LST (925) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 32 of the 1945 volume:

,, I. A Q C014 Q D ZH 11579 X, - L uk C2 A LITTLE BIT OF NON SENSE REcElvED 5 , ,mm 2139652 M NAVY U5PARTMEruT LIBRART 1 .J NO KIDDIN' ! Lies, more lies, and then statistics! But any way here are a few facts that may be of interest to some of us, and may seem quite unbelievable to others. The total ESTIMATED cost to the United States Government lthat's usl for the U.S.S. LST 925 comes to about 34,295,3l6.00. We arrive at that figure when we take into considera- tion the following items: To build the ship cost about 33,000,000, and to outfit her cost about 3l',000,000, so we started off with a pretty fair debt in the very beginningQ'fTheA cost of items requisitioned since commis- sioning totals around -3l75,000f'the cost of the food we atewas 343507, and the-A cost of feeding the army while it ' was . a b o a rd fwas 31l,3l4. Don't forget that we got Tbangedup a bit and that ran into a little pocket money. The-cost of 'availability and repairs runs about 335'0.,000, and the cost of anchoring, or .mooring in port plus the pilot's fees totaled about 32,500. Diesel fuel cost about 325,000, and training the crew was quite a little expenditure in itself-about 340,- 000. Then there are all of our pop guns to be considered and the dol- lars which they blasted away in smoke, about 350,000 would be a fair estimate of what the ammunition cost. And last, but by no means least on this debt side of the ledger, is the cost of paying everybody. A modest guess would be about 3l00,000. Now we come to the deduction side. This is really a rough estimate, but there is not too much to go on except the prices which were obtained after the last war. The equipment should bring about 3250,000 when sold, and thescrap value is another 3250,000, so that leaves a total net cost to Uncle Sam, of about 34,295,3l6, which is what we said at the first. Now if you take into consideration the fact that we landed two hundred and fifty- four officers and men, and that was our sum total of productive effort, then you can arrive at a cost of 3l6,- 9l0 per man it cost the Navy to land those Army men in Lingayen Gulf. Or, if you want to consider what the cost of this ship is to the average tax- payer, and you should for you are one of them, you can divide the sum total by 40,000,000 and arrive at a cost of about l0V2c each. Here are a few more items which may be of interest. The total number of rations fed to officers and enlisted men was 69,l03 and the number fed to the army was 7,530 Not many can guess within five of how many en- listed men have reported aboard for duty, but at present the figure stands at l63. We requisitioned over' 6,000 separate items of G-SK, used approxi- mately 403,7l4 gallons of fuel, and l,l79,374 gallons of fresh water. We also used 2,500 gallons of paint, a sizeable but understa dlable little fig- ure. Bender warmed aqnout 3,500 cans of beans: fried nearly 20,000 pounds of beef, and we ate around l5,000 eggs. We fired 25,000 rounds of am- munition, and the Conn Girls sent and received 6,300 messages. The censoring board chopped up 27,000 letters. . As we said at the start, these fig- ures are only approximately correct, so we can't quite say, Believe lt Cr Not, but they are close enough so that you can use them as the basis for a pretty good argument. IN MEMORIAM-William F. Shepley, loseph C. Follini THE ASIATICS What do I know about the crew of the 925? Well mister, if I were to tell you all I know aboutvthose boys I would be talking for a long time land a couple of skeletons would rat- tle quite noisilyl but perhaps I can give you an idea of what they are like by telling you about a few of the more exemplary members. I guess a good place to start would be on that fateful night in Lingayen Gulf. Yep, that night when we were so rudely awakened was surely filled with many a strange and humorous incident. lust ask feather-merchant Zeiss. To this day he can't figure out why his twelve gauge shotgun re- fused to blast those Nips out of the water. Of course, the fact that he was using thirty caliber ammunition did- n't have any bearing on the case at that time. Turk Schneider, our strictly USN man, had quite a time too. I'Ie was on the fantail drinking his forty-third cup of joe when he heard some kind of gibberish down by the waterline so he leaned out over the rail and bellowed down in true coXwainly fashion, Say, wot in the ell's goin on down there? The rather impolite answer which he re- ceived was sufficient to satisfy his curiosity. Must have thought one of those laps didn't like him. No towels with the shower, either! Poor Pop I-Ieffner had a legitimate gripe, and probably gave vent to his long pent- up emotions as he groped around in the dark for those pearly choppers which the Nips had blown right out of his mouth. Plunger in hand, he raced for his battle station, only to fall back down through an open hatch and begin the search all over again. Pop wasn't haIDDY unless he had the short end of the stick, and he certainly had it that night. I.et's leave the battle .zone now and see what some of the boys do during the working!?! day. First of all there is bother Berkeley. I-Ie keeps one eye on his brood and the other on that sacred. solitaire game which he is always playing on the sick bay desk. The statistics he keeps show that out of ll,394,7l91A1 games of var- ious species he has won-3. You can see that he has perseverence. Of course, I must tell you about that fellow who just' came aong for the ride, old Yunk we call him. I-Ie claims to be Irish but with a name like that, plus a nose LIKE THAT I am a bit dubious. It is rumored that he has been the subject of many well known rhymes. Anyone can tell you! After our little mishap in Lingayen everybody was missing numerous items of clothing which were SUP- POSEDLY trapped in the squashed laundry compartment. A post mortem uncovered two of Frietas' skivvy shirts, but the explanation is not so baffling when you consider the fact that Yum Lum and Eddie have been shipping home numerous pack- ages ever since, and they have been bragging about their post war ambi- tions-the operation of an Army- Navy store. Not very subtle Eh! Advice on the body comes from that man with the perfect physique, Dewey Miller. I-Iave you ever no- ticed that build? It reminds me of a l926 Franklin with an underslung chassis and a spare in front of the radiator. Scuttlebutt has it that Dew- ey has been modeling for Form- Fit. I-Iis feature was a girdle boast- ing three way support! Dewey and Dewey have been seen together recently entertaining some of the shipyard cuties. While Dewey Sen- ior was making a floperoo of line number forty-seven, Dewey junior was making a hit with all the gals. No flies on his jungle juice cordials though, just give him a cube of yeast and a can of apricots. What Hap- pened? Yep! He's the boy who makes the light, tasty-sinkers. He's pretty lucky now though: he's got old jake Harding making the holes. ls he a changed' man since those pretty nurses gave him a once over in the hospital! He's even trying to out- Miller Miller- as the most asiatic Asiatic. You've all probably heard of Bube Goldberg. Well, he's NCT aboard, but the jerk he gets his ideas from IS. One of his gismos actually worked: a percolator made out oftwo five- inch shell containers and one ink bottle. l saw his plans for a garbage can-washing machine and an elec- tric ice cream freezer, and were they duzies! Mid puffs on his Sherlock Holmes, he confided to me that his next one is going to be a Watermelon de-seeder. Where were you on the night of l9l2 B. C.? Come on, quit stalling and talk up or l'll use this hunk of hose on ya! Ofcourse, all most cops do is breakup kids' ball games, but this one is different. He can tell you how he broke up the New York City gambling racket single handed. He sent up thirteen kids he caught flip- ping for match covers, lt is rumored that father Moyer nearly met with' catastrophe when steering aft during the special sea detail., As usual, he was comfortably crapped out on a coil of manila when his Christmas stogie became serious- ly entangled in the cables because, you know who, suddenly gave full left rudder and all back seven. A close bunk-mate to Moy is the short lad with the long drawl. Quote: We all, just want all, to get home all, ya all he-ah, unquote. Big john also has excellent reasons for want- ing to get home! Hope the local retail stores keep their delivery boys in the day johnny comes marching home. john used West as a sparriflq IDCITTTIGI for his conditioning periodsp West in turn took advantage of the exercise and shaped up for his match with Ewing. 