Louisville (CA 28) - Naval Cruise Book

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PREFACE THIS IS the biography of the Louisville, heavy cruiser of the United States Fleet. Named for the famous Kentucky city, the ship, since commissioning day, has carried, on a prominent bulkhead, a shoe of the great stallion, Man o' War, as a talisman against evil. By this, the title of the story was suggested. The account covers a period of fifteen years, and includes launching and commissioning, the days of preparation, and four and a half dark years of war fought by the Louisville in all parts of the Pacific. lt closes with post-War occupation duties in North China and Manchuria, the return of soldiers, sailors, and marines to the United States, and final berthing in the Philadelphia Navy Yard-rest from a long and stirring career. A ship, to those who have served aboard her, is a great deal more than floating steel and rivets and Wood. She has a personality of her own, taken on through the common fears, hopes and daily living experiences of the ever-changing yet continuous group of men assigned to her for duty. Personnel replacements are effected gradually, and the spirit of a particular vessel is never lost, but remains as the accumulation of her achievements and failures. It is therefore appropriate that the material in the following pages, although edited under the direction of the present ship's company, represents the collective efforts and contributions of personnel who have lived and worked aboard the uLucky Lady Lou in all her years of service to the nation. i I 5 r 1 f 1 4 l 1 I 1 l H I V Q i v l Z J I w 4 1 l

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0 ln Memorlam Memorial Delivered by Ship,s Chaplain, March, 1945 Mare Island Navy Yard Chapel IT IS with great regret and a deep sense of humility that we come today into God's pres- ence to pause in the midst of our feverish activities and materialistic pleasures to join our hearts and minds in sacred memory of those who fell in battle. We come together today to pay our respects to our honored shipmates who, giving the supreme sacrifice, failed to return with us upon completion of this tour of duty. There are times when words alone fail to interpret the innermost sentiments that lie deeply hidden and unexpressed within our hearts. No words can adequately express the deep sorrow caused by the absence of the ones we learned to love and respect and with whom we had lived so intimately. ln a very real sense they had become a part of us. Thus it is natural that we should miss them and stand humbled before Almighty God because of the sacrifice so bravely given by those who did not pause to question the cost when the hour of need arose. To the families of our deceased shipmates we extend the hand of Christian fellowship and love. May they be assured that our thoughts are of them in these days of loneliness. We pray that they may be given the spiritual strength sufficient to face the trials and fears and doubts and anxieties caused by the death of those who were part of them as well .... There are men who believe that they can express adequately their gratitude for a sacri- fice made by mere words or by the present action of a gift of pecuniary value. There are others who, because they forget or are not grateful, fail even to acknowledge the sacri- fice of others. lt is my sincere belief that the men aboard this good ship, U. S. S. Louisville, having lived and played and sung and wor- shipped and fought and bled together, will wish to rise above the commonplace of ordi- nary things and make a determined effort to guarantee that the sacrifices of their shipmates are not in vain. The only worthy expression of appreciation for so great a sacrifice is not an outward display of tears, nor a barrage of meaningless words, nor shallow suggestions of sympathy, but lives that bespeak of gratitudeg lives that promote decency and honor, lives that make secure the democracy for which they died. . . lf the sacrifices of our dead are not to be in vain we must heeditheir voices-UYOU MUST NOT FORGET! We must remember that it is imperative that we labor for a world in which war will not come again. We must remember that our lives must be so ordered that the spirit of the Prince of Peace and the teachings of His life will permeate the false barriers we have set up between social classes and races and nations, will root out the weeds of hatred and greed and suspicion, and will make fertile the seeds of peace and brother- hood among men that have been planted in the garden of nations. We must remember that if we are to have a lasting peace we must learn how to LIVE fearlessly and bravely in the time of peace as well as how to die fearlessly and bravely in the time of war. Departed shipmates, we accept the torch of sacrifice. We shall never let its flame die nor shall we allow the light of hope for a peaceful world to grow dim. ln so doing we will indeed be shipmates not for a day, nor for the duration of one tour of duty, but shipmates forever!

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CONTENTS A SHIP IS BORN . . 13 SHOWING THE FLAG . . 23 THE SAILOR,S DAY . . . 325 THEN THERE WAS WAR . . 69 EARLY CAMPAIGNS . . . . 77 OUT OF THE FRYING PAN . . 87 FIRST INVASIONS .... . 99 KEEP THEM SAFE . . l09 A BIRD,S-EYE VIEW. . . Q23 LEYTE ..... - Q37 SURIGAO BATTLE . - Q47 KAMIKAZE. . - l57 OKINAWA . - Q73 PEACE . . - l90 OCCUPATION ..... - Q95 THE LONG VOYAGE HOME . - 203 COMMANDING OFFICERS . - 213 MAN OF WAR STAFF . . - 214