Hamlin (AV 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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slowly inTo The blue-green waTers cf The anchorage. On bow and lceam were The islands which formed This group 'and noT sfnce our deparTure from Oahu had iT been our privilege To behold such scenic beauiy. Accusfomed as we had become To The dusf of Saipan, The volcanic ash of Iwo and The heaT of Ulifhi, These lush islands of The Ryukus seerrod a welcome change. l.aTer days were To prove how mis'eading were firsT impressions. We had liTTle Time in which To enioy The view, however, for our planes were urgenfly needed on paTrol duTy. The Okinawa invasion was scheduled for The firsT of April and iT was The sauadron's Task To discover any enemy ThreaT afloaT or submerged. Day afTer day, in all kinds of weaTher and sea condifions, Through flak and hosTile air- craff, The crevvs of 208 searched for The Japanese. ln addifion To reconnaisance, The MARINERS were loaded wiTh fragmenTaTion and incendiary bombs, or Tcrpedoes for larger vessels, and wiTh These implemenfs, carried The war beyond The shores of Japan. Norfh To Korea, Wesf To The China Sea, souTh To Tiawan ranged The P. Boafs, finding and desfroying enemy surface and air crafT. Surprisingly, There were very few submarines encounfered in The area. lT appeared ThaT The Japanese eiTher had less undersea boafs Than esTimaTed by Naval InTelligence or ThaT These vessels were being saved for fuTure use, perhaps To repel an invasion of Japan iTself. lT had been sfrangely quief during our firsT day and nighT aT Karama RheTTo. The gun crews inside Their splinfer shields were aT firsT nervous, Then relapsed as The hours passed wiTh no raiders diving from The clouds or winging inTo The moon. Hours became days, and a week wenT by before The Tranquillify was disTurbed. lT was almosT immediafely afTer The invasion in Okinawa on The firsT of April ThaT we received our inTroducTion To The Kamikaze. For The remainder of our sTay, These suicide planes were To be The ThreaT To The fuTure exisfence of The HAMLIN and her crew. Though There were many hours of similar combaf ahead, ThaT firsT day of acfion will never be forgoTTen by The men who were There. lT was laTe affernoon when The bong of The general alarm called us To baTTle sTaTions on The run. WiTh eyes narrowed againsf The seTTing sun, lookoufs searched The skies from horizon To zeniTh for wings Touched wiTh red. The whine of a sTarTing moTor cuT Through The Tenseness as a LTOMM came To life. WhaT had been confusion a momenT before resolved inTo a fighTing machine, waiTing, ready, almosT eager. We had noT long To waiT. On The oppcsife side of The cove, ships opened up wiTh anTi-aircrafT baTTeries, firing low over The waTer. From behind one of The islands plummeTed a Jap plane. Under The heavy and accurafe fire The plane wavered' for an insTanT, Then dove sTraighT inTo a LST! A ball of flame blossomed upward, searing, burnirg inTo The sky for Two hundred feeT. The decks of The landing ship had been laden wiTh drums of gasoline. For seconds before The explosive-filled air- crafT had sTruck, we could see The small figures of men dropping inTo The waTer. We saw no one afTer The blasT. The LST, underway aT The Time, disappeared behind The island, buT unTil sundown The' pall of smoke hung high inTo The air. We had wifnessed The horribleness of a suicide crash. The sun had yeT anoTher hour when The second plane, a Judy, flying iusT over The waves, made a pass aT The ieep carrier anchored nearby. NOT so successful was This piloT. The crippled Torpedo-bomber made a big splash as iT fell before The hail of hoT sTeel. STill anoTher Judy appeared, coming in high. AircrafT aT Two-zero-zero, elevaTion TwenTy, came The word from ConTrol. Open Fire, repeaTed The voice of The Talker in a monoTone which belied his exciTemenT. This would-be suicider was diving on us! Blam, wenT The five inch afT. Then boTh fore and afT guns were on Targef and leTTing go. Direcfly before The whirling prop of The down-rushing plane, a 32 special bursT inTo a blossom of black smoke. WiTh a quick wingover, The piloT changed course. Tracing a crazy paTh across The sky, The plane plowed inTo The upper works of an ammuniTion ship. Soon The enTire supersTrucTure of This vessel was in flames and a paTrol crafT had gone alongside To render assisTance. We were now seeing red and Too angry To be afraid any longer, buT The