Dashiell (DD 659) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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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

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.pg who reputedly swallowed their uppers as a result of the ship's accentu- ated vibration. When the ship went into drydock the afternoon of the third, Tara- wa was almost forgotten in the excitement of predicting the possible se- quel to the DASHIELUS grounding. The ship was docked for twenty- four hours and then shifted berths. On the morning of 5 December she was underway again conducting speed trials to determine the condition of the hull and engineering plant. During that afternoon and the fol- lowing day hopes, rumors, and speculations ran riot. On 7 December, the second anniversary of our entry into the war, the decision became known, and at 1415 the DASHIELL got underway to join a four-ship convoy bound for San Francisco, U. S. A. On the night of 14-15 De- cember she stood into the wintry mists of San Francisco Bay. The great bridge towering into the night, the clustered lights of the city, and the biting air were a moving welcome to the men of the DASHIELL. The ship was in port only twenty-four hours, which was time enough for most of the crew to become initiated to the enticements of the Golden Gate City. Then orders were received to proceed to the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington. The 659 got underway at 1000 on the 16th, arriving at her new destination in the afternoon of 18 De- cember. The fog, snow, and cold of Puget Sound were a far cry from Honolulu and Efate. ' From 19 December 1943 till 23 January 194-4 the DASHIELL was drydocked at Bremerton undergoing extensive repairs and alterations, all hands receiving hard-earned but far-too-brief leaves. The weeks at Bremerton provided a host of memories: daybreak viewed wearily through the stale cigarette smoke of the Seattle ferry, the nocturnal clat- ter of welders, chippers, and riveters which precluded sleep, night spots where ice and mixers were sold to bottle-laden customers. With the startled employees of Seattle's imposing Olympic Hotel the unpredicta- ble exploits of DASHIELL men became legendary. On 9 January an event of importance took place when the Captain, Commander J. B. McLean, was assigned command of a destroyer divi- sion and t11rned over the ship to his Executive Officer, Lieutenant Com- mander E. A. Barham. The DASHIELIIS stay in Puget Sound hardly constituted a vaca- tion for her company. Work and supervision connected with her over- haul demanded the constant attention of many hands. Then the wor- Destroyer Homeward Bound,