Helena (CA 75) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 116 of the 1956 volume:

dWKOSUKA 40NGK0NG- NAGASAKI ' ' KEE LUNG y KAOHSIUNG IWO JIMA G MANILA USS HELENA CA-75 A HISTORY There have been three men o ' war christened in honor of Helena, Montana. The first USS Helena was a gunboat launched in 1896. She was about one-third the length of a heavy cruiser of today and her armament consisted of eight four-inch guns and four three-pounders. Her fifty-foot st ack gave her a floating factory silhouette. The gunboat saw action in the Spanish-American War in the Caribbean and the Philippines. After the war was over she remained on the Asiatic Station until 1932, when she was retired to fiddler ' s green. The second USS Helena was a light cruiser of the Brooklyn class launched in 1938. She was damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Helena dressed her wounds and was in action against the enemy in jig time. Helena Number Two battled through engagements at Cape Esperance and Guadalcanal. She threw out so much six-inch that the Japanese claimed her as a secret naval weapon. Her crew dubbed her the fightin ' est ship in the Pacific until torpedoes, in the first battle of Kula Gulf off New Georgia Island in the early morning of July 6, 1943, ended her naval career. She was awarded the Navy Unit Citation posthumously for gallantry in action during the Solomon Islands Campaign. A heavy war bond subscription throughout the state of Montana by the citizens of Helena prompted the Navy Department to name CA-75 the USS Helena. She was launched on April 28, 1945 and commissioned September 4, 1945. At that time, she was one of the most powerful cruisers afloat. She displaces over 13,000 tons, is 674 feet long with a 6 ' ' -foot beam and bristles with three triple eight-inch turrets, six twin five-inch dual purpose gun mounts and a three-inch AA battery. Her four boilers can develop 120,000 shaft h.p. good for approximately 33 knots by the book. The Helena ' s smooth lines and fire power were shown off during the Victory- Presidential-Naval Review at New York City in 1945. After a shake-down in the Caribbean, the Helena voyaged around the world on a good will cruise, calling at ports in England, Scotland, France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Ceylon, and China. With a 1000-foot homeward bound pennant streamed aloft, the Helena returned to the States in March of 1947. In January of 1948, the Helena was designated as flagship for Cruiser Division Three and soon after steamed for the Far East. That same year the Helena was awarded the Navy Battle Efliciency Award and the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for being the best cruiser in the Navy. In September the ship came home for overhaul and repairs, during which the catapults were removed and a wooden deck installed aft of turret three. After another tour in the Far East and while the Helena was back in the States, the Korean War broke out. Replenished and rearmed, Ship 75 was ordered to support UN forces in Korea. As a unit of Task Force 77, the Helena clobbered the enemy. She received only a minor direct hit from enemy shore batteries off Wonsan in return. Since the Korean War has been over, the Helena has been taking her turn serving in the Far East with the Seventh Fleet on cruises similar to the one we ' re now completing. Commander Seventh Fleet While in the Far East, the ship served as the flagship of Vice Admiral Stuart H. Ingersoll, Commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet and Commander of the Taiwan Defense Command. Admiral Ingersoll is a native of Springfield, Mass. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1917. During a midshipman cruise in the summer of 1918 aboard the battleship USS Missouri, the Admiral got his first taste of duty under wartime conditions. In 1926, Admiral Ingersoll became a qualified naval aviator, and he served with aircraft squadrons until 1940. During World War II, while commanding the aircraft carrier USS Monterey during action against enemy forces in the Pacific, Admiral Ingersoll was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism. Before taking command of the Seventh Fleet, Admiral Ingersoll was Chief of Staff and Aide to the Commander in Chief of the U. S. Atlantic Fleet. vT - • rr - m Commanding Officer y The ship practically holds her breath when she hears the preamble, This is the Captain speaking, over the PA system to congratulate her for a