4 P. T. Furr's great tent show did disclose some hitherto undreamed of talents in our one and only Har- rison Brown Smith, the THIRD. The aristocrate from Princeton seriously upset all professional wrestling when he ignominiously pinned our hither- to undefeated champ, Chopper, the Angle, Bugler Ann Gradisherf' lt looked so easy, too! H. B. is planning to return to school soon-after a year or two of rest. T We have another lad who has been inquiring about a college edu- cation, but what he plans on taking they don't teach in any advanced courses, and he is'WAY beyond the elementary stage by now. How Shaw can wear the good conduct ribbon and get away with what he gets away with is a mysteryg but then we USNB boys got the condensed train- ing program, and a few of the more intimate subjects were omitted. Freud had been dropped from the ciricu- lum. Therer is nothing quite so disheart- ening as to have some unapprecia- tive lunkhead make uncompliment- ary remarks about your swell de- hydrated potatoes, especially after you have put in long, grueling hours all day over a hot stove. just ask Bender. After holding up the chow line just to give some undeserving lad a piece of heart-warming ad- vice, he usually retreats with the statement, l 'love to hear you gripe brother, so just keep it up. Chop! Chop! l Well, we're under way at last. How do you know? Easy. just take a look at Green Hornet Kelley. A little invasion and a few japs sem to have changed Kel- ley a bit, and he has stopped going down every time the anchor comes up. Looks like the hiccup cure is good for sea-sickness, too. Eh, Hoov- er! All right! Hit the deck. Hey you! Drop your - and grab your - l You know there is something mighty fun- ny about an MAA. Perhaps it is be- cause of the fact that he wasn't born, but just quarried. For example, take Schmidt. He is about the mostincon- siderate human being alive in the morning, especially if he knows you have ben out to a late church social. Please get out of your sacks fel- lows, 95 .... GUS.. ..., G. And a mighty bellow sends Pappy Iensen's sweet and sour running for cover, tails twitching. You know, Iensen can spend hours telling you about that time in-, and when I was, and every story ends up with a tattoo. That black panther must remind him of some cute little cat with sharp claws. I wonder if he really thinks the Hula Girl is worth what she cost him? I You'd never know it, but there are two people aboard who know some- thing about Minnesota and The Great Inland Empire. Gne of them is smart enough just to keep his mouth shut and avoid all embarrass- OUR COMMON PRAYER Now I lay me down to nap, . With someone's feet next to my map. Please let some other sailor take The mid-watch, or the four to eight. Lord, guard me in my tired sleep, And keep this old bucket, the 925, moving along smoothly o'er the briny deep. I pray no air raids me will wake, But let me sleep 'till dawn doth break. I'll dream of eating Sirloin steak, And top it off with Hoover's cake. God keep us while we move at large, And let us hit no ammo barge. I wish it were a feather bed, The sack whereon I rest my head, A bed away from all these scenes, Of' horror and of half-baked beans. I'd rather live in army camps Than swab at night by battle lamps, ment, but the other is consatntly wal- lowing through the land of lakes, singing its praises in rugged bar- ber shop, and dreaming of those delicious steaks he is going to diet on when he gets back home. But then it takes a pretty healthy kid to stand those cold winters. With Mr. White on leave, the wardroom ice- box has finally gotten cooled down below the freezing point for the first time since leaving Lingayen Gulf. It's just a matter of will power, my boy! You can ask Yung Yoe. Our Captain existed on stewed bread crusts and roast celery leaves for more than a week. He wasn't going to let his appetite get the better of his figure, no sir! But he almost was kept in the Americas as an essential entertainer. The Panamanian Gov- ernment was seriously considering retaining him. lt can be ,seen easily that our crew is made up of a bunch of normal, healthy Americans. A few of them have suffered NO ill effects from the war, and one says he is going to re- fuse the bonus, but these are excep- tions. You can say safely, therefore, that we are all typical examples of Uncle Sam's Wartime Navy: land- lubbers at heart. Gr work all day for Iip-Ioint-Ioe Where Gooding's smoke would never blow. I wish that gobs had clean washed clothes, But God, Thou knowest all our woes. Please take me home, I'll promise then I'll never sign for four again. I'll trade my blues and khaki boots For one of Brooklyn's new Zoot. Suits. Our Father, who art in Washington, Please grant that I may get away From food served on a metal tray, Please add a point most every day , For things we've done the Navy way. If you'll forgive my awful past, Those things for which I went to mast, I'll be the best lad 'neath the sun. I pray you'll not this year refuse To send me on a homeward cruise. LEST WE FORGET lt was warm that morning of Iuly fifteenthas we stood at attention in our clean white uniforms, but we didn't feel the heat very much. We were all thinking-wondering just what the next year, or the next two years, would mean to each of us as a member of the crew of the ship we were about to put into commission. Could we have had the ability to see into the future, some of us would have felt our stomachs sink as we heard Lieutenant Commander Smith accept the LST 925 for the United States Navy: others of us would have be- come eager for the experiences that were ahead, as we heard Bos'n Floyd McDaniel Furr read the order which directed him to assume command. At 0946 Navy Time the commission pen- nant was hoisted aloft and the 'first command was given, Mr, Cooke, set the watch. No one remembered the hour, and few remembered the day. Those were not important things to remember. This was the beginning of a rather intimate life within a very confined space which would grow smaller with time. lt was this begin- ning that we did remember. Work on the new LST which lay alongside the Marginal Loading Pier at Bethlehem l-lingham Shipyards had stopped for a few minutes during the commissioning ceremony, but as soon as. the last prayer was con- cluded workers again swarmed over the ship, swabbing on paint, welding and chipping, and installing numer- ous items of miscellaneous equip- ment in a last mad rush. Soon she would be complete in every detail and would go to sea. lt would be up to us to sail her, yet only,a handful of us had ever been to sea before. Undoubtedly our first trip would prove an adventuresome experiment. We turned in late that nightp some of us might as well not have turned in at all. There was too much going on. Workers tramped about in the ship all night, and everything was still in an uproar. All hands set the special sea de- tail. lt took quite a while to get the word passed around the first time. The officer of the deck was afraid of committing a calamitous error and didn't get the ball rolling very fast. His messenger almost got lost below, but the special sea detail was finally set. At least the first entry l-L B. Smith made in the quartermaster's notebook asserted this accomplishment. After successfully backing away from the pier Cand without knocking it overlb we slowly picked our way through Boston Harbor and a short while later tied up for the purpose of deperming. Iuly 17 We cast off without too much diffi- culty this morning and headed for Commonwealth Pier Five. As we eased in past the transport West Point she began to lower her davits, but realized her mistake before we were hoisted aboard. Tomorrow we would put in a full day loading pro- visions, and tomorrow Louie Frietas would be logged as the first man ACL. . Iuly 20 Hasul joined up with us today, and as he came up the gangway he was preceded by one hundred and thirty- two pipe wrenches which the COD, Mr. Poyle, tried to steer into the arm- ory. Dog began to eat dog as far as supplies were concerned. Louie's sea bag was sent ashore this morningp Louie returned this afternoon. His tim- ing was a little off, but he would sail with us tomorrow. Slated to leave Boston in a traditional fog, the radar would get its first big chance. Now let's see, who knows how to work that stuff, anyway? L Iuly 23 Yesterday we tinkered with our new toy. One man was lost over- board, at least Clemons and Thorn- ton thought so, but they finally put the small boats back. Again the port booby hatch caught fire. Quite