Nicholas (DD 449) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE STORY OF THE U.S.S. NICHOLAS chutes, and as the troops began searching out Japs, still more silky puffs floated earthward. At 10:30 the amphibious forces moved in slowly to the center of the island as destroyers, cruisers and rocket firing craft moved to within 500 yards of the beach, laying down a shattering barrage. Aircraft bombed and strafed, and troops poured from land- ing barges. Our beachheads were soon established and Old Glory flew over Corregidor. The war'was moving at an accelerated pace now, and the Pacific forces ready for new fields to con- quer made plans for occupation of the southern and central Philippine Islands which had been by passed. The first of these bases was Zamboanga located on the southwestern peninsula of Mindanao which juts out into the Sulu Sea. Its harbor facilities and air- fields provide excellent bases for the isolation of Borneo and other East Indies islands. The plan of attack was typical of preceding Pacific operations. The Nicholas with other destroyers, cruisers and minesweeps carried out their bombard- ments and backed up the landing forces against lit- tle opposition. However, every operation seems to be marked by some unusual spectacle and the loss of one of our aircraft provided such for this operation. A group of army Liberators moved in to unload their cargos. One plane, apparently out of formation flying at a lower level was hit with the bomb load from a plane higher up. In a matter of seconds the plane exploded and fell in pieces. It was a horrible sight to see it falling in flames and we watched, holding our breath and giving a silent prayer that parachutes would soon open. At the last moment one parachute opened and came down near the beach. A cruiser plane landed under enemy fire and made a daring rescue. After Zamboanga the Nicholas participated in the landing on Cebu in the Visayan Group. As we lay off shore the retreating Japanese burned Cebu City, second largest in the Philippines. It was here that we could see the sort of enemy we were fightingg an enemy who when he can no longer wage war against an army must turn and spend his hate and violence upon the civilian population. ' When the Seventh Fleet moved into East Indies waters in May, the Nicholas was once again in the fight as she participated in the first landings on Bor- neo at Tarakan Island. With the occupation com- pleted the Nicholas returned to Subic Bay, Luzon, with hopes of a journey home. Days dragged by. The fighting at Okinawa, the most furious the navy had ever encountered, was slackening. Finally or- ders came through and the Nicholas joined the Third Fleet. She became part of an escort carrier force operating off Okinawa making air strikes against the Sakishima Group. The absence of enemy aircraft made the operation uneventful. Before long the bat- tling on Okinawa was over and we were back in port once again. But there was still work to do, as the Third Fleet was preparing for an all-out assault on the japanese homeland. . Early in july, the Nick joined a group of de- stroyers who together with tankers, ammunition ships, and cargo vessels would act as a replenishing force for Task Force 38. For forty days we steamed through the waters of the western Pacific some 300 miles from the japanese homeland while the power- ful task force shattered Jap installations and de- stroyed the remnants of a once powerful navy. On August eleventh the Nicholas with two other ships of her squadron received orders to join the fleet carriers. The Nicholas made her first strike with Task Force 38 on the thirteenth of August. The carrier planes took off just after dawn and roared in toward japan. Our fighter cover kept vigilant watch and during the day broke up concentrated attacks of enemy planes. By the morning of the fifteenth we heard that the Japanese radio had broadcast their surrender but as no official word had reached us, our strikes prepared to carry out their assignments. Sev- eral hours after our planes had taken off, we received word of the surrender, and our aircraft were re- called. However, the .laps were still fighting and we remained alert as our planes were shooting down snoopers most of the day. The following days were long and filled with sus- pense. We spent much of, our time dodging ty- phoons while waiting for the surrender plans to be put into effect. Marines and sailors were taken from the task force to make up a landing party, and the Nicholas was assigned to escort the Missouri into japanese home waters and receive emissaries from a Japanese destroyer. I On August twenty-seventh, the Nick went to general quaters just before daybreak and steamed in M1-6,

