and a lady, Just a hunk of steel with a heart. Shes fought the cruel Atlantic, To battle at hattlcfs call. She sweated it out on the line. Fought alongside of the best. A lady, a ship, and a figlitcr. She scratched and vlawod with thc resi- ln the roaring hc-ll ul tht- hattle. She gave all she had and thou some. Giving, taking. hut fighting. Till the hattlc was over and WUII- But now that tht- war is over. l g, 4 to ,Ht xc it The cold the slect, and the Iain lt was a hell of a crui e whilf it laslcd But the Mac was a lady and game Ill N no flmnzbers RM iff' v , , .3 liikf the rest l lou Y to gr l luv. Q , J I , - A lust lfbtlllf' lo thc lz ly i , .. , i r, , 'Q , Z - i - h , A sl '1 with a ln-art thc tla ' nth.

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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.