Nicholas (DD 449) - Naval Cruise Book

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LIST OF OPERATIONS - Continued 29 MAY 1944 15 SEPTEMBER 1944 18 OCTOBER 1944 TO DECEMBER 1944 NOVEMBER 1944 6-7 DECEMBER 1944 31 JANUARY 1945 16 FEBRUARY 1945 12 MARCH 1945 24 MARCH 1945 24 APRIL 1945 17-25 JUNE 1945 5 JULY 1945 TO 22 AUGUST 1945 11-22 AUGUST 1945 27 AUGUST 1945 29 AUGUST 1945 2 SEPTEMBER 1945 7-14 SEPTEMBER '45 Participated in bombardment on enemy position at Medina Plantation, New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelego. Participated in occupation of Morotai Island, Northern Molukkas. Participated in occupation and defense of Leyte Island, Philippine Islands. Participated in an anti-submarine action resulting in the probable sinking of an enemy submarine. Participated in sweep of Camotes Sea and bombardment of enemy positions at Ormoc Bay, Leyte Island, in support of the landing of American forces. Participated in the initial seizure and occupation of Luzon Island, Philippine Islands, at Lingayen as part of close covering group in the occupation of Zam- bales Province, Luzon. Operated as part of the close covering group in the occupation of the Nasugbu area, Luzon Island, P. I. I Participated in the bombardment and occupation of Mariveles-Bataan Penin- sula and Luzon Island and Corregidor Island, as part of the close fire support group. Participated in the bombardment and' occupation of Zamboanga, Mindanao, as part of the close fire support group and as part of the close support group for minesweeping units prior to the landing. Participated in bombardment and seizure of the Cebu City area, Cebu, P. I. as part of the fire support group. Q Participated in bombardment and seizure of Tarakan Island, Dutch Borneo as part of minesweeping group and close f1re support group. Operated as unit of covering force of escort carriers in closing phase of Okinawa campaign. Operated as unit of logistic support group replenishing Third Fleet off Japan. Operated with task group 38.4 off Japan participating in carrier strikes against that island. Made first contact with japanese emissaries off O Shima Island and trans- ferred emissaries from Jap destroyer Hatuzakura to U.S.S. Missouri and anchored in Sagami Wan, Japan. Anchored in Tokyo Bay, japan. Transported high ranking allied military leaders to U.S.S. Missouri for the formal signing of the peace treaty of surrender of the japanese Empire. Assisted in evacuation of prisoners of war from Sendai area, Japan.

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CHRONOLO OF OCTOBER 1942 25 JANUARY 1943 s MARCH 1945 15 MARCH 1943 13 MAY 1943 16 JUNE 1943 s' JULY 1945 6 JULY 1945 12 JULY 1943 16 JULY 1943 15 AUGUST 1943 17 AUGUST 1943 18-26 AUGUST 1945 19-23 NOVEMBER '43 4 DECEMBER 1943 10 FEBRUARY 1944 22 APRIL 1944 GICAL LIST OF OPERATIONS THE US5.NICHOLHS Engaged in the occupation, supply and defense of Guadalcanal area. Re- pelled six aerial attacks and engaged in five bombardments of enemy positions on Guadalcanal. Led first cruiser-destroyer task force to bombard enemy positions Vila Stan- more Plantations, Kolombangara Island, British Solomon Islands. Led cruiser-destroyer task force in bombardment of Munda Point, British Solomon Islands. Led destroyer task group into Kula Gulf to bombard Kolombangara Island, B. S. I. I Led cruiser-destroyer task force into Kula Gulf to bombard Kolombangara Island and New Georgia Island, B. S. I. Assisted in repelling an air attack of 125 Japanese planes off Guadalcanal. Led cruiser-destroyer .task force into Kula Gulf to bombard Kolombangara Island and New Georgia Island covered the landing of troops at Enogai Inlet, B. S. I. Participated in the first battle of Kula Gulf. Later rescued U.S.S. Helena survivors. For this action against the enemy, this ship was awarded the Presi- dential Unit Citation. Participated in the second battle of Kula Gulf. Led covering force in the rescue of U.S.S. Helena survivors from Vella Lavella Island, B. S. I. A Covered the first landing of American troops on Vella Lavella Island, B.S.l. Participated in the Battle of Vella Gulf. Operated against the Tokyo express and Japanese barge traffic off Kolomban- gara and Choiseul Islands, B.S.I. ' if Operated with battleship and carrier task force covering the landing and occupation of Makin, Tarawa, and Apemama Islands in the Gilbert Island Group. Participated in carrier task force raids on Kwajalein and Wotje Islands in Marshall Group. Participated in the occupation and defense of the Marshall Islands. Covered the first landing of American forces at Aitape, New Guinea, ....12..

