Napa (APA 157) - Naval Cruise Book

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Keaclc Party FIRST ROW, left to right: Rouse, C. E., CBM, Lt. C. W. Reynolds, USN, Haedel, P P. HAlcg Rouleau, J., BMZCQ Buckles, K. W., HAlcg Streng, W. L., HA1cg Wright N. E., SF1cg Neustedt, A. W., Slcg Pertl, C. S., Slcg McLeary, C. W., Slcg Carlson, G. A. EM3c, Gregory, H. F., Flcg Estrada, L., RM2cg Denney, D. D., PhM2c. SECOND ROW, left to right: Otto, R., BM2cg Mueller, D. M., Slcg McCullar, C. L. MoMM2cg Hassell, J. W., F2c, Hoegen, C. A., Slcg Williams, M. T., Slcg Dearen, R. P. Slcg Potz, J. R., S103 Moody, D. W., S2cg Ward, J. M., CM1cg Garner, W. H., RM3cg Brophy, J. F., SM3cg Lt. F. Skubitz. THIRD ROW, left to right: Ceurin, A. A., RM3cg Kapp, J. A., SM3cg Bowen, J. D., Slcg Bowen, H. L., MoMM2cg Utz, J. F., Jr., HA2cg Hornick, H. W., S2cg Livsie, E. A., Jr. HAlcg Eagen, M. H., SM3cg Sparr, E. C., HA1cg Staton, E. L., RM3cg Wallingford, J. W. CM2cg Jacobs, M. K., Slcg Mancillas, P., Slcg Wood, G. D., S2cg Corban, C. B., PhM2c Not in picture: Hennen, G. R., Slcg McNeely, M., RM3cg Reed, J. M., Slcg Lt. Comdr E. duPont, Jr. Q' X f f 0 ca MW Q'--.L Q X af N f dv --ff ff J 0 R f If U J A I W F! . A A W E I 5 , , V -w age' ix-if U Nqw?-5 7 Q ff' , , 4,'f' 14 sl' Q 3? -,isbig 49 Ns , . , ,,,, - 2 P I Q DWWW J .J A A 'c Xi 4v- Y H ' - X N114 l . xg' Q- tl 3 '

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- .- ,rm-,. .m,.,, ,. 21 OCTOBER 1944 - Anchored San Pedro Bay, California, and reported r e a d y for 66Shakedown. Gunnery exercises, tactical maneuvers, loading and un- loading, debarkation, and as- sault landing drills proved that Captain Firth had not been joking when he an- nounced Hworkn as the ship's motto, but final inspection report classed the Napa as ou'tstanding among her group. Despite the rigorous work schedule, Pecos Street Landing daily saw many of the Napa personnel en route to and returning from Long Beach, San Pedro, and even Los Angeles and Hollywood. 'JN Xxg ,I X:-:Llp ,,,,,,. ,ff Q 2 . , J . 5 wi T T , , p leach Pal-ty E are the fastest men at digging holes on this ship. They say you can't dig holes in loose shale, well, Mthumbs upw had a little excavation that could be termed the initial step in a new G6Martial Fieldsw establishment! Tunneling was the plan of the day but the awkward thing about these ground hogs was they resembled ostriches and some did get their tail feathers plucked! It was the accepted motto of the Beach Party that every- thing is uAll fouled up!9' And we do try to maintain that standard of perfection. If we haven't lost all communications on the beach, then we have certainly landed on the wrong beach. It matters little what wave we are scheduled for, we just pick any one at hand and then proceed to maneuver to the general frus- tration of all in charge. On the ship, our manipulation of the Winches is unprecedented. We are famous for showering cases of most anything all over the deck, and once we made an omelete on the side of the hatch, recipe: 13,320 eggs, dash well against any solid bulkhead and allow to drip. Whether your opinion agrees with the usual run of opinions, I shall not inquire, but a Beach Party man is NOT a Marine, nor a soldier and most assuredly not a 4-F f that is, to start out withj . It takes months to bring him to the top of his inefliciency, and he is a strictly Navy product. At his uttermost perfection, he does as little as he possibly can on the ship, and hitting the beach, he digs aehole and plans a new attack on shipboard Mlight dutyf, It appears that when they couldn't find anything to call us - that was printable - they inaugurated the infamous Amphibious! It merely means, uoccupation doubtful - work assured. - Not even the unions can supply such varied activity as this celebrated organization. From MSand in My Shoesw to uPaint in My Hairw augmented by uBounce Me Daddy in a Flat-Bottomed Boat,'7 our anthem emerges. We venerate our motto, and our spirit shall never change. It shall be forever true to the sterling example of our per- petual and indescribable, GGTHUMBS UPV, 26 33 4 N 1 v 1 1 L I I I E l 1 I 1 1

