Hollandia (CVE 97) - Naval Cruise Book

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I wJ f LQ? trouble might come our way. But we went up to the same area, 60 miles off the island, without mishap, fiew off our Marines in near-record time, and retired south. During our four days near Okinawa we con- tacted a number of unidentified planes by radar, and one plane sighted was believed to be a Jap Val. But no enemy plane attacked us. Still, there was plenty of fighting in progress both on and around Okinawa while we were up there, so we were in potential danger. And for that operation all personnel aboard the HOL- LANDIA and the ships with us became entitled to wear a battle star on their Pacific Theatre ribbons. We returned to Guam, then to Pearl and back to the States, where Capt. Lee turned command over to Comdr. Brown, having been given a new and important assignment as chief of staff to Commander Fleet Air Wing 18, based at Tinian. Everyone hated to lose Chink, because he had been an ideal skipper, a boss with ability and understanding. HEN A sHoRT TRIP to Pearl, with jim Leslie filling in as Exec. At Pearl our new perma- nent Executive Officer reported aboard--Comdr. Charles Eastman, USN. Comdr. Eastman, born in Winchester, Indiana, 24 August 1914, was grad- uated from St. johns College, Annapolis, Mary- land, in the class of 1934. Entering the Navy, he completed flight training at Pensacola and was assigned to patrol bomber duty in Panama, followed by two years in fighters aboard the old Warp. During this period, on 28 Decem. ber 1940, he married May Shipley of Savage, Maryland. They have one child, Ellen Elizabeth fcalled judyj, now two years old, After lm duty on the Warp, Comdr. Eastman spent two fx.

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ting on the beach. We had learned much about loading and unloading on our first trip out and we really were in the groove. The Fleet Ofllcers' Club looked like Madison Square Garden the night of a championship fight. Third Fleet oflicers really took over. And they deserved it, because there was hard and bitter work ahead of them. We left Manus 12 October, stopped overnight at Majuro in the Marshalls on the 17th, then went on to the Hawaiian Islands, arriving at Pearl Harbor 23 October. It was our first visit to Pearl. Naturally it was most interesting. The destruction wrought by the Jap sneak attack long since had been repaired, but skeletons of a couple of ships which had been sent to the bottom were visible. But Pearl Harbor was 10070 efficient. We remained overnight, then proceeded to North Island at San Diego, arriving on the last day of the month. Then out again with more planes and passengers on 3 November, to Pearl, Manus, Guadalcanal, and Espiritu, returning to Pearl Harbor on 9 December. ADMIRAL GINDER made his inspection on ll December, and a rigid one it was. He went over the 97 with a fine-tooth comb and he found that we were a clean and efficient ship. Sidelight of the inspection was an incident during the Admiral's review of personnel. It was a hot morning. Admiral Ginder was doing a thorough job, and that meant a slow job. Finally he came to V-3 Division. He hardly had started down the line when there was a thump on the walkway. Art Walsh had fainted and fallen from the flight deck to the hard steel of the walkway, re- ceiving a healthy--or rather unhealthy-crack on the head when he landed. He had to spend nearly a month and a half in two hospitals before returning to duty 27 january 1945. While he was at Pearl, the 97 made its first trip to Ulithi. And Ulithi is another place to which the natives are welcome. We reached Ulithi on Christmas Day 5562, If 411101 .:11. xl Q 12217 - ly Q ANC-if -...1I ' 1- -i-f ,... from Guam back to Pearl. And from Pearl to the States where we had our second availability at San Diego Repair Base. Then back out to Pearl and then to Guam, with more planes and passengers. We returned to Pearl for another stay and from 5 March to 11 March we were in the practice area several miles off Pearl, qualifying squadrons in both day and night landings and takeoffs. Capt. Lee was a master at handling landings and takeoffs, and more than 1000 landings were made on the 97's flight deck. There was one fatality when a plane crashed into the sea. Another pilot took off from the catapult without benefit of the gear when he misread a signal. He took off all by himself using only 80 feet of deck, but smart work on his part brought his TBM through unscathed, although his wheels must have brushed the water. Following these operations the HOLLANDIA again went to Manus, and from there to Ulithi. On this trip we had Marine pilots and planes aboard. After leaving Ulithi we proceeded with three other CVE's to the neighborhood of Oki- nawa. We remained approximately 120 miles south of that island with another of the CVE's while two of them proceeded to within 60 miles, where their pilots flew their planes off to land at an Okinawa airstrip. A Jap suicide plane attacked those first two CVE's but was shot down a few hundred yards from one of them. When the ships re- tired, they passed close to us and reported to Capt. Lee, who was and celebrated the day as happily as was possible in such a place. Then from Ulithi to Guam and BEE. OTC, what had happened. So when we started up, we knew

