Aaron Ward (DM 34) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 10 text:

-mh --W. -... in .. . 1, .sf-p v . Gunnery Officer, we proceeded to establish a gunnery record that still stands as an all-time high in shake- down training. Our 5 40, 20 gun crews proved outstand-ing and ready for that tussle with the laps that was drawing closer. ln the engineering department, under the guidance of Lt. Young, and his capable assistants, Lt. Cj.g.J Clark and Ens. Paine, the black gang showed their shipmates that they too had mastered their jobs and were prepared to give the ship steam in her throbbing veins and arteries. Mr. Beismeyer and Mr. Cathcart, in the meanwhile, strove to teach the fundamentals of Damage Control and t-he art of seamanship t-o men, the majority of whom, were experiencing their first tour of sea duty. Under these two officers, Shelley, CBM, Oden and jones, BM's lfc, applying many years' naval experience, sought to mold the green seamen into useful sailors. And thruout this entire period, our patron saint 'of f-ood, Chief Bagan, kept the ship amply sup-plied with nourishing victuals that had been planted in the early 30's and harvested in the middle 40's. Nonetheless, the milk we drank was the laotile fluid of the bovine species and for this latter treat we were thankful. We missed Ma's cooking, but proceeded to add to our waistline. 1 0 With the shakedown under our belt, we set our course for San Pedro, and back to the Navy Yard for 10, 20, 30, 40 days. The local pawnbrokers were enjoying a thriving business, for liberty in this area was an expensive pastime. Yet our sojourn here was highlighted with many great events. Many romances flourished and several of our more eager set plunged recklessly into marriage. While the majority of us took advantage of the recreational facilities in Southern California, the yard f-orce converted ClC into a ohamber of horrors , installing innumerable radio gear and loudspeakers. Mr. Woodside, our Comm. Officer, bore the brunt of this upheaval. 1 i Finally, on February 9, 1945, the Aaron Ward stood out of San Pedro 1-larbor and pointed her trim nose towards Pearl Harbor. For six long days she steamed independently, ever alert for her first enemy, the submarine. That lonely cruise is very vivid in our minds, for it marked the ship's graduation to a position of responsi'bili'ty as well as the first trip for almost seventy-five pe-r cent of our crew. Other than the us-ual submarine scare that sent us to General Ouarters several times, our 2100-mile journey was uneventful. And as we arrived in Pearl Harbor, all of us doffed our heavy clothing and settled down to a two week stay in the tropics. At Pearl we hungrily jumped at the opportunity to try our luck at some competitive softball. Lt. Halsted, our genial athletic officer, operated a very successful and popular league competition that comprised representatives from every division aboard ship. Each day we praye-d for clear skies so 'that yesterdays defeat might be avenged . Hot, fiery games resulted and at the end of our stay, the 2nd Division emerged champions. Their undefeated record was tops in the field, and due greatly to the outstanding hitting and pitching prowess of Fisher who revealed big-league ability. We all had fun, and were willing to concede the pennant to this gang aft of Frame ll0 . - 'On March 3, we received our orders and proceeded to rendezvous with the U.S.S. Maryland, an old but very potent battlewagon. With her and several other escorts we steamed endlessly, and on March 19 arrived at one of our Cthenl most advance bases, Ulithi. Here we saw the staggering sight of the U. S. Pacific Fleet at anchor. For miles around there was a seemingly inexhaustiblie line of carrie-rs, battleships. cruisers, destroyers, and numerous auxiliaries. The size of this armada gave us both a feeling of inferiority and security. Yet we were part of it and destined to play a majior role in the drama coming up. Here, too, we received our first air alert . We manned our guns and waited, only to receive the news that the approaching raid had been repulsed some 10 miles out. Now we knew the thrill of flying to our battle stations and taking our ready positions . l I Several days later-still no mail-we sent Blunk, our white Cthen a little beardedj hope, with orders to bring home the bacon, or else . A few hours before getting underway, our mailman, a smile lig-hting up his youthful face, returned with tho-se never-to-be-forgotten three bags of mail. Now they could bring on the laps! Needless to mention, Blunk was the man of the hour, and a few minutes later explaining to the OOD why he had failed to relieve the watch on time. The impermanence of glory! Underway at last, and when morning dawned grey and d-amp, we saw ourselves in the van, preceding a swarm of minesweepers. lt was then the realization came to us that we were part of an outfit bound for some unknown japanese Island, close to the mainland, to engage in sweeping operations prior to an invasion by our troops. Later, that day, our captain, Commander Sanders, announced our destination-Okinawa, a powerful island fortress held by thousands of japanese troops, and harboring a score of strong airfie-lds. The uncertainty that had filled our minds cleared somewhat after this announcement, but the prospect of encoun'tering heavy opposition left our enthusiasm slightly dampened. We gulped several times, and then settled dow-n to the job of brushing up on the P's and O's of fighting. 1 -Igl-

