Iowa (BB 61) - Naval Cruise Book

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, t. bl ran Mishaps were many that first night. Toilets failed to flush, then unaccoun '1 y . were lost. Compart- over. Some of us ventured short distances from our bunki, and , drif d ' to ments grew unbearably hot, then chilly and drafly. Orlmaned scabags tc m ll . hidden comets, and couldn't be found. But here and there sprang UP homflv tout cs that dispelled the strangeness. A few lonely coffee p0lS 3PPcarcd' warmmg hearts an stomachs with their cheery bubbling. A galley detail was mobilized, and started throw- . . . . I ing together sandwiches for a midnight snack. Someone broke out a movie pr0jCC Of, and willing hands rigged a movie screen on the main dedc aft. The Boatswam made a fast inspection of our disorder, growling ferociously, and cveffone Slmled happlly' ... - usion was the wami sense of a ship coming alive. the morning of August 25th, the Commander of the San Francisco serve Fleet said Captain Smedberg, I place the IOWA in your charge. 'cd, I assume command, and ordered the Boatswain to set the watch. is as alive again. work to do. Guns were unlimbered and cleaned of preservative. Huge milled to a jeweler's precision, were flushed out with loving care. And 1... ll ' . , 6 as the myriad started, one by one, the ship's hidden pulse started its indefin- able beat. On September 17th, less than a month after our transport arrived, we steamed proudly through the Golden Gate on our successful engineering trials. We went through the rugged miracle that transfonns raw lads from the farm into a trained man-of-war's crew. It was a dragging grind of endless training. Drill, drill, and drill some more-until we wanted to chuck the whole deal. Over our heads, in- creasing the pressure, hung the knowledge of the disasters that awaited a mistake. An instant's relaxation in a boilennan's vigilance could wreck a boiler and set us back priceless months. A careless spark could touch off a powder magazine and kill us all. So the training went on. And then one day things started to click. For weeks there was no noticeable progress, and suddenly everything fitted together and made sense. lVe had a ship! histor . II -I . ..--a-u,....'a.-u..-0...-g..e...-.,-. fn-sin-v .., , ,

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rc is u was out Tle hlttle s IS non There sms no one to spe lk for tie glelt battleship non, and the money to pas for her keep w1sn't forthcoming In the economv summer of l9lS the bitten decision it ts xelehed to mothball the mights seterfm On Which 09th, 1010, her lllICllX'lIl0Il was completed, 'md she sms lud 'uns 'umdst 1 silent compam of dead ships in Stn Francisco lin WVe cm sense the mutieullte stduess of the old IOM K crux, is the big ship guess cold .md silent bent ith thtu feet Nlen t mt sul 1 ship into battle lne on het tuents four hours '1 du make hu their home 'md their hfe 'md then just lease her one dry without 1 lnelmarel glance When the buvle sounded the final quarters, there must hase been lumps in umm throats, and mms tn ue must hene nusted As thu 'lban dontd hu to t-hut seemed her linal grnu nd, thu tried to put it in molds with these inadequate list lines penned in the ships Lof' 7 The Great Ship rests, but newer d une l9J0 'md the brazen war gongs of lsorex elanged letoss the Far East Suen thousand miles mas, in San francisco Bas, the slumbermg gnnt stirred, awuting the call to arms Hel sisters, the NEXV IILRSEH and WVISCONSIN, were etllcd, md sprang to arms, but lll the grfnevird lleet idle ripples still lapped the IOWVX s motionless hull ln uh lfhl came the eagerls awaited call the IOWVK was needed' Ollicers and men poured in from across the country and around the wsorld some from the fleet, some from shore, some back to harness from cnthan hfe But the great bulls mme from towns and fanus all mer America new recruits e'wer for their lirst taste of the sea The 'idmnce guard ICIIIOWCLI the dehunudiliers, and stripped oll' the coeoons They rehghted the dxrls compartments, 'md bleu fresh air through the murltw holds The bulls of us didnt hit the empty decks, our footfalls echoing through the silence of two and a half sears, until August Oth Late that esemng a transport pulled alongside, we:-f - Tl - 'z' 5 1 1 - va: ' . - g -1' ' l - L Q A I -4 L x, k s ' 1 ' .1 ' ut. . . K, 1 .lf 2' C .1 ', l ' K. I x' l' '. . ' .' ' .'z '. ' A -'a 1 -.'.' - '.- if ' 'l ' xi - ' -x - . . - 'a ' z q ' ' 1 H ' ' 5 ,u .Q 2 V., , I l 1 .l',: - ,.. ' ' ' v 1 1 sn .'l ' . - . - if ' ' ' ' J ' 'J a: H e, the ship's company, leave the IOWVA with this parting thought: V ' l at , . t A' ' . A. b. v . ici!! I V ...... . ' K ' 'a ' if . ku ' t . 4 J.. , ' -' As N, ' : UL. ' 1: . ' I I , U F YA' 1 ' l 1 I, v -th . , , K. , . . 1 A-Ks - ' V' ' ' -D Q -1, - A l . s C ' , 1 I - T V 1 . I 4. C U . tv 1 .l A 4 'n ' K ' ' . . . .' . ' f. . . ' 7 ' , , 1 , 'Av 1 . ' K t -' v 'Y A' . I U, -1 0 K I , - I K 4, - A . gangplanks were laid across, and the Hrst contingent of eight hundred men boarded their SlI'3I1gC YICW h0l1lC. -..-.----- -gn-.i'-.,,- 1 v A' u 'Q' -if 12 fA1Zwf.:tLmwa.-4 --lg-i?-T

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