day's greaTesT Tragedy was yeT To be seen. Up unTil now, The carrier had been fighTing only wiTh sTaTionary weapons, buT now, like hornefs roused inTo madness, Two F4F fighfers roared off her flighT deck. Info The sky beyond The cove zoomed The Two, and There They were meT by a deadly hail of Tracers. Unwarned of These friendly planes, The ships ouTside The ring of islands leT loose wiTh every Trainable gun. Who could blame Them? WiThin a maTTer of minuTes, Two ships had been blasted inTo fiery 'infernoes and nervous fingers were wrapped around The reassuring hardness of sTeel Triggers, waiTing. WiTh real anguish, we wafched The firsT of The WildcaTs roll over in a vain aTTempT To idenTify iTself by displaying The circled sTar and recTangle. AT ThaT insTanT a wing Tank bursT inTo flames and The plane nosed over, disappearing behind an island. The piloT of The second WildcaT, seeing The faTe of his wing maTe, dropped his plane To wiThin a few feeT of The waTer and Twisfed his way To safeTy. This lasT momenT almosT unnerved us all, and The darkness which closed in afTer a blood-red sunseT could noT blankef The picfure of ThaT burning plane. The nighTs usually broughT us some respife, Though aT The Time we did noT realize iT. Every nighT Time general auarfers was a signal for The laying of a proTecTive smoke- screen over The enTire anchorage. Believing ThaT our besT defense lay in obscuring ourselves from The air, we sTa- Tioned Two mo-Tor launches aT sundown, always ready To sTarT smoke generafors and igniTe smoke floaTs. NOT once during The many pracfices aT UliThi and Saipan had anyone realized To whaf exTenT The once irriTaTing smoke would proTecT us. STill, none of us were auife sure of how well covered The ship was and soon iT became a greafer sTrain Than having The brighT moonlighT reflecfing off The decks beneaTh us. T ThaT doesn'T sound raTional perhaps, buT iT is difficulf To be raTional when smcke closes abouT like a smoThering blankef and Then, overhead, comes The sound Page 22 of a low-flying plane. Unseen, buT can he see us? Guns l are useless when no Targef is visible and still above s. smash iTself againsf Suddenly IT is very easy and God, how we did pray! We prayed and The nighT ThaT Val spoTTed us Through .The ,sm ke sTarTed down.. Washing-Machine Charlie We' laughingly dub oufmoded airplanes such dive bomber. No one laughed as we heard iTs engine, close. The quad-4OMM afT pumped rounds upward as The plane was sighfedffor an Again iT was seen as iT rounded our bow, noT fifTy off The waTer. Swinging inTo our sTarboard side, The crafT was meT by a sTream of TeTryl-filled QOMM proiecfiles. In a verfical bank, The Val plunged inTo The wafer direcTly asTern of The HAMLIN. IT had made a compleTe orbiT around The ship. AT ThaT momenT, we were rocked by an underwaTer explosion while a muffled blasT' was heard. The nexT day, The CapTain receiveda dispaToh from The Admiral, commanding our ,FleeT Air Wing. .lt read: ThaT plane, orbiTing, in search of a Thin-hulled ships o CongraTulaTions on your dead-eyed, gunnery in knocking down ThaT Nip lasT nighT and saving The HAlviLlN. All days were noT as fearsome as Those early ones when' The fighTing on and around Okinawa reached iTs peak. Our Two biggesf concerns were The mainTaining. of flyfing schedules and The Kamikaze. Our planes flew regularly and so did The Japanese. There would be sTreTches1of bad weaTher and someTimes of gcod weaTher when. no raids came and we could relax. IT was good forffhe consTanT sTrain and sleepless nighTs were showing in The bloodshoT eyes and unshaven faces. Ships were sTill being hiT and some were sunk, buT The Toll of enemy dead was increasing sfeadily, far cuT of proporficn To The number of successful aTTacks. Two of our sisTer ships and one. gianT seaplane Tender were vicTims cf suicide crashes and came Through, damaged buT afloaT. ' For The presenf exisfence of The HAMLIN and for ou-r own lives, we have Three Things To be Thankful for. The pickeT line of paTrol vessels which formed a proTecTive ring abouT our anchorage, The CombaT Air PaTro,l which worked wiTh These paTrol crafT To keep ouT approaching planes, and The grace of AlmighTy God. WiThouT any oneT of These, This sTory mighf have ended in April of 1945. During The long days and sleepless nighTs of Mayiand June, The Tide of baTTle slowly, almosT impercepfibly, shiffed as more and more enemy planes were shoT down wiThouT reaching a TargeT. One of The search pahgols from our Wing locafed a Japanese Task force, in company wiTh Their newesT baTTleship YamaTo, sfeaming souTh Toward Okinawa. Carrier Torpedo planes and dive bombers were dispaTched To The radioed posifion and proceeded, To sink or damage every uniT of ThaT small naval force. The loss of ThaT baTTleship musT have been sorely felT in Japan. The Taking of Okinawa was a cerTainTy now as our superior weapons and fighTing men repulsed and peneTraTed ,on each fronT an-d flank. ' . ' 5

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A new phase in our life at sea was beginning. It could be sensed in the faster tempo of activity which pervaded the entire ship. The supplies and ammunition which we were lcading were not items of cargo essential to sea- plane operations in quiet harbors. Rumors that a big invasion was in the offing reached us and soon it became the most talked of subject aboard that the HAMLIN was slated for combat with a large task force. Life at Saipan was getting a bit monotonous and the prospect of excite- ment was stimulating. Not for long were we kept in doubt as to our next assignment. After a short trip to Guam for aviation spare parts, we headed north beyond the Marianas. A day out of Guam, the Captain confirmed our hopes. In an announcement to the entire crew, he told us of our desti- nation, of what we could expect there. Our day to meet the enemy had come. We were on course for Iwo Jima. It was early morning of February 20 when the HAMLIN and her escort swung out of convoy. The dawn, cold and gray, found us proceeding cautiously toward our desti- nation. Not far ahead, dimly visible on the horizon were warships of the Fifth Fleet, and the dull roar of heavy guns carried to us. Throughout the hours before morning twilight, the skies had flared with the flame of naval batteries. lt would have been unnecessary to sound the general alarm, for the weather decks and life lines were crowded with early risers, eagerly watching for a first view of the battleground. An atmosphere of tense excite- ment seemed part of the dampness which hung in the air. Then, out of the mist, appeared an island, a very small island with a hump at one end and flat everywhere else, packing more fury in its seven square miles of mud, clay and volcanic ash than any other battlefield of the war. For this was Iwo Jima of the Volcanoes. The time was D-Day plus one. Our purpose in this invasion was to set up a seadrome at the base of Mt. Suribachi and from there to fly in blood plasma, medical supplies, important dispatches, air freight and mail. On outgoing flights, our planes would carry press and military dispatches, critical hospital cases and mail. VPB I9 was to be our squadron, replacing VPB I7. .Though our intended operations were delayed by the unexpectedly stubborn defenses on Suri- bachi, it was only a short time before the seadrome was laid out and actual flying begun. During our seventeen days at Iwo, we witnessed a display of air and sea power which would have stunned an observer unfamiliar with invasion warfare. On each side of us were ships of every class, and overhead the planes from carriers beyond the horizon filled the sky. Illl BAT IF YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN COMBAT, YOU CANNOT KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE, AND IF YOU HAVE, YOU CAN'T DESCRIBE IT. It was evident that the Japanese needed more soften- ing up and the Naval Air Corps was on hand to do iust that. Helldivers plunged from the clouds, dropping their payload of bombs on Hot Rocks at the foot of Suribachi where enemy batteries were firmly entrenched. Rocket- carrying Wildcats sent their fiery missles into concrete blockhouses and anti-aircraft emplacements. Circling slowly at low altitude, where tiny Piper Cubs and Avengers, the pregnant sharks of the fleet, spotting the locations of men and weapons. Using these spots, the bombarding ships were able to drop ton after ton of high explosive proiectiles on positions invisible to ship-board gun crews. At point blank range, battleships and cruisers maintained steady fire with deadly accuracy. Close inshore, destroyers moved, aiding the ground troops with anti-aircraft bat- teries, as effective on tanks or troops as on airplanes. All through the night, the island was bathed in the artificial light of star shells, and the fighting on land con- tinued undiminished. We saw much of this midnight com- bat, for the Japs were not giving in easily. From sunset to sunrise we were prepared to man battle stations to repulse attack by air. It was at Iwo Jima that we learned why so many hours had been spent at Ulithi and Saipan under smoke. Before, we had cursed the smoke because it irritated our eyes and throats and now we cursed be- cause we could not see the raiding planes. With the smoke screen so effective, it was unnecessary for us to fire-a single round of ammunition. Such was not the case on other ships -with radar-controlled guns. Such vessels threw up a terrific barrage of A. A. fire, lacing the sky with tracers. No man topside on one particular night, will forget the sight of a Marine ammunition dump rendered a holocaust of exploding flames by heavy mortar fire. For hours it burned and periodic detonations were of sufficient force to rock the ship. Each huge ball of fire which mushroomed from the conflagration was a signal to cover our ears against the sound of the blast. For over two weeks, we lay off this island of concen- trated death operating with squadron by day and manning guns at night. On shore, living and dying in the dust and grime of volcanic ash, U. S. Marines were fighting as no group of men had ever fought, grasping victory only at the cost of thousands of lives. Many of these men were treated for wounds in our sick bay and while aboard, gave us actual accounts of the bloody conflict. So it pro- gressed, with our aircraft and ships supporting in daylight hours and hand to hand fighting at night. Every known weapon of warfare was used except gas, including rockets, Page 21 mortars, flame-thrcwers and phosphorous bombs. Many times, when shrapnel from our own anti-aircraft fire was dropping to the decks or bursting in the water around us, we longed for the protection of armor plating. But God was with us. Aside from a few shrapnel scratches and a hole in the stack from a stray five inch projectile, we suffered no damage. It was not without relief that we got underway for our return to Saipan. This was March 8, and though the island was not yet secured our usefulness there was at an end. We watched over the fantail as Iwo Jima sank into the sea. Mt. Suribachi, on which two vessels before the Stars and Stripes had been raised, finally faded into the grayness of the sky. Even before our arrival at Saipan on March IO, there was talk of our participation in another invasion. The fact that there was no perceptible lapse between our anchoring and the replenishing of stores, fuel and ammu- nition, lent strength to this bit of scuttlebutt. Our first concern, however, was the reading and answering of letters from home which had accumulated during the seventeen days at Iwo. Little time was lost and before many days we were certain that the HAMLIN was again to be part of a task force moving in on the Japs. It seemed that the ldes of March would lead us to many things. A short cruise to Guam and back again netted us more aviation engines as well as a few members of our new squadron, VPB 208. Last minute details were cared for on our return from Guam. When the last boat had been hoisted aboard and all departments reported ready for sea, we got under- way for the most hazardous of our months in the Pacific. Though we did not know it, the trial ahead was to make Iwo Jima look like a Sunday school picnic as far as ships and sailors were concerned. Perhaps it is as well that we did not know, for it is not good for men to think about dying. . KERAMA RH ETTO A naval bombardment was in progress as our convoy moved past the southern tip of Okinawa. It was during morning twilight on the 28th of March that the men at battle stations obtained their first- look at one of the greatest battlegrounds in the Pacific, less than three hun- dred and fifty miles from Japan. Ahead of us lay Kerama Rhetto, seventeen miles west of Okinawa, and this was our destination. The rising sun had cleared the skies long before we reached the submarine net which protected the inner cove. With the net swung back, the prow of the HAMLIN nosed

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Page 23 The bloodiesT baTTIefield of all The war whereon U. S. M a ri n e s displayed The sTrengTh and rneTTle of The men of America. MT. Suri- loachi dominaTed The enTire island and vic:Tory seemed assured Us The day The STars and Sfripes was implanTed on The highesT poinT of This vol- canic mounTain.