Randolph (CV 15) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 37 text:

,- K in --4 T - i ' .. Q i . Q. 5 ...Z W 'L'-, Q- it 3, '---- -.... ,AJLDNU 1, Niki L . f ..J9i ' + A -- j , K -... H'-v i i Q ua-55 -1 h '- -. ,A my Q-M A . xi- -.ifzssx , xi ' W t YU ' 'in .. --V, ' 'Y-'-Zhi ' 'N ' N- K-'1'-e,: ' '- 'kx f1p-..A F' . A-ig ' 1' h-2.2 Q1 K, 'N N 'W .. V 'ex-, . .Q-5 Q.. 5' ' fflffvs . , Hs. K V - 'N -X -., J itf- -v-'Q-X... -am-, ,. uv- Li, -I Ulbasn- Q.- n uno.. ' . - .. .. .- - -Q-.pagan --sq-Q.. on-an Ao-. Q. .QQ H. nov,-4.-....-- -----gona. .n ......--....... , .-r 1-,- Q :Quang 4.-q..s.Qou--... -..--.Q ,.,....-...vw.r-Q .ss- 1 an xv- 5-. .Q

Page 36 text:

,rf Our lasl few days of air operafions were unusual. Torpedo planes loaded wifh bags of food flew over fhe Japanese ci'ries of Osaka and Kobe, and dropped 'lhe bags on prisons where Americans were held. Sepfember 5th was an excifing day. We ihoughl we were on our way fo Tokyo Bay fo pick up our Marines and perhaps some of fhe Americans who had been war prisoners. Scufflebufi was ihaf we mighf also go 'io Okinawa. Abruplly, al Il00, fhe ship received orders fo proceed fo Pearl Harbor! We were delached from fha Task Group in company wifh a single desrroyer and headed on our way al 20 knofs. Alfhough we were sorry noi fo go info Tokyo Bay and have a look ai Japan, we were happy af lhe ihoughf of heading ioward home. ln a few days fhe news was ou? ihai we would go fo lhe Easf Coasf for Navy Day, Oclober 27. We moored al' Ford lsland, Pearl Harbor, Sepfember ll, and were There for fhe resf of fhe monfh, ge?-ring painfed, having '?' our siarboard 40mm sponsons removed, and iaking on supplies. Our food had been ge'H'ing low. We had been 73 days al' sea and in,+ha+ fime had fraveled more ihan 29,000 miles. Our ihird and final war cruise had been The longesl. Aliogefher we were proud of our war record. We had been in all +he major naval campaigns from Febru- ary un+iI war's end. Our guns had accounied for four Jap planes and helped accounl' for many more. Our air groups had desfroyed I43 Jap planes in 'lhe air and I60 on +he ground, besides sinking 87,000 'ions of Jap shipping. A+ Pearl Harbor everyone had a chance io go ashore, have a drink of fresh milk or rum, and fake anoiher look ai fhe gyp ioinfs of Honolulu. Many of us boughi' +rinke+s ro +ake home wifh us. Under The poinf sysiern, some of us would soon be civilians. Affer monihs of Pacific war, if was hard 'lo believe. We lei? Pearl early Ociober I. Cruising ai I5 knofs we had a long, and surprisingly cool, frip io 'ihe Panama Canal. We had abou+ I000 passengers on board. Many oi ihem slepi on cois befween planes on fhe affer parf of +he hangar deck. We wen? 'ihrough +he Canal on Ociober I6. Thai day we also had on board a large group of civilian sighfseers from Balboa and Chrisiobal, including females of all sizes and ages. There was a iouch of drama as fhe waier, painied by fhe colors of lhe sunsei, ran oui of 'rhe lasl of 'lhe ihree Gafun locks, lowering us again +o fhe A+lan+ic! The ship's whistle droned oul a blasi as lhe gaies opened. A+ daybreak nexi morning we leff Chrisfobal and for live days headed nor+h. Balfimore had been designafed as our Navy Day porf. On Sunday afiernoon, Ocfober 2l, we sailed up ihe coas+ and in+o 'rhe gray-green wafer of Chesapeake Bay. The year was over. We had come back from ihe war. 1-wr, . 'uw li Q Q ,J To

Page 38 text:

1,1 AIR DEPARTMENT Broadly speaking, fhis volume would be incomplefe wifhouf a brief hisforical skefch of fhe Air Office and ifs inhabifanfs, and fhaf is fhe only excuse we can offer for ifs inclusion here. I+ is, we realize an unpopular subiecf, for fhe lay sailor insfincfively regards all airedales wifh suspicion and all yeomen wifh confempf. The Air Office, as an ouffif organized fo spread ad- minisfrafive confusion, was born in July, I944 in a li'H'le quonsef huf in Newporf, Rhode Island. No fablef af fhaf humble spof pays fribufe fo fhaf occasion, in facf, if memory serves, fhe huf was surveyed and ieffisoned. Of- ficiafing af fhe birfh was a midwife by fhe name of Sweeney, so you can see fhaf if was more fhrough good forfune fhan skill fhaf he was able fo usher in a lusfy baby, whose name, oddly enough, furned ouf fo be Papa! To Mark W. Papa, fhen Y3c, fell fhe dubious privilege of being fhe firsf yeoman in fhe Air Deparfmenf of fhe fhen land sfillll unknown carrier. And one of fhe firsf communicafions received from fhe crew af Newporf News was a leffer signed by one J. M. Cloud, CY, beginning, To avoid duplicafion of efforf . . . Thai' sef fhe fempo. There was no duplicafion. There was no efforf. The day of commissioning found a goodly number of yeoman under our colors, and a greaf deal of work fo do. Affer fhe inifial avalanche of work was squared away. namely fhe Air Deparfmenf Organizafion Book, Shake- down Reporf, seffing up of files, liberfy cards, efc., fhe office seffled down and fhe sniping befween fhe Air Operafions yeomen and fhe Air Office men commenced in earnesf. Represenfing fhe Air Op men manning Flighf Ouarfers sfafions on Primary Fly and in Air Plof was Mike Champ Papa, Red Schneider, R.P. lNosel Henry lonly man fo achieve a barrier crash wifhouf using an airplanel, Sam Geison, Louis Hammel and A. Flysheef Swofes, all of which have been discussed elsewhere. In fhe opposife corner, wearing purple fighfs and represenf- ing fhe Air Office was Chief Cloud, J. E. Bilbo, Dick Cornish, Wiley Smifhson, Red O'Connor, Cooper Kirk, Norn lThe Generali Lee, Howie Ouderkirk and Al Fiorello. As soon as fhe ship cleared San Francisco for Pearl Harbor, work in fhe Air Office seffled down fo a dull roufine, which, fhank heaven, is beyond descripfion. Com- baf condifions usually found fhe boys sacked in and barely able fo make soup call in fhe morning. Along abouf noon, fhey usually roused fhemselves sufficienfly fo play checkers and cards. Far ouf in fronf as a favorife sporf. however, was fhaf of argumenf, and almosf any hour of fhe day, fhe air would be blue wifh invecfive of fhe rnosf profane nafure. The boys really oufdid fhemselves in abuse, however, when called on fo perform any proiecf calling for efforf of any kind. Evenings under fire and alerfs usually found fhe Chief Bandmasfer holding fourfh wifh his inimifable fales of fhe China Sfafion, unfil if was fime fo sack in. On refueling