a fire hazard, that booby hatch. Bender an- ticipated collison drill and was ready with the mats before breakfast. Last night Doc I-lagenbush reassembled his vi b r a t i n g-alternating-oscillator and finally saw something in the radar. We really don't think he knew what it was, but we changed course three d egrees anyway, and this morning we reached ATB Little Creek. Shumake claimed it wasn't really so little, but Crestol disagreed, rather violently. l-le was going to stab Shu- make, in a friendly manner, but de- cided to think it over all by himself. Iuly 24 Off for Cornfield Point where the next ten days became rather busy ones. The Chief practiced kedging the stern anchor, O'Brien forgot all about a certain hatch at GQ but was not too badly mangled, and the alarm was sounded for the first gen- uine fire. Geering passed the word that this was NO DRILL, but all the excitement subsided when we found that a reversed galley blower was the cause of all the smoke. Schmidt reluctantly put his rescue breather back, and Mote admitted he had been practicing. We had a little col- lision with the 1023 one night and almost tore one of her bow doors off. Five days in the Navy Yard would fix our starboard davit. No complaints were registered. On the morning be- fore we left Cornfield Point we made our full power trials and found that from going ahead flank we could- stop dead in the water in one and one-half minutes. Some brakes! August 4 We tied up in the Portsmouth Navy Yard today. Rose and D e r r i n g e r wanted to go moose hunting up north The Commission Pennant Wa.s H oisted Aloftv somewhere, so they went. Hagadone, Tomasso, and Nunziato came aboard. Tomorrow we would go alongside the 1028 for the first time. Our week in the Navy Yard brought the usual routine repairs and alterations, and everybody made a concerted effort to have a pretty good time. Schneider ran into a couple of boys who became such good friends of his that they came all the way back to the ship with him, but they didn't stay long. Tut! Tut! August 11 y We headed out for a run up to New York today-most of us, that is. Cun- ningham was having such a good time in New York that he didn't get back to Norfolk in time to go back to New York with us. 1-le was a little surprised about the whole affair. August 15 Three days ago we tied up at Pier 51, North River, and so far there have been no casualties. Moyer, McBee, Prestwood,XGi1bertson and Beverly reported aboard today. Cunningham came back to see how we were mak- ing out and decided to stay. Two hundred and ten dozen eggs were brought aboard. Most of us only got to work over one hundred and five dozen, as those things are divided on the fifty-fifty basis, you know, fifty for me and fifty for you all. Once again the fire alarm had to be accom- panied by the No Drill announce- ment over the P. A. Schmidt had to put bac kthe rescue breather. Picked up about ninety airdales today, and tomorrow the LCT crews will come aboard. More deck scrap- ers will have to be broken out. August 20 1 Yesterday we sailed in convoy for, the first time and had our difficulties maintaining station. GQ morning and evening! Zeiss still isn't convinced that da Bums is no longa de Woild Champs. August 25 This afternoon we arrived at Guan- tanamo Bay, Cuba. Before we could enter the harbor we had to wait for an outbound convoy to clear the nets so some of the boys went shark fish- ing and managed to haul a pretty fair sized one aboard. For awhile it looked like Higgins might put his cleaver to work, but no one wanted to clean it so Hand shoved it back into the drink. The liberty in Guan- tanamo was a big success, but there was nothing else of interest. No stores worth piratingl The trip from Guan- tanamo-down to Panama entailed painting, and painting. September 1 After two rugged nights in Coco Sola, one at the expense of Ensign Langer, we entered the Pedro Miguel Locks of the Panama Canal at 1350 and passed out of the Miroflores Locks at 1521 today. LST's 1029 and 708 were with us as we headed up the coast of 'Mexico for San Diego and our last home port-of-call. September. 14 One small fire is all the log re- corded during this stretch, but then, writing the log had already become a somewhat boring task. We arrived outside San Diego Harbor around 0300 and as was the custom, prompt- ly set the special sea detail. A few moments of delightful cruising were enjoyed by all before we tied up Cat 08305. You can never guess who we tied up to. What! You did guess? Well, you're wrong. lt was the 1028 and not the garbage barge A. L. Davis thought it was. September 19 Bubak and Moon joined us today, but our net gain totalled only one as Mr. Bennet left for the hospital two days ago. Mr. Foyle assumed. the duties of the executive officer, and Mr. Flynn completely defeated Mr. Verchot in their hard-fought contest for the title Queen of the Showers. We added thirteen officers and twen- ty-eight enlisted men to our passen- ger group so Gallisath had to break out more paint Scrapers- twenty- eight more. And we almost had three OOD's, but the battleship Iowa com- plained saying they were not to be outdone by any LST afloat, and they had only two! September 22 Without any fanfare we left the good old USA and headed for Pearl Harbor. LST 580, LST' 68l and five YMS's accompanied us this time. As usual, we were the caboose. just out- side Pearl we knocked down our first sleeve. Every gunner on the ship con- gratulated himself. Those twin-forty's were starting to look pretty good by now, but they certainly could not im- prove too much. October 2 This morning we rounded the great fortress of Diamond Head and after passing through the nets at the en- trance to Pearl Harbor we headed into West Loch. A road hog got in our way and as a result we picked out a rusty looking black bell buoy and ran over it-just for fun. Almost made our first unofficial beaching but with the aid of Ensign Langer's small boat brigade and seven P. A. systems we finally did get tied up. Here we were, out in the middle of nowhere with the remains of seven burned out LST's for company. And we were headed out! What a feeling! T. I. Bell, Rogers, Hutchinson, Golden, Gray, Graham, Hurst, Huston, H. T. Smith, Mr. Molloy, Mr. White, Spencer, Alm and Gordon came aboard to help us man all of those-extra guns we were going to acquire. We swapped LCT's and got a whole one in the trade. It was sure a nice place to sack off. Coatney became thoroughly disgust- ed at the lack of Hula Girls. A strange cargo was put aboard. It was almost as dangerous as aviation gasoline, but NOT QUITE as explosive. No- body seemed worried. October 17 Leaving Pearl Harbor meant doing things in a big way and taking things really seriously for the first time. We were part of a group of nine LST's, five LSM's, and three YMS's. The Russel Islands were our destination, and they were NOT in the REAR areas. We experienced plenty of tac- tical maneuvers, had numerous fire drills, general quarters, and abandon ship drills, and that port booby hatch burned up two or three times. Might as well cut that thing off, it's just a fire, hazard anyway. October 25 Mid flashing lightning and clash- ing thunder Neptunus Rex came aboard in all his stately pomp, es- corted by his royal subjects. The old boy dealt pretty harshly with a large gathering of lowly pollywogs, and although physical damage was held to a minimum, Mr. Ullrich's pride was thoroughly trampled, and those cute lace panties did something to Gallo- way. The trip would not have been complete without a fancy battle prob- lem in which everybody got killed, but unfortunately it didn't last quite long enough and we had to ring GQ again in order to let the Chief make necessary repairs. Mr. White almost created a problem of his own. October 29 ' We arrived at Renard Sound in the Russel Islands today and beach- ed on Blue Beach. Prestwood said that the beach didn't look blue at all, but just like a lot of others. This place certainly did not compare in any way to Park Avenue, and all those beautiful South Sea Island babes we had been waiting to see were defi- nitely missing. The Marines had the situation well in hand, but cigarettes, beer, or meat would buy anything. Graddy was the first man to make a serious bid for state-side duty. He dropped a hatch cover on his head. His request was denied and Brown repaired the hatch. November 5 Tension ran a little high as we launched our LCT, and Captain Mc- Quire could not be persuaded to ride her over. Made quite a splash. Cne look at our main deck sent every deck hand to sick bay. We had been told it would rain out here, but