LST (530) - Naval Cruise Book

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of the Yard for immediate Pacific duty, and put through the nerve shattering mill of getting ready for the long trek westward in far less than the normal time allowed to properly fit her out. Writh a par- tially new crew mixed with the old hands, the arduous and hurried job of loading again and breaking away from America began with the securing of LCT 566 to the main deck. To Earle, New Jersey, for ammunition, Newport and Davis- ville, Rhode Island, for a heavy cargo of railroad locomotives and pontoon barges, and then to Nor- folk, Yirginia, for final orders and routing: such was the schedule. The new officers were: Ensigns Shepherd, Lilly, and Seiders: Lt. fjgj Benson and Lt. ljgj LeVine. The first stop at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, proved dull for the men, but nearly all the officers had to be diagnosed by the PHM's for hallucinations upon returning from a very excellent club, from the veranda of which some of us hazily thought we perceived LST 530, lights blazing, flying back to the States. Wfhere goes the 530,', was Mr. Seiders' opening remark as a Catalina winged over the club. There was a bowling incident as

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T POST INSPECTION DISCUSSION 1 THE HOT-SHOTS mouth. A costume ball was held by the crew on the tank deck. Back to the U.S.A. in a slow submarine-dodging convoy and the usual rough Atlantic winter weather, first on a southerly course down by Spain and then on over via the Azores Islands. A short stop at Norfolk and on to Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York, where a blizzard and a freezing tempera- ture failed to take the edge oH' anyone'S pleasure at arriving at the Big Home Base. The mad dash to get ,clear of the veteran LST began immedi- ately after Lt. Black had his crew carry out the order to secure the engines, which incidentally had performed with efficiency far above the average LST's power plant. Wlell deserved flowers to Black's gang. Vfhat all hands did during their month's leave, I have no idea, but those of us who returned, gloomily realized we were oil' to the wars again in view of the hurry the gentlemen of the Navy Yard seemed to be in to shove the out to sea again. ln February of 1945, nearly a year after being rushed into like European War. 530 was called UH

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i' in-1 A --W.. ,,,,,.. sw.-,..,fww,. sw. A wiki T ENIWETOK J, BATANGAS, LUZON, P.I. 1, OAHU, ,sf , 1 i'.jsg,z..f,t,g-5-,595 f' 1 41'-Q .fl .1-'Ari 274x',.7','ff4?:Qi:' ff 'ifl'- Hilfe ' i'7fe', ff' my nnvrf fx iwfi s ffissxf iff iv' .. ! .,Yl Pl fwfr? HAWAIIAN ISLANDS W W, A593143 4.4 well when the Base Commander nearly exploded on finding two 530 cigars stuffed into the grip holes of his favorite ball. I was slightly relieved to sail at dawn for Panama. After the Canal Zone, it was all up to Mr. Bromfield's navigation as to where we would arrive, for 530 was lead ship, with no escorts. Successful firing prac- tice and drills were carried out en route, and Mr. Shepherd's depart- ment performed with a promise that boded evil for prospective Jap attackers. Pearl Harbor managed to poke its nose out of the sea dead ahead one morning. and on arrival all hands clambered ashore and did the usual taking over of the best Liberty spots on Oahu. Cox- swains Hopson and Hensley be- came hopelessly spellhound hy some langourous penny arcade hula girls and spent two months' pay being photographed with them. A large party at Mochizukfs Tea Carden was one of the fare- wells to the islands for some of ua. and again the gloomy curtains of war began to draw around the ship as she sailed for Guam and Saipan with a load of 4.926 fifty gallon barrels of high octane aviation gas destined for Okinawa.