Dashiell (DD 659) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 12 text:

4-5 On 13 November the task group set forth for its objective: the Gil- bert Islands. This visit would afford the DASHIELL a chance to observe Tarawa Atoll a great deal more intimately than had been possible dur- ing her hurried call two months before. V ln the early morning of 20 November the DASHIELL, in company with her division flagship, the U. S. S. Ringgold, followed two mine- sweepers into Tarawa lagoon to lend counter battery and close support- ing fire for the troop landing and to be on hand for call Hres until the island's occupation. Japanese resistance was heavier than had been pre- dicted, and as the DASHIELL entered the lagoon twelve batteries were still in operation, though their fire was slowed somewhat by the im- mense quantities of dust and smoke raised by the air strikes and naval bombardments. The ship received no direct hits, but near misses and close AA bursts resulted in her subjection to a continuous rain of shrap- nel. When one of the larger fragments was subsequently discovered lodg- ed in the foremast, the comment was overheard: Well, fellows, there's a hunk of the Sixth Avenue El . It was doubtless some embittered critic of foreign policy. When at 0830 the last medium calibre shore battery was silenced, the DASHIELL moved in to the intimate range of 2500 to 4000 yards to deliver prearranged, interdiction, and later call fires. At sunset the ship withdrew to a picket station southwest of Betio Island. For the ship's doctor the day had been one that contrasted vividly with his normal cruising routine. Though only one of the DASHIELUS crew had been injured by a fragment, nineteen seriously wounded ma- rines were brought -aboard for emergency treatment. It was grim evi- dence of the battleis fury. The medical officer and his corpsmen per- formed their duties ably, and none of the patients died while in their care. Until noon of the 22nd the DASHIELL was under orders of the screen commander, during which time Japanese planes were sighted and fired upon. During the morning of the 21st the ship was assigned a patrol sector whose point of origin was the transport area. The waters were inadequately charted, and owing to the lowness of the land, the nearest being twelve miles away, accurate navigational fixes could not be obtained. At 1035, with the ship making 20 knots, main battery con- trol suddenly reported a coral patch on the port bow. The Captain was on the bridge and gave Right hard over rudder , ringing up stop on both engines. Time was too short, however, and with a jar that racked 5 Qi

Page 11 text:

+- as .cv f .E . . 1 - f f . t :tx I ,af Q V 1 L , if .P 'A lc fi 5 -ft f if f 5 I 1' If 15 al , Y' 1 ' 3 ' gf: i gd ,U My ek? V. ,, N 1 Q si ' QA f , ug , 1 5 'w n. algi 5' -Ke A 3-,SA , J 2 . 1, fl- , 5 Q . f A ,,. , I -ff-as., ' Q. - .nr 'NM . , I f 1, X ' ' it V, in fs, 5 'N ,, Q- -- ff x-wwfig. 5 QQ - 4 1 ' in F ff' 'fif , k ., 2 . fs.- ry e.-, ff ' 'I l'--' vc, i x.- -.f.,,..: as 1-iw. 'W rzjlfl-feffr, 5' 7 - 'V f S 75 iw E 'Nt K fx- , .sg IELL, its pilot motioning toward the water. The plane, whose landing gear was inoperative, thereupon made a crash landing and the DASH- IELL stood by to recover the pilot. The latter proved to be a happy-go- lucky individual, quite unruffled by his experience as he paddled about in his small rubber boat. At dusk a lone enemy plane flew high over- head, at too great an'altitude for gunfire. Retirement was commenced shortly thereafter, and at 0645 on 7 October the DASHIELL secured from a fatiguing 63 hour general quarters. On ll October the ship was back in Pearl. After Wake the DASHIELL was assigned to other types of duty, and the thrill her men had felt on looking into the darkness to see the wing lights and fiery exhaust flames of a powerful pre-dawn air strike just off the carriers gave way to new forms of experience. For the 'G659 ', as for many other new fleet units, these raids had been a testing ground for new-found power. On the basis of such trials it was reasonable to expect that offensive actions of greater size and more permanent results would be in the offing. The DASHIELUS participation in shore bom- bardment practice on 19 October presaged events soon to come. mama .Z On 21 October the USS DASHIELL steamed out of Pearl Harbor with a powerful task group of four battleships, four cruisers, three carriers, and fourteen destroyers that in turn formed a part of Task Force 53. The destination was Efate, southernmost of the New Hebrides group, where these ships of the assault group were to conduct training exer- cises preparatory to the most ambitious operation that the DASHIELL had yet been party to. Efate's Havannah Harbor, once a sleepy colon- ial outpost, had been transformed into a bustling and well equipped naval base. On arrival, however, the ship's company had to content themselves with contemplating the tropical setting from afar. Since they already possessed details of the forthcoming action, visits to the naval base were considered out of the question, let alone excursions to the settlement of Vila on the other side of the island, where certain French mesdemoiselles of liberal outlook were said to be established. The period from arrival on 5 November till a week later was given over to rehearsal of landing operations at nearby Meli Bay, during which time the '6659 became acclimated to the duties that assignment to a fire support section involved. 6 F 5 1? : YT.,1? , -' 'ey-my , Ni

Page 13 text:

her from stem to sternpost, the USS DASHIELL grounded in a patch of coral pinnacles and sand 300 by 150 yards in area. Fuel and salt water ballast were jettisoned, and at 1302, forty-fiveminutes after high water, the ship was floated and pulled clear by her own motor whale- boats. At least the chart could be made a little more informative now. As a result of damage sustained to the screws, vibration became ex- cessive at speeds over fourteen knots. In addition the sound gear and Pit log were rendered inoperative, and a six-inch slit was opened in the bottom shell plating. The crew took the casualty in their stride, though, and were eager for another opportunity to hurl more steel at Japanese still opposing the unrelenting advance of our Marines. This chance was afforded at noon the next day when the 'G659,' was ordered back into the lagoon to deliver call fires till sunset. She resumed firing at 0600 the fol- lowing morning and maintained an active battery until our troops final- ly reached the end of the island at 1300. During the occupation of Tarawa naval bombardment was an in- dispensable element of the troops' successful progress. Centers of de- termined enemy resistance, often inaccessible to air strikes, could be silenced by the concentrated fire power of the Navy's mobile artillery. On occasion, when a Japanese gun position had thus been rendered in- active, it would fall the lot of a C. B. bulldozer to inhume the recalcit- rant defenders in their self-made graves. The DASHIELUS contribution to the success of the Tarawa action was a credit to her name. In addition to prearranged and call fires, she accounted for five to seven shore batteries, several active pill boxes, num- erous congregations of the enemy, and an ammunition dump. The crew, who had eaten and slept on station during most of the operation, dis- played a coolness and coordination of effort worthy of veteran campaign- ers. And indeed, as the U. S. S. DASHIELL proceeded from Tarawa lagoon at 1600 on 23 November and set her course once again for Pearl, her men and officers could truly call themselves veterans. Enroute to Pearl Harbor the 4'659 ' and other destroyers were screening the U. S. S. Mississippi and a number of transports. The big ships' crews would have been a shade less complacent, perhaps, had they known that one of the trim destroyers in which they reposed so much confidence could make no more than fourteen knots and had inoperative submarine-detecting equipment. But on 3 December the voyage end- ed at Pearl without incident, possibly excepting certain crew members 5