some- how we didn't expect it to rain all of the time! November 11 . ' Left the Russels three days ago and the war was beginning to get a little dull until seven unidentified planes livened things up a bit. The record for manning battle stations was just about cut in half. They were ours! Tomorrow would be the Chief's first busman's holiday. He would have to raise and drop the anchor only eleven times before we would finally get settled in Hamburg Bay, Emirau lsland. November 15 Weighed anchor for a three day trip to Hollandia, but when we got there our orders had been changed so we turned down the coast of New Guinea toward Milne Bay. We tied up to the SS George Taylor on the twenty-fourth. The hospital ship Be- nevolence, which was a stone's throw away, did not prove very benevolent. lt turned down our invitation for thirty nurses to come over and see a bas- ketball game???, We forgot to men- tion our etchings. November 30 Today we loaded our side-carry pontoons and the Gamadodo pon- toon handling part from Gaba Ga- buna Bay Cwhat lu-lus to spellll came- aboard. Gale took that boy-scout- good-deed stuff too literally and the Captain requested him to keep Frei- tas company for ,ten days. December 3 The old girl seemed a little slug- gish with her new bustle, but after a two day trip we arrived in Borgen Bay, New Britain, where the army had been camping for some nine months. That afternoon we beached on Yellow Beach and were able to lower our ramp on dry ground. Prest- wood claimed it was no yellower than any other beach.. Tifme he caught on, isn't it? Miller discovered we were moored to two dead men on the beach and immediately put in for a transfer. December 7 lust as it was a few years ago, this was an eventful day. The army came aboard with their artillery and mobile anti-aircraft equipment, and the lO28 got stuck on the beach. We had just dropped the hook and secured the special sea detail when we got the word that we were going in and tow them off. Cn the third attempt we managed to pass them our stern an- chor cable, but somehow it got en- tangled in our own stern anchor. When we took a strain-Carnivale requisitioned a new stern anchor. December 9 ' A two day trip saw us safely at anchor in Seaddler Harbor, Manus, in the Admiralties. We were loaded for business now, and we sure had plenty of company. lt looked like the whole Pacific Fleet was there in the harbor with us. Cn the fifteenth we shoved off for a big rehearsal down at Markham Bay. lt was rather ob- vious what we were rehearsing for, for Markham Bay is an exact copy of Lingayen Gulf, and Tokyo Rose seemed to have her information straight from the feed bag. December 19 After a few days of rather inactive practice, McPhail decided that mar- bles in the back yard was far more exciting than war. We would go back to Manus tomorrow. December 24 After running around the bay this afternoon, Mr. Ullrich and Cunning- ham found that one of the spots we had gone over was only four feet deep, instead of four fathomsl Either the ship hiccoughed or the bottom ducked, or perhaps it was that shal- low spot we IUST missed at flank. Some fun! December 25 Christmas day, a day of thanks- giving, prayer and loy! For us it was a Christmas with no presents but plenty to eat. Almost every light in the harbor was shining that night, and the whole place looked like one big Christmas tree. We heard carols over the radio and speeches from the U. S., but somehow the atmosphere and spirit just were not there. Ashton was no longer counted AWCL as somebody found him behind a beard which was eating turkey at the table. Day after tomorrow we would leave for the Big Show. Ianuary 4 After eight uneventful days we fi- nally sighted the Philippines. Need- less to say, we were all a little on edge for this was lap held territory, and the laps were now within easy bombing range of our convoy. We didn't have to worry about the look- outs staying on the job. Icmuary 7 The sun was beginning to sink-be- hind the horizon and the clouds were a dripping blood-red. We were all at our battle stations when we got our first good look at a lap plane as it dove in out of the glare, dropped a couple of daisy cutters near a little PC, missed, and then tried to climb away. No sooner had the bombs ex- ploded than one less lap was left to account for. l-le had been instantly bracketed by a heavy barrage of anti-aircraft fire. McPhall fired about five rounds at him. Guess that was all he figured was necessary at a range of only five miles. Marbles is still a good game, though! Ianuary 9 , As we entered Lingayen Gulf, Lu- zon, in the Philippines this morning, we were but one small ship in the On Orange Beach at Lingayen Gulf greatest armada of fighting ships ever assmebled. The air was tense as we strained our ears to hear the first sound of approaching planes, and every lookout was staring into the darkness ahead looking for mines which we were sure we would en- counter. At 0733 we anchored in berth Xray 25, and our two boats shoved off with a group of half sick, half exuberant, green army lads. 0801: We had ben waiting and wait- ing for those Nips and now the first ones were starting to put in an ap- pearance, but they were driven off before they got very close to us. By 1114 all of our pontoon barges had been, launched and were pulling away. Because of the high surf they were destined to make only one trip each. Both of our small boats returned and reported no opposition and no laps anywhere. We changed an- chorage to Xray 1. By 2049 we had .gone to GQ five times with only one exciting moment all day. One lap almost came down the Charlie No- ble, but at the last minute he chang- ed his mind and high-tailed it over the hills. We have a hunch he car- ried a little of our shrapnel away as a memento. Condition One-Easy was set and, those who could, slept a deep exhausted sleep. Ianucny 10 lt was 0330 in the morning when we were rudely awakened by the roar of a mighty explosion, and by being bounced around like ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. The men on watch had found out that we were in danger, but too late to avert the dan- ger ,and it all happened so fast that they were unable 'to arouse those who were sleeping. Moyer put on an- other life jacket while Chief Davis and Furst held field day on those fZf5cS!QQ little SQSITWVS!! According to the log, all SIX OCCUPANTS of the THIBTY-FIVE foot boat which had depth charged us were shot up in the water. We did get all of them, even if there were only two. The ship took a heavy list to starboard but quick thinking on the part of the black gang began to right her, and at 0340 Sedlitz and Hacker breathed enough life into the emergency radio to get a warning out to all ships in the harbor. At 0410, the 1028, which had gen- erously offered assistance, fell victim to a second lap boat, which was cut to pieces by our cross fire as it darted between the two ships. After a diffi- cult hour, the tug, Grapple, took us in tow and anchored us in a safer spot in the middle of the transport group. We now had a chance to look things over, and all were agreed that the situation was sickening. Preliminary damage reports revealed that we were missing our starboard shaft and shaft alley. We had a hole of unde- termined size in our starboard quar- ter, and were messed up so badly that we would be cleaning, reinstall- ing and restowing for a long time. At 1350, with our port engine doing her best, we beached beside the 1028 on Orange beach. Because of the heavy surf and our inability to get far enough up on the beach, we be- gan smashing into her, and, after loosing our second stern anchor, we retracted. V ,Berkeley reported forty-nine men injured. Mr. White would make the purple heart as he suffered a con- tusion of the third toe on the right foot. Miller, 1-loover, Shumake, Chief Davis, Gradisher, Iustis, Alm and Crestol were transferred for hospital care to the USS Pinkney. That night was a sleepless one as we all waited for a reappearance of the laps. Plen- ty of small arms ammunition was peppered around in the water, but no lap boats or swimmers turned up. Ianuary 11 We received some fresht?l water from the 631 this morning,.began to .make emergency repairs, and started work on our recommendations: forty- three in all, not including the purple hearts. l835: Gooding became se- riously demoralized. His pride and joy caught fire this evening and had to be doused with water. He won't be the same for weeks. Ianuary 12 We tried to beach again this after- noon but couldn't make it and had to be towed off by the Grapple. We at- tempted to unload our cargo