Dashiell (DD 659) - Naval Cruise Book

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and nearby vessels. As a result of direct hits from the main and second- ary batteries of the 4'659 , the plane crashed in the water. During the action six of the ship's company received shrapnel wounds, in recogni- tion for which they were later awarded Purple Hearts, and one of the searchlights was damaged. Two of the injured men were transferred next day for further hospitalization. It is believed that the casualties resulted from the firing of other ships in the harbor rather than from the plane's strafing attack. ' The ship's length of time in the combat areas was by now showing itself in numerous minor material casualties. On Christmas Eve the DASHIELL got underway again for Humbolt Bay, where she was to receive tender availability for routine repair and maintenance work. She had three days at Hollandia, and on the morning of,31 December was underway for another important operation. The second morning out, leaders of the ship's war bond drive were given prizes for their re- markable record in achieving 96.178 participation and an average in- vestment per man of over 353900. On the morning of 2 January 1945 rendezvous was effected with Task Group 78.5. Ships of this group were to land troops in the San Fabian area of Lingaycn Gulf on Luzon. This attack force, together with the Lingayen attack force and the reinforcement group, made up the Luzon Attack Force under the command of Vice Admiral Kinkaid. The operation was to be the initial and largest of a series which would re- sult in the seizure of the Central Luzon area, denial to the enemy of the northern entrances to the South China Sea, and provision of bases for support of further operations. This immediate goal was to establish bases by which a line of seaborne communications through the central Philippines could be maintained and from which the overland drive to Manila could be initiated. The route taken by the DASHIELUS task group was the now famil- iar one through the Mindanao Sea and up past Mindoro. Forewarned by past experience, the ship's company was ever on the alert for enemy attack. On the night of 7 January, when the ships were oif Manila Bay, starshells were seen to starboard in the vicinity of friendly picket des- troyers. As the DASHIELL stood by to proceed to the scene of action, 2 heavy explosions were observed, and word was received that a Japan- ese destroyer had been sunk. During this period there were numerous alerts for hostile planes in the area, and on the morning of the 8th, despite all precautions, a

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In the face of all these odds, personnel performance aboard the DASH- IELL was of the highest quality. Landings at Mindoro were successfully carried out on 15 December. The only further naval casualties suffered were 2 LST's that were crashed by Kamikazes. After six days during which the crew ate and spent much of their time at their stations the DASHIELL stood into San Pedro Bay the morning of the 18th. That afternoon the Admiral transferred his staff to a command ship after expressing his deep appreciation for the DASHlELL's services and performance of duty. Each time the u659 dropped anchor off Leyte, her fantail became a gathering point for native sailboats and dugout canoes of every size and type. Soon the strange sight of diminutive Filipinos in their ragged shorts and broad-brimmed straw hats padding around barefoot among the crew became a familiar one. The wares they offered were legion, al- most as much as tl1e articles which DASHIELL men produced for ex- change. Abacuses were traded for shirts, coolie hats for trousers, Jap- anese invasion currency for cigarettes, baskets for candy, souvenirs left by the recent impostors for mattresses, and so it went. Finally an order had to be issued to keep any more clothing from going over the side. Pre- vention of flashhurn, to say nothing of the demands of decency, made such a ruling mandatory. I Many of the natives were educated and intelligent and told in fluent English of the Japanese atrocities. Such stories were far more precious than souvenirs and were rewarded by countless gifts and favors for which no further recompense was asked. They also detracted significance from reports about other Filipinos who reputedly stole through the lines and delivered the fruits of their dayls barter into enemy hands. The most eager reception was reserved for the attractive Filipino girls who flashed their white teeth in smiles from boats alongside and regaled their enchanted audience with tuneful melodies. But there was a grimmer aspect to these Leyte sojourns. Even at anchor the ship kept an underway watch on stations, and usually the crew was sent to general quarters several times a day for the enemy planes that tried to sneak in unobserved, singly or in two's and three's, over the hills of Leyte and Samar. At dusk on 20 December the DASHIELL received its only casual- ties of the Philippines campaign. A Japanese bomber came in low over the anchorage and appeared to make a strafing attack on the DASHIELL Q22 0 i

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Japanese fighter appeared without warning, succeeded in getting through the heavy AA fire, and crashed head-on into one of the transports. The enemy, however, was powerless to halt the advance of the at- tack force, and on the early morning of 9 January the ships entered Lin- gayen Gulf. Her escort duties completed, the DASHIELL joined three other destroyers and commenced patrolling the entrance to the Gulf. It was an odd coincidence that the screen commander, Captain McLean, had been the DASHIELUS first commanding officer. The procedure- employed by the destroyers was to patrol the Gulf in close formation during the day and to deploy across the entrance on a line of bearing at night. There were numerous reports of and con- tacts with enemy planes in the area, the two outstanding incidents he- ing the following: On the afternoon of the 9th two uZeros were sight- ed astern of the formation. Both commenced dives from 5000 feet. The ships' heavy volume of fire caused one to retire, but tl1e second head- ed for the U. S. S. Bush. Emergency maneuvers by that vessel caused the plane to crash in the water close aboard her port quarter. The following morning, while the DASHIELL was rejoining the patrolling formation, an enemy dive bomber came up astern of her and commenced a dive. The ship increased speed to twenty-eight knots and changed course hard over to the starboard. As a result of these tactics the plane crashed in the water fifty yards off her port quarter. On the afternoon of ll January the destroyers formed in column and proceeded north at twenty-five knots to San Fernando harbor, where one large and twenty small enemy ships had been reported. On arrival the task group commander assigned the southeast portion of the harbor to the DASHIELL. The ship soon destroyed the four cargo ships in her sector and shifted fire to two fuel tanks on the beach, which were ren- dered unserviceable. Its mission completed, the task group returned to patrol station. During the remainder of her stay in Lingayen Gulf the DASHIELL on numerous occasions provided fire support and starshell illumination for our troops that were engaged with enemy in and near the town of Rosario. On 5 February she exercised at tactical maneuvers with heavy units and other destroyers in rehearsal for possible enemy counter-at- tack. At various other times the ship screened, patrolled, laid smoke screens to cover the harbor, sank a mine, and assumed investigation duty. At length, on the afternoon of 10 February, to the joy and relief of her fs'-