Columbia (CL 56) - Naval Cruise Book

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K' ld ex A , I'-.lkff'J -ff' 49 gl fnw TSN! ,H llflElllkXXX5EUll fam ,radar E gathered 1n the motor launches for the tr1p to our home for the next three months The coxswam gave the three fateful bells and we backed out of the shp and headed 1nto Narragannsett Bay for the USS COLUM BIA we knew we were at last completmg the plans of our whole Navy career up to thxs pomt we were on our way to sea For some lt was an old exper1ence but for many lt was new For a varymg perrod of months none less than twenty elght we had wo1ked toward a goal to go to sea as a Naval oflicer We were reachrng that goal but we had been robbed of a lot of our fechng of achlevement for were we really olhccrs 9 Perhaps though 1f we worked hard we rrnght yet become real officers The launch moved toward our sh1p We looked at lt wondcrmgly How would lt be? How would the quarters be? How much hberty would we get? How would the food be? Would we be laughed at? What sort of pos1t1on would vxe hold? A m1ll1on quest1ons and t1me alone were answered dehmtely and completely We came aboard Some used the starboard gangway others struggled uncertalnly up the port ladder loaded w1th numerous envelopes golf clubs tenn1s rackets and yo yo s We faced the colors saluted turned to the officer of the deck and saluted We were aboa1d What d1d the name COLUMBIA mean to you? Was lt just a place to eat and sleep and gr1pe about the chow? Was lt just somethmg to keep your feet out of the ocean? To some fifteen 4 'J-X . 4 X 3 at V ffl Ea Q V 4' , 0 D 'V ' 'A' ' f Z ik -lv Q F.: , f' :lx ' w 0 ' l r K f l 5 As the sharp, cold salt air struck our nostrils, would answer them, and all of our questions

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then came on again behind him. By the morn- ing, we were ready, come what may. Fall ing and the blue clad, red eyed ranks stood fast, in a fair imitation of a military form- ation. Piled in front of each platoon was a mountainous mass of gear, the result of the previous nights work. In each hand was a manila envelope-the Navy's stamp for the newly commissioned. Past the trucks we Bled, straining to lift the packs into the waiting arms of the working party, then on to form again, and stand in readiness to march down to the landing. The order was not long in coming-not more than thirty minutes . . . so humming Chickory Chick and marching to a waltz rhythm, the Columbia Detail stumbled onward in their journey. Past the library, where qualms of conscience touched those who had neglected to return books 3 the Rec Hall, scene of those midweek beer parties, past the infamous OHicer's Club wherein many a gay evening had been spent, laden with wine, women and song, and to those who had a more serious turn of mind, to study +Study of the liquid capacities of various con- tainers, all of them human. Foremost of these scientists was V. Miner, Hydraulic Engineer. Then the clear morning air was rent asunder with a violent noise. Those of us who are more of the sensitive type quivered, while all felt qualms of some sort. A large group of men stood off to one side, blowing, twisting, beating, and wringing strange noises from a variety of objects which they held in their hands. Music, a bystander said. Being of agreeable nature, we concurred. Band, said the same character. Again we nodded. After waiting patiently through the better part of an hour, and watching innumerable boats come and go to other ships, watching a draft of Training Station stewards mates em- bark in a covered launch, and a LCM leave several times, loaded variously with cabbage, meat and canned carrots, we finally were herded aboard our waiting boat, and man! we were drawing sea pay. Ou7'f6eTL

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it may have been, but a ship is more than that. It is a home away from home, everyone aboard was a member of the family whether we liked it or not. And it is a family that tolerates no drones-every man must be the breadwinner. Ask the plank owners whether or not the COLUMBIA was a good house, whether she ever failed in time of stress. True, she was not built as we would build our home: unseen by the future tenants from the laying of her keel in August, 1940, to the final commissioning exercises in August, 1942. But she housed the men that lived, prayed, and died together in the years to follow. The Gem's chance to prove herself was not long in coming. After her shakedown cruise in September and October of' 1942 she proceeded to the Pacific, and joined a group of seven other cruisers and four destroyers. With the later sixteen arrival of other units, Task Force 18 was formed and carried out extensive operations during the Solomons campaign. Transferred later to Cruiser Division 12, she continued operations in the Solomons area, participating in the attacks on New Britain and New Guinea. Not until April, 1944, did she turn for home. Thus finished the first battle cruise of the COLUMBIA. She had been through the Solomon Islands campaign, and had seen the first signs of a change in the tide of the Pacific war. She was now a fighting ship. Leaving the dockyards in the latter part of August, 1944, the COLUMBIA started on her second battle cruise-this time to the Palau Islands to support that invasion. From thence to the Seventh Fleet, and Philippine operations along the east coast of Leyte, in the middle of October. In the lead Task Group, the COLUM-