onto an LCT but only succeeded in breaking one of our bow ramp wires. Ianuary 13 With the high tide, we ran fcr the beach again this morning and ended up about two hundred yards short of the causeway. Two bulldozers were secured to our forward lines and they began towing us ashore. Bell and Kutz said they would go ashore and relieve the tiring bulldozers, but their offer was rejected. Ianuary 14 At 0330 this morning we were up far enough to begin unloading. Two hundred army boys were nearly trampled in the rush to get on terra firma. What a happy bunch of land-lubbers they were! A total of eleven officers and two hundred and forty-three enlisted men were put ashore with their equipment in the matter of a few hours, and now the task of saving the ship became our main objective. Shoring was well under way and patches were being welded over the holes in the tank deck, but the surf had been increas- ing in intensity and our position was not improving. On the afternoon of the fifteenth we finally broached, after losing our third stern anchor, and the ship was being heavily pounded by enormous breakers. Sand and water were coming in, ev- erybody was completely exhausted, and things looked pretty black. Some of us began to think seriously about the possibility of becoming postal clerks in Lingayen Gulf's first Fleet Post Office. ' Ianuary 16 With a new day came new hope, and after seven hours of steady tow- ing the Grapple finally pulled us off the beach. Once again we rode at anchor. This time our port rudder had been jammed and we were power- less. Harding's first biscuits were a questionable success. But then, any- thing hot tasted good after seven days of cold cuts and fruit juices. Freese finally won possession of un- disputed title as ship's most Chronic griper after Mascoli withdrew from competition. The next month was oc- cupied by GQ, house cleaning, and waiting for that ever-promised tug to tow us out. February 9 Mazrum came aboard in quest of good chow and less red tape. To- morrow would be the great day we had been hoping for. We were to be towed out ,of Lingayen by the Army Tuq LT' 270. February 18 Eight days of waiting, watching, of feeling pretty -helpless, were eight very long days, but we arrived at San Pedro Bay in Leyte Gulf without mishap. What a welcome sight it was. Householder and Hamill really hit their stride, and the conflicting scuttlebutt spread rapidly. They're going to scrap it right here. Confidentially I heard that we're going to get all fixed up right away. They need these tubs pretty bad for the next big one. And so on into the night. The first native bumb boat to pull alongside was full of beautiful girls, and when one of them spied Fekete she was all for coming aboard-thought we had shanghied her brother. February 20 Mr. Molloy and Carnivale switched us to the fifth fleet today, but as soon as we had our ton of beef stowed safely below they were content to let us rejoin the seventh. lt has be- come quite apparent that an LST with a hole in it is no longer the in- teresting piece of equipment it was before it had the hole. Prior to our accident a fight had been raging to determine the fleet to which we be- longed. Now a fight was raging to see what fleet we didn't belong to and both sides claimed they had won. Leyte certainly would be a huntsman's paradise, for the buck was certainly being passed around. No one wanted to repair us. No one wanted to tow us back. No one want- ed to give us anything. Everyone wanted to come over and pirate what they could from us, and almost ev- eryone did. Gur anchorage was shifted to a very convenient spot only twenty miles from Tacloban, and our anchor was to stay down so long that it almost rusted away. A guest tied up alongside, and, l know it couldn't be, but it was-the lO28. Weiss, Yunker, and Tubbs -came aboard in order to be eligible for sea pay. March 3 We were still sitting. Several in- spection parties from different sources had been aboard and all regretted that they could do nothing for us. We were not under their jurisdiction they said, after looking at the hole. jenkins was run out of the galley for the first time today. My, what a changed man Hoover is! ln order to have something to do, we startedlholding captain's inspection every week. Eschenbren- ner had a reef pleet but got away with it. Fisher installed his one hun- dred and thirty-ninth buzzer as a -parting memento. T April Z Still sitting. The world might as well have ended as far as Ewing and West were concerned. The crawler crane crawled away today. Divers inspected our hole for the third time, and as usual we received numerous compliments on its magnificent size. The beer situation has been going from bad to worse, but Lovern didn't accept discretion as the better part of valor. On the wagon he says, at least until we reach the next port. The USG came aboard and provided some very enjoyable entertainment. Miss Lonie Alonzo sang a few un- familiar hits, and Miss Maite de la Vella presented a series of dances, one of which, a religious number covered with macaroni, was a real wow. There was also a trained wolf in the cast: Manuel San Miguel, the Venezuelan, from Brooklyn. April 19 Three days ago Chief Davis signed over for another hitch. Captain Poyle took command from Lt. ljurr today and tomorrow we go alongside the USS Dixie to give away our number two generator. April 28 After waiting two and one-half months, someone finally remembered we were still around and gave .the necessary orders to have us dry- docked and patched up. We went into the ARD l6 yesterday, and today their Union Organizers signed on eighty-five sand hogs. Mr. Smith tried to prove something, but his parachute didn't open. They're guaranteed: take it back and they will give you a new one. May 2 As of today we became the chief- iest ship in the Navy. There are so many aboard now that Bryan has two of them just shine his shoes. Ship- fitters from the USS Markab were making pretty good progress with their job of patching us up, and it was also decided to put our port en- gine in operation by switching rud- ders and straightening the propeller. May 12 With our .patch completed and our port engine all set we left the drydock for a trial spin. lt felt wonderful to be moving under our own power again. That helpless feeling was gone. The boys on the lO28 seemed a little en- vious as we roareed past at a full eight knots. After winning nine straight games our boys clinched the mythical basketball championship of Leyte Gulf. Tomorrow we would go over anl take that valuable Uncle Sugar cargo from the Colorado. May 27 With seven thousand miles of water ahead of us we started out for home sweet home. Our little convoy consisted of the Potawatomi towing the lO28, ourselves, and the Pawnee bringing up the rear in case our one kicker gave up the ghost. The speed of this trip would be determin- ed by the best we could make, and it soon became evident that everyone sleeping in crews quarters aft would feel like a piece of pop corn before we ever reached the States. That port shaft had a little whip in it which made things vibrate pretty ruggedly. Coffee cups just would not sit on the table, and though we didn't realize it at the time, our forty millimeter am- munition was falling apart back in forty-six gun tub. The only interesting episode on this leg of the trip was a scientific explanation of the beans and bottle theory by Green. Iune 7 ' Only four days ago we arrived in, Ulithi, and already Moyer has an- nexed the wrestling championship of Mog Mog lsland by defeating two six footers on the beach. l-le suffered a slight case of Hematomah of the right leg as a result of this engage- ment, but his confidence was un- daunted. Every vulture in the harbor heard about our condition and came over to see what they could pirate before we moved on. By this time we had gained the proper finesse' 'in brushing off these individuals, so we came out almost unscathed. Iune 11 Forty-three members of the crew Deck Division ' received the Purple Heart Medal to- day for wounds received during ac- tion against the enemy in Lingayen Gulf. The USS Gear took both the 1028 and ourselves in tow and de- parter for Pearl Harbor via Eniwetok. After one look at the Gear it was a question as to whether he should tow us or we' should tow him. We kept our engine running all the way to help things out, and on several occasions when the Gear broke down temporarily we almost ran over the 1028, but our luck held out and no damage was done. Iune 21 A one day stop at Eniwetok whet- ted our eagerness to finish this voy- age as soon as possible. The rest of