Napa (APA 157) - Naval Cruise Book

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Tiflminmgtldli HE CAPTAIN extends a hearty wel come to the officers ,ond men as signed to duty in the U. S. S. Napa and hopes that our duty together will be happy and fruittul..AlI of you realize, no doubt, that our missions will be very essential and most important. They will be no easy jobs nor luxury cruises, therefore, there is no place on board for weaklings or shirkers. To accomplish those missions, sin- cere thought and consideration must be given to the following principles: U nity of purpose activated by a sincere loy- alty should be our rule or the missions cannot be accomplished. S ervice to God and Country. S hip-preservation, which lies close .to the first law of nature. N owledge of our ship and our duties. A pplication of those principles which are essential to the accomplishment of our missions. P erseverance which will enable us to win through to the end. A cfion in thought, in word, and in deed. Put them all together and you have e USS NAPA Put them into practice and you have aN APA of which both you and the Navy can be proud ff? I Yfud,

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Mmm ll OCTOBER 1944 - Offi- cers and crew assembled at quarters on the after boat- deck before invited guests, relatives and friends and heard 4'Napa Napa resound over 'the P. A. system for the first time as Captain A. R. Ponto, USN, Commanding Officer of the Naval Sta- tion, Astoria, Oregon, came aboard for commissioning ceremonies. After the invo- cation by Chaplain Malcolm W. Eckel, USNR, the U.S.S. Napa QAPA 1575 was placed Hin full commission in an active status in the United States Navy. Captain Francis J. Firth, USN, pursuant to orders from the Bureau of Naval Personnel, assumed command and ordered the watch to be set. His Watch- words, 4'Our motto - work, our destination - doubtful and confidential, both equally unpleasant, both equally necessary, in time equally true. 1 O O J X54 6, O ' . ' A o 0 ' C'vmmiAAioning eremvm, 'A' Assembly of Crew Music by the Band The Commanding Officer, Naval Station, Astoria, l Received at the Gangway Prayer by Chaplain Malcolm W. Eckel, USNR Commissioning Orders and Remarks by Captain A. R. Ponto, USN y ir COMMISSIONING OF SHIP Band plays the National Anthem. National Ensign, Jack, and the Commission Pennant are hoisted. The Command ls Transferred to Captain Francis J . Firth, USN Reading of Orders and Remarks by Captain Francis J . Firth, USN The Watch ls Posted by Lieut. Commander Robert C. Lynch, USNR The Sounding of Retreat if I8

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.I OCTOBER 1944 --- The Boat Group, which had trained as a separate unit at Coronado, California, re- ported aboard the Napa at 1700 under Lt. Lester R. Schroeder, Boat Group Com- nlander. a 6 Q, an X 35 ,M P. W 4 Q Zifjiiiggg V uf: vmmfav-if-'--H---1---ff W-V V ff ---- --N --..- -wm,,,,,,,Mx:AZ goat group LOWER all boats to the rail V, Out of the dreary early hours of the morning comes the most dreaded command of all. Is it dreaded because it means ucontactw with the enemy? Not necessarily. It is dreaded because the boat group is leaving the ship. Shipas company dreads M1-Ablei' because it means that they'll have to eat Spam and Cheese sandwiches until the Mindispensablew boys return. You see, when the boat group udisembarksf, the Napa is like Ha ship without a sail fbut with a mighty line enginej, ua child in the wildernessw flike Tarzanjb. The boat group dreads 461-Able because they place their lives in the hands of the men who handle the Winches. It also means hours and perhaps days of trying to usurvivew on MK-Rationsa' and what Wee morsels of food they could 'thi- jackl' fsuch as chicken-ala-king, Virginia baked ham, fresh pineapple and peaches, etc. In . On one operation one man swore that he saw hot coffee being given out, but since he could furnish no witness to corroborate his statement, it Was attrib- uted to the deliriums of a mild case of ubottlel' fatigue. After one operation the boat group, tired and battle-Weary from the beaches, still Nhot under fires, returned to the Napa to solace and comfort the crew aboard who had uwithstoodw the trying uordeala' of seeing shrapnel fall to the deck. Said one, HWhy there must have been SIX PIECES of it! Fable: Once upon a time an APA made a 500-mile run Without a boat group. Tell that to Ripley! It was probably the uhappiestw APA in the fleet. H