Randolph (CV 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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combat None of us was exac+Iy cheered over +his pros- pect Bu+ we lafer learned +here were urgen+ reasons why we should lose no +ime in geHing fo 'I'he Pacific. We didn I' lose any. Everyone furned +o, and from commissioning unfil Oc+ober 30 we were busy loading sfores, 'raking on fuel, and fesiing l'he ship's brand-new equipment There were many adiuslmenis io be made. The Gunnery Deparimenl' and ordnance personnel from fhe Air Depar+men'l' helped speed up our deparlure by loading 'lhe magazines wifh bombs and shells in +wo days, clipping several days off 'I'he 'time formerly required. There was an urgency, a feeling of hurry-hurry in lhe air. The lznowledge 'rhal' a greaf sea batlle was being fough+ in +he Philippines, in which we losl' a carrier, made us realize fhaf fhe sialces in fhis race were high. On Ocfober 30, Randolph , new and shiny, pro- ceeded fo fhe Deperming Sfafion af Lamberf Point Virginia. The nexi day we moved 'fo Pier Five al Nor- follr's Naval Operafing Base, and on November 5 fhe ship gol' underway for fhe Chesapealre Bay phase of shalredown. Exaclly a weelr lafer, November l2, fhe firsf plane landed aboard, piIo+ed by fhe Air Officer, Com- mander Leroy C. Simpler, USN, who lafer became our Execufive Officer. Tha? was fhe firsf of many fhousand planes fo land aboard. From Then on our ears were filled wifh fheir sound. Because lhe operling area in Chesapeake Bay was small, il' fool: a lor of lime fo accomplish a fraining exer- cise. So, in order lo lose no lime, we cuf shorl fha? phase where slorm Many of shalredown and cruised off fhe Virginia Capes +he big ship could lel' herself go. Remember l'he we had off fhe Capes? How could we forgef! of us go? jusf abou? as seasicl: as we could and sfill keep our sfomachs inside us. T . .arnsq A ...t S flame flfmw THIS POSSIBLF in , i K . L 1 -12 X, Qi 5-v ?? i' '

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if -Y i gl 6. ,V .., 1 PJ A HISTORY OF U. S. S Whaf a year! If lasfed from Ocfober 9, I944, when Randolph was commissioned af Norfolk Navy Yard. unfil Ocfober Zl, l945, when fhe war was over and fhe ship refurned fo Norfolk, en roufe fo Balfimore for Navy Day. For mosf of us if was fhe rnosf evenfful year we ever had, and perhaps ever will have. Whaf hap- pened in fhose fwelve monfhs? I.ef's go back and fake a look. Our sfory really begins on May IO, l943, when Randolph's keel was laid af Newporf News Shipbuild- ing and Drydock Company, Newporf News, Virginia. Our sfory, of course is fhe sfory of a ship. Thaf year we didnf belong fo home or wife or mofher We belonged fo a ship. Randolph was launched on June 28 I944 If wasnf long before a few officers and men were assigned fo fhe shipyard fechniclans mosfly fo help fif her ouf Mosf of us fhough wenl' fo Newporf Rhode Island fhaf sum mer and early fall sweahng if ouf as fhe Pre Commls sionmg Defall af fhe Naval Training Sfafion We dldnf fhlnk much abouf war We fhoughf abouf hafing fo RANDOLPH CV-I5 gef up for Happy Hour, abouf fhe dusf on fhe drill Held. and fhe beer and babes of Newporf. Then came fhe frain ride from Newporf fo Newp0l'I News. Was if long and firing! We 'Ihoughf we'd never gef fhere. The frain fook us righf info fhe shipbuilding yards, arriving fhe morning of Ocfober 8. Thaf day we boarded fhe ship. Mosf of us had never even been on one before. We were fhal' green. If was excifing. and also confusing, fo go around fhaf big, complex sl1IP for fhe firsf fime, fo see her fhere, new and powerful and, like us, unfried. The nexf morning, Ocfober 9. WIII1 our officers on fhe bridge buf wifh fhe shipbuiIder's men sflll in charge we fook fhe ship over fo Norfolk Navy Yard af Porfsmoufh In fhe affernoon in fhe bflghl aufumn sunllghf we sfood in mass formahon on 'Ihe IIIQH deck Visnfors were fhere including 'Ihe wives and families of some of us On a raised plafform lnboard of fhe island Capfaln Felix Baker USN accepfed 'I'Il9 sl-up for naval service Af Iasf we were in commission The ship was ours He said so himself He also SBICI fhaf as quickly as possible he hoped fo ge? 'I'Ile sI1lP mio .M- ...-.-.. ....s.......4 ' . . n - v . - - Q Q 4 . 1 - - . - . , . . . - . l Q . Q ' - I I . . ' . . n 1 1 n o 0 . ' 4 . 1 , Q . 4 u I . a e 1 ' - o 0 - ' ' a 4 o l., . V.. ' W n n ysj , . . 0 l- . leaf. .