thetrip was occupied with numerous games of deck tennis and quoits and plenty of sun bathing. After coming nearly three thousand miles, our tow- ing bridle snapped just outside of Pearl, so we went in under our own power. The commandant of the dis- trict sent us a message congratulat- ing us for the splendid part we had played in the war, and then sent us out to our favorite camping spot, West Loch. That evening when the Captain returned from the arrival conference every face on the ship dropped to the deck. After coming so far and building our hopes so high we found we were to go no farther. Moyer aged ten years. Iuly 9 O'Brien and Tomasso got their re- prieve today. Back to the States and a crack at V-12. Their transportation remained to be worked out. Iuly 12 A A reprieve- came for all of us, and this was undoubtedly the happiest day of our lives. Vu1vanized orders to try to make the States under our own power were in the Captain's safe, and the engineers began tuning up our tired old engine. She would just HAVE to keep running THIS trip. We didn't waste any time Sgv- ing good bye but shoved off that morning. A few days out and the weather began to get colder and colder as we moved farther North, and the wind was so strong that we had to keep almost full left rudder on just to maintain our course. No stars for navigation so Mr. Ullrich- and Cunningham wore the sun out every time they could get a shot of it. Iuly 23 Today we were supposed to con- tact San Francisco to make our ar- rival report. Mazrum and Tomasso fired up the temperamental old TDE and God was on our side, for in spite of a trembling hand and a wobbly key Tomasso got off our first and last long range radio transmission. Day after tomorrow, if all went well, we would reach the entrance to Puget Sound and once again see the prom- ised 1and. Iuly 25 Sixty-five miles out and the radar picked up a mountain. Bolin was in his element. At about 1530 in the afternoon we caught our first glimpse of the shore and what a sight it was. Even H. B. Smith interrupted his slum- ber long enough to come up and take a look. Tomorrow we will tie up to Pier Ninety-One in Seattle. Every- body will make a long distance phone call to some thoroughly sur- prised relatives on the other end of the line, and half of us will get ready to shove off on that long awaited leave. And what will happen to the now old 925? Well that is a rather difficult question to answer, but even the most sentimental of us are not too deeply concerned. Perhaps she will live- to fight in another warp per- haps she will be converted into a cargo ship, or perhaps she will be scrapped to make the automobiles of tomorrow. Her job is really done and so is ours. Por most of us the war is at an end. MY DAY All right! All right! I'm getting up. After all, this is only the third time you have called me. What do you want, blood? Some one of these days I'm going to invent a watch, bill with the 00 to 04 left out of it. Sooooo-I fall out of the sack, put on my clothes, down a cup of Ioe, and stumble up to the Conn. With the customary It's yours! from Mr. Flynn, I find myself sitting in the OOD's chair with rain streaming down my neck, a cold wind blowing right out of the north into my frozen face, and ships all around.'I am told the 1028 is just ahead of us, but as I can't see it I am a little dubious un- til I hear a familiar voice over the radio, I say old chap, aren't you a bit close to us? What's the distance? West hol- ers over the phones. , - One hundred yards, says Ham- ill All engines back full, left full rud- der-port ahead full, s t a r b o a r d ahead full, r u d d e r amidshipsu- Whew! We missed himl After four hours of dodging the l028, listening to gab from West, and trying to keep the aft lookouts awake, I climb back into the sack exhausted. As always, I dream my favorite dream, but I refuse to comment on it. Too embarrassing! I lie there clutching the pillow with all my might until a familiar rap on the bulkhead awakens me, and Camp- bell says, Time to get up. After considering the possibilities from all angles for half an hour, and after a personal invitation from the Captain, I have my breakfast of Beans a la Bender, eggs, aged in pasteboard for a year, and milk, straight from the cow on the tank deck. At 0800, if you listen carefully, you can hear Shumake's lovely voice tenderly pleading with the USNB boys to TURN TO' Cno trouble with USN ment. You may see Big Dave and Shorty Iustis racing to see who can move the largest fender, Freese, Reed, and Cooper leaning on their favorite broomsp Gordon trying to swab the deck but dreaming of Ar- kansas instead, and there in the height of his glo ry is Chief Davis cracking the whip, coffee in hand. The black gang, the boys who live in the bilges, also turn to-some- times. I take a peek down in the en- gine room and am amazed to see my own image staring at me. Noth- ing to be alarmed about though, just a reflection from 'I'aggart's head. Ashton is stroking his beard and lis- tening to McDermott's fascinating story about his rich uncle. And there is Chief Bailey with a sheepish look- ing grin staring at a pin-up picture. With the assistance of Dailey I find my way out of the bilges and up into the Conn Girls territory. CDon't tell anybody, but I got lost.l Cunningham is trying to find out where we are, H. B. Smith is reading Ten WIQYS to Avoid Work , Bolin is tearing up the radar while Fekete cheers him on: and Tomasso is lis- tening to Little Orphan Annie over the radio. After Iensen has given me the latest dope, I find my way down to the main deck where Rogers is tangling with a twenty millimeter. I-Ie is trying to tell Chief Kutz and Miller how to fire the gun without a firing mechanism. About this time I am getting hun- gry so I amble back to the galley to sample some of Chief Ienkins' con- coctions. 'I'oday's menu confronts me, but I am hardened to its rigors of Cx-Tail soup, stewed sow's rump, asparagus butts, and I-Ioover's' spe- cigl deluxe cgke. After chow cr little sgck duty is the order of the dgy, otnd the crgp-out session in the crew's! gugrters corn be topped nowhere. l hegr the big- gest sgck-wgrmer is Cogtney. Of course, there is one other noon hour pctstime. Let's see, what do they cotll thott gorme? Ch, yes! Poker! You ploty it with mgtches. For most of us the l3OU TURN TO' comes too soon, lout with ct little boost we find our- selves toiling CP! dggin. Out on deck Storm is fgshioning gtnew fender with the orlole ctssistgnce of lrforsul, gnd the contents of the burn logrrel. We use quite g few of these for one regson or gnother. And there is Prest- wood giving out with his lgtest gripe. l like to go' up into the bow cmd stick my nose into the breeze. Now there is C1 plgce where you cdn find or good bull session gt otny hour- the how lookouts who see nothing, hegr nothing, cmd tell dll. Whgt or tecrm-l-lgggdone, Brygn, Kodcmko otnd Gordon. Evening chow consisting of horse megt,'.' !thgt's right, thort second word is megtl hgs come cfnd gone, ornd I settle down to heotr Mr. Molloy forecgst the next moves of our sev- enteenth division gs it preporres to invgde Mug Mug islgnd. And, of course, Mr. Cooke hors to tell his lgt- est jokegwhich is still pretty new. l-ie's only told it six times so fgr this month. l crm gbout to get rectdy to hit the sorck when A. L. Dctvis reports thgt it is now time for me to relieve Mr. Flynn. l mgke or mgd dgsh for the Conn Cit torkes me ten minutes to get therel, gnd with the customcrry lt's yours, l find myself sitting in the O0D's chorir with the rginlSory, this is where l cgme in. West--whgt time is it? Midnight! Oh, well, there's nothing like or mid- wgtch to stgrt or perfect dgy. A y Stores Division IT WAS AND SHALL BE The tale which l am about to tell is one which has haunted me for months. lt has stirred my deepest im- agination and has made my inner being revolt against itself. lt was re- lated to me by a corpulent Furr trad- er during my most recently fishing expedition in the far reaches of the Mediterranean. He seemed to have been empowered by some supernat- ural being, for his mind and his tongue were not guided from within. That was impossible. The year in which the events took place must have been about 70 AD., as closely as l can estimate, and the setting for this adventure was the country of Usa, a small province in a remote corner of the then civilized world. ln order that this story will seem as real to you as it did to me, l shall relate it, not as if it happened hundreds of years ago, but as if it were happening now, and l were there to see it all. And it came to pass that as l