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THE STORY OF THE U.S.S. NICHOLAS landia, just 150 miles further up the coast. It was a bold step which, surprisingly, met with minor oppo- sition and marked the beginning of the end of Jap- anese power in New Guinea. Our duties in the period that followed varied con- siderably. We bombarded enemy positions in New Guinea and New Ireland, participated in anti- submarine sweeps protecting aircraft carriers in their sweeps along and above the Bismarck archipelego, and in September the Nicholas helped in the occu- pation of Morotai Island in the Northern Molukkas. We were proud to take part in the return of Americans to the Philippine Islands. On October 24 the Nicholas brought the first resupply echelon into Leyte Gulf. We barely missed getting into the Bat- tle of Surigao Straits, being about thirty miles away. The glow of the gun flashes were clearly visible, and the sky gave the impression that an electrical storm caused by heat lightning was taking place. In Leyte we encountered the Japanese Kamikaze Corps, and our guns took credit for at least one suicidal enemy plane as it attempted to crash into our superstructure. In December we made one of the night sweeps up through the Camotes Sea, bombarding enemy held Ormoc Bay. All during this period the Nicholas did her share in destroying enemy air forces who at- tempted to disrupt our invasion. This was a furious phase of the war, one which we all vividly re- member. Shortly after Japanese resistance crumpled in the Leyte area, we continued the victorious advance up through the Philippines. The Nicholas was in the covering force as our flag returned to Luzon Island in the landings at Lingayen Gulf. After backing up several additional landings she played an active part in the landing at Mariveles on Bataan and the occu- pation of Corregidor. The recapture of Corregidor was probably the most interesting and spectacular operation of the Philippine campaign. The Rock, as the island is known, guards the entrance to Manila Bay, lying be- tween the Bataan peninsula and the southwestern side of Luzon, where our forces had driven to the Cavite naval base. Mariveles, on the southern tip of Bataan, lies directly opposite the northern end of Corregidor. It was here that the first landing was made. Corregidor itself, resembling a giant polywog, rises sharply from the water, its sheer rocky cliffs giving it an impregnable appearance. The extreme southern end consists of a single high peak, which is joined to the main fortress by a long, narrow strip of hilly land, heavy with trees and undergrowth. It was on this center strip that the amphibious units would go ashore. The cliffs of Corregidor were marked with scores of caves and tunnels bored deep in solid rock. In these caves the Japs had mounted heavy caliber guns ranging from 3 to 8 inch. It was our job to knock out these emplacements. On top, Corregidor was flat and dotted with buildings, storage tanks, large guns and cave entrances, already in poor condition due to the consistent bombings of the army air forces. For two days the Nicholas, with other destroyers and cruisers, went in to point blank range to draw enemy fire so that we could locate and knock out japanese gun emplacements. Long linesf of tiny minesweeps cut loose hundreds of mines in Mari- veles and around Corregidor and we were kept quite busy exploding these obstacles. On the second day the japs began to open up and it was necessary to bore in closer and fight it out. The Nicholas knocked out several batteries and es- caped without damage. On the third day we landed on Bataan, where, due to accurate firing by our ships and heavy aerial bombardment, there was little op- position. The morning of the fourth day saw an all out attack upon the rocky fortress. At 7:50 a. m. heavy bombers came over in waves to unload tons of bombs. This was followed by low level strafing at- tacks. Our group moved in close and poured shells into the caves, and around the landing beaches. At times the entire rock was hidden behind thick clouds of smoke and dirt. At exactly 8:30 long lines of transport planes appeared and lumbered slowly over the rock. As the smoke from the bombardment cleared away, the huge planes dipped lower, one by one, and army paratroops tumbled into space. The sky was filled with red, white, green and black um- brellas, dropping men, supplies and equipment to the flat surface of Corregidoris rooftop. Some men missed their target, dropped past the steep cliffs to the water where PT boats quickly came to the rescue. Corregidor was soon littered with abandoned para- ..15--

