Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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Lieutenant Cjgl Ed Stack, and all were plunged as a mass funeral pyre into the blue lagoon. Whitaker's regular crewmen, Sill and Toothaker, followed their skipper to their deaths, as did Stack's crew, Moins and Well- baugh. It was a hard series for the Bunker Hill, for also lost during the operation was Lieutenant Mark Mowry, devout fighter pilot f - - - ' ' , .gurzggg:::4:::::: ':i':,airi.,-..... - 4,5-gf? j , V, 1 ..::ggiE::.':: '- K X Q is ,, L .-...- , N-K W yd, . -rr--rwft --1-g-.,,,,.J-,Y .ma-.-,,.,,,M.. nie,-,., .-.. lfjfff ,-- F, 5, 533 f,-f'g',f',,, ,, qw. X- 'sf A f f 1 -. f 2? . ?1a?1'Wf I, Q.. IJ' st.:- 1Kg1,.:4-5f.'x uf Ativgglglfyllni T a 'Z Ip. - ' fi ' F S .l.,.a-:j5:1 f ' ,, -.'r'XN-,W l - -. -.-, .. -212.1 or D f ' -- ' .J v - , fi W---fo 'q , 4 -5. -V ,,a--.- p L, 5' C ' ' ,,Qi,Ql:' bgfl'-w,'T , f 1,,. .L , i . --9-1 -ie ' 4' as--.ii A b-.. - ,. ' '- 24.6 ',f ,---A , yi. N- - MT I lv,1,iFfj,. ,Elf 1 fx A -fn 'f' -- 4' f-'X-.-1-ay i -'sf' -ij' :Grier T . ix. H X 'Q 'Lg' tlligi' -ff V,,. ' -,I ia- A j 'iii f .- - ., r -,g f A-ff V, ,.. L. vw. nm, 5 ,, .1 A f -we 1 .f --.-rw .fi ff- V 2' . f f llf' ,ff 4. ff . t y-'KT' '33 . Q.. I ff fzygf Emlfplw -M Y ,, lj'-,i ig, gf:-if-f ,, W' P' Q f-Avy f'T fKri? 4W i'Agg,f?'af'ifi 'N' if ' . M' !,'-Qfry M ,, -A .J,,, 1,1 5 f' ,fa-.1 is ..Qfv?E?'S1'L 5Lg4:,?'i5-55, fidgf' i gg! 'HMS ..,a-Eff :sZ.,.,,.:1.,f y .'- , ,f ' .111 ,,-f' , 5 , 1' ' 'fl V? Q -'ff' 1 X115 - i f fe aaa: .iaa f 1 lk-f ' if .M I if ' ' 51 54Z?4i31:z'51'S-l,.f'pf ,f7fP5' .if-fm ' who became victim of AA fire, Lieutenant Cjgl Pearson and his crew of Emilianowicz and Titsworth and photographer K. H. Shaw, and Lieutenant Cjgj Arthur 0'Sullivan, with his crew of Grimsman and Nicholson. Lieuten- ant Cjgl Guy M. Brown was also a victim of AA fire, but with his crew, lived to enjoy one of the greatest experiences of his life aboard a rescuing destroyer, the U.S.S. Burns, which single-handedly destroyed a four-ship con- voy in a night surface action while enroute from rescuing the airmen. Our Task Force, which had been the spear- head of the Marshalls conquest, found an- chorage in the newly-won coral atolls. The force moved in and immediately set about replenishing its fuel and bomb supplies. Water-bound seamen stared goggled-eyed at the palm-lined rim that protected us from the sea, and they bit their fingers to see if they were dreaming when airmail came tumb- ling aboard in less than forty-eight hours after the battle force came to rest. Clf Sally could only see us now . . . D Uncle Sam's airmail service was turning the globe into a cross- roads cafe, and home didn't' seem as if it were more than a stone's throw from any- place. The American youth's bewildered dream of time and space was vanishing on thin air under the influence of Fast Carrier Task Forces and fairy-tale postmen. It was early in February that we learned that Captain J. J. Ballentine, father of the Bunker Hill, had been promoted to Rear Admiral, his orders calling for his transfer to ComAirPac's staff as Chief of Staff. Ordered to replace him was Captain Thomas P. Jeter, USN, class of 1918, whose work as Navigator and later Executive Officer of the U.S.S. En- terprise had won for him much praise among Naval ofiicers. Captain Jeter came to the Bunker Hill from Washington, where he had served on the staff of Admiral Ernest J. King. He took over command of the ship on,Feb- ruary 5, and Admiral Ballentine headed for Pearl Harbor. ' Before our eyes had stopped drinking in the sky-colored lagoon waters and before our imaginations ceased letting us chase Varga- designed nymphs down palm-frond boule- vards, somebody said a bad word: Truk! 53 FIRST TRUK We had no fears of Trukg only illusions largely fed our imaginations by our own ignorance of its contents. Whoever it was who Hrst mentioned this bad word must have been kidding, we figured, checking our life- belts and wishing we could go for a moon- light cruise in some safe place-Kavieng, for instance. The gall of our own forces as seen in anchoring in a territory conquered two days before was enough for one dose. But now they were talking about playing knock-knock at the gates of Japan's mythical bastion. Sure, they were only kidding . . . And several days later we were headed for Truk. Admiral Marc Mitscher's carriers

