Harry Lee (APA 10) - Naval Cruise Book

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Captain fthen commanderj Pomeroy was award- ed the Legion of Merit, for the part he played as commanding officer of the LEE during the invasion of Sicily having valiantly fought his ship through enemy bombings and embarked troops and equip- ment, bringing his ship through the engagement unscathed . 'Following the siciiiaii Operation the. LEE ie- turned briefly to the United States, carrying with her German prisoners of war. She then set out for the Pacific 'theater passing through the Panama Canal the thirty-first of August and arriving in San Francisco the tenth of September. There she loaded cargo and departed for I-Ionolulu, Territory of Hawaii, arriving the twenty-sixth of the month. From Honolulu she sailed for Wellington, New Zealand, crossing the Equator for the first time on the third and crossing the International Date Line on the ninth of October. At Wellington, the LEE loaded elements of the famous Second Marine Division and proceeded to Efate in the New Hebrides Islands to rendezvous with other units in the task force of which she was to be a part. Then, in company with her new transport unit, she sailed for her first invasion in the Pacific theater-one which was to prove to be one of the toughest to be encountered in this thea- ter. The Marines were landed on Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands the twentieth of November, 1943- a date that will not soon be forgotten by the men who took part in this operation. As a result of the splendid team-work of the various units of the Navy that helped organize the beach with the Marines, the President of the United States awarded the Presidential Unit cita- tion to those persons who had performed duty on the hostile beachhead. A beach party and salvage unit from the HARRY LEE had taken part in this effort. From Tarawa the LEE in company with other transports and escort vessels that had taken part in the operation proceeded to Pearl Harbor. For the next two weeks dummy runs and mock inva- sions were in the plan of the day while the power of the amphibious fleet maneuvering in the Ha- waiian waters awaited movement orders for the next invasion. It was not a long wait. On the afternoon of january thirty-first, after steaming out 'of Hono- lulu in company with an invasion fleet for a period of nine days, the LEE commenced debarking and landing headquarters troops and equipment of the 7th Infantry Division, USA, on islands of tlie Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshalls. The landings were made without incident and the troops met little' initial opposition. ' ' .On February fifth the LEE received orders to proceed in company with other transports of her division to Funafuti in the Ellice Islands. From the Ellice Islands she went to Noumea, New Cale- donia, arriving February twenty-fourth, 1944. I ,Short stops at Guadalcanal, Tulagi in the Florida Islands, and back to Guadalcanal were on the schedule for the HARRY through the fifteenth of March. At Kukum'Beach, Guadalcanal the ship loaded troops and cargo of the headquarters com- pany, 4Oth Infantry Division, USA, and elements of the 1st Signal Corps, USMC, and got underway for practice landing maneuvers at Tenaru Beach, Guadalcanal, the following day. On the seven- teenth of March orders were received to debark the troops and equipment recently taken aboard and apparently the operation that had been planned had been cancelled. The ship then proceeded to Gavutu Harbor, Florida Islands, to await move- ment orders. She sailed the twenty-third of March for Guadalcanal and there, at Kukum Beach, ,pro- ceeded to load troops and cargo of the 93rd In- fantry Division-and attached units.

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In the middle of the month of October the ships that were maneuvering in the Chesapeake ceased their .training operations and headed for Norfolk and other points to load in preparation for the North African Invasion. On coming to anchor after completion of the exercises off Cove Point, Maryland the gears of the HP turbine were stripped on the LEE. She was forced to be towed part way back to Norfolk, and while in the Navy Yard or- ders arrived instructing the Commanding Olflcer, Captain W. Whitneld, USN, seventy-five per- cent of his officers and twenty-five percent of his enlisted men to transfer to the USS CALVERT. This exchange placed Captain D. VU. Loomis, USN, in command. fCaptain4Loomis, later as Com- modore, commanded a transport squadron of which the LEE was a part participating in several combat operations., It was, thus, a queer stroke of fate that prevented the HARRY LEE, the ship that had trained so many men and who had become so ex- pert in ship to shore maneuvers, from participat- ing in the invasion of North Africa., Of course it was true that the HARRYf' did participate in spirit if not in reality for her ,former skipper, Captain Whit6eld,iand many of her ofiicers and men did take part in the operation as well as many of the troops she had so effectively trained. ' The HARRY LEE was back in operation Decem- ber eighth. Her orders directed her to return to the Chesapeake Bay area to continue in the training of amphibious personnel, Army, Navy and Ma- rines. It is interesting to note that during this period of amphibious training in the Chesapeake, the HARRY LEE was used for conducting many experiments with amphibious materiel including the now famous Army DCUKW, radio control beams for guiding landing craft, and other equip- ment that was to become standard assualt proce- dure. ' On the second of April, Captain fthen comman- der, G. Pomeroy, USN, relieved Captain' Loomis as commanding oliicer of the LEE. ,On the fourth of April, 1943, the ship received orders to discontinue the training maneuvers and proceed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. There she had her armament augmented with the latest allow- ances for her type of vessel. At the completion of availability in the Brooklyn yard she returned to Norfolk and just one month later orders were re- ceived to commence loading supplies and troops of the 45th Division, UsA. The world was waiting for the Allied Forces to hit the continent of Europe and this time the HARRY LEE was not to be disappointed in carrying out her mission. On the eighth of june in convoy with other amphibious transports and with an escort of crui- sers and destroyers, the HARRY LEE steamed for the Mediterranean Sea. She passed through the Straits of Gibraltar the twenty-first of June and on the following day she let go her anchor in Mers el Kabir, the anchorage area of Oran, Algeria, in North Africa. i The invasion, of Sicily was made on the tenth of July, 1943. H hour was 0315. The HARRY LEE in company with her task group landed troops and cargo through, the heavy surf at Scoglitti on the southeast coast of Sicily to effectively establish a beachhead. Seven enlisted men and one oilicer re- ceived the Purple Heart medal for injuries sus- tained in this operation. The ship had performed her duties faithfully and efficiently proving the value of her months of tedious training. I 1

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1 I After completing the loading the ship got un- derway for Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, in company with other transports and her protective escort. 'A change of orders was received directing .the convoy to head for Cape Torokina, Bougain- ville and, after arriving at this port, the LEE de- barked all passenger troops and cargo. She then sailed with the same fleet units through the China Straits to Milne Bay, New Guinea, where she fueled, sprovisioned and awaited further orders. On the fourth of April she left Milne Bay, an- chored briefly at Cape Sudest and proceeded to Dreggar Harbor, New Guinea, where she loaded 'the Third Battalion, Landing Team, 127th Regi- mental Combat Team, 32nd Division, USA. On April nineteen the HARRY LEE got under- way in company with elements of the First East- ern Reinforcement Group and entered Berlin Har- bor, Aitape, Dutch New Guinea, to land her troops and cargo and thus take part in her third Pacific invasion. The sea fortunately was calm and gentle breezes prevailed for this operation, but the surf conditions, due to thesteep gradient of the beach, were unusually bad. Four landing boats were lost during the operation, but otherwise there were no casualties. I y X , , From Aitape the LEE stopped briefly at Lange- mak Bay, New Guinea, and proceeded to the Cape Sudest Area, anchoring off Cape Endiadere, Buna on the twenty-sixth of April where she fueled and awaited further sailing orders. On the twenty.-eighth she steamed to Saidor, New Guinea via the Vitiaz Straits and anchored! in DeKays Bay where loading of cargo and embark- ing of troops of the 32nd Infantry Division, USA, was accomplished. The troops were taken to Aitape and landed there as reinforcements with little event. The task force then sailed from Aitape, May third, and proceeded to Guadalcanal via Buna and the Goschen Straits hoving to off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal 10 May, fo await permission to pro- ceed to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands in accordance with orders receivedj On 12 May, the LEE was drydocked in Espiritu Santo and all hands turned to the following two days to clean and paint the ship's bottom. g 4 .i....i.,,., ,,,,,,,,.,,,-.,,,, V , , YA,V Y V- W i Back to Lunga Point, Guadalcanal on May six- teenth, the HARRY LEE stood by for further or- ders. She shifted her anchorage to Doma Cove to load cargo of the 9th Defense Battalion, Third AmpCorp Headquarters and Service Unit, Seventh 155mm Gun Battalion and the Third Corp Medi- cal Battalion. The following day the personnel of the above units were taken aboard. A practice landing operation was held in the area about Savo Island and, after completion of the exercises, the ship steamed to Doma Cove and disembarked the troops. Two days later she changed her anchorage to Port Purvis to make minor engine repairs. She then stopped briefly at Kokumbana Beach and hence returnedito Doma Cove, where she reem- barked the troops she had recently put ashore. Or- ders were received directing the LEE to return to Kokumbana to assemble, with .other ships of her division. On June fourth the division of transports got underway for Kwajalein arriving 8 June. On June twelfth she was underway again. This time she was in company with a large task force. The operation plan designated a landing on Saipan to be closely followed by a landing on Guam. The LEE was to be held in reserve for the Saipan opera- tion and then to go into Guam. Actually she was not called to the rendezvous area at Saipan, but cruised beyond this immediate area to await orders. Orders subsequently were received directing the LEE to proceed to Eniwetok Atoll. During the eighteen sailing days between Kwajalein and.Eni- wetok there was considerable excitement aboard