job well done or to announce future movements. Captain Harry Smith assumed command last July. At 47, he is the youngest commanding officer of a Pacific Fleet cruiser. The Captain was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Class of ' 30, and went right aboard the battleship USS Maryland, where he became Signal Officer. During World War II, he was in the Coral Sea, Midway, Aleutian, Guadalcanal and Okinawa engagements. He commanded the destroyers Kimberly and the Frank E. Evans, and also was an aide to a carrier task force commander. After the war, Captain Smith was Naval Attache to the Union of South Africa, and he commanded the attack transport USS George Clymer. Before taking command of the Helena, the Captain attended the National War College in Washington, D.C. The Skipper, whose home town is Springfield, Illinois, married a girl from Seattle, Washington. Captain and Mrs. Smith and their two sons Harry and Tom now live in the ship ' s home port. Executive Officer The man who administers the ship is Commander William J. Carey Jr., the Executive Officer. Cdr. Carey was born in St. Louis, Mo., May 21, 1916. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy and was graduated with the Class of ' 39. His first naval assignment was the battleship USS Mississippi. The Executive Officer participated in World War II and the Korean War. He ' s skip- pered four destroyer escorts and was the Executive Officer of the U.S. Naval Base, Annapolis, Md. Cdr. Carey married his wife Elizabeth, who is from Elmira, N.Y., in Honolulu, T. H., in 1943. They have four children, William Jr., Maurien, Christopher Michael and James. Their permanent home is Elmira. SUMMARY 5 Jan Left Long Beach, Calif. 11 Jan -13 Jan Pearl Harbor. Administrative Inspection 26 Jan 30 Jan Yokosuka, Japan. Relieved St. Paul as Flagship 3 Feb — 12 Feb Keelung, Taiwan 16 Feb 17 Feb Iwo Jima. Navy-Marine Landing Exercise 20 Feb —21 Feb Keelung 23 Feb -26 Feb Buckner Bay, Okinawa 29 Feb — 2 Mar Keelung 5 Mar 9 Mar Manila, Republic of the Philippines 14 Mar — 21 Mar Keelung 24 Mar —25 Mar Nagasaki, Japan 26 Mar — 28 Mar Sasebo, Japan 31 Mar — 2 Apr Nagoya, Japan 6 Apr — 13 Apr Keelung 22 Apr - 28 Apr Hong Kong, B.C.C. 30 Apr — 1 May Keelung 5 May — 11 May Kobe (Osaka, Kyoto Nara). Japan 14 May — 21 May Keelung 23 May — 24 May Kaohsiung, Taiwan 30 May — 3 Jun Keelung 9 Jun —21 Jun Yokosuka. Rochester takes C7F aboard 22 Jun HOMEWARD BOUND FAR EAST CRUISE ' 56 HAWAII The Hawaiian Islands were our first stop after we left Long Beach, and when not preparing for Administrative Inspection, we had an opportunity to poke around Oahu. The first impressive sij ht when making our approach from seaward was Diamond Head, a familiar landmark that used to be a volcano. We could sec the beach at Waikiki with its rolling surf, exclusive hotels, thatched huts and fringe of palms. Ilickam Field and Pear! Harbor were next. We topped off, shifted berths and when Liberty Call was passed, the crew had a chance to visit Honolulu. Honolulu is the big town, roughly 275,000 population, and as Americana as Stateside. It starts at the waterfront and ambles through the foothills to the mountains beyond. Shoppers had a field day. Merchandise from all over the world overflows from the Honolulu stores, and also there were shops that dealt exclusively in Hawaiian souvenirs. There were the latest movies, concerts and museums specializing in Polynesian arts and culture, and, of course, service clubs. Honolulu is a melting pot of the races of the Pacific. Its people, Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Ilawaiians, and Mainlanders, live together, mostly out of doors, argue and play together and send their children to the same schools. There was pineapple, poi and pork roasted in bananas, and abundant recreational facilities, including swimming at Waikiki, former playground of Hawaiian kings, for three days following our rough voyage from the U.S. before we said Aloha to the Territory of Hawaii and continued on westward towards Yokosuka, Japan, our next port of call. NIHON With most of the Pacific Ocean behind us, we arrived in Yokosuka, Japan, the Navy town of the Far East. It was a short stay, but what with daily stores working parties and such there still was time for liberty and haggling in Black Market Alley. Shopping in Yokosuka is an art in itself. There ' s the first price, you speak, and then the prices go back and forth like a tobacco auction interspersed with an