Herald of the Morning (AP 173) - Naval Cruise Book

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Leaving the Solomons on 8 September, l944, she reached the Palau Islands on I5 September, landed a portion of the 8lst Wildcat Division and then took the re- mainder of the troops north for the peaceful occupation of Ulithi Atoll. With that job completed, the ship headed south for the New Guinea area and on I October arrived at Manus, Admiralty Islands, to prepare for the greatest operation to that time of the war- the assault on the Philippine Islands, bastion of Japan's newly-stolen empire. On 20 October, IQ44, memorable as the date the United Nations forces cleaved their way into the'Jap empire at Leyte Island, P. I., the HERALD OF THE MORNlNG'S landing craft were carrying the assault waves of the famed First Cavalry Division ashore just south of Tacloban, Although enemy planes were in the air and made futile attempts to harass shipping, the crew of the HERALD unloaded troops and cargo in less than ten hours and sped out of the area by dark. Accompanied by ships of her group, she traveled to Guam, in the Marianna Islands, by way of Palau. There the ships picked up the 77th Division which had participated in the capture of Guam. By a roundabout course through the Marshalls and dovvn to the Solo- mons, the ships eventually arrived at Manus to fuel and provision before making another run on Leyte within a month after the initial assault. , . The fighting 77th Division was landed on Z3 November at Dulag, on Leyteqlsland, and H -H our

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Okinawa Landings the run was made through enemy-held waters. For more than a week the convoy steamed through submarine-infested waters with Jap planesland task forces attempting to halt the operation. Suicide planes dived at and hit shipping. Submarines were contacted and reports of enemy action were numerous. But the armada did not swerve from its course or its mission as it sailed through the Mindinao Sea, the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea into Lingayen Gulf, arriving there on 9 Janu- ary, I945, date of the initial assault. Aboard the HERALD OF THE MORNING the crew had been at general quarters most of the time during the hazardous passage but the big job was yet to be completed, the land- ing of troops and equipment on Luzon Island. Inside Lingayen Gulf, the Japs con- tinued their attacks, hurling suicide planes, boats loaded with explosives and human torpedoes at shipping in the gulf. The HERALD OF THE MORNING remained in Lingayen Gulf for three days, during which the ship was in a condition of read- ness to repel enemy surface or air attacks at all times, while unload- ing her troops and cargo. The return run from Luzon to Leyte was made without incident and after the ship had been at Leyte for a few days, she was sent with others to the island of Biak, off -New Guinea, to pick up another contingent of troops. These also were veterans of action in the New Guinea area, the 4Ist Division. Re- turning to the Philippines for the fourth time in as many months, the HERALD OF THE MORNING land- ed her troops and cargo on the Island of Mindoro, to the south of Luzon, without trouble on 9 Febru- ary. By this time the HERALD and , ships of her group were long over- due for yard availability and they received orders to proceed back to Hawaii, stopping enroutelat Ulithi Atoll, in the Western Carolines. But when the ships arrived at Ulithi another task awaited them, the evacuation of Marines from Iwo Jima. All spare supplies had beenleft behind at Leyte, and days were required to provision again for the new -operation. The ships then steamed north to the Volcano Islands. Arriv- ing within a hundred miles of the Islands about 8 March, they were ordered to remain in a retirement area until hostilities had ceased at Iwo Jima. For more than a week the group steamed back and forth but never coming within sight of their Islanddestihation. ' ' At last word was received to approach the island and the HERALD OF THE MORNING began embarking units of the Fifth Marines. The ship spent ten more days off Iwo, taking