Dutches (APA 98) - Naval Cruise Book

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thetwo doctors conver d ' -. ., . , from the Kittsons Medica? ibfffgg-,r31i1?juiZg0Vf'1i1AQ the instrucf the latest penicillin treatment with the results th edllial Office' recover. enabling the two shipslto pcm Compcmgy S :he ment S of sea worsened, pounding and pounding the Lady until h h 14 L 'h th 473-f S9500 and throug Ou er ho? length- Speed was slowed to ll knots' but of the waves wrenc e two life rafts awa f th . ' the next four days, speed was constantly adjustgd fgrget tligkogiing S1131 P' ofthe Dutchess synchronized with the oncoming crests and trdnsghsqdl h t ' ' . - - . Wgiidggrtsge-a minimum of shock and tooth-rattling, rivet-shearing viby-Q- On the 16th, along with a dozen other Ma ic Car ' ' - - ' , the l8Uth Meridian Clnternational Date Linelgat Slollsl lgiitldlheksi wldsnlhs- Structed to search for the S. S. Henry T. Scott, reported to have struck a mine Ifsheuhad been found, rescue would have proved extremely difficult as no 'boat could have lived in the seas. However, the search was called oftlin that fqrea, as it was found that the ,distressed ship was ha thousand miles further southwest. Following the 3loN parallel, the Dutchess was stoutly bucking her way along the southern margin of the habitual winter storm area which grew in .fury to the North. The sailors recently received aboard from the rugged North Atlantic Armed Guard duty opined that they had anticipated peaceful sailing in the balmy Pacific-this was equally as rugged as anything they had experienced. y A .'Another life raft was wrenched from the tempest-tossed vessel on the 17th. By the Zlst the Lady was two- days late, this short great circle route was proving to be the longest way. Unexpectedly, a huge green wall of water swept over the bow engulfing the Warrant Carpenter, G. L. Lick, USNR, ex- amining the anchor on the focs'le. It scooped him up, tumbled him aft, turn- ing him end over end, hooked his leg behind a stanchion and then wrenched his torso at a crazy angle as it departed pounding over the side in a dispas- sionate green fury, leaving its victim battered and helpless with a broken 169. All hands considered it fortunate that the Carpenters leg had become lodged, thus arresting his progress. Otherwise this 25-year veteran of steam Gnd sail would have been swept over the side and gone forever. A 1 Work on topside was at a standstill, but despite the seasickness of many veteran Dutchessmen, progress continued below decks in scaling and paint- lflglhe troop compartments, with the seamen hanging on with one hand to The lurching bulkheads and with their paint pots lashed secured. :Phe intense instruction of the new men continued lndoctrination of the Officers-of-the lpdrticularl includin the novice officersl and the enlisted Iunior Cf-Q Y Q , timers of the Wa'tCh CO1'1Tif1USd Without lei-Llp, despite the necessity of chairs 9159 lashed and arms being looped about stanchions and unruly stomachs Controlled To guarantee thesafe operation of the ship and the lives of 930919, the 'Dutchess could not take time out for bad weather. HQ . WM for reasons unknown the Lady was rerou vo l Leyte and as she dropped out of the North into the mgldrfgs N 151112 on the night before Christmas the sea and wind abaatxil hcmgiengjv d been the roughest of all for the Dutchessmen . the knees gal restful ni ht's sleep without the necessity of lOrCIC1HQ g . . bunkside, the back against the other' bunljllgjfoggg uncles every ten seconds to prevent belng 1' wily salty, enjoyed strolling about to1DS1decCmd Sfmkmg up . y 1 . if t51l p ted from Manila to

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Y been successful in ff t' A A if 1 The t98,S,, Tmnspcrt Qumirec mg C1 Skeleton pre-embarkation Y, DIUSNR, were succ f 1 ' master' and his new Qssistanll EHS ess yu in if . ' Officer of Troops CG Military Pglocneaggigelthe acllreadindeslgnated - . on wor ing out the and messing arrangements prior to 1 I - As before, this lift was t b any mops Settmg mot fm the . O 6 Ci load of separatees b t th th difference. that the homecoming veterans were assignelud bills-is 11? Xlstmg organization-the l3l4th Engineers Regiment. A This outfit had built roads and executed non-combqt Cgnstruction tasks E141-Ope and the Philippines. By lanuary l946, 99 cf, f 't o 1 s personnel had been sent home and had been supplanted in their empty billets by the available troops-construction, service, headquarters combat etc --- were eligible for return. ln effect the unit was an aggregation of I D ' casuais entirely unknown to each other. However, the experienced Dutchess' knew that working within an existing regimental framework was a organizational advantage. The embarkation on the 5th of Ianuary progressed methodically in ac- cordance with the carefully considered plans as platoon followed platoon up the gangplank and down to their designated compartments. Then, abruptly, the always subconsciously expected condition SNAFU tSituation Normal-- All Fouled Upl took over at the llth hour, the Replacement Depot suddenly -.-fdropped 149 white troops on the Dutchess to complicate an otherwise solid .Q ty-lvoad of l253 colored enlisted men.19 This unexpected move necessitated the .,, 1 .' berthing together of colored and white, troops using the same heads twash- ' room and toiletsl. When.the complete load of l5l7 troops were billeted below, the Lady's normal wartime capacity had been exceeded but she still lacked 202 of her total emergency capacity of l85l troop spaces. ' Outward bound, the Dutchess dipped her colors to the men of Corregidor, and quitted the murky waters of Manila Bay in final adieu on lanuary 6, 1946. Gliding smoothly down the west coast of Luzon, the Limber Lady traversed the now-familiar San Bernardino Strait passage with ease, and on the morning of the 7th viewed for the last time Batag lsland Coff Luzonl, the eastern outpost of the Philippines. The Old Girl wanted no more of this short Great Circle route through the stormy North Pacific. As a result of the twin fury of the howl- ing wind and smashing seas, the westward passage had required 20 days to traverse the 18-day route through the bone-wearying, muscle-straining, tooth- jarring northern seas. The Commanding Officer was successful in obtaining permission to follow a comfortable smooth-sailing track line through the tropics that would bring the Dutchess and her troops home intact after 20 days of salubrious sailing. . With over' l2OU Negro troops on board, the Lilting Lady was embarked with an unusual and sociologically interesting load. Inasmuch as Secretary Ofnlhe Navy Forrestal had recently addressed a blanket directiveto. alltshlps and stations that the Navy's official policy countenanced no discrimination of trace, color or creed, the Dutchess was determined that no incident fostered disgruntled separatee should mar the record she had painstakingly bultf Sill Word was passed down the line from the responsible officers to the last second class that all hands were to re double their usual efforts to 110W the troops every courtesy. Tak o AUS who as a Military Police Officer had considerable expert Negro troops and always working through colored officers and the cognizant Dutchess Officers and PGTTY Officers expenerlced no . lk V flu Y ni' ' flculties in carrying OUT the foulme Pl U transport' f 3' for breakdown. ' P 1 ing their cue from the capable Executive Officer of TIQOPSI Meier Half ' 1. 1 ' I , I ' cl , css X