Shea (DM 30) - Naval Cruise Book

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DENIZENS or THE ETHER WAVES eft Norfolk with the Pacific as its destination, the igdngqecoiilslgtzdl of K. T. Knuteson, our first class, who is well known about the ship for his stories. Knute's. from 'a place called Wisconsin Rapids, which he claims is in Wisconsin, he still has its existence to prove to the rest of us-, W. B, Williams C43 points at time of writingl, one of those sons of the soil from Oklahoma, reported aboard after two years duty in Trinidad and British Guiana, I. W. Stresky, from the coal fields of western Pennsylvania, was another Trinidad sailor for a couple of years. C. A. Waara, better known as CY , hailed from northern Michigan and will always be