went down into the land of Usa, l was accosted by a traveling sales- man, and his name was Yunker, and he was known by every farm- er's daughter, and he saith unto me, VV hither goes thou and whom dost thou seeketh? And l answered him saying, l seek the three Great Prophets, Bell, Kelley and Hoover, that l may learn of their teachings and become great in wisdom and honored by all men. And Yunker giveth to me of his sam- ples after which he directeth me to an lnn, wherein dwelled the keeper Smith and his two faithful victualists Bender and Higgins. And when l had entered in, they didst feed me and nourish me and didst give me of their company. And 1 while l didst talk with these men, be- hold, there didst enter five merchants selling feathers. And their names were revealed to me as Molloy, West, Gooding, Hamill and House- holder. And l saw that they argued and they could not agree. One- as- serteth that they were all sure to make millions, yet another said it was useless, and he bathed himself in mountainous waves of self pity and waileth and bemoaneth his fate at the hands of the notorious money changer, Carnivale. ' And then l didst perceive that they were sore afraid, for'the almighty, ever-powerful and omnipotent Foyle had declared that all feather mer- chants who breathed the breath of life should be stoned to death. When Smith heard this wailing and gnash- ing of teeth, Cstore teeth? lo, he didst call upon his singers, Shumake and Graddy, for entertainment, that their spirits might be gladdened. Now their spirits were revived with music and spirits, and it came to pass that the heralds, Fekete and L ath a m, an- nounced the arrival of those three great, wealthy, lovable and hand- some Rajahs of the Realm, Lovern, lVlcPhall and Tomassog who entered straightway in and were seated on silken cushions and didst order wine. And when their thirsts had been assuaged, lo, they didst summon their harem attendants, Furst, Holden and Galloway, and straightway bade them to make all things straight, right away. And l could now see that Smith's lnn was a meeting place for many of the people of Usa, and as l sat, hoping that l should see others of these people, there didst enter three sinister looking, cloaked figures who slinketh about, talking sternly and threateningly, and they didst carry small sections ot lead pipe, and l was told that these were men of the new world, called union organizers. And they were called Bailey, B o g er s and Taggart, and they were. ' My conversation was enlightened by two strangers who sat down with me and didst sup with me, and they didst speak as wise men but they were not, for they were politicians, and they were named Miller and Nunziato. They didst tell me of all manner of evil things which had come to pass in Usa since the arriv- al of these three sinister ones and their ten helpers who were called agitators, and were named Brown, Dailey, Eschenbrenner, Ferguson, l-less, Kovacevich, Ol'Brien, Weiss and Green. They had surrounded the elephant race track and had beaten the elephant track owners, Ashton and Sedlitz, and they had told the elephants that they might not race but must sit down: and they had not allowed the four qreat in- ventors, Cooke, Storm, Ewing and Greeson to complete their experi- ments on their new tender-crane-pipe wrench-pogo stick until they had paid tithes, which they called dues. And all 'the people of Usa were sore afraid of these men, and it came to pass that the messenger Davis was dispatched to summon the wise men that a solution might be sought tor this dilemma. And when the wise men came and heard, they didst weep and mourn and didst call upon the High Priests Prestwood and Shull for prayer and wisdom in their time of need. And the three younger wise men, l-leitner, McBee and M o y e r didst elect the oldest and wisest wise man, White, to speak for them. And White summoned all of the honest citizens and they came: Bev- erly, Massey, Cullen, Mote, Hurst, and Golden, and they didst listen to White and the wisdom he had to Communications Division offer. And he saith unto them that they must seek and must find the four best lawyers in the land, the ones who were now at sea, known as Bolin, Davis, B. E., McDermott and Schmidt, and they must beseech them to do all in their power to have the organizers and the agitators ex- iled from Usa so that peace might return. And straightway the honest citizens didst seek these sea-lawyers as wise man White had bade them to do, but they could not find them for the lawyers were still at sea. I These things did Miller and Nun- ziato tell me and more did they say: that if only they had been elected, things would not be as they now were in Usa, and they should not be, for only two people were satisfied, Mascoli and Freese. And then it came to pass that the two great physicians, Sanderlin and Berkeley entered in and sat down and didst eat, and Berkley saith unto me that he had just delivered a child for the great Alchemist, Verchot, and it could be seen by the motherly pangs of agony which Berkeley sheweth that it had been an ordeal for him. And when we had all assuaged our thirst with the juices of the jun- gle, Sanderlin didst hear me speak of my search for the three Great Prophets, and he rejoiceth, and told me of his meeting with the six apos- tles who were even now spreading the good word. Coatney, lustis, jen- sen, Martin, Moon and Harding were they called, and they were filled with the spirit, for they had obtained some somewhere, and they were led in their journeys by their trustworthy guides, Thorton and Clemons, and they were protected by the strong shepherd Bubak, and they felt no pangs of anguish. r t But suddenly we were alarmed, not by the thunder nor by lightning, but by the entry of the Royal Guard, led by the all powerful Davis who was dressed in full regalia with manygold stripes down both sleeves, and he had with him his dependable men, Schneider, Stella and Gordon, those same trustworthy cohorts who had been with him lo these twenty years. And Davis was searching for the il- legal snake charmer, Gradisher, and his silent partner, Smith, for they had made off with the Crystal Ball of the Great Ullrich, and the Great Ullrich was now lost and could not find the star in the heavens to follow, and he had called upon the astrologers Cun- ningham and Whitfield to guide him. But Davis didst not find the illegal snake charmer, Gradisher, nor his silent partner, Smith, and behold, as he didst turn to depart there didst approach him a saintly father who was in misery at the loss of his prod- igal sons. And Shaw didst tell, Davis how dearly he loved his sons Crestol, Alm and Hutchinson, and wouldst have Fisher electrocute the fatted calf and wouldst prepare a feast for all the people of Usa if only his sons could be found and returned to him. So Davis summoneth his three scribes, Bunce, Zeiss and Flynn, and didst have them record all these de- tails that he might search for them and return them to him. And after Davis and his three loyal followers had departed there didst enter in three fishermen named Hagadone, Koskinimei and Bryan, and they were accompanied by three fillers- of the soil named Kutz, Iensen, and Cooper, and they didst carry their wares for they wished to sell them. And they dealt with four men who were pointed out to me as executives, and they were called Andrews, Mazrum, Light- ner, and jenkins and they all exe- cuted shrewd deals, but Ienkins was the shrewdest. And it came to pass that lvfazrum converseth with me, and when he had learned of my quest for the prophets he told me that l need fear no longer, for the Lord was with me and had sent aid to me, for he had made many disciples of the three Great Prophets, and l need find only one of them and my quest might be ended. And Mazrum didst give unto me a list of the names of these disci- ples, and they were great in number, being Campbell, Ellis, Galisath, Geer- ing, Gray, l-lanson, Kodanko, Reed, French, Tubbs, Dutilly, l-lasul and Wysocki, and they were all faithful followers. l was about to take my leave of Smith's lnn and go in search of one of these many faithful disciples when, lo, the three prohphets themselves entered. With guaking feet and trem- bling voice l rose and addressed the prophets and asked of them if they knew: and they said that they did know, and that the wonder was great but that it was true. Yea, verily, it was true, that the Lord's greatest gifts to women were Graham, Riccitelli and Gale, and at last l had learned what l had wanted to know, and my wisrom was great and l was no long- er afraid. ' 'k 7? bl' Yes, that is the