occasional ne until a satisfactory figure is reached about one third of the original given price. Also there ' s the pay day price and the day before pay day price. For the uninitiated, there was the Ship ' s Store. For the athlete, there were the service clubs of Yokosuka, Yokohama and Tokyo, a gym, roller skating rink, bowling alleys, rod and gun club, yacht club, bicycle riding, swimming pool, tennis courts, skeet range, golf course and sight seeing. An hour train ride lands you in Tokyo where Navy tourists could eyeball the Imperial Palace grounds. Diet Building, Imperial Hotel or just roam the Ginza, the Broadway of Japan ' s capital city. There ' s the Oriental Bazaar, Suehiro ' s Japanese Restaurant, Meiji Shrine and Kiffatsu Arcade, to say nothing of the Meiji Art Gallery, Yasukuni Shrine and the Kokusai Theater, featuring a variety show with a cast of over 300 girls. A short haul from Yokosuka brings you to Kamakura, famous for its huge bronze Great Buddha. Thousands of pilgrims travel to Kamakura from all over Japan to worship this immense statue and the Goddess of Merch at Kannon Temple. Later in the cruise we returned to Japan and visited Nagasaki, Sasebo and Nagoya. The city of Nagasaki is on the western coast of Kyushu along the eastern coast of Nagasaki Bay. It was through Nagasaki that Christianity was introduced into Japan. The first recorded mission in Nagasaki was that of St. Francis of Xavier who arrived in 1589. The Japanese opposed Christianity and, in 1597, twenty-six missionaries were crucified by ofiic ' ials. The city was almost totally destroyed by the second atomic blast in World War II on August 9, 1945. Over 30,000 persons were killed and 40,000 injured. Nearly 20,000 homes were wiped out in the Urakami district. A park and a pylon mark the site of ground zero. The city has almost completed its recovery from the A-bomb blast, and it won ' t be too long before it will be able to assume its pre-war position as an important port in Japan. There aren ' t very many military personnel in Nagasaki, nor has there been in the past, hence an acute shortage of cabarets, restaurants and taxi cabs and Japanese who jive the pidgeon-navalese used in most ports of Japan by American sailors. Our next port of call was Sasebo, the westernmost city in Japan guarding the important narrows between Japan and the East China Sea. Sasebo is one of two major U.S. Navy bases in Japan. Since its establishment in 1886 as a naval station, it has grown into a major installation. The bay is considered one of the best typhoon shelters in Japan since it contains anchorages for practically an unlimited number of vessels. Nearby points of interest were Arita, noted for its pottery works, Takashima Pearl Farm, Unzen National Park and the seaside resort of Karatsu. We transited the Inland Sea, dodging fishing boats all the way, until we arrived in Nagoya in central Honshu. Nagoya, which lies about two-thirds of the way between Tokyo and Osaka, is one of the several cities in Japan to take advantage of war damages to remodel along modernistic and industrial lines. She is now the second largest industrial city in Japan with markets all over the world. The city ranks first in textiles, pottery and chinaware, sewing machines, clocks and bicycles. Places to see in Nagoya included the Nittayi and Koshoyii temples, Ise Shrine, Nippon Brewery, Toyopet Auto Factory, Noritake China Factory, Ando Cloisonne Factory and Nagoya castle. In May we returned to Japan to Kobe. Kobe is part of a four-city area that includes Osaka, Kyoto and Nara. Kobe, located on the north shore of Osaka Bay in central Honshu, is the largest port in Japan. It serves as the eastern gateway to the Inland Sea and is the maritime capital of Japan. The city itself is noted for its cosmopolitan atmosphere complete with western type hotels, night clubs, restaurants and shops. Visitors to Kobe throng to the Takarazuka Opera to see the all-girl musical revues. The show, reputed to be Japan ' s best, is always sold out in advance. The troupe recruits the most beautiful and talented girls in Japan. Twenty miles east of Kobe is Osaka, located in the Kinki District of central Japan, noted for its ancient history, culture and industrialization. It is the second largest city in Japan, and it is frequently described as the Venice of Nippon because of its numerous canals and bridges. The canals were the work of the fourth century Emperor Nintoku who made Osaka his capital. Today