General Leroy Eltinge (AP 154) - Naval Cruise Book

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EXECUTIVE QEEICERS CGMDR. M. L. KELLEY, USN February 21'Ju1y 21, 1945 COMDR. G. E, CSX, USN Ju1y 21fAugust 22, 1945 LT. COMDR. A. 1. RCCHE, USNR Qbelovvj August 22 to decommissioning Commander A1eXanc1erson at his cabin desk CHAPLAIN R. P. BELL Lieutenant Cj.g.j, USNR MAJOR HASTING, USA

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X,- M .gf Qu The CAPTAIN WM. WAKEFIELD, USN Born 29 November, 1893, Humboldt, Kansas. Enlisted December, 1914. Commissioned Ensign March, 1918, aboard destroyer at Brest, France. Served in destroyers, repair ships and battleships until 1923. Received Master of Science degree after two years postgraduate work at Annapolis and Columbia University. 1925'35 saw duty on submarines and destroyers with 3M years as commanding oiiicer. After two years as Navigator U. S. S. Northampton commissioned and commanded U. S. S. Pelias, arriving Hawaii in time for Pearl Harbor attack. After tending submarines in Freemantle, Australia, returned to command U. S. S. General Brooke in Europe and Mediterranean area. Commissioned U. S. S. General Leroy Eltinge and commanded her until ordered to Headquarters, Eleventh Naval District. Awarded Legion of Merit for support of sub' marines in Southwest Pacific. COMMODORE THOS. BLAU, USNR Born Rigva, Latvia, August 5, 1884. Went to sea in sailing ships in April, 1893. Enlisted in the U. S. Navy as ordinary seaman and was honorably discharged May 12, 1906. Went to sea as Watch Officer and Chief Oflicer of Pacific Mail. Promoted to Master of S. S. Korea in 1916. Joined U. S. Navy August 30, 1917 as Lieutenant fj.g.Q and spent ten months on U. S. S. May on Breton Patrol. Released from active duty as Commander September 18, 1919. Followed the sea as Master of Passenger Ships until 1923, made Director of Operations U. S. Line returning to U. S. as Marine Superintendent. Recalled to active duty with Naval Transportation Service September 30, 1940. Promoted to Captain july 1, 1941, went on sea duty February 14, 1942, as Commodore of Convoys. Commandant Merchant Marine Training from September, 1942, until March, 1943, returning to sea at his own request as Commodore of Convoys. Assumed command U. S. S. General Leroy Eltinge july, 1945, leaving her in August, 1945, as member U. S. Strategic Bombing Survey in Tokyo, japan'China, Indo China and the Philippines. Released from active duty March, 1946. Promoted to Commodore U. S. N. R. November, 1945. Crossed Atlantic 144 times, Pacific 142 times, spent 53 years with ships and the sea. COMMANDER LEROY ALEXANDERSON, USNR Commander Alexanderson graduated from the New York State Merchant Marine Academy in 1930 and went to sea as an oiiicer in the Merchant Marine. When he received orders to active duty with the Navy in December, 1939, he was Senior Second Officer of the S. S. Manhattan of the United States Lines. He reported to the U. S. S. Melville CAD'2Q on the 15th of Januar 1940 as a lieutenant and served in various capacities on board Y: y including Navigator and Executive Officer. He was assigned as Command' ing Olhcer of the U. S. S. Livingston CAP'163D in October, 1943, and took part in the invasions of the Marshall lslands and Saipan While in command of that ship. He was then ordered to the U. S. S. Gage CAPA'168J and assumed command of that ship when she was commissioned in November, 1944. The Gage was attached to the Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet and, among other assignments, took part in the invasion of Okinawa. Commander Alexanderson remained in command of the Gage until after Vfj Day and was then ordered to the U. S. S. General Leroy Eltinge CAPfl54D, assuming command of the 'KEltinge,' in September, 1945. He remained in command of that ship until she was decommissioned at New York on the 29th of May, 1946. At the end of Commander Alexan' derson's terminal leave, he is returning to the United States Lines in com' mand of one of that companyls ships. omman ing Cffioers

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i 3 t X Ship and Her Trave S Q X 1 s 4 1 1 1 On February 21st 1945 the GENERAL LERQY ELTINGE was com 7-'-'F-F 7 missioned at San Francisco When we fell in on top of Hatch No 5 for the ceremony the hand was playing and visitors were athered in the 20mm gun tubs The ship was presented to Captain Wakefield and he replied with a short speech of thanks After the chaplain gave the henediction the commissioning pennant was run up We were through with ceremony and ready for work F here was plenty of that we went across the hay and loaded stores for 48 hackhreaking hours in an all hands evolution During the days that follow ed there was much to he done to get things squared away in readiness for the shakedown cruise. At last on March 4th we got underway for San Pedro. Un the way down we held speed runs gunnery exercises and dozens of other tests to find out everything we could about our new ship. And everything went well. After we reached San Pedro we went out for more gunnery exercises and for simulated straicing attacks and things still went welll. We were ready for sea. We left Pedro on March 23rd with troops nurses and Red Cross workers hound for Calcutta. Accompanying us was the GENERAL CALLEN whose inability to keep up to our speed provided grounds for heckling whenever we afterwards met her in port. The two of us sailed southwest through glassy smooth waters and sunshine filled days. It was hot even at night so the troops slept topside,