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bravery, which probably saved many of us from serious injury, Scott was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. We were off Honshu when the laps quit. Back to Guam to await further orders. We remained there for three weeks. The Navy didn't seem to know what to do with us. We hit the beach often, but there was little to do on Guam, and we became tired of going ashore. While we were there we lost Comdr. Brown as Skipper, Capt. Calvin E. Wfakeman, USN, taking command. Comdr. Brown was given a new post, chief of staff to ComCarTransRonPac. Again we hated to lose our Skipper, for Comdr. Brown had carried on with the ability and understanding that had characterized Capt. Lee. Capt, Wakeman was born 9 june 1904 in Hornell, New York, and was graduated from the Naval Academy in the class of 1927. After duty aboard U.S.S. Wfyozzzizzg and U.S.S. Brlzre. he entered naval aviation, completing flight training at Norfolk and Pensacola. A series of aviation assignments followed, including service with squadrons aboard the old Langley and Lexington. On several occasions he returned to Pensacola as an instructor. In 1940 he was assigned as Executive Officer of the Carrier Training Squadron at Pensacola, later moving to Miami to open the air station for advanced flight training. He served aboard U.S.S. Sawz- foga from 1941 until 1944, when he was de- tached for duty at BuPers. From BuPers he came to the HOLLANDIA. bringing with him a wealth of experience both at sea and in the air. We finally received our orders and on 8 Sep- tember we left Guam for Pearl and then pro- ceeded to the States, where we received another availability at Terminal Island. There bunks were installed on the hangar deck and in every other available space to prepare us for our new duty, that of transporting personnel back from the Far Pacific. HAT ENDS the actual ships history, or as much of it as will appear in this book. But the story of Old 97 would be far from coma plete without a few of the highlights which had so much to do with making ours a happy ship. ff The Chink Lee brand of humor contributed many a chuckle aboard. There was the time we were approaching San Francisco early in the morning. It was rough and foggy and dark. The Skipper called down to radar and told the watch officer to keep a sharp lookout for the Faiallon Islands, because we won't know where we are until we locate them. Shortly thereafter the radar operator called in a contact, gave its range and bearing, and said he thought it was the Farallons. The watch officer called up to the bridge: We have what looks like the Farallons, range so and so, bearing so and so. The Skipper kept up continual calls for ranges and bearings, and they were passed along to him. After several minutes the man on the plotting machine said, I think that contact is a ship. It seems to be moving now. The watch officer wasted no time in calling the bridge. But before he could flip the switch, the light flashed and a bellowing voice was heard: Hey! Those Farallon Islands are now under- way! Capt. Lee had been doing a bit of fast plotting on the bridge and he detected the error as quickly as did radar. I-Ie turned the 97 around on a dime and hightailed it for the west, out of danger. A short time later he called down again: If you can really get the Farallons on that gear of yours, I'll head the ship back in. Soon radar did pick up the islands-the real Farallons that timefand the Skipper headed to- ward Golden Gate. And when the sun had risen and the fog had cleared, the HOLLANDIA was in perfect position to make the harbor in short order, x 'N 1? 1 , fx a 4 c nap! JVSY X' d 4' ,-N 'E XA! M X C 'Fora .,,, d unvam f. K 5 ' 1 S Ja' ' 'c eccc 1 ' J --