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... -,,,.'.,-:i:1m1m.,.n...-.w--,,,f:u- . .,. .,... -aw, 0.3-9a.L,s.m..2..:a-1.-,e.'z. - a-visiting: Cairo and Teheran. We also saw that the Russian Army had moved n1netCCI1 miles on a fifty-mile front in five days, that General MacArthur staged ea surprise party at Araweg that the Apennines were blazing with artillery fire. Nostalgic reminders of Christmas came in letters that caused senti- mental hangovers. But most of all we could be proud that the New Year saw us on a wide winning leg of the war. It was mid-January and the Bunker Hill once more put to sea. Our force ranged north and east to join what sail locker strategians were predicting to be the greatest battle armada in the history of sea power. The Hrst plan we got a glimpse of was so vast that, in comparison, the Gilberts cam- paign was dwarfed. We rendezvoused with battlewagons and cruisers, more carriers and more destroyers. From horizon to horizon the sea gleamed with bright new men-of-war, manned by proud sailors. The'Bunker Hill's crew viewed these feats in shipbuilding with experienced, appraising eyes: they were now battle veterans who knew what it felt like to face the enemy-time and again. Some of the more composed were inclined to stifle a yawn, while looking at the ship's chrono- meter spin us onward, saying, uninspired, Another operation, another operation. Bolstering our role of importance in the Marshall game lineup were two ace news- papermen who boarded the ship in Santo, APman Spencer Davis, veteran desk man of the San Francisco Bureau, and Scripps-How- ard's and America's Raymond Clapper, whose columns back home were devoured by Presi- dent and partisan alike. You could see them on the flight deck, along the gallery walkways, up and down the island structure-making notes, chatting with the men, andhthen re- tiring to their rooms to write inspired storie of what America's youthful seamen and air men were contributing to a drama whose im- mensity staggered the layman's imagination, D Day in the Marshalls was set for Jan- uary 31, and out strikes began on the twenty- ninth. Captain Ballentine warmed up tg the S 128 .u.4',. , . ,M I .. ,,a,--..........-.,, .t . Q-u... I - ...-.1-1.-m,.g........,e..z,.... f public address mike several days before the gampaign began, expressing his appreciation for the enthusiastic and dogged support his men had given . . . We're going up to enjoy the trade winds around the Marshall Islands, he concluded. The Bluejackets laughed and bent to their tasks. The Old Man'll go anyway, they were saying among themselves, and we'll go right with him. J Just after 0500 on D Minus Two Day the first bomb left its bay from a Bunker Hill HeQldiver over Kwajelein and fF.beye, and once more the war was on. All day long the heavily-laden flying workhorses rose from our deck, and explosions over Nip-held territory reverberated down the main street of Toyko. Then came incendiaries, and then came holi- day colors-it was President Roosevelt's Birthday-and then came those awful head- ache hangovers that Japanese defenders were finding commonplace up and down their outer perimeter. From Kwajelein we moved north to Eniwetok, where it was believed that the wily Jap would be staging plane-attacks out over our sea forces. Cur guess was 100 per- cent on, for strafing Hellcats caught Eniwe- tok's runways shimmering with a combination of brand new Bettys and early morning light. Equal destruction was rained down on neigh- boring targets of Parry, Engebi, and Ulangi, and Tojo's first team never had a chance. The trade Winds felt soft and warm against watchstanders' faces, the hot breath of TNT' blistered the hapless defenders of the Mar- sha1l's hintermost atoll. Just as every successful operation must take its toll, so the Marshall campaign visited tragedy into our ranks. Thirteen memb6fS of Air Group Seventeen made Supreme Saff' 155068, and Raymond Clapper Hew t0 his death with the torpedo squadron's colorful Skipper, Lieutenant Commander Frank Whit' akefs H noted pilot throughout the PacifiC- AIWEWS there to gather first-hand information, Mr. Clapper had flown over the Eniwetck target area with Commander Whitaker to wit- ness a bombing run by TBFS. The Skippfifis plane collided in mid-air with his wingmfma -Q ' . wg . .-.4 134 s it-all 1 . i