Osaka is the industrial center of the Far East, boasting over 9000 factories despite the fact that one third of the city and its population were wiped out during World War II. Kyoto is the old capital and cultural center of Japan. It was the ruling city in Japan for over 1000 years. The city is still famous for its temples, ancient buildings, objects of art and natural beauty. Its shopping districts reputedly have the best examples of Japanese craftsmanship in silk brocade, damascene, cloisonne, lacquerware, wood carvings, porcelain, dolls, wood prints and art objects. Nara, and the surrounding area, was the cradle of the arts and crafts, literature and recorded history of Japan. The first written histories of the nation were compiled there in the eighth century. At the height of its glory, Nara covered an extensive area with palaces, temples, public buildings and residences of noble and wealthy families. The city is still famous for its temples and shrines, beautiful parks, herds of tame deer and ancient stone lanterns. .J3 v ' r t {Jreal Buddha of Kamakura New buildings replace rubble and ruins Main batlerv less OrdAlls Up in Ci ' nlral I ' ark Anybody sc( n Gunga din The nncieiit languaKC of Buddha ' s jjfslure Five story pagoda -•a Xc :, Could be Long Beach after rain squall OiitdoinR tlu ' iiciKhbors in TV antennas I)ig llinl crazy jackel Till ' Kol l,-n lUicldha Long Beach but tokens no good here ii=JZ5 Ranch liouse Far East style r , Peace memorial at Nagasaki Rushing home from tea clatch In Spring a young man ' s fancy I V. 1 The distaff side of life ApartmeiU with view ' rsT - The only crap game in town Two typical Japanese girls visit- ed the ship while we were in Kobe. They were the Sea Queen, dressed in traditional raiment, and Miss Port of Kobe. They were greeted with flowers and taken on a tour ot the ship which included the pilot house and the galley. Children all over ihe world like candy, cookies and ice cream. These youngsters were our guests, and they terrorized the Helena from stem to stern during their brief visit and gedunk party. FORMOSA We spent more time in Formosa than any other place in the P ar East during this cruise. The name F ' ormosa means pretty in Portuguese, but the rains of Keelung dampened our appreciation of its natural beauty. Formosa is about 250 miles long and 90 miles wide. It is only 100 miles east of the Chinese mainland. Formosa, together with 70 smaller islands called the Pescadores, comprise almost the total area of Nationalist China. Formosa ' s original inhabitants resembled Polynesians and were head hunters. Their descendants still live primitively on the eastern half of the island, but many of their customs have been influenced by the the Chinese who have been on Formosa since the seventh century. By the early 1300 ' s, the Chinese were pretty well dug in on Taiwan, as they call it, and they no longer feared retaliation by the natives for their exploitation. Portuguese ships called at Formosa and the Dutch who at the time were spreading their influence over the southwest Pacific established a fort and a settlement there. F orty years after the Dutch arrived, they were driven from the island by the Manchus. The Chinese ruled Taiwan until they ceded it to Japan at the end of the Sino- Japanese war. During World War II, the Japan- ese used F ' ormosa as a springboard for their amphibious assaults against the Chinese mainland and the Philip- pines. At the insistence of the United States and Great Britain, Formosa was returned to China at the end of World War II. When the Chinese Civil War was resumed. Communist forces swept the country and Chiang Kai-shek moved his Nationalist gov- ernment to Formosa, establishing Taipei as his capital. While on Formosa, we stayed in Keelung, the principal port of the island, which lies 22 miles northeast of Taipei. It is the fifth largest city in Formosa with a population of 161,000, which seems to fluctuate with ships ' movements. Some people claim Keelung as the rainiest port in the world. • ' w ' f KEELUNG CLUB Keelung ' s Chamber of Commerce has never billed the city as the garden spot oi Taiwan or the Playland of the Pacific even though it is located at about the same latitude as Miami, Florida. In fact, the city will never threaten Milwaukee ' s boast of being the best Navy liberty town, but there have been improvements made. Foremost has been the night spot known as the Keelung Club. The Keelung Club administration was assumed