Aaron Ward (DM 34) - Naval Cruise Book

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,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

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-QUII ,zz 5 ,.,,.-f.,.,..,---. mv., --car. 1- .... .. .--Q-f-nv-.w,v1:..f:..ggg-'-'e' 'f' ' A WW' -'--' f A ' ,arf M- - ' - l -DAVID M. RUBEL Lieutenant Commander, U. S. Navy EXECUTIVE OFFICER Between the covers of this book is Written the story of our proud ship and her heroic crew. As Gunnery Officer and Executive Officer I have had the pleasure of Working with you from the day of the ship's commissioning. Since that day, it has been a long, hard trip. Your splendid attitude and coopera- tive spirit durin-g our training period paid tremendous dividends in loattle. By your actions the mighty Aaron has taken her place in the heroic annals of our Navy. l feel honored to have served with you. Wor'ds cannot express my ad-miration for you and your shipmates who made the supreme sacrifice. Your deeds speak for themselves. y r DAVID M. RUBEL, Lieutenant Commander, U. S. Navy, Executive Officer. , f--l 4 l-

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-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-