Hollandia (CVE 97) - Naval Cruise Book

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43- 44 K ,I FA ff Y I N 4 X Ili, 5' Y S'-.L-,Q 1 '-pl 1 I ,sa that facilities aboard were perfect. Phil Cheney deserves much of the credit for that. Lieut. Bill Evans, known as Windy, was Cheney's assistant until sent to another ship. Dave Rice and Bob Wheeler were other officers who pitched in to make C 8: R an efiicient part of ship's company. And Carpenter Dutelle did much to keep things rolling, instructing his men in routine and the deviations from routine which make sea life at least interesting. COMMUNICATIONS was one of the busier places aboard. More messages-some important, some unimportant-came through than can be imagined, but they were all received, and decoded when necessary. Lieut. Frank Bush 'E was our original Communi- Q cations Ofiiper. He came to the 97 with much sea duty ' XCMHK behind him and was able to give his boys thorough in- doctrination in the whys and wherefores of Navy com- munications. The rest of the communications ofiicers re- ceived their Communications schooling at the Navy's school at Harvard University. Howie Kraft was Bush's assistant, taking over his job when Frank went to a British carrier. Others were Frank Stahl, Don Stoneburner and Tony Finger. Then Stan Helmeci moved over from the Exec's Office. Red Purdy was there for awhile, shifting to gunnery. West and Dennison were later acquisitions. Finger handled the radio gang. Stoneburner was signal officer, and that gave him a chance to get up on the bridge in the open air now and then. In addition, he had charge of the post office and the incoming mail, a really important item to all aboard. Of course the Fleet Post Cffice deserves plenty of credit for the prompt mail service we enjoyed through most of our life at sea, but Stoney made certain that once the mail was aboard it was sorted and distributed promptly. Every single one of us-officer and man alike-ewas grateful to Stoney for that. LT. CDR. OLIVER-later Commander-headed the Medical Department, with the able assist- ance of Russ De Alverez and Bud Clarke and a gang of smart corpsmen. Russ brought babies into the P world as a civilian doctor, but it was appendicitis in- stead of babies aboard the NUT-STU HOLLANDIA. But he handled uw all his operations competently and coolly. Bud was dental officer and gave excellent service in his little cubby hole, all the while keeping up a fast line of chatter about nothing. Anything from a cold to an unruly ap- pendix, from a pinhole cavity to a really beat-up tooth-H Division was the place to apply. Our chaplain - Lieut. Robert DeWitt Yost-was a regular gent. He conducted the Sunday religious services, of course, but that was only a small part of his work. He was always ready to listen to our problems and do what he could to solve them. When emergency leave was requested, it was the Padre's job to make the necessary investigation, then approve or disapprove the request before it went to the Exec and Captain. And there were plenty of personal problems arising aboard ship and ashore. In addition the Padre ran the ship's library, with aid of a yeoman, of course. There were thousands of books or magazines to be loaned out, accounted for and traced down. He ordered the V-Discs which were played during non-work- ing hours. He edited the ship's paper, Casey jones, which was published as often as possible. He was given the job of starting work on this book. Yes, the Padre was busy, but he had time for a bit of fun now and then. HAT BRiNos Us to the Ship's Office. At first we had two offices, the Captair1's and Execs Prophet ran the Captains office, Helmeci the