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ITF' Q w .. W if The ship refurned fo NOB, Norfolk, on November I9 fwo days lafer. If was conducfed by Commander Fleef Air, Norfolk, and his sfaff. He gave us an okay. The nexf affernoon, November 22, we hauled anchor and headed for fhe Wesf Indies for shakedown. If had been easy fo fell everybody goodbye because we expecfed fo refurn in a few weeks. See you Chrisfmas, we had eifher said or wriffen 'fo our families. Liffle did we fhink fhaf almosf a year would go by and we would sail IO0,000 miles before seeing Norfolk again. The frip soufh was pleasanf, as soon as fhe weafher warmed up a liffle. We dropped fhe hook November 27 in fhe U.S. Naval Anchorage off Porf of Spain, Trinidad Brifish Wesf Indies. Excepf for fhose who dislike any kind of hof weafher, if wasn'f bad fhere in fhe Gulf of Paria wifh fhe blue wafer and fhe clouds and across 'Ihe Gulf fhe green mounfains of Soufh America. Some nighfs we looked up af a big yellow moon and wafched fhe Iighfs 'rwinkling along fhe shores of fhe island, and wished for fhe girls af home. We had some good beer parfies af a Trinidad beach. Many of us saw palm frees and coconufs for fhe firsf fime. We had Calypso singers on board. Buf if was no pleasure cruise. All day we Everybody scrubbed up for fhe on-reporfing inspecfion frainedz pushing planes, loading fhem wifh bombs, sfand- ing wafches on fhe bridge, in engine rooms, comm office, working on fhe forecasfle, in sick bay, in offices, sweep- ing fhe decks, cleaning brighfwork, firing fhe guns. The pace was infensive. We knew we were geffing ready for somefhing big in fhe war-for iusf whaf, we didn'f know. There was no reason fo gel' excifed ye'l'- We'd be back on fhe Easf Coasf soon and home for Chrisfmas. There was scuH'Iebu'H, however, 'Io 'rhe con- frary. Buf nobody believes scufflebuff. Oh, no? Repre- senfafives of ComFair, Norfolk, flew down and in- specfed us. Af fhaf fime we didn I' know fhey judged us ready for fhe Pacific. So we were full of quesfions Oh December I7 when we gof underway. Where fo? Aboul' mid-morning came fhe announcemenf over fhe P-A- sysfem. We were headed for fhe Panama Canal. Nafurally we were disappoinfed. Af one of his infor- mal falks fo us before movies on fhe hangar deck, CHP' fain Baker explained fhaf fhe Pacific Fleef needed car- riers and needed fhem in a hurry. Thaf's why we weren f going home. So we swallowed our feelings. Lafer, when we were able 'ro sfrike a blow againsf fhe enemy, we were glad we had ioined fhe fleef when if mosf needed U5- We were glad we had been fhe firsf big carrier nof TQ refurn fo fhe home yard for adiusfmenfs affer shake- down.