by the ship when we relieved the St. Paul. The Board of Governors appointed consisted of CDR Knight, LCDR Baker, and LCDR Countryman. Club personnel were : J R Trammell, chief commissaryman, manager; E.A. Hillstrom, chief engineman, assistant manager; F.N. Grayson, com- missaryman first class, bar manager ; W. R. Blue, storekeeper second class, cashier ; J.M. Bandy, storekeeper third class, assistant cashier ; and J.R. Schermerhorn, ship ' s .serviceman first class, bookkeeper. Over $1,500 was spent to improve the club and make it a better place to spend liberty hours. A new deck was put in on the first floor, murals of Seventh Fleet flagships were set up, new bars were obtained, a complete food service including a new grill and refrigerator was put in on the second deck, a new bandstand was installed and new fans, chairs, tables and other miscellaneous items purchased to better the place. It was the only place in Keelung where a man could purchase drinks at a reasonable price, have a snack and listen to the Helena Troubadors or the Seventh Fleet Combo. :7. 1 l-e mw OKINAWA After participating in the amphibious exercises on Two Jima, the Helena dropped her hook in Buckner Bay. Okinawa for three days of R R. Okinawa is one of the 108 islands that make up the Ryukyu Islands and one of the top priority projects of the Department of Defense. As a permanent base it will be the United States ' Gibraltar of the Pacific. The strategic importance of Okinawa has been recognized for years. In 1853, Commodore Matthew C. Perry, on his way to Japan, stopped off in Okinawa and established a coaling station. Today, Okinawa fuels destroyer types and is one of the ports of call of the Formosa Strait Patrol Force. In addition to the service clubs and recreational facilities, the crew had an opportunity to visit some of the points of interest on the Island. There was Nakagusuku Castle, a 500-year old castle that marks the site of World War IPs bloodiest battles on Okinawa. It was built about 1450 as a fortress for Gosamaru, the ruler of Shuri, one of Okinawa ' s three fifteenth century kingdoms. The battered ruins overlook Buckner Bay where our forces hit the beach in 1945. On the southern tip of the island is the Virgin ' s Cave where 122 school girls were killed during the battle for Okinawa. During the mopping up operations, an American soldier called for those inside to surrender. The story goes that the Japanese had told the girls that all American soldiers were rapacious beasts. They refused to leave the cave. After several warnings, there was no alternative but to burn the cave out with flame throwers. A monument now marks the spot of the Virgin ' s Cave. Shuri Castle, the ancient capitol of the Ryukyus, was the Okinawan headquarters of the Japanese Army. It was practically obliterated during World War II by naval air attacks and bombardment. Suicide Cliffs is the name of a bluff on the southern coast where hundreds of Japanese soldiers committed mass suicide by plunging into the sea rather than surrender- ing or risking capture. On le Shima Island, the Ernie Pyle Memorial marks the spot where the war correspondent was killed by machine gun fire three months before the war was over. f i. C f5fe, V fs MANILA In March we visited Manila, capital of the Republic of the Philippines. The city is over 6000 miles from Stateside, situated in the south central part of Luzon, the largest of the over 7,000 islands which make up the Philippine Archipelago. There are approximately a million and a half people in the city to drink up the local beer called San Miguel. It ' s a huge, unplanned city sprawling along the coastal lowlands of the bay and the sluggish Pasig River. Like Topsy it just grew. . . .by extending its boundaries California-style, embracing small towns on its outskirts. Factories live alongside palatial mansions replete with elaborate gardens and extensive grounds. Sheet metal shacks lean against modern air-conditioned office and public buildings. It is a blending of the old and the new, oriental and occidental. It gives the impression of a small town with a sophisticated and cosmopolitan people. Architectural styles clash. Native art, 400 years of Spanish domination, 50 years of United States rule and ultra modern Filipino veneer hobnob. Everybody speaks English and wears western clothes. Although evidences of heavy destruction of World War II are everywhere, the city is slowly removing the scars of its war wounds. The principal