Page 9 text:

,un BIOGRAPHY 0F A LADY lt was only yesterday that we received orders assigning us to the Aaron Ward, DD 773, building in the S-an 'Pedro Sfhipyard of Bethlehern.Steel. Yet yesterday and today are significant dates in our lives spanned only by the many months that have witnessed the evolution of our proud man-of-war. Now that the story of World War ll has been written on the pages of his-tory, we can feel that our job, though tragic and costly, was well done. Time erases many wiounds, leaving only the physical scars of battle, but w-ho of the Aaron Ward crew will ever forget the ship's memorable experiences in the Pacific where the old gal survived the most severe tests that war with lapan hadto offer. She brought us back, for that we are forever grateful. 'And now to turn the pages backward and reminisce awhile. How many of us recall our precommissioning work, when we labored, studied, drilled, and prepared ourselves in our separate fields for our shipboard duties. First at Norfolk, where we attended school, learned about the intricacies of our ship's machinery, her damage control, and gunnery equipment. Here we were content to apply ourselves diligently, seldom distracted by thoughts of liberty and recreation. No offense directed at this town's Chamber of Commerce, but Norfolk and its 'lgay white way tempted us slightly. And so we chose to restrict our theatre of operations to the reservation where we could indulge in a softball game, swim, or take in a movie. While some of us enjoyed the cool breezes of the East Coast, others had already migrated to that isle of paradise , Treasure lsland, where Mr. Neupert had set up his headquarters. Here the future sailors of the Ward found a rigorous routine, a daily grind that served to train and prepare them for work ahead. Yet the reward was worth the effort, for only minutes away beckoned the town of 'Frisco-a ci-ty re-plete with that good stuff that liberties are made of. Yes, life here was truly Utopian, and before long we who had been East, went West to complete the Aaron Ward round-up , and by the middle of September all 300 of us AW stalwarts were cozily berthed in Barracks N, under the friendly though austere supervision of our executive officer. An advanced guard, in the meanwhile, had reported to San Pedro to assist in the ship's construction. They, too, joined us in our disappointment and disillusionment when the Navy Department informed us, rather abruptly, that the Aaron Ward originally destined to ride the seas as a DD, had been converted to a DM. A period of mourning followed, when old DD sailors cursed their lot, and the youngsters reflected the mood of sullen resignation. But men of the sea, like their civilian counterparts, soon adjust themselves to their environment, and before l-ong the future loomed as bright as ever. . Then, and inevitable it was, the day of reckoning arrived. Drawing some odd 300 AW veterans under his protective wing, Lt. Tom Wallace, with a few flourishes and one or two skirmishes with the Red Cross, Shore Patrol and local Elks Club, departed from the nostalgic environs of Tl and arrived in San Pedro the next day. How many of us will ever forget that trainride. That interminable wait, the cor- fortable and luxurious troop trains that had their own private supply of anthracite for the cold night's ride. The intrigue practiced on us by a small clique of train belly-robbers , whose evil intentions were thwarted by Lt. Wallace and Ens. Dillon, the latter's sacrifice comprising some 'leven sandwiches and an empty stomach. There were no medals for this detective work, but the gratitude of a well--fed group of transients still wells in their breasts. And so we arrived in Pedro. ln several days we all donned our suits, gave our shoes that old spit and polish , and stood at attention, while our beloved skipper accepted the Aaron Ward as his own. That day will live long in our memory. Then it was when we assembled, all of us, from the skipper on down, to pledge ourselves to the holy task of serving a beautiful and proud lady. How willingly we escorted our parents and friends thruout the ship, showing off our 'ivast knowledge and basking in the limeligfht of our new home. We discovered too that our doctor possessed an excellent taste in women, and had already embarked on a career that witnessed joy replacing gloom in so many of the fairer sex's lives. After a month or so Cin the Navy Yardl of last minute work, we sounded one long blast on the whistle, set condition Baker, and backed out of our slip, bound for San Diego and six wee-ks of shaking down. Here again life was pleasant, for seldom were we at sea more than several days at a time. Only when the mighty New York arrived on the scene, did we relinquish our hold on dry land for an appre-ciablef length of time. For the first time in our young life we felt useful, offering our protecting arm to an ancien relative of the sea. Yet after ten days of salt water, we returned to our gravey routine that included so many invigorating liberties in the town of San Diego. For that shakedown we are forever grateful. E or weeks we sailed our ship, participating in numerOuS exercises that bettered and hardened us for the tasks ahead. Under the skillful leadership of Lt. Eubel, our

