LST (925) - Naval Cruise Book

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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-

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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

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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