Dutches (APA 98) - Naval Cruise Book

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the difference between a wound d lq' 11' - towed out of range. e S lp U 1mme1Y be1nQ'su.nk qily, 'all ships strove to lessen theltime necessa ' t h ' t. - W if craft off their decks and make them safely vgdte?bo?nSe. t1Ael1rfif'n 2' osun M t ' 3 bottle-neck at number 3 hatch space with the ponderousQ3Eltg1H?21i:gZ resolutely- endeavored to lower his time. At length 27 boats were in 29 minutes. One of the younger pe ty Qff' H - a fisherman from Sea lsle City New Ierse msg' If I Wnght' then , ' I I d 'd level-headed relief hatch captain on the big Cjifmboebgimlziigtslcipqble Once waterborne, the Boat Group Commander formed his group up cmd n, under the radio directions of the Squadron Boat Group Commander lfrorn the Flag 'Ship U.S.S. San Sabal, took his boats in successive waves in .onthe narrow rock strewn beach on Maui. Much to the chagrin of its cox- hswain, one boat impaled itself on rock pinnacles, occasioning considerable salvage work and igonomimious retur naboard on an LCT, but the other 27 'landed again and again through the surf without serious difficulty. 6 Meanwhile, the Communication Officer, Lt. A. E. Crispell, Ir., U.S.N.R. was beset by the many difficulties involved in manning the multitudinous fradio circuits required in an amphibious operation. The final bit of realism 'Was furnished by several LCSCLDS fLanding Craft Support CLargeH bombard- ing the beach with rockets and then, under cover of the bombardment and their self-made smoke, the Boat Group hit the beach wave after wave in a Well planned amphibious operation. . Having successfully undergone dress rehearsal, the Laboring Lady took her weary crew back to Pearl Harbor. On the way, the gunners pounded away at aerial targets once more. The Dutchess guaranteed to give any visit- ing Nips a'warm reception. Once moored to the dock, unloading was com- pleted, the loading ofthe next lift to the westward began. The word was flashed that the l0th Army had been successfully landed in the Ryukyu- Okinawa chain of islands. f ' Chapter IV 7 ' M oKlNAwA 'l ' While the 1000 tons of equipment was being stowed in the cargo holds, by ABBD stevedores and ship's company working together, the Dutchessmen learned that this was not a combat load and the H987 would be denied the experience of an assault landing. However, the Battle for Okinawa wasto be the longest sustained Amphibious Operation in history. lt would be neces- sary for echelon after echelon of APA's and AKA's to land more supporting, trolpps food and equipment. The Dutchess was to be a fraction of one of these SC e ons There was an enhanced sparkle of enthusiasm evidenced as officers and men attended various schools ashore-fl-'ire Fighting, Gunnery, Navigation, ns, etc., there was patient good humor displayed as they CIWSDIY the running rigging whenever the shore-side stevedores fouled UP- With cargo stowed below, the Dutchess' load of supporting personnel on embarkation 5 April, to be a heterogeneous group., The seven units comprised a total of 79 officers and 975 men? The Commanding of the largest, Headron 2 Clfeadquarters Squadron Marine A1rlW1ng 27, the Commanding Officer of troops including VMF 543 CMGIIHS Night Squadronl, Logistics Support Companies 9 and 52 lNaval Negro 3 for breakdown. V c 17 i M I were required to lower 27 boats the Chief B S '

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y 'rttusmultous and squally Western Pacific Wegtf-yer. , T y e drills were heldj particularly condition l-A CDebarkqti0i13 . -4 ' . ' 1 , the gunnersf lust Opportunity to practice on aerial tar ets. - 1 Island the 26th of Apfii, T Q The Ship anchored Off erway on the 27th for the last leg of her voyage the Dutchess' fgrmed Convoy in company with the USS. Dorothy Dix CAPA-671 COTCJ U S S qApA-1703, U.s.s. sttsfssume QAPA-2059, ss. Exchange and the.S'S .Bess The escorts, composed of the U.s.s. Pofiertterd rub-eszt Uss KDD-4415, Cifld U-S-S Gfefldffifiu CDE-5393 were a formidableflbaftery Cmgyaircraft guns and anti-submarine weapons. s Q The course was now north by westg there was nothing standing between Cqnvoy and the enemy except a few picket ships. The lookouts needed no qifgirng in ottte1TflVGHGSSz the Commanding Cfficer and Officers-of-the-Deck intense concentration and ,vigilance as for the first time they must fsteerl the Dutchess while zigzagging at night in a tight formation and frequent rain squalls blotting out visibility, radar was invaluable. Cross- mg the ,Tropic of Cancer, the Dutchess left the tropics behindg the weather steadily becoming cooler, all hands were poised for action. lonely outposts came flowing in a an in reasing rate Early on the morning of the lst of May the Dutche s passed close by the spot where the hospital USS Comfort CAH SD had suffered many dead and wounded from a Kamikaze plane attack the preceding day The target was at hand lt was Love Day plus 30 fl May l9115l The rumble and thud of the heavy guns were felt before land was signied Entering the China Sea the formation closed Okinawa Shima s southwest coa t at Hagushi Beach steaming in column fsingle filel in 'order to make all guns clear for action. , 'Orange-red dots of -flame now accompanied the thuds and pierced the rainy murk. Okinawa's jumbled d-ark-green clad hills rising in the overcast were alive with smoke and flame. A.s the squadron sailed north up the west coast, close by the battle lines outside of Naha, the volume of fire and intensity of eicplosive noises grew. Battleships and cruisers pointed their large N16-inch, l49inch, 8 and Seinch gun barrels into the hillswith deliberation sent salvo after salvo crashing ashore. From the ltlth Army positions many guns poured their fire southward into the smoke. From the lap lines to the south, bright orangeflashes were followed by an express train roar and either a crumpi flame, and great column of earth if ashore, or resulted in a great spout or Waterjif a ship was the target. This ubiquitous hammer, roar, crack, thud, throb-trob-throb of the artillery dual was never ending. . The great concentration of American Shipping at HCIQUSM Beech WGS' oth 'T The casualty reports from stricken picket ships,-destroyers, destroyer escorts, and LSC flranding Craft Supportl, under heavy air attack at their y T 1 C ' , ' u X I I 'F'-L V- I 'L T iff! K X- . 11- J- I Q. I u ff expo ed lnstead of being spacea in precise equidistant fleet e patterns the hundreds of unloading transports were huddled as together as possible against the beach. Surrounding, them WSIS T10 flelb er protection, but merely a meagercircle of smallgunboats to 9109053 from the open sea possible from the north, west and SOtl'fl1- 'FOI' the timed 7i1'1 their lives the Dutchessmen found themselves in a situation oveir 'the United States, its Army and Navy did not have complele C01'1l1f0 Q time, the question of survival on the morrow depended on a'strOE1Q ' - H H ,V way into the close packed huddle of ships, the 98 e drgliyi Y hoisted out her' 28 boats and 111 The Tflllflr and golfi if 4 193 in order to perfect the Dutchess techniques so at t' ' the target On entering the Marianas Island water S O preven '