Page 11 text:

l ! 1 l L- On March 23, we arrived with our ,caravan on the shores of Okinawa. Our ETA had been timed so that we were in our assigned area early in the morning, several hours before sunrise. Condition Able had been set and each one of us was at his battle -station. The sun made its customary appearance, and we proceeded to scan the skies, the water, the nearby island for signs of the ene-my. Yet nothing happened. All was quiet save the roar of our frien-dly planes overhead that swept, wave after wave, onto the Iap shore installation-s. Our battle wagons had already made their welcome appearance and had begun blazing away with their large rifles. Our preinvasion work went merrily on . We served as a Fire Support Ship for a mine-sweeping unit of AM's that took us perilously close to enemy beaches in the daytime, and at night we entertained ourselves by retiring with the main body of the bombardment force. Every day we witnessed explosions of unfortunate comrade-ships that had failed to avoid a mine or had been victimized by sneak lap suicide attacks, or heard of sister ships that had fared successfully with the enemy. The Ditter, the Shea, the Lindsey, and the rest of Minron 3 had already started knocking Iap planes out of the sky. We received word of the Tolman's epic struggle with 8 suicide boats, and a later mishap that left her stranded on a reef for days. All our friends it seemed had made some contribution to the 'twar effort , and we, outside of the few mines that we had destroyed and several 'tprobablesn in night actions, had not as yet connected. The invasion came. April the lst saw us in the third balcony, viewing the performance from 5Oc seats, and two days later we were bound for Guam, convoying two old warriors, the Salem and the Keokuk, to what rightfully should have been their final resting place. Several days out of Okinawa, we discovered that the Iapanese had started a furious suicide offensive that was claiming two or three ships each day. Ours was more than an arbitrary interest, for we knew th-at, shortly, we too would be back in the scrap. Guam was a reprieve that we shall never forget. For ten days we sipped the nectar of beer parties, softball games, swimming, and riding peacefully at anchor, while up in Okinawa the demon god of war was having one helluva time. The beginning of one of the greatest and most decisive campaigns in naval history had broken out in all its fury. But all good things must eventually come to end, and on Ap-ril 20, we were back on our old Okinawa stomping grounds. Then it was that we became familiar wit-h all the picket stations, and there we established a camara- derie with our brother ships, the big and small DD's and the little LOS's that accompanied us on those harrow- ing 4-5 day t'picnics far from the noise and confusion of Kerama Retto and l-lagushi anchorages. For several weeks we kept our decks and superstructure clean, seeing little action during the day and spending many sleepl-ess hours at night. Each night saw us blazing away at enemy planes that we couldn t see, but who appeared intent on causing us trouble. Several times we threw up a deadly curtain of fire that made us almost cert-ain that we had destroyed the enemy. Finally, on April 27, on a clear, moonlight night, patrol- ling north of Okinawa, we won our spurs , For seven long hours our ship p-atrolled her station, and for seven 'long hours the boys in plot, the director, in the fire and e-ngine rooms, on the deck, and in CIC and the Radio Shack, kept faith with their ship and country. That was the night we registered our first visual t'kill , shooting two Betty's and one Val into the ocean. Only after we had fired at 10 separate attacks and reported some 37 enemy raids to Point Bolo , and had received the all clear signal from CIC, did we secure from GO. The following morning we stuck out our chests with pride when we read Admiral Turner's congratulatory message th-at labeled us lap exterminators . Can we ever forget that n-ight in Kerama Retto, when after tying up alongside an ammunition ship, we witnessed the terrifying spectacle, a drama in one act, tlhe sole player, one Val, intent on hitting the ammo ship. Can we ever express our heartfelt gratitude to its only challenger, an unknown s-mall craft that deflected it from its path wit-h a few bursts of machine gun fire. And then to watch it go racing madly, weaving from side to side, in the midst of hundreds of silent, yet fearful ships, until it plunged headlong into the Pinckney, exploding with a tremendous crash and a ball of fire that lighted the area for miles around. lf what we 'had seen had unnerved us, then the subseCI1leI1T events left US 9059319 tot breath- Yet ttttu the smoke, the thousands of tracers that were fired at what could have been a lC1PCff1eSe Dtcmef with Stttctpttet falling like rain, the burning fires and explosions on the Pinckney, we felt secure in our horror and grim uncertainty. When the storm had subsided, we naturally gave a sigh of relief, but with our sigh, went a prayer of thanks to l-lim above and to our captain who had maneuvred and conned the ship so adroitly. exhibiting so inspiring a quality of leadership totpull us thru. And all the time, the skipper was disap- pointed, because the thousand odd craft thvat we had miraculouslY avoided, had prevented him from help- ing the stricken ship. Our days were numbered. This we did not know, but the reports concerning our fellow picketeers were far from encouraging. Night after night we heard the tragic news of ships being sunk and damaged -wi-