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MN tures of that sneak attack by the 'laps were filkefl by his camera. Following that raid he went to sea again and saw action at Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Rendova, Kula Gulf, and Kolomban- gara. So he came to the 97 with a real background. He was invaluable to Red in breaking in the reserve enlisted men of N Division, who included a couple of buglers whose only fault was in blowing reveille when nobody was ready for it. Rollins and his gang always knew where the ship was to go, how it was to get there, and when it was to arrive. We always arrived where and when the orders indicated. HE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT provided the power to make those long trips to the Far Pacific. It had an ' t a W 'fi May F' i M N - s, l,,- T :W if A ee 46 e' tv 3 x , , N 'S lj I I rg ' ' -ik cj 4 ,,.,3,,l enviable record. The Black Gang never got us under- way late, never caused us to run behind schedule. Close calls, but always on time. Lieut. Raymond Pete Shannon was our first engi- neering officer. Pete came to us after sea duty on other Navy ships and with years of experience as a merchantman engineer. He started right out breaking in the Black Gang and took the 97 out on its first trip to Espiritu, Manus, and Guadalcanal. And by the time we had returned to the States the engineering staff knew their stuff as well as any gang aboard ship. There is much to learn in an engineroom. The complexities of station-keeping, for example. We made our first trip out unescorted but when we reached Finschaven, en route from Espiritu to Manus, they shoved us in with a convoy which could make but eight knots. That presented a problem to the 97, which was no speed king but cruised normally at approximately 15 knots, The trip took about 50 hours, all of which were spent in continual jockeying back and forth in order to stay in position. The engineering staff was up against something quite new to most of them. Following that jockeying trip, liuwever, gi revolution splitter was rigged up in the form ot a vernier adjustment for the main engine tut-off levers. This worked out to perfection, lfrom that time on the Black Gang just followed orders from the bridge, proclaiming that if the 97 ever was caught off station, it was the fault of the officer of the deck and nobody else, Shannon's boys were in the clear. When we returned to the States Pete went to the hospital for a short time, then left the Navy to return to his old job of engineering ofiicer on a tanker. Lieut. O. K. johnson, who had been his assistant, took over with Lt, fjgj joe Ander- son becoming assistant engineering otiicer. Whisper Sturgis and Electrician Merchant also were hospitalized, and Lillig left for other duty, leaving Shaky Dubler, Murphy, Dillon, Chan- nel and Winklhofer. Through all personnel changes in the depart- ment one unforgettable character remained--XX'il- liams, the assistant oil king. Williams ran through four oil kings in rapid succession. Possibly they were unable to keep up with his pace. Or per- haps they were smothered under the weight of his omniscience-or possibly just his weight. .asr LIEUTENANT and Damage Control Otiicer was Lt. Cdr. Phil Cheney, Harvard graduate. artist, Vermont farmer and expert on the better things in life, which he'd tell you are liquor and wo- , , tiff-llilur-ffl menhor is it women and liquor? Phil's many duties included keeping the 97 T A shipshape, seeing that repair work was done when and where it was needed. He A! had to handle abandon ship 4' assignments. He had to issue lifebelts. He had to take care dd- lon of all berthing, for both ofii- i cers and men. He had to handle the same thing for passengers, Anyone who has served aboard can tell you that the Q7 HIWAYS WHS Ueflf and clean, always ready for any- fhmg that Came her way in the line- of duty. PASSCIUZCYS were almost unanimous in declaring

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51369157 5 7-7- '-.'X 3 i Ai. AY ALNAV KEEWEM LET EM IH. ou'lT :xE::, 'f CLERK Q0 Executive Officer's Office before shifting to Com- munications. Later these were merged into the Ship's Office, where all ship's business was trans- acted, with heavy emphasis on personnel matters. Shortly after the change was made, Lieut. Weems, a Regular Navy officer, came aboard as right- hand man to Captain and Exec and took over the office. Chief Armbruster was Prophet's right hand man in the Captain's Office. He did a masterful job there and later in the Air Office and the Ship's Office. THAT MUCH for the sketchy outline of ship's organization. Nearly everyone aboard, both officers and men, had much to learn, and the only way it could be learned was through experience at sea. The great majority of us had never been to sea and never expected to go to sea. The war changed our plans, however, and we all pitched in and made the best of it. Capt. Lee and Comdr. Brown must have had many misgivings when they took over and saw the bunch of landlubbers they had to take out with them, but they were highly capable officers and through their ability and understanding they fashioned the HOLLANDIA and its personnel into a ship that ranked second to none in the United States Navy. We spent nearly three weeks at Astoria after commissioning, for there was much to be done before we could put to sea. Gear had to be in- stalled, stores taken aboard, and many other chores, big and small, performed. In addition, there was a ship's party, with music and enter- tainment, which helped to knit us into a family organization. Finally, on 20 june we got underway, laying our course for Puget Sound, Bremerton, and Seattle. That short run demonstrated one thing conclusively-the men who had been civilians only a short time before were quick to absorb the routine of sea life and to put what they learned to practical use. We spent a few days in the Seattle area load- ing ammunition and stores, then set out again, this time for San Francisco. On this jaunt we had our hrst experience with rough weather. The seas along that section of the West Coast can be rugged at times. The men learned that, many of them to their great discomfort. Some just wanted to stay in the sack and die. Anything would be better than that dread mal de mer. But all but a few remained on their feet, did their daily work and fought it out. And before we had reached the Golden Gate, they had conquered seasickness for once and for all. We had a bit of trouble getting into San Francisco because of rough seas, darkness, and a bit of fog, but Capt. Lee and Red Rollins were equal to the job, with a bit of aid from radar. By the time the sun had appeared and the fog had lifted we were ready to enter the Golden Gate and proceed to our berth at Oakland. We spent two days and nights there in loading, but officers and men did get an opportunity to spend a little time in San Francisco, best city on the Pacific Coast. Then down the coast to San Diego. We took a trip off the coast there for operational training. and the 97 experienced its first landings and takeoffs of Navy planes. Then we loaded up with planes and passengers and really put to sea. fNote: that jaunt down the Wfest Coast is scoffed at by the Regular Navy. Do you call that sea duty? j THE HOLLANDIA got underway 10 Ululy. Shortly after we had cleared the harbor. Cfomdr Brown announced to all hands that our desti- nation was Espiritu Santo. The trip will take' N funn.. XF-i XX --ii ign1 '-Q--mv W i 1 l