William V Seiverling (DE 441) - Naval Cruise Book

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ow hear this...' The remainder of the cruise was taken up with escort duty to Korea, Okinawa, Hokkaido, and a goodwill tour to Manila, P. l. On June 9th, 1951 the Willie arrived back in the States. HOME AGAIN In August the crew saw Pearl Harbor again, this time as a training ship for a group of reserves from San Francisco. 'From September through December the ship operated out of San Diego and in January entered Long Beach Naval Shipyard for three months. 1954 CRUISE Approximately eleven months from the last re- turn trip home, the SEIVERLING weighed anchor again and set course for Japan, arriving in Yoko- suka in the early part of June. The first month of the cruise was taken up in a good will tour of the Japanese Islands. Kobe was the first on the list, and there the crew had an opportunity to see a Japanese city quite different from the ship's home ports of Yokosuka and Sasebo. The cameras clicked gaily at Buddhas, shopping centers, and tourist attractions like the nearby town of Takara- zuka fthe setting for James Mitchener's Sayo- nara l. The historic cities of Kyoto and Osaka were only an hour's train ride from Kobe. From Kobe the ship steamed up the Inland Sea to Nagoya where she moored to city Pier at the foot of town. The Army and Air Force graciously extended a welcome and showed the men the dif- ferent scenic spots of interest, The city was im- pressive because of the modern ar- chitecture of stores and hotels built since the war. With a stop for re- plenishing in Yokosuka, the ship ventured north to Muroran on the south coast of Hokkaido. Coal and steel are the main industries here. in the month of June the men going ashore had to don heavy clothing. The townspeople turned out for the Open House held aboard to look the ship over with great interest since few Navy ships had entered there during the post-war period. A southerly course was set from Muroran to the last port on the tour, Niigata. Tieing alongside one of the few docks facilitated liberty and also allowed some three thousand visi- tors to come aboard. During the two- day stay in Niigata guided tours were conducted and a continuous flow of people swarmed over all accessible spaces. Each member of the crew acted as a guide and by using gestures and what few Japanese phrases he had picked up, he explained the general functions of the shipboard equipment. The cityitself was big and modern and in the outlying districts a good deal of industry flourished. Upon leaving Niigata, the Willie continued south and finally came to rest back in Sasebo, having cir- cled Japan in twenty-five days. In early August the ship went south to I-long Kong, arriving on the 12th of August for a much anticipated five-day visit. The climate was even hotter than Japan's. Hong Kong left a vivid impression on the men. Excellent and reasonable Chinese tailors abound in the huge metropolis and every party aboard came back with at least one article of clothing he had purchased there. The Tiger Balm Gardens were an unusual and photogenic sight and the many tours offered by the Servicemen's Guide Center kept camera owners busy for the entire time. The next few weeks were taken up by exercises and a short trip to Beppu on the Inland Sea by way of Shimonoseki Straits. This brought the cruise toa close and on November 21st the SEIVERLING set her bow for the States via Midway and Pearl. The trip back was one that will always beremembered. From the 21st to the 30th this ship saw some of the roughest weather in her history. The heavy pound- ing and rolling damaged topside equipment and everything flew as the ship took rolls up to 50 degrees on either side. When the seas finally calmed, one day out of Midway, the Division was three days behind schedule. The one-day stay at Pearl Harbor was a welcome rest and marked the beginning of the last leg on the journey home. The ship steamed into San Diego Harbor the morning of December 10th - a wonderful climax toacruise the SEIVERLING's men will long remember.

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The USS WILLIAM SEIVERLING was first commissioned in June 1944, in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. After passing through the Panama Canal, she proceeded to the Hawaiian Islands to engage in her first assign- ment, that of hunting enemy sub- marines. In November she steamed to Ulithu via Eniwetok. Under various task group designations, the ship participated in many operations, includ-ing the invasions of Luzon in January 1945, and Iwo Jima in February 1945, experiencing enemy action in both campaigns. From March until June the SEI- VERLING was in the Okinawa cam- paign with a hunter-killer group. This group kept the area free from submarine penetration. Although the other three ships suffered damages from many air attacks, the Willie came through unscathed. From the twentieth through the twenty-eighth of May, after a brief overhaul, the SEIVERLING was assigned to picket duty at Okinawa. During these nine days the Japa- nese suiciders were making theirlheaviest attacks on the ships in the vicinity and the SEIVERLING saw more action in these few days than in the rest of her time in the Pacific. The crew was at General Quarters more than half the time and on several occasions remained at battle stations throughout the entire night and part of the next day. During the night of May 24th and the morning of the 25th the ship was under direct attack by at least nine enemy planes. The ship's guns positively destroyed three of them and scored numerous hits on others. All were destroyed or driven off without damage to the ship or injury to the crew, though a number of ships in' company were damaged by the suiciders. On the completion of the Okinawa campaign and for a period of the next four months the SEIVER- LING took part in other operations including the covering of the Third Fleet's entry to Tokyo Bay in September 1945. In the following month of October, the ship carried out her last mission overseas and pointed her bow for San Diego where she was decom- missioned early in December 1945. RE COMMISSIONING The ship remained inactive for better than five years until December 1950, when she was brought out of moth balls to become flagship for the newly formed Escort Squadron Nine under the command of LCDR Walter C, Cole. After a brief shaping-up ' ow, hear this... period the ship departed in April 1951 with a final destination of Keelung, Formosa. ' FIRST CRUISE The period from June through Augusttwas spent in making three trips to Korea where the Willie was engaged in shore bombardment. In the final mission at Wonsan Harbor the ship sustained three direct hits from shore batteries. Though the after fire room was flooded, no casualties were inflicted. A month of repairs in Sasebo enabled the ship to make one more f cruise to Wonsan after which she departed for the States, arriving in November, 1951. BACK HOME Following a month of leave periods, the SEI- VERLING went into dry dock at Hunters Point, San Francisco. By April she was back operating out of San Diego with various anti-sub and hunter-killer groups. October 18th saw the ship headed once more for WestPac via Hawaii, Yokosuka, and Sasebo. SECOND CRUISE The first duty assignment was a tough one - thirty days in Wonsan Harbor. The ship was fired on several times but received no damage and re- turned safely to Sasebo for Christmas. On the 28th of December, 1951, the Willie headed for Okinawa to participate in hunter-killer exercises but was forced to return to Yokosuka after afew days under- way due to an engineering casualty. It took two months to install a new turbine.

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.P.O. Left: Key men in the operation of the Engi- neering Department are: Sheppard, MMC, Quinn, MMC, and Mannion, BTC. Right: Chief Commis- saryman Bracy of the Supply Department. , it i X515 2 yi 1 Gunnery Department has the services of McNeil, GMC, Kackley, BMC, and Sims, SOC to keep things running smoothly. The health of the crew is the concern of Bramble, HMC fabove rightj. FACTS ABCDUT THE WILLY How big? - - - 1500 tons displacement How long? - - 306 foot length How wide? - - 36 foot beam How high? - - over 90 feet How deep? - - 10 foot draft How fast? - - over 20 knots Two boilers and two main turbines drive the twin screws with 12,000 horsepower. Steering is accomplished by means of twin rudders. Armament includes 5 inch guns, -40 mm mounts, Hedgehogs, and depth charges which are fired by means of K-guns and stern racks. Living spaces are necessarily crowded on the Willy but there are some conveniences. The ship's store sells candy, softdrinks, cigarettes, toilet articles and a large stock of miscellan- eous items. The mess hall does double duty as a crew's lounge complete with TV set. There is a laundry, ice cream machine, and even asmall library. Movies are shown every night with added matinee performances on Sundays and holidays.