Catamount (LSD 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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Ensign Norman A. Nelson, First division officer, received his commission at OCS, Newport, R. I., in July, 1933, after having served ten months as an enlisted man in recruit training and qjarterma- ster school. He was graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1952 with a degree in educa ' .ion. Ensign Nelson ' s home is in Tuleta, Texas. He was roughnecking in the Texas oilfields before entering the service. He reported aboard the Ca ' .mount in September, 1953. Chief Boatswain Chester O. Raney ente- red the Navy in January, 1929, and was commissioned in 1943 while serving in the U3S Chamcnt ' AP-5 . Other assignments during his twenty-four years in the service, before coming to the Catamount in October, 1952, were in the USS Idaho (BB-42 , UoS Cincinnati (CL-6), USS Sapelo (AO-11), USS Canisteo (AO-99 ' , USS Kennebec AO-36), USS Topeka iCL-67), USS Prairie (AD-15 ' , and at the U. S. Naval Air Station, San Diego, the Naval Construction Training Center, Williamsburg, Va., and the Naval Train- ing Center, San Diego. He was also a member of Admiral Byrd ' s expedition in 1946 to the South Pole. Chief Boat- swain Raney is married and his home is in San Diego, California. Ensign J. Harry Jones, Second division officer, received his commission in July, 1953, at Newport ' s OCS after eight months of enlisted service. A graduate of Beloit College (Wis.) where he majo- red in English composition he was employed as a newpaper reporter in Kansas City before entering the service. Ensign Jones reported aboard the Cata- mount in September, 1953. He is married. Carol A. Tha= ' :or, DM ' . Wiiiuni P. (; iii p, (,-;m. - 46 -

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DECK A Landing Ship Dork is a working ship and the men that actuate her missions and siiouldcr her glories or grievances are the men ol ' tiic Deck department. On call twenty-four hours a day to coxwain boats, operate cranes, secure for bad weather, tlic First and Second di isions liave the added responsibility of maintaining tlic appearance and preservation of the slii]). When thcN ' are not lioisting in the gig, rccci ing a YW alonside to port, or manning number 3 LCVP on the double, they are standing watchs as lookout, messenger, wingwall and foc ' slc sentry, after-steering, Ixjatswain ' s mate of the watch, or JOOD. They go over the side on stages, chip paint, wire brush, paint, scrub. They handle lines, shift the gangway from side to side, rig the boom, walk LCU ' s into the well, secure the ship to its buoy, tic her up to a pier, tend the anchor, rig the paravanes, hoist with the crane anything that needs hoisiing, and on and on. The First division is responsible for all the work to starboard and the Second division for all the wf)rk to port. Included are the aforementioned duties plus the constant, never-ending maintenance of the uingwalls, well deck, and numerous passageways. The guimer ' s mates and strikers arc officially a part of tlic First division yet their duties with respect to the 5 ' 38, si.x .40 mm., and l vci c .20 mm. mounts and the magazines and clipping rooms keep them occupied every working day. It seldom matters whether there is snow, rain, high winds, or uncomfortable heat. The men of these ilivisions do their job, sometimes trying to remember what sleep is, fighting a constant battle against the a]ipearance of rust and salt-water corrosion, wondering how soon before the word will be passed again for the First or Second division to man the starboard or port crane, or lay down to the starboard or port wingwall to do this or that. There is satisfaction from the work, thougii, for the results are self-evident and e erprcscnt before the eyes of all. The work is done and it is done well, and there is the realization that in a Navy that is leaning more and more toward specialization, the sailor that is nearest still to the old traditions of seaman- ship and nautical know-how is in the Deck department. The proper knots to tie, how to lift many tons of equipment, boat handling, the state of the sea and the weather. Rules of the Road - all these are required of his knowledge. A Seaman is a seaman, a deck sailor is the Navy ' s ;ailor, and the satisfaction thus derived is no small matter. Lt. j. g. E. A. Bloomquist, ship ' s First Lieutenant until his departure in February, was commissioned through the NROTC program at Colorado University in February, 1951. From the time he received his commission until March, 1953, when he reported aboard the Catamount, he served aboard the USS Bayfield (APA-331. His wife and child, born during this cruise, lived in Williamstown, Mass., until he was released from active duty. Lt. j. g. John R. K! ::.;.has served on the Catamount since , ,,, -,. ' : u was commissioned through the NROTC program at New Mexico University where he majored in economics. Since on the ship, he has served as Second division and gunnery officer, and navigator. Lt. j. g. Miller ' s home is Birmingham, Michigan. He is married. — 45 —

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FIRST DIVISION Afkins Charlie E., BM2 Alvis, Frederick A., SN Ellis, William E., SN Hampton, Charles P., SN Bailey, ColleU F., BMJ Bynum, Ronald E., SN Evans, Joyce M., SN Hargreaves, Edward M., SN Bowman, Robert G., BM3 Chapman, Eddie, SA Evans, Walter N., SN Jennings, Jack F., SN triesr. Sniriey M., BMo Ciandro, Joseph V., SN Gilbreath, Eldon F., SA Lewallen, Melvin O., SN — 47