avenues and streets have been paved since the war and bridges repaired, but many side streets are still full of holes, with mud during the wet season and clouds of dust in the dry months. There are very few paved sidewalks, and even the few that do exist are interrupted by bland spots and piles of debris or garbage. Yet with all of this, there is a tree lined shady bayside drive named Dewey Boulevard which rims the most attractive natural scenery in the islands, Manila Bay. Manila Bay, rimmed by low hills and islands, is beautiful at sunset, splashed with a flamboyant riot of color from the horizon of the Bay to the eastern hills of the city. It is one of the largest and finest land-locked harbors in the world. Here and there in the harbor, grim, unsalvaged hulks of ships sunk during World War II mar the scene with deep shadows. Within the city of Manila is the old Walled City. This area, near the American Embassy, was badly damaged by shelling during the War. It is all that remains of the original fortified city built by the Spaniards when they conquered the natives and established the town in the early 16()0 ' s. The ancient walls are several feet thick and some of them cannot be breached even with heavy artillery. •) „ mU . • ' 5P. HOSTED BY MANILA USO f ' -mf r.U I ' 3tii f t HONG KONG High point in the cruise was our week ' s stay in Hong Kong. In Chinese, Hong Kong means fragrant harbor however, there is nobody alive who can remember when it ever was. Perhaps in its early days when it was a notorious pirate hang- out. It was a town filled with tempting prices. We arrived loaded, bought, and departed poor, with a couple extra feet of draft. No-squeak shoes were noising up every compartment on the ship and, man, some of those crazy clothes. The British Crown Colony of Hong Kong consists of the territory of Kowloon on the southern tip of the mainland, the New Territories and the island itself. The British have been in possession since 1841. Hong Kong presents a spectacle in extremes. There are the wealthy homes of the opium kings and the squalid shacks of the refugees from Communist China. There are starvation and exquisite restaurants. Paris creations and beggars ' rags. Rare wines and polluted water. The city tilts from the waterfront to Victoria Peak. The hillside streets are like stairways. A ride on the Peak tramway gives a spectacular panoramic view of the whole colony. At one point in the ascent, the car climbs at a 45-degree angle. A trip to Hong Kong is incomplete without a visit to the famed Tiger Balm Gardens. The Gardens were created by the wealthy Tiger Man who concocted Tiger Balm, an oriental Hadacol guaranteed to cure all ills except cancer. The Tiger Man died of cancer. The grotesque and garish statuary are a Chinese Disneyland depicting age-old legends and stories. In the midst of the Gardens stands an immense monu- ment. The guide explains it thus. There ' s a custom in China that commits the children of the family to take care of their parents when they become old. The Tiger Man ' s folks died before he could fulfill this obligation so he built the monument in their honor. Directly opposite the fabulous mansion and gardens lie the shacks of refugees, clinging to cliffs, threatening to slide down the steep incline with the first heavy rainfall. There was also Repulse Bay where the wealthy build their resort homes complete with private beaches. The rich merchants sometimes keep their Number Two Wife here. The only reason the Chinese take another wife is because they love their first wife so much. The second wife shares the load when it comer, to house keeping and child rearing and she can be trusted more than a servant with the allotment check. So the old man is just being big hearted when he carries home another spouse. In Aberdeen is the famous sampan village where families live and die on small sampans. In the midst of the water town are the famous floating restaurants. ' rifiiT Man ' s liiljulf to parunts Seven story pagoda in Tiger Halm Gardens i t f. f Ominous clouds hover over Kowloon ' s seven dragons . aSsOaiSLhsiSUid ift ' ■:. :: ,%-: T . . -■ -. ] -. .   ' ■ ' .v • ■ .-t J . -  - I ' Ami r-tiv t 4;ff4f«feiii i Why We Were There To the Men and Ships of the Seventh Fleet We left you with a sincere feeling of regret we could not stay longer but with great confidence in the officers and men who man the staffs and ships of the U.S. Seventh Fleet. You are the real Navy and all of our efforts and energies are directed toward strengthening our operating forces who guard the foi ward area in support of our National Policy. The country and the Navy are always proud of you and working for those things you need to have to do the job better. It is inspiring to see first hand how you have accepted your great responsibilities and how much you have earned this confidence. Under Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy Air Replenishment at Sea Irf:- -? :nr:::: -i§§; •■ 1 __ fif - ' ' i? -t ' i?:?S -- . i - h-- t ¥. m m Helena ' s Dream Girl and Court Miss Ann Watts lefti, fiancee of W.G. Udell, LIS, won the Helena ' s Dream Girl contest conducted while the ship was in the Far East. Her court consisted of Miss Donna Marlene Moore bottom right , nominated by Pvt. Charles Dunaway, and Mrs. Sheri May Walker ' bottom left-, wife of D. W. Walker, FT3. V-, ' • ' , HONOR MAN OF THE YEAR Edward L. Nelson BMl Edward L. Nelson, BMl, the Sixth Division ' s leading Boatswain ' s Mate, was presented with a letter of commen- dation by Capt. Harry Smith in a ceremony on the fantail March 17 at Keelung, honoring him as Honor Man of the Year . The award is made by the ship to the crew member who has contributed the most to the Helena and the U. S. naval sei ' vice during the past year. Nelson ' s name was chosen by the Executive Officer and the Heads of Department from the nominations by each division. His name has been inscribed on the Honor Man of the Year plaque in the crew ' s lounge. His commendation read, in part : This award is a tribute to your outstanding per- formance of duty, sound judgment, tact, self control and good humor in your daily relations with your shipmates. It is a tribute in recognition of your high degree of courage, honor and personal integrity and loyalty. It marks you as a petty officer respected and admired for exemplary personal conduct as well as professional competence. s Harry Smith Captain, USN « t. A ' GUNNERY DEPARTMENT Left to Right) Front Row: LT George C. Selby, LT George M. Foglesong, LT Carson R. Tallent, LT Arthur C. Plambeck, CUR John J. Knight. MAJ Robert J. Rossi, LCDR Daniel ZwilHng, LT Kenneth B. Brisco, LT Richard M. Shively Jr. Second Row: LTJG John T. Butz, ENS Roger C. Dunn, LTJG Philip M. Brown, LTJG Lyle H. Cain Jr., FIRST LT James H. Carothers, LTJG Donald D. White, ENS Thomas C. Sturdivant, ENS Delbert V. Keener Top Row: LTJG Jack R. Griffin, ENS Ronald K. Sundfors, ENS Daniel L Padberg, LTJG Charles E. Rambo, CHGUN John F. Briehler, CHBOSN Miles E. Hurley, CHGUN Aulton B Parker OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT (Left to Right) Front Row: ENS Donald A. Smith, ENS Darryl D. Lieberman, LTJG John L. Gwynn Second Row : LTJG Tom T. Brown, LTJG Charles H. Collins, CDR Adelbert R. Evers, LTJG Dempster M. Jackson, LTJG Joseph A. Young Top Row: ENS James M. Doody Jr., LTJG Robert H. Filsinger, LTJG Bruce C. Dale. LTJG Richard A. Burt, LTJG Howard K. Laverty, Chief Dodge, CHRELE Kreinberg. f; -=- .JL - - ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT iLeft to Right Front Row; LTJG Richard W. Dean, LT Paul S. Larkin, LCDR Dennis P. Tinsley, LTJG Ray A. Hobgood, LTJG Clifford L. Grader Top Row : LTJG Joseph D. Cerchione, CHCARP Wayne I. Egger, CHELECT Charles L. Mickey, ENS Theodore R. Davis Jr., LTJG Philip M. Brown, ENS Roger M. Exon, CHMACH Hiram M. Kimble, CHMACH Charles C. Ramet. SUPPLY DEPARTMENT (Left to Right) CHPCLK Donald A. Hiatt, LTJG Donald F. Harris, LCDR Ralph P. Countryman, ENS Guy M. Schaefer, CHPCLK Meral J. Cathcart. . . J ' ■ ! - i! -r lit -H J : -J x EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT (Left to Right) LTJG Gilbert J. Kaiser, Chaplain KobL-rl N. RuUinaii, CDK W illiam J. LaiL.v Jr., LTJG Roderick C. MacLeod, LTJC Koberl II. Grose, CIISCLK Roscoe 1). Goodenough MKDICAI. OKKICKK (_|)K William 1). Grill)!! ■-■-[ I NAVKIA ' IION DKPAR ' rMENT l.CDR William 1 ' . Baker ENS Donald W. Ulmer DENTAL OFl-ICEK CDR Henry T. Mumme Jr. GO couj v 4 i - j .VwH m o rt E C — ' •= 1- a ■ - o t ) I S .5 O •• Si c o O O Of so a •5 E E § J ' •r -c ■ ;; E -e ( : K oa oo GO 5 CO oo VICTOR 1 Wilson, Mc-yi-rs, Goniiaii, Biiggs i ' I ■ !■) N % oo ir ' - ' .  ip - i mm u; f Y - m j i « ' . i = 3 ( ' . 1 J • ■ m '  • r - : . iti5 r . « fjm ■ %jb — a. IWJ ' m o J3 o. ci i 1 . - c oo t CNJ CO IE ' THE CREW AT WORK IM i 1 ' ■ r 1 %L r- B 1 w k1 yk 1 VBIB F — • £ VI t- ' - ' i : .. rH L r J ' CP ' ' LONG BEACH MlbWAY PtARL HARBOR ' ' J -t-