Dashiell (DD 659) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 28 text:

first operation against the enemy since returning to the Seventh Fleet. On the 15th ships of task force 77, which she operated with in April and to which she was now reassigned, were to land troops at two points on Morotai Island, just to the northeast of the strong apanese base at Hal- mahera. Seizure of the island, planned to occur simultaneously with land- ings at Palau, was for the purpose of establishing air and minor naval facilities to support further operations to the northward. The Morotai and Palau forces were to be supported by fast carrier groups of the Third Fleet. The Morotai attack force included two escort carrier units, two cruis- er units fone of them Australianfy , and two transport units, all with their escorting destroyers. The initial landings were to be followed by four reinforcement groups, of which the DASHIELL was assigned to the sec- ond. Enroute to Morotai the '659 was detached to pick up five LST's at Maffin Bay, Dutch New Guinea. The night before arrival the DASH- IELL went to general quarters for an unidentified aircraft that later left the afea without causing trouble. At 0600 on the 18th, with Morotai in sight, a Japanese dive bomber attacked the formation, dropping a bomb harmlessly 200 yards from an LST. It then escaped into the clouds, the DASHIELL witholding fire to avoid placing bursts over the formation. At 0715 the ships reached Pitoe Bay and the DASHIELL commenced patrolling while the LST's proceeded into the beach. At 1130 she took over picket duty off Halmahera, relinquishing it at sunset to patrol east,- ward of Morotai. Next morning she reassumed the picket station and re- turned to Pitoe in the afternoon. At 1815 the ship stood out with five other escorts and nine LST's, headed for Hollandia. Three unidentified planes flew over the formation at 1930 and were taken under fire by shore batteries on Morotai. The ships reached Humbolt the morning of 24 September. The 659,' replenished her provisions, stores, and ammunition, and was un- derway again for Morotai on the 26th. Enroute the DASHIELL was de- tached twice, once at Maifin Bay to pick up some liberty ships and later at Biak Island to bring two more LST's into the formation. In the early morning of 1 October the echelon reached Morotai. Throughout the day the DASHIELL screened the LST,s unloading on the beach and formed with the returning echelon at 1300. On the way back she stayed with a submarine contact the night of 3-4 October. No

Page 27 text:

1? fm. Q1 iv. n 1 VS . X... .. Q ii:.1-f .I vs .. -. .- -ape -vs., H. . M 5554 ' M1 193 ,-+1 M fs: ' At 0840 on 14 August the DASHIELL was underway again with two other destroyers and six transports, bound north for the Solomons. 48 hours later the escorts were detached oH Guadalcanal and proceeded to Purvis Bay. On the morning of 17 August the DASHIELL stood out of Purvis, headed this time for Humboldt Bay, Dutch New Guinea, in company with the U. S. S. Stevens. Hollandia, in whose occupation the 659 had participated only four months before, was now firmly estab- lished as an American supply base, and already other New Guinea bases to the westward had been wrested from the Japanese. The two destroyers reached Humboldt at 0730 on the 21st, the DASHIELL reporting for duty to the Commander Seventh Amphibious Force. Hollandia had been transformed since April. Men who went ashore saw scenes comparable to pioneer days in America. Everywhere the un- tiring C. B.'s and Army Engineers were working miracles in the midst of a primeval forest. A rough pathway leading inland through hills and wilderness to the airstrip had taken the Japanese many hours to travel. This was now a two-lane thoroughfare, as busy as any highway at home, over which the trip could be made in less than an hour. DASHIELL men who traveled it were amazed at the buildings and camps sprung up from' nowhere that housed tens of thousands of troops. Stories of the occupation were legion: - - of the starved enemy who sneaked out of the woods into our chow lines, of the American troops who subsisted on K rations and Japanese cigarettes, of the Japanese who waited to see the end of an American movie from his place of concealment before giving himself up. Souvenir hunting reached its zenith. The DASHIELL's crew had to comb already well searched areas or buy at substantial prices from C. B.'s and soldiers. However they managed to bring back to the ship Japanese cigarettes, uniforms, flags, post cards, airplane parts, pay records, candy, and invasion currency as well as native spears and boat models. The DASHIELL was at anchor till noon of the 27th, when she pro- ceeded to Alexishafen, British New Guinea, to pick up an LST that she escorted to Manus Island. At Manus she took on fuel and supplies and was underway at 1630 on 30 August. Enroute back to Humbolt she suc- cessfully conducted a full power run and arrived on the 31st. During the next two weeks the ship made three sorties from Humbolt Bay for training purposes. At 1630 on 13 September the DASHIELL got underway for her r'- 6 f ig? . 1 ' g ' F954 ii-Y stew' V 1 ug. 1 111't.f. . f , -:if ,

Page 29 text:

Mg, 1 iw! 2.431 , liz 4-M. 'I' rx 'fit , yi . ' it' T . 11, .if ff . P'-'FII 1 A I ig:-5'?if1e'. . - .Sf 'iv a ssi, 1 '28, .kQ2'y'1 'fs A. Q A? , ' f ,b?:1.'!iAE1L. , , . asm' s ' attacks were made, as it was believed friendlyg this was confirmed in the morning. The ship anchored in Humbolt at noon of the 5th. Now that the offensive had been successfully carried west to the Dutch Indies, the strategists could turn their eyes toward the Philippines. In preparation for future operations the DASHIELL conducted ex- ercises with PT boats, in company with ships of her division, on the afternoon of 8 October, with simulated torpedo attacks taking place that night. On 10 October the DASHIELL stood out to rehearse a landing op- eration for the invasion of the Philippines, which was to take place later that same month. The rehearsal took place at Tanahmerah Bay, already familiar to the DASHIELL. Upon arrival the 'G659 took station in her assigned fire support station while the transports conducted a practice landing. The group returned to Hurnbolt late in the afternoon. The scope of the coming operation was comparable to that of some of the most ambitious invasions of the war. The attack force was to trans- port, protect, land, and support elements of the Sixth Army for the pur- pose of assisting in the occupation and development of the Leyte Gulf area in the Philippines. D-Day was to be 20 October. On D minus 3 Rang- er units would land on Homonhon and Dinagat Islands to seize control of the harbor entrance. Then on D-Day there were to be simultaneous landings. The northern attack force, Task Force 78, would land in the San Ricardo - Palo area of Leyte, while the southern one, Task Force 79, would land in the Dulag area. The landings were to be assisted by bombardment, fire support, minesweeping, close covering and escort car- rier groups and followed up by reinforcement groups. The group with which the DASHIELL had rehearsed fTask Group 78.31 was an element of the northern attack force called the Panaon Attack Group. It was to land assault forces in the area of a 200 yard wide strait separating the southern tip of Leyte from Panaon Island. Control of this strait was essential to prevent the Japanese movements against our shipping and to afford a passage for our own forces in subsequent operations. On the afternoon of 13 October the DASHIELL was underway with ships of Task Force 78 bound for the Philippine Islands. It was signifi- cant that the invading forces were all operating from bases acquired from the .Iapanese during the past year. The entire Task Force rendezvoused on the 15thg the resulting disposition, formed by scores and scores of 75'