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THE STORY OF THE U.S.S. NICHOLAS towards Sagami Wan to rendezvous with the Japan- ese ship. A two-stacked Jap destroyer was soon sighted. The Jap sailors were dressed in olive green uniforms resembling our marine fatigues. Officers dressed much the same but wore black boots. We lay to about 75 yards from the enemy ship and lowered a whaleboat which picked up 2 naval officers, 13 pilots and 6 interpreters. When the emissaries and party came aboard the Nicholas they saluted at the quarter deck and were taken into the wardroom where they were relieved of their swords and thor- oughly searched for other arms. We then went alongside the Missouri and Admiral Halsey appeared on deck while the japs were trans- ferred to the battleship in a very bright red boat- swain's chair. Cameramen and newsmen were every- where at once. Pilots were sent to other ships, and we began to enter Sagami Wan, south of Tokyo Bay. The Nick steamed close by the Missouri, and as we entered the bay we could see the coastline dotted with buildings. In the distance we saw famous Mount Fujiyama. We anchored in Sagami Bay dur- ing the afternoon and when night fell secured from general quarters for the first time since early morning. - The following day was spent transferring more Japanese pilots to other ships of the force, and upon anchoring we prepared for our first movie topside in over 56 days. That night all ships were fully lighted and searchlights swept the sky over a peace- ful Japan. On August twenty-ninth the Nicholas with the Taylor and O'Bannon escorted the Missouri into Tokyo Bay. We anchored off the Yokosuka naval base which was occupied the following day. Land- ings were very orderly and soon the American flag flew over Japan. On Sunday, September second, the Nicholas left the dock at the customs house pier in Yokohama to take allied representatives to the Missouri for the signing of the formal surrender documents. It was a proud day for the Nick , Aboard were such notables as Vinegar Joe Stillwell, General jonathan Wain- wright, jimmy Doolittle, General Spaatz, General Merrill of Merrill's Marauders, General Lemay of the 21st Bomber Command, and a host of other out- standing American, French, Chinese, Australian, Dutch, and Russian top ranking military men. As we went alongside the Missouri, Admiral Halsey appeared with Admiral Nimitz to greet our party. At the termination of the ceremonies, we took our guests back to Yokohama and proceeded to our an- chorage in Tokyo Bay. A destroyer's work is neverfmished, and the Nich- olas was soon assigned to a group of ships evacuat- ing prisoners of war along the coast of Japan. This was interesting work and provided us with the op- portunity to hear first hand some of the stories of the heroes of Bataan, Corregidor, and Wake Island. The evacuees were transferred to other ships where they were cared for until such time as transportation home could be arranged. The next few weeks were days of leisure and the Nicholas rocked at anchor in Tokyo Bay waiting patiently for orders which might possibly send us home. Liberty parties were sent ashore at Yokohama, the Yokosuka naval base, and finally into Tokyo. The trip to the heart of the Japanese empire was interest- ing, although the city was wrecked by fire bombing of the B29's and thousands of carrier aircraft. Tokyo itself, with its winding streets, canals, low buildings, and shuffling hordes of queer costumed Asiatics seemed in most other respects like a large American city. Streetcars, subways, and busses were all running. Subway and streetcar rushes were as much of an or- deal as in New York and Chicago, although here at least an average American had the advantage of hav- ing his head in the fresher air above the mob. The people were friendly and had high regard for Ameri- can cigarettes and chewing gum. Good souvenirs were scarce but most of us managed to pick up a few trinkets to serve as mementos. Probably the nicest part of Tokyo was the park surrounding the imperial palace. A silent muddy moat and high brick walls some 300 years old wound around the grounds. Ex- cept for this feudal carry-over, its appearance was re- markably similar to many large American city parks. At the end of September those long awaited or- ders finally arrived. Early in October, the Nicholas hoisted her homeward bound pennant and steamed out of Tokyo Bay with a group of carriers, cruisers, and destroyers. After picking up passengers at Oki- nawa, our group headed for Seattle via the northern route. October 19 was a great day. We had finally arrived in the United States. -..l7-