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. . S Hepa 041914-I5 75 BEACH PARTY ANNEX MABLEU to ANNEX THREE MDOG OF OPERATION ORDER NINE SEVEN DASH FOUR FIVE OF ADCOM- PHIBSPACSUBORDCOIVPS ATTACK PLAN SEVEN THREE DASH FOUR FIVE PAREN J IG XRAY PAREN. 1. D-Day will be 30 February 1946 unless stated otherwise in reference Qc5 , sub-paragraph Q35, in which case it will be either 4 June or 25 December 1946 or 1947 as amended in refer- ence Qg5 paragraph Q375, sub-paragraph Qj-95. 2. H-Hour will be at 0900 unless trash and garbage is dumped prior to 1900 the preceding day, in which case it will be at 0901. In the event that 'trash and garbage has not been dumped at all, the entire operation Will be pushed back one day. ' 3. The first echelon of the beach party con- sisting of one Q15 BlVI1c, two Q25 SlVI2c, and five Q55 Slc will leave the NAPA with the first Wave in Boat No. 11 Qthe Captain and I.t.,Schroe- der wi11ing5. Boat No. 11 will remain with the first echelon at Blue Beach One Qor Green Beach Seven, depending on which annex to which oper- ation plan is used5 until 2200 or until the BM1c in charge of the first echelon has to go to the head. 4. The second echelon of the beach party consisting of three Q35 Ylc, four Q45 SK1c, and seven Q75 AerlVI1c will leave the NAPA with the first Wave of assault troops, will land at Lavender Beach Thirty-F ive or Fuchsia Beach Ninety- Seven depending again on which annex to which operation plan is used. This second echelon will use Boat No. 11 for their part in the operation. The second echelon, or Purple Heart Brigade, will use as their main battery one Q15 155 mm. Sling-Shot with five Q55 rounds of paper clips as ammunition. 5. In order to avoid confusion, and in order to utilize all boats to the fullest extent, the third echelon consisting of the Beachmaster and the assistant Beachmaster Will remain aboard the NAPA until D-Day plus 365, or until either or both of them accumulate 49 points. 6. The fourth echelon, or rep air party echelon, of the beach party will disembark the NAPA with the first Wave of assault troops. This echelon will use Boat No. 11, and will land at Chartreuse Beach Thirteen with the Marine Scouting Party. It is the purpose of this echelon Qconsisting of one Q15 AS5 to scout the disposition of the Enemy's forces for a distance of ten Q105 miles all around his landing spot. In order to make for ease of movement, this echelon will carry the following gear: One Q15 complete set of SA Radar, one Q15 complete set of SC Radar, three Q35 TBS radios all set to the boat operating fre- quency, three Q35 TBS radios set on the common fighter frequency, seven B.A.R.'sg one 5 ,-Q38 double-purpose gun, two rolls of Scot- 'tissueg and one Q15 can of SPANI. The SPAM is to be consumed in case of capture by the enemy. Qlt Works much faster than prussic-acid or iodine.5 7. The fifth echelon, or communications ech- elon, consisting of eleven Q115 SM1c, fifteen Q155 SlVI2c, and thirty-seven Q375 SICQSM5, will dis- embark the NAPA with the first wave in Boat No. 11. It is the purpose of this echelon, as its name indicates, to communicate all information to the OTC in the USS ELDORADO as soon as received. In order the achieve this purpose, the fifth echelon will carry with it one Q15 set of semaphore flags. 8. It has been the beachmaster's aim in draw- ing up this annex to the annex of the operation order of the attack plan to clarify several points which may have undoubtedly been confusing you. E. DuPont, Lt. Comdr., USNR, Beachmaster.