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7fne saw, af me af. 5. 5. fva By ROBERT E. TAYLOR, RMQC On June 4, 1942, the U.S.S..Nicholas, named after Marine Major Samuel Nicholas and bearing the num- ber 449, hugged the docks of the Boston Navy Yard as a green crew of officers and men stood in a drenching downpour to witness a brief ceremony which commissioned her 2,100 tons of steel into the naval service of the United States. ' Entering the South Pacific in September 1942, the Nicholas commenced her combatant activities in the Solomon Islands area, taking part in the defense of Guadalcanal. The Nicholas spent seemingly endless days off that long finger of death. Her powerful guns showered tons of explosives upon the blood- stained beaches, blasting gun positions and scattering concentrations of the monkey-like men from Nippon. On February 1, 1945, she fought with fury as enemy dive bombers pealed off and thundered down- ward in their attempts to send the Nicholas to a watery grave. This was her first real taste of warg and although an accompanying destroyer was blown to bits, the Nick, herself riddled with shrapnel, two men killed and others injured from a near miss, managed to drive off the enemy. The Japanese navy was still very strong and ag- gressive. It was well entrenched in the Solomons area and determined to stay there. The Nicholas acquitted herself with honor and distinction in many clashes. Time and time again she met the best the japs could offer under their favorite conditions of darkness and landlocked waters. It was a difiicult and hectic period and all hands on board worked hard to perfect her as a fighting ship. As American forces moved up through the Solo- mons, driving before them the japanese forces, the Nicholas played a part in almost every action. She was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for her actions in the battle of Kula Gulf in july, 1943. This award is the most coveted of all decorations in the navy, and is the mark, not of individual bravery, but of fighting ability, courage, and the teamwork of all members of the crew. Much has been written about the first battle of Kula Gulf, and the victory that came to our small task force is now history. Outnumbered nearly three to one, our battle fleet pushed its way to victory in one of the most vicious engagements of the Pacific war. Who can ever forget the magnificent barrage our cruisers thundered through the black, early morning hours, the ring of fiercely burning enemy ships, the fantastic patterns of red and white tracers that poured endlessly from the powerful guns of our task force. The destroyers sped in to point blank range to loose their torpedoes, then turned away in a blaze of yellow fire from their five inch guns. The Helena survivors who came aboard, cut and bleeding, from the oil soaked waters, lent a hand in the magazines as the Nicholas and a sister ship sent a Japanese cruiser and two destroyers to their death in a series of violent explosions. In October, the Nicholas joined the newly organ- ized Fifth Fleet and participated, as a part of the greatest armada ever assembled up to that time, in the occupation of the Gilbert Islands. After backing up the landings on bloody Tarawa and Makin, she saw action in the December fourth carrier strike on the Marshall Islands. On December 15 a happy crew stood topside, bell bottom trousersv flapped briskly in the early morn- ing breeze as the Nicholas steamed under the Golden Gate. That long awaited dream had at last become a reality-liberty and leave in the good old U. S. A. The time went by too rapidly and before we knew it, it was January 21 and the Nick was headed out of San Francisco Bay towards Pearl Harbor. Many of the old faces were gone and new ones had taken their places. We spent a month in Pearl whipping into shape for combat. During this time we made an eventful trip to the Marshall Islands on which we succeeded in damaging an enemy submarine. Finally in March the Nicholas left Pearl Harbor for her old haunt, Purvis Bay in the Solomons. By this time, the Japanese had been cleared out of this area, and the Nicholas soon received orders to re- port to the Seventh Fleet then operating in New Guinea. The Nicholas first went back into combat with the occupation of Aitape, New Guinea in May. Our bombardments and the subsequent landings were in phase with occupation forces driving ashore at Hol- -14...