Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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falls naturally into four distinct divisions, with each assuming direction of its individual responsibilities but with an interdivisional elasticity essential to departmental efficiency. Disbursing: During the pre-commissioning period and through the ship's first year at sea, the cash drawer was handled by Lieu- tenant Cjgj H. G. Henry Clater lieutenantj, one-time Maryland farmer and all-time expert on budget balancing. Chief Pay Clerk G. M. Chandler, a battleship and cruiser veteran, and slim Henry The Demon Demonbreum, SK1c, were his top-drawer assistants in hand- ling the payrolls of ship and squadron per- sonnel, and the various ship's funds. In August, 1944, Ensign C. F. Jones relieved Lieutenant Henry as Disbursing Ofiicer. Aviation Stores: Lieutenant Kenneth H. McClure, S-1 division oliicer, was placed in charge of Aviation Stores upon reporting aboard in March, 1943, utilizing his commer- cial experience with airlines as well as his duty with the Aviation Supply Detail as NAS, Floyd Bennett Field, New York. Chief Pay Clerk John N. Davis became his first assist- ant, his work in assembling bulk stores prior to the ship's Shakedown playing a large part in his subsequent promotion to Lieutenant Cjgb and transfer to other duty. Chief Clerk W. H. Hargreaves reported aboard as his relief, and joined Chief Pay Clerk B. T. Karnes in that section. Chief Storekeeper, J. Y. Popeye Hayes, ship athletic booster and sometime coach, was the leading hustler in Aviation Stores, com- bining hard-headed practicality with a keen knowledge of red-tape, and directed the work of the men in various storerooms, including J. R. Lauby, B. V. Todd, Storekeepers First Class, and others. ti THE COMMISSARY CONTROL GSK and Commissary: The General Stores division handled all non-specialized sup- plies connected with the operation of the ship, from machinery to pencils, and was or- ganized and first directed by Lieutenant Jack Flannery and Chief Pay Clerk F. E. Bare. To them also fell the responsibility of con- trolling the Commissary and maintaining the mountains of food stores that packed the huge storerooms below. Commissary Steward L. C. Dubois held direct responsibility through the first ten months at sea, before winning pro- motion to Pay Clerk and receiving a transfer. Chief Commissary Steward Willie Rawe then took over the biggest pantry in the world with such extracurricular activities as provid- ing scores of sandwiches nightly for men on watch, keeping Hagons of coffee brewing around the clock, and sending thousands of 1 i 2 1 3 l I ff To 501 doughnuts topside for men held at Flight Quarter and General Quarter stations. Lieu- tenant gl Stan F. Trueblood reported aboard in September of 1944, relieving the States- bound Flannery. Few on the ship are there who have not, at one time or other, contacted the various in- dividuals who run storerooms, keep the records and make out the invoices and orders. To mention but a few, the names of P. B. Roberts and I. E. Bradley, SK1c's, leap to mind-those characters being the reception- ists of the Supply Ofiice before their trans- fers, Bradley leaving as CSK. D. V. Roberts, CSK with China Station duty in his record and a host of sea-stories at tongue's-tip, was

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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

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I il 35 it fit i l ni 'i -ii' wi 'E '1 l gi ig, 1 l I YM, ,W - .mi if il qv., .,.,. if ,rw init will :ii Q' H, :Wi , ,iii ig!-R. Cf HU-5 if f:i'.il'Ii figifil l 1 i .5 it ig fllil 1 ' i iii-- ii r V 1- 3 'i iii lui, Y .wsu-we-in ....t... .ms-.-. nfl! ' x l li.-ii ,Hg 11 .ix UZ. .,, fqqiif .,..,, fail My another colorful character. G. P. Bruce, SK1c, he of the soft Southern drawl, was the keeper of the main GSK Issue room, and CSK I. J- O'Rourke was in charge of the Small Stores where the monthly gross usually topped S1CP,O00. The cooks and bakers in the bustling galleys M H d C W Odell and were headed by J. . oo , - - ,. C. A. Remv, SC1c's, and A. C. Schmidt, Bkfic, while Jim Jufge, SK1c, and E. R. Chase, Sk2c, operated the two Ship's Stores, sea-going versions of the corner drug store. kia J 1 WARDROOM STEWARD'S MATES Part and parcel of the Supply Department, the S-2 division revolved about its division oHicer,,Lieutenant Stuart E. Hockenbury and his Wardroom Mess. Called upon to serve meals any and all hours as dictated by Hight schedules or the Condition Une Easy gunnery watches, the organization of Stewards and Steward's Mates kept pace with the fast tempo of action in combat areas. Chief Steward Frank Simmons, veteran of continuous duty since 1917, was Hockenbury's biggest aid in the training of the division of Steward's Mates, most of whom had no food-handling experi- ence before reporting to the Bunker Hill. 'Q -,tiw,u .41 The few experienced men included Cook Desnacido, and Chief Swiflfd Apeles, both of them having ests in the drive to recover the Steward lc Roy Layton, who went the fall of Singapore and assisted in the uation of refugees from that port, activities of the Wardroom pantry, lc Frank Castleberry acted as chief of bakers, and Chief Cook Charles Brown the galley. Steward llc Matt Gainer ously worked his way up to the post of Steward in the Wardroom. at Lesser known than their Wardroom were the battle station assignments of Steward's Mates. At the first bristling of Torpedo Defense, the Steward's dropped-literally, in a few recorded stances !-their Wardroom duties to dash w the magazines, deep in the heart of the or topside to the ready service to pass the ammunition. They are drilled and are trained to be able to hang! the guns if so required. Little is said, howevai of the eager young Steward's Mate anxiety to throw the last shot into a sleeve placed topside personnel of a n carrier in momentary danger, and ing chatter about what might have pened.