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never held their heads more proudly, and the wagons and cruisers rolled west. Prancing destroyers did improvised Congas on the sparkling whitecaps that are noted in the outlying regions off this Caroline hornet's nest. We were off to a big show, a big dance, and we had ample cash to pay the Hddlers. At noon on February 15, we felt that the striking might of the U. S. Pacific Fleet had been undetected on its trip to Truk. About 1400 we learned that Hghters had found and destroyed a twin-engined Jap patrol plane, Betty by name. This little feat set everybody to wondering. But by nightfall we again felt pretty confident about the whole thing. No bogeys came out to hamper our march. That truckdriver eating a late lunch of beef sandwiches and beer at the Bravo Lunch counter on Cermak Road in Chicago the next day probably didn't have any idea how we-some six thousand miles away-felt about the lunching business. It was all we could do to force down a half an egg and three swallows of coffee before dashing off to Gen- eral Quarters and Watching hordes of Amer- ican fighter planes take to the pre-dawn sky. Our stomach was in pretty much of a knot, for imaginations had been fed plenty of Pacific potion, some labelled Rabaul, some Kavieng and some Tarawa. But they took 0E-dozens of them. Flying in that one-two- one backheld formation, they turned snarling noses toward the haughty pride of the Em- peror's island possessions. Three hours later we were watching them return aboard, and a few minutes later they were telling of blasting Zekes, Hamps, Tonys and Tojos from the springy air over Eten, Paran and Moen airfields. Already the bombers and torpedo planes were visiting destruction to a lagoon full of shipping, and other strikes were rolling from the Task F orce's numerous Bight decks. The element of audacity and surprise was our ace card in handing Truk a shellacking that, in comparison, would have made B1-et Harte's Chinese poker-players look like jay- birds There was a drama at North Pass .,3 u raconteur's convention. Commander Dal Air Group Seventeen's dimunitive chieftai covered the target area for an evaluation r port, radioing to the ship that cruisers, d stroyers, a carrier, several oilers, and nun erous merchantmen were on hand for tl airmen's pop visit. He also reported tha several ships, including cruisers, were tryingi escape through the North Pass. Forthwit the Air Group Commander proceeded to clim directly over the escapists Cand this is world for escapistsj and invite comers on' c that will rank with the best of them in n - f stop them dead. Already battleships and several cruisers an destroyers had been detached from our for to proceed to this pass and cut off the exi of Jap escapists. While the wagons plowei nearer their goal, planes came to cripple th Nips. What the planes left was polished ol subsequently by the big guns. One fore thoughted Jap skipper was wheeling well ou of the danger zone, his cruiser blistering thi sea for home, when Torpedo Skipper Grady Owen moved in with his boys. Circling the doomed gray hull, Skipper Owen spread hi: flight out around the ship. He steadied their for their run, and running through the ina words of attack readiness, he mentioned thai they owed at least one to the Grey Eaglefi Frank Whitaker, who had left them so sud- denly at Eniwetok. Chow down, the attack command. Spen- cer Davis, AP correspondent, was in on the feast that day. He later Wrote of the IaP'S death, saying that the torpedoes sped toward a pinpoint center, their wakes reminding him Of lingers. They hitg the cruiser, there 2 moment before, rolled over and disappeared. Bomber Pilot Lieutenant Cjgj George GlasS, with C. W. Aunspaugh, his radioman, failed to return from the first strike that day. TWO more gallant crewmen went to their deaths: J- A- Applefeld, radioman for Bill Sheaiifmi and W. B. Gerrity, TBF radioman for Pllot G. A. Turnbull, died from injuries reCCiVed On their flights that day e records that day soared shattered 2 . ' cl Th , n J 130 ggi Q . k., annstiualafz. , ., f, ., , -kin .. , A, , Q 1 . . - 33v3-Qyzf'ggf'f'j-e'-f17f:e'r'A :r':+:-tff'rX'f'?'i-es--W .'.. .,,,,,.,,....a... ..., M . ,. ,, ,, .V . ,. ,, V V1 Ak , ,,,.K . -mn..-'gf......4 ,......... . .-.--1 ....:1-ff-f.,-.,.,.-,,.,.s.-.m1- -spin. -- - ..,, . ,ni , .,.,.,--sv -.T-,-Tm...- is -f-as-'W f- si