story as it wasxtold to me and it is no wonder that it has lived so vividly in my mind, for l have a strange feeling that l have ac- tually known some of the people in this story, people who lived hundreds of years ago. l have felt that l knew them, not just through hearing about their lives, but by seeing and speak- ing with them. Of course this is im- possible, but you can easily under- stand how such a feeling could make me very uneasy. The story is prob- ably a figment of the imagination, but you may draw your own conclu- sions. Perhaps if you turn it over in your mind you may feel the same way l do about it. A Gunnery Division - f 'The Rogues' Galleryv WHO'S WHO ON THE 925 Paul R. Adams, Plc 2801 Peabody St. Bellingham, Wash. Carl N. Alm, FC2c cfo Alm Milk Co. Minot, North Dakota Iames M. Andrews, MoMMlcC'l'l Lavonia St., Box 126 Carnesville, Georgia Leon E. Ashton, MoMM2ctTl 24 Beimer St. Somerville, New lersey George R.. Bailey, CMOMMPAXTD l07 Monroe Street Dublin, Georgia W Chester E. Bell, CEMCAAXTD BPD No. 2 St. Mary's, West Virginia Thomas I. Bell, Slc 77 South Main St. Abbeville, South Carolina William R. Bender, SC2cCTl 40l South Roup. Ave. Pittsburg, Penna. Paul L. Bennett, Lieutenant Cjgl Gnadennulten, Ohio Ioseph A. Berkeley, PhMlctTl 232 S. Union Place Los Angeles, California Charles M. Beverly, GM2cCTl Pennington Gap, Virginia Arnold L. Bolin, BdM2cfTl l54 So. Truesdale Youngstown, Ohio David L. Brooker, RM2c Shiocton, Wisconsin Iames Brown, SFlcCTD Webber Street Bloomingdale, N. I. William H. Bryan, Slc 237 Lawsonville Ave. 1 Beidsville, North Carolina Eugene Charles Bubak, BM2cC'l'l 205 E. Chalmers Ave. Youngstown, Ohio George D. Bunce, YlctTl 50l7 Underwood Ave., Apt. No. 3 Omaha, Nebraska Clemmie L. Campbell, CK2ctTJ 45 W. l35th Street, Apt. No. l2 New York, New York Wallace W. Carnivale, CSKQAAXTJ 364 East Street Dedham, Mass. Boy Clemons, CoxtTl Clay City, Ky., RR No. 2 lohn B. Coatney, MoMM3cCTl Box 475 Pierce City, Mo. lohn G. Cooke, Lieutenant l648 Garden Street Redlands, California Elbert O. Cooper, CoxKTD Route No. 1 Milton, West Virginia Thomas W. Cullen, SC3cCTl 930 Caldwell Ave. Portage, Penna. . Kevin I. Cunningham, OMICCTD 29 Charles Street New York, New York Rodney B. Dailey, MOMMICCTD Main Street Lancaster, Mass. Carroll W. Davidson, Slc Route No. 2 Weslaco, Texas Albert L. Davis, Slc 1208 New East Morris Street Dalton, Georgia Russell E. Davis, SICCRMJ 1206 Second Ave. Charleston, West Virginia William B. Davis, CBMCPAJ Romney, West Virginia Ioseph R. Dutilly, MoMM2cCTl 173 West Street West Warwick, R. I. Iames B. Ellis, Slc 6242 S. E. Reedway Portland, 6, Oregon David E. Eschenbrenner, CoxCTl Box 95 Shandon, Ohio Arthur W. Ewing, CoxCTl Kinross, Iowa Richard I. Fekete, RdM3cKTl 1306 Holmden Ave. Cleveland, Ohio Loy V Ferguson, EMZCCTD ' Saragossa, Ala. Robert T. Fisher, EM2cCTl 1127 Lakewood Drive Detroit, Mich. Iohn B. Flynn, Ensign 1126 East 15 Street Brooklyn, 30, New York Ioseph C. Follini, GM3cCTl 1737 Pilgrim Ave. Bronx, New York Ioseph A. Foyle, Lieutenant 324 Diamond Bridge Avenue Hawthorne, New Iersey Lewis R. Freitas, Slc 712 So. Water St. Newbedford, Mass.. Eugene R. Freese, Slc 109 Upland. Ave. Reading, Penn. Russell French, SC2ciTl 204 East 17 Street Bloomington, Indiana Floyd M. Furr, Lieutenant 533 White Street, Rt. No. 9 Concord, North Carolina Iarnes Furst, Slc 1738 5. 32 St. Cleveland, Ohio Vern D. Gallisath, CoxCTl 2111 Cumberland Street Rockford, Illinois Charles I. Galloway, Ir., OM2cCTl 1213 Boynton Ave. Anniston, Ala. Frederick A. Geering, Slc 19252 Lamont Street Detroit, Michigan Richard B. Golden, EM3cCTJ 4353 Clements Detroit, Michigan Iames T. Gooding, CMMCAADCTD 20 48th Street Weehawken, N. I. Alfred R. Gordon, Slc Route No. 2 Alma, Arkansas William L. Graddy, SK3cC'I'l Ecru, Miss. George S. Gradisher, CM3cCTJ 9733 Avenue L. Chicago, Illinois Ralph S. Graham, FICCEMD 201 Highland Ave. Piedmont, California Iohn W. Gray, Slc Box 717 Conroe, Texas Colorado P. Green, Ir., CoxCTl Odessa, Missouri Ernest W. Greeson, CWTCAAXTD 612 Pacific Street Brooklyn, New York Ralph E. Hacker, RM3cCTl Rockford, Illinois William I. Hagadone, GM2cCTJ Theodore, Alabama Peter F. Hamill, RdM3cfTl 2111 Lomita Blvd. Lomita, California Eugene C. Hand, Slc 721 Webster Ave. Chicago, Illinois Carl I. Hanson, CoxCTl 1624 Elizabeth Ave. N. W. Grand Rapids, Michigan lake Harding, Bkr3cCTD P. O. Box 18 Lex, West Virginia George S. Hasul, SF3ci'I'l 10009 Dunlap Ave. Cleveland, 5, Ohio Leo F. Heffner, CoxtTl 3917 N. Euclid Ave. St. Louis, Mo. William A. Hess, MoMM2ctTl 1722 Lincoln Ave. Pittsburgh, 6, Penna. Iohn L. Holden, Lieutenant tjgl 10 Garden Place Cincinatti, Ohio Ronald C. Hoover, Bkr2cCTl 213 E. Frederick Street Lancaster, Pa. Edgar l. Householder, PhMlc 426 W. lohn St. Martinsburg, West Virginia William L. Hurst, Slc 3264 Iamieson Ave. St. Louis, Mo. Henry I. Ienkins, CCSCAAXTJ 153 Pierce Drive Corpus Christi, Texas Gilbert R. lensen, WT3cCTl P. O. Box 121 , Aurora, Colorado Walter M. Iensen, SMlcCTl 139 East Elm Ave. Wollaston, 70, Mass. Robert A. Iustis, Ir., Slc 4512 Stockton Street Richmond, Virginia Iarnes Kelly, StMlc Box 392 Florence Villa, Florida Raymond L. Kodanko, Slc Sister Bay, Door Co., Wisconsin Victor O. Koskiniemi, MoMM3cCTl Box 163 Mohawk, Michigan Carl Kovacevich, MoMMlctTJ 18324 Landseer Rd. Claveland, 19, Ohio Mienrad I. Kutz, CGMCAAXTQ 202 9th Ave. South Yakima, Washington Thomas W. Latham, Flc 82 Count 1 Yellow Mill Village Bridgeport, Conn. Roger T. Lightner, MoMM3cCTl Falmouth, Virginia Elmer I. Lovern, r., SM2ctTl Box 1401 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Gilbert F . MacDonald, WT3cCTl 1518-B Treat Ave. San Francisco, California Chester A. Martin, Slc 5408 Fletcher Ave. Iennings, 22, Missouri Edward 1. Mascoli, Slc 1562 Baldwin Street Waterbury, 23, Conn. Harold- L. Massey, SC3cCTl 8625 Roberts Street ' Kansas City, 3, Mo. X William L. Mazrum, RM2cCTl 137 Iefferson Street Westville, lllinois Thomas L. McBee, Flc 307 Coast Street Des Moines, 13, Iowa Paul R. McDermott, MoMM3ctTD R. D. No. 1 Commodore, Pa Donald L. McPhall, SMZCCTD 895 Fleming Ave. Muskegon, Michigan George D. Miller, GMlcCTJ 719 Dingledine Ave. Lima, Ohio , loseph P. Molloy, Ensign 2294 University Ave. Bronx, New York Charles L. Moon, GM2cKTJ 419 E. Fourth Street Cherryvale, Kans. Alfred 1. Mote, EM3cCTD 4 211 Pine Ave. ' East Point, Georgia Stanley S. Moyer, OM3cfTl Iacksonwald, Penna. Walter W. Nunziato, COXCTJ 6008 Fillmore Place West New York, New Iersey Herbert R. O'Brien lr., MoMM2cCTl 334 King Avenue 1 New York, New York Boyd I. Prestwood, Slc 256 E. Broad Street Statesville, N. C. Hilton H. Reed, CoxtTl Star Route New Bethleham, Penna. Basil 1. Riccitelli, GM3ctTl 421 Lamberton Street 5 Trenton, New Iersey LaVern H. Riggins, SClctTl 418 Central Ave. Anderson, Indiana Leonard E. Rogers, Slc RFD No. 2 Fredericktown, Mo. Benjamin H. Sanderlin, r., PhM2c 1105 E. Blackford Ave. Evansville, Indiana William T. Schmidt, CSFKAAXTD 358 Kendall Place Columbus, Ohio Philip I. Schneider Ir., CoxfTl 99 E. Stevens Street Newark, Ohio 1 Stanley Sedlitz, RMICCTJ 2665 Valentine Ave. Bronx, New York Donald G. Shaw, GMZCCTJ? 207 Oak Street Elmhurst, Illinois William E. Shepley, WT8cCTl 148 E. Walnut Street Lancaster, Pa. Arthur O. Shull, Ir., l:'C2cC'1'l RED No. 3 Warsaw, Ind. Earnest C. Shumake, Ir., BM1cCTl Mooresville, North Carolina Benjamin F. Smith, Ensign A Picayune, Mississippi Harrison B. Smith, lr., QMZCCTD No. 1 Rolles Road Charleston, West Virginia Harold T. Smith, GM3ctTl Millway, Penna. Ralph E. Spencer, GM2c Los Angeles, California Valentine F. Stella, Slc 347 Silver Street r Ironwood, Michigan Nikolai Storm, BMZCKTD 138 W. 104 Street 7 New York, New York Merrill L. Taggart, MOMMZCCTJ 24 York Street A i Camden, New Iersey Roland E. Thornton, COXCTD 720 Vanderbrook Street ' Green Bay, Wisconsin 'Angelo P. Tornasso, Ir., RM2cCTJ 410 Commonwealth Ave, New Britain, Conn. ' Iohn P. Tubbs, Cox 1007 Marble Ave. Memphis, 7, Tenn. Alexander A. Ullrich, Ensign 17 Laval Street Hyde Park, 36, Mass. Iunius Verchot, Lieutenant Cjgl P. O. Box 819, Wylam Station Birmingham, 8, Ala. Iohn R. Weiss, GM3cCTl 905 Chartieres Street Carnegie, Pa. Lester R. West, COXCTD 154 17 Street Wheeling, West Virginia Peter A. Whitfield, QM2cCTl 1250 81 Street Brooklyn, New York Ronald Z Wood, FlcCMMl Route No. 2 Bellevue, Michigan Boleslau B. Wysocki, MoMM8cKTl 5219 Mitchell Street Detroit, Michigan ' George I. Yunker, QMSCQTD 1328 So. 24th Street St. loseph, Mo. Philip 1. Zeiss, Ir., Y3cCTl 654 Wilcox Ave. Bronx, 61, New York -v-A' ' 4-ne. , 1 Engineering Division 26 SIGNATURES SIGNATURES