Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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to the department's success include Rod De- Camp, QMlc, Roland Falk, QM1c, C. W. Krenke, QM2c, W. M. Dickson, QM2c, R. A. Lawson, QM2c, and a late-comer, Irving Meissner, QM1c, all of whom com- prise the first team on the bridge. THE BAND: This robust group of sea- going musicians hold the poetic distinction of being able to praise the Lord and pass the ammunition, and they frequently do-all in the course of a day's work. Offering instru- mental support for church services is only a small part of their regular work, and manning gun stations is another of their extracurricular activities. They are easiest remembered, how- ever, for their shipping over music concerts during their in-port routines, and for their spirited jive hours on the flight deck during slack moments in operations at sea. Proof that they are an important part of the Bunker Hill's life came one noon-time in the Gilbert Islands: they were lulling the meridian sun- worshippers with Duke Ellington's Don't Get Around Much Anymore, when the General Quarters call scattered the audience in nothing flat and sent the bandmen to gun stations, leaving brightly-polished instruments ff scattered in their wakes. Said Chief Musician Douglas C. Cameron, band director, When you gotta go, you can't take it with you- not even Duke Ellington. You'd probably be surprised at the crew favorites among perennial requests. Fred- erick Dean, trumpeter deluxe, says, for in- stance, Anvil Chorus heads the list. Tastes also include particular affection for Begin the Beguineu Cmemories attached thereto, they sayj, Jersey Bounce Cat least thirty percent of the crew comes from Frank Hague's statej, and People Will Say We're In Love Ca little number from the show Oklahoma , which has been going great guns on all-but- forgotten Broadwayj. Other members of the hot Bachs include Paul Bowerson, bass and tuba, George Cata- lanotto, drums, Delmar Fleely, trombone, Richard Miller, trumpet, Marvin Schneider, sax, Henry Taylor, clarinet, Joseph Suldo, sax and clarinet, Louis Thomas, trumpet, Billy Tilson, sax and clarinet, Leo Warila, trombone. Added to the musicians at quarters are F rank Banyas, sax, Eustolio Garcia, bari- tone, Elston Hall, sax, Charles Hall, tuba, William Prophet, trumpet, Louis Uzee, French horn, George Meredith, drums. H g . Pf'!s rf 'e ' L i

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Naval Academy Class of 1930. Leading assist- ant to the Navigator since the ship's com- missioning has been Lieutenant Parker Smith, formerly attached to the U.S.S. California. Charles E. Hahne, a chief quartermaster when the ship was commissioned, aided Lieutenant Smith in training the quartermasters. Hahne was promoted to Boatswain and transferred back' to the USA early in 1944. Under his supervision, quartermasters and strikers be- gan their training program. THE QUARTERMASTERS: Wheelhorse of the pilot house, indispensable aid to the Navigator Qwho is also the ship's Education Off-icerj, an all 'round man in the know on the quarterdeck or the bridge is the quarter- master. His rating badge is often a deceiver: a lot of other people look upon the quarter- master as the helmsman simply because there's a pilot's wheel sewn on his-sleeve. While he is supervisor of the helm, it is actually one of his lesser duties. He has a notebook to keep, he handles telephone traffic to the 1 i l E i lf fr li I i bridge, he presides over the intercommunica- tion telephone systems leading to and from the bridge, and he answers an average of 2,193 questions a day Cnot counting the im- portant onesj, most of which are indirectly directed at the Officer of the Deck, a man' whose job has no counterpart on shipboard. For these obvious reasons and additional veiled reasons, the quartermaster is a care- ff-fi -------'A:I.,,j,l -'j l fully chosen and well-trained man. Ev from above-average intelligence to a person outlook on life is pretty well requiiw, The Bunker Hill's N Division grew fram a group of energetic, willing seamen who built themselves around several old sea-goerg, Their initial training--and many of them were seeing their first sea-going vessels on these trips--came in Boston Harbor, where arrange. ments were made to have the men stand quartermaster watches on harbor craft--just for the experience and hell of it all. They aided pilots and tug skippers in maneuvering small craft in and out of wet slips, they charted make-shift courses to and from outer harbor points, and they recorded with dili- gence the activities of Tug X and AYB. After ,.......,....---we 5 S --1 L A! My 17' the ship moved into South Boston Navy Yard they stood practice watches on the quarter- deck of a sister carrier. On lazy afternoons they listened to lectures, practiced using nav- igational equipment, and learned the differ- ence between various tables. By the time the Bunker Hill was ready for sea, the quartermasters were all willing and waitingg and it didn't take long for their laborious efforts to show unmistakable signs of thor- oughness. .Much credit for the shaping of the N Dlvision goes to Boatswain Hahne, whose 1908! was' filled by George Butler, Chief Quarter' master, Carly in the year. These men invaluable assistants to Division Oliilcer Smiths Other men who have contributed Iiibmily

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i xt 9.- ai fr' ef f SUPPLY i i ' A huge and sometimes thankless task was theirs to perform The complex clzaracter mf an aircraft carrier places upon its Supply Department a drvfrsiq of demands and responsibilities that at once defies imagination and excites respect. housands of miles at sea, the sudden need for a powder puff-for a radio- man's helmet !-a set of jeWeler's tools, a three-inch slugging wrench, or ten crisp, untouched dollar bills must be met with equal ease. Pack the average needs of every industry and household of a medium- sized town into a single ship, and you get an approximation of what the Supply De- partment represents. The perplexities of maintaining such a stock of varied supplies, stores and spare parts, and of recording and accounting for each item, are obvious. Exacting thoroughness, precision estimates and keen supervision of distribution must characterize the operation of such a vast or- ganization, and have on the Bunker Hill. The ship's first Supply Officer, Commander C. M. Charneco, took over his duties with consci- entious efhciency upon reporting aboard in early pre-commissioning days, and he gathered about him a stall' of officers and enlisted men who soon put into operation the department ,, - ....-.Q-me-ms.. that has served the ship and its personnel admirably throughout long periods in com- bat areas, far from sources of supply. Tartar to try the mettle of any Supply Department, and particularly one in process of being organized, is the problem of estimat- ing the type and number of replacements necessary for the operation of a new combat aircraft. In this respect Commander Char- neco and his men deserved a heavy hand of applause for the way that they studied failufC reports and requisitions during the early dayS of operation, which resulted in the stocking of correct quantities and types of material needed while operational bugs still were being ironed out in the planes. Such fore- sight, however, was applied to fproblems Of every department. In September, 1944, Lieutenant Command- er E. S. Tharpe reported aboard to relicvv Commander Charneco, highly praising the organization which he took over. The Supply Department, organizationlllfv 'eff ..Li . 'I-Egg' fi' Q, V Tia . v : D-I