Denver (CL 58) - Naval Cruise Book

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Tlic Detachment W ' assil, Johnston, Hering, Place, Greenman Lt. Frey and Lt. Miner Inspection hy Lt. Frey Marine AA Creti ' Present Arms on

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officers as orderlies together with interior guard duty constitute the mam duties of the sea-going Marine However, they have also acted as orderlies during the several Sum- mary Courts-Martial which have taken place on board the Dcmcr. The standards main- tained bv the ( ' inrir Marine Guard have shown the efficiency so necessary in the suc- cessful operation of a warship. Commanding the Denver ' s Marine Detach- ment at the war ' s close was 1st Lt. W. H. Frey, formerly of the Twenty-fourth Regi- ment of the Fourth Marine Division. Second in command was 2nd Lt. Joseph A. Bell, who came aboard from the carrier U.S.S. HiiMcocl-. Unforgettable to former members of the detachment are the names of Maj. R. M. Ash and Capt. W. T. Kuhlmey. Leaving the Denver, Ma|or Ash joined the First Marine Division. With this division he lost his life in battle on Bloody Nose Ridge during fighting for the airstrip on the island of Peleliu in the Palaus. First Lt. R R Miner of the famous Second Marine Raider Battalion was the other officer who served aboard the Dcmvr. Gunnerv Sergeant Stanley B. Place, one of the Marine Corps ' most colorful NCO s. was in direct charge of drills, and it was through his untiring effort and the sweat of his men that the Douir Marines became molded into one of the Fleet ' s topnotch de- tachments. Gunnery Sergeant Place was well qualified to impart knowledge of the Corps to his new recruits, for he had served Marine Garrisons throughout the world. Other outstanding NCO ' s were Master Gunnery Sergeant H. Sample and Platoon Sergeant John Wassil. The smart military appearance and cour- tesy so evident in the ranks of the DiMiyt Marines will always remain a highlight when this famous ship ' s name is mentioned. PACIFIC LIBERTY LIBERTY in the Pacific was conspicuous i mainly for its absence. During almost three years of Pacific warfare until V-J Day, the number of liberty ports for the Denver could be counted on your fingers. After by-passing Hawaii, the first stop for the Dnu ' cr was Bora Bora with its beautiful blue- green water breaking on the beach and the colorful jungle beyond. All hands were granted swimming over the side, but only the PO ' s and the officers were allowed to go ashore and investigate the native village. The same arrangement for liberty was the case at Noumea, New Caledonia, where the PO ' s tried their hand on the French girls with high school French, but they did not get very far with it. While other ships were busily engaged in running the slot, the DtiiiiT steamed down to Havana Harbor and made an at- tempt to sink the Rock with little success. Here was nothing but jungle and a beer stand. The only good attributes of the place were the wild oranges and cocoanuts free for the picking and the occasional plane rides the men were able to pick up from the air- strip. It was here that CruDiv 12 became known as The Hollywood Squadron ' because the crew went into whites promptly at leOOdailv. {28}

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Easter at Grande Cflptijin Bledsoe Denver BmiJ at Sxthic Lt. SclmiHc ami Duffy on GraiiiK ' iO}