Epperson (DD 719) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 48 text:

ffrort THIS WE cor MEDALS7' With the squ-awk box blaring-HCQMCQRTDE N- ' ' , F ' . SO falitrivlngb iigle ami Chuck Strode aboard our 2250 ton Man O' War on that 10th ' - - - l 'Q ' day 0 iwem er. mil es ater W1-h 3 blast of the horn the Fi htin E a from c4M1keso docks, Pearl Harbor. 4 9 g g b Cked away Our first .objective was to reach the Mi A . dway Isl d . . . d' Our valiant crew stormed up Nimitz Ave. fThe an S we ld manage to get there. Of thi- Coonelziiglrdicl- Mani' of our comrades were lurking behind bushes, crawling around OH l e grqun ' 100 eying for pgsition and soing lh1'OUgh Hell for a shot of the famed Cooney Bird. , sD1v 12, arriving, EPPETRSON, EPPER. uOreat White Way of Midway-thanks In spite of the Offerings Of the island fsand, deteriorating buildings hidden by an over- afarersv -chose the water and held growth of shrubs, trees, etc.,j our little band of use swim sessions in the uniform of the day . . . clean dungarees . With 2 f3's of the crew already suffering from an agitated ocean-we received news of coming RHI'-HCUOHS- CHrmen', fthe Navy name d-typhoonj. Fortunately we only took-45 degree rolls as a- few more degrees would have shaken up the Epperson Salts . The Officers and Chiefs were' in their dress blues, it was misty, and the air had That peculiar odori'-we knew we were close to Yokosuka. ' We're not here on a tour of the Far East-we,re here to work! With these words of our Executive Officer, F. A. TOMASINI urgingus 'on4we did just that! But this was our home, and we loved every minute of it. ' LIBERTY! Leaping from the M boats we dashed through the gates and to the streets of Yokosuka. Here we were greeted by peddicyclers, cab drivers, yen peddlers, watch buyers, business men and business girls . Dodging bicycle riders, motorcycles, and cabbies we managed to catch thevfirst glimpse of Japan-for many of us. On the 23rd of November our little band of misplaced civilians were off to fight the wars. Task Force 77 was desperate and needed our support! fHow desperate can you g-in t We steamed into the war zone fwe knew it was the war zone as we could mail letters Free,'j and with a dramatic changing of the guard we began our active duty . . . on the High Line! ' ' -4 ' Life floated on in 'its own miserable fashion, when suddenly a contact was made on a sub! This was right up our alley, the Eppy's reputation as a Hunter-Killer was wide- ly known. Armed with weapon '!Able fwhich was derangedj, anti-sub torpedo tubes tibut no torpedoesl and various other useless defensive piece-we frightened them away. Another first! Our first battle scars were inflicted when that nasty ol' U.S.S. PUSSUMSIC tossed her weight around and tossed itright into our port side bending the superstruc- ture where it wasn't intended to be bent. - N 1 a Q n CC One dark night we were relieved of our responsibilities as Canymead fScreen Com- mander! and were designated to escort the ROCHESTER to the bomhline and to Wonsan Harbor. T X The word awonsann had a Special Significance at first. The harbor demanded respect, . . ', a . - 1 t d th in spite of being battered daily. Our first entrance into the harbor was se ec e as . e . d earl mornin most outstanding event of our Navy car66fS- The Previous Cvemng an Y 5 b t ous were marked by a more serious mannered crew, the talk was not 10115 and 015 ef d0g tags were taken out of the back end of V T the lockers-every'one was wondering! . . tg the harbor final precautions were taken, instruc- , t, g . . . . , ed Immediately prior to our entrance n out and ever one mann tons were given to the Elin crewS, ammumuon was broke y

Page 47 text:

ACTIVVUES 'I

Page 49 text:

his respective station. The usually pla ful C f ing H1'Ol1fld the Obstructions as if amiii ,few 0 32 huddled behind the mount, peer. We Steamed into the harbor blastins th Tung ai any moment--a blast from the enemy. Peunding awHY with her 8's Weg e-S suis with our 5 meh Shells and the MCHESTERM Shore are control Spouersgimt hafffve In time to assist a DE covering the escape of the day. , S on Y thereafter the shore batteries were silenced for As it ended up we had a ver Mt 51 or 52 and the firing of carb' f h . , , mortified when Cap'n Charlie answc-iii-iid 'fiitiiiint egbmdge' The ROCHESTER S brass were Y peaceful d3Y-interrupted by the occasional bursting of ' ove oards in uir on our firin with awe h d d so 'l ye g' Ile 5245362 in t rounds of .30 cal ammo at glass fishing balls . Now 50 rounds gvcersq on the fm? twiste Ion glass fishing balls--so small arms drill was held for all of- at - f U CHSC We go back to Wonsan we wouldn't waste so muchj. Batik EX the Bomliline We Hnaui' faSted the sweetness of victory. We hit a designated tar- get- f gun CTUP aflemerlll Flames lashed out-billows of smoke curled to the heavens as the Crew of Mt 52 emerged tfillmphantly from their encased battle station. For this, from lhe.Capr- it i'Well Done , from the ROCHESTER a 'fBaker Zebra and for the crew . . . Field day and Captain's Material Inspection. , We were sent back to our route with the Captain and Cgmmgdore hoisting the appro. priate sign, -HEPPERSON TRANSFER AND STORAGE CO.-DELIVERY BY PART- RlDGE . . The Christmas spirit managed to creep into our dutiesias the Task Force adopted names such as Donder, Blitzen, Santa Claus, and even Rudolph. As for Christmas Day, it al- most floated by unnoticed as our crew woke up for the huge feast and toddled off to their racks again for the best Xmas present a CO can give a crew . . . sleep! .lt was back .tolYokosuka next and as the well known saying goes the crap hit the f an . Field Days ftoo numerous to mentionj, working parties f'til wee hours of the morningj, air bedding and scrubbing bunk bottoms ion New Years Day, and finally inspections QOF everyone and everything and BY everything and everyonej. W lt was a relief to get back to sea, until Sunday Night ll January 1953-. Our biggest battle was yet to come!! Everything but the crew was lashed down as the Leaking E sailed into the winds for three days, taking 53 degree rolls. Heading North we lived on sandwiches for 2 days and haduno turn to ' for three days. Eventually our craft had all the appearances of a floating icebox as the vessel was covered with 4 to 6 inches of 'ice. The next few days were spent thawing out, chopping ice, and washing the footprints oil' the bulkheads. ' U We were called to assist the ROCHESTER in another Gun-strike at the bornbline, Wonsan and Songjin. flt was said the Reds were sneaking throughwith troops and ammoj. On this trip we merely attempted to frighten our opponents as we needed to Save OUP ammunition for the sleeves and drones back in 77 . , . A new era began in Sasebo-1300 liberty fdailyj, only 4 men went over the hill, no inspections, rest camp for some, and all in all a very pleasant stay was had by all. fWhat sinister plot is lurking in the background?j Early on the morning of 24 February we left the chilly port of Sasebo and moved on to warmer climates. One day out and we were in Shiffsleeves- at KEELUNC, FORMOSA and managed to set our- l ri e at this point was that it was going to cost We tested our anchor in the harbor selves up with Shore duty. fOur on Y S P us 6 cents to mail a letterj. SHORE DUTY! Our inspired crew turne t e1r VY: p U ' U o f fTeacher to our asiatic allies, and in return d h ' salt smiling faces on Kaohsuing, For- mosa. lt was here we assumed the role 0 if ...,,-L. s -....-.,..- - -f-f ,-'-- an-,54..4.-.x1: L-aL1':.:.:.:- , 5.1:-SKID :'a1Y:'. ',:..J:'1.1i E . - - I-'Z!L'i2:-T... - --- f ,, ---I-'Sa-e-.wv,.-xx.1.mA.-.L-1.5. 4-:.r..:..-.aww-v-r..1 f--AJ.:-f..En.f-.1.':f ---f-f--.-.-:-f.:.- -L 1.6:-IA..--. -1 I f vc q.,,..-Q. 1... .N s. L.