Columbia (CL 56) - Naval Cruise Book

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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-

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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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BIA and the DENVER are believed to be the first major U. S. surface units to see the Philip- pines since the occupation. While at Leyte, she was in the thick of the famous battle of the Surigao Strait, during which she was credited with assisting in the sinking of two BB's, one CL, and one DD. The Gem progressed from Leyte to Mindanao and then Lingayen Gulf, and it was here that she took the punishment of three Kamikaze planes. The results of this were the silencing of turrets three and four, loss of steering control, the flooding of nine compartments, the loss of the forward directors for both main and secondary batteries, plus a number of casualties. It was February, 1945, that a battered but undefeated COLUMBIA arrived in San Pedro for repairs, the hero of many a Stateside newspaper reader. Back to the Pacific in May, the COLUMBIA aided in the invasion of Borneo, and then pro- ceeded to patrol the China Sea. Then peace! The third and last battle cruise of the COLUM- BIA was completed. The COLUMBIA has now completed its fourth cruise-a voyage to train the men who may someday have the duty and honor of pro- tecting their nation. It was commanded and administrated by such able men as Captain B. B. Adell, an old submarine man, Commander H. F. Gorski, Executive Officer, and Com- mander F. O. Iffrig, Navigator, and the cruise was made more enjoyable and purposeful by Chaplain T. H. Bodie and Lieutenant Com- mander L. E. Bromberick. And though crowded, it was a home after all, and one that fulfilled every criteria for a 'Lhouse on the sea. We hope that we did as well as a 'ffamilyfl Our first act after coming aboard was to determine the location of our bunks and lock- ers. The compartment numbering system that had once been so clear again became an unin- telligible mass of digits and letters. We wan-