Daly (DD 519) - Naval Cruise Book

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V b f V - , A -vm- - -- -T -.,, , . -T----.-- -1 , af . War :H-ff-211' ' ' ' ' - '-iw-W , ' Her Adventures fcontinuedj COMMISSIONING On March 10, 1943, all preparations were n1ade for the commissioning. The officers and enlisted men lined up in ranks in full-dress uniforms to await the arrival of the commissioning party. ' The guests of the officers and enlisted men of the ship were gathered in a seating platform provided for this occasion on the dock abreast the quarter- deck. ' Upon arrival of the Commandant, Third Naval District, the commission- ing ceremonies co-mmenced. The prospective Executive Officer ordered ffAtten- tion! As all hands-came to attention the prospective Executive Officer re- ported to the Prospective Commanding Officer, ffCaptain Visser, all hands are up and aft. The Prospective Commanding Officer 'turned to the Captain of the Yard and reported, ffCaptain Mcliittrick, we are ready to proceed with the Commissioningn. All hands, proudly and smartly standing at attention, looked toward the Captain of the Yard as he requested permission from the Commandant to proceed with the commissioning. The Captain of the Yard read the Commissioning Directive and turned toward the prospective Commanding Officer and repeated, afn accordance with the instructions of the Chief of Naval Operations, l direct you, Captain Rich- ard G. Visser, to place the U.S.S. DALY in commissionw. The Prospective Commanding Officer replied with a snappy ffAye, Aye, Sir and turned toward the -crew and ordered, ffRight face., left face, about face . The officers and en- listed men then stood facing the colors as the band played the national anthem. When the band had finished playing the national anthem, the Executive Officer reported to the Commanding Officer g ffCaptain Visser, the ship has been placed in commission . The Commanding Officer immediately read- the orders and reported to the Captain of the Yard, ffl accept command of the U.S.S. DALY . Upon accepting command, the Commanding Officer ordered 6fBreak the flag of the Admiralf' The pennant was immediately hauled down and the ship rendered honors. Upon the completion of this phase of the ceremony, the Captain ordered ffSet the Watch! The Executive Officer replied with ffAye, Aye, Sir , ffset the watch, first sectionn. The first section left ranks on the double to report to their watch stations. The first officer of the deck was desig- nated and ordered to his duties. , Vice Commander in Chief, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States,,Captain Jean A. Brunner, presented to the U.S.S. DALY a portrait of Sergeant Major, Daniel Daly, U.S.M.C., the band played again and the ship rendered honors as the.Commandant left the ship, completing the ceremony. The DALY remained in the Brooklyn Navy Yard undergoing the fitting out processes. Upon completion, she sailed from the Brooklyn Navy Yard steaming out of New York Harbor en route to Newport, B. I., for torpedo-firing tests and the beginning of an intensive tour of training known as the ffshake- downw. The DALY conducted training exercises, operating at Newport, B. I., Casco Bay, Maine., down the East Coast of the United States to Puerto Bico and.C-uantanimo Bay, Cuba. From Cuba backup north again to the icy, sub- marine-infested waters of the North Atlantic, operatingout of Argentia, New' Foundland, the long period of intense training in these areas was completed, the DALY and her crew had become more familiar with each other and were ready for whatever duty awaited them. From the rough waters of the North Atlantic it was back to the good old Brooklyn Navy Yard, where well-earnedliberty made its contribution to the spirit of the crew. A few minor details were taken care 'of in the yard, and the ship once again set out to sea. As the ship steamed out o-f New York Har- bor, the boys took a good look at the beautiful city of .New York. All eyes were on the tall structure standing out in the bay, the Statue of Liberty: the sight o-f that statue made everyone proud to be a part of what it stands fori Thzrty eight X I

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I , I I I I4 u I I III Ig! .......4......A.........-... ---. ..... ..-...., II P. II II I Il! I? In I I E :I ,C I I I is I! 5 I I I I I I II z xr I ,gp II I I It E I Iii II 'I lx I I, is iv I: I. ., II II III 51, I I I MII -. -. -,.,... f ,-. ..- .... JT a n L-. 1. ....-L. I I Forty From New York, course was set for Cape Cod Canal and Massachusetts Bay. At Massachusetts Bay a rendezvous took place with other destroyers and the new Lexington, the aircraft carrier that was built to replace the older fight- ing Lex. i After a few exercises with the Lex, the ship pulled into Commonwealth Pier, Boston, and again liberty! e The ship left Boston, and course was set for Norfolk, Va. Here the Lex- ington had to go into dry dock for a number of days, and that suited the boys very well, the more liberty, the merrier. On 22 July 1943, the Lex was ready for sea, the DALY and accom- panying destroyers escorted her to the Panama Canal. Here the little force wasbroken up. The Lexington and the other destroyers went one way, the DALY the other, but not without giving the boys a taste of liberty in Colon and Balboa. There were many big heads the morning the ship departed from Balboa into the Pacific. By this time, scuttlebutt had been getting around concerning the tour of duty the ship was to serve in the Aleutian Islands. It all remained scuttle- butt until our departure from San Diego, the Captain broadcast over all cir- cuitsg uOur next port of call will be Adak, Aleutian Islands. This seemed to smell of action, fo-r only about one hour's flying time from Adak was the .I ap-held air base of Kiska. The anxious crew brought their destroyer into Kuluk Bay, Adak Island, Aleutian Islands, early in August 1943. The presence of large naval forces gathered there made it very obvious that the Japanese strong point of sKiska they had heard so much about was soon to be scratched from the list of .I ap held island bases. THE ASSAULT AND OCCUPATION OF KISKA As a unit of the United States Pacific Fleet fFirst Fleet and North Pacific Forcej the DALY was assigned to a reserve force of transports whose job was to reinforce our troops on Kiska after the initial landings. Everything ran smoothly and quietly until, just after midnight of 17 August, the general alarm was sounded and all hands leaped from their bunks and manned their battle stations. Everyone remained on his toes for an an- ticipated torpedo attack by enemy submarines. One of our destroyers suffer- ed from a violent underwater explosion. This event brought the first battle fear to the crew as they waited for information on the explosion. It was soon learned that it wasn't 'a torpedo that caused the explo-sion, but a mine. One of our ships had been seriously damaged. When the estimated number of casualties of this ship was announced there were many scared faces on board. Fighting .laps was one thing, but mines, underwater obstacles, was another. When the occupation of Kiska was completed, the ship started back to Adak for fuel, provisions, etc., for the remainder of the time in the Aleutians, the battle was against weather and mountainous seas. The ship experienced many rugged days and nights while on patrols from Adak as far as Attu. Storms in the Aleutians seemed to come from nowhere and at any time. Theswur of duty in the Aleutians lasted from August until November 1943. During this period, there were enjoyable trips as well as the unpleasant ones. The ship made a modified tour of the Aleutian Islands. lVIost of the crew had the opportunity to go ashore on Kiska. Then down to Dutch I-Iarbor, where liberty was granted, giving the'-boys the opportunity of visiting small Unalaska. For days everyone talked about the way they were robbed at a little souvenir shop at Unalaska and the brawl they had with members of the crew of one of the other ships in the squadron. From the latter part of September until our time of departure from the Aleutians, the DALY operated with a cruiser-destroyer task force of the Ninth Fleet. Nothing of importance happened during the long, tireso-me patrols. One night, while on patrol around,Attu Island, word was received that ten Jap- III ' If :I II I F - II . ' I ' 5 51, - . - I-I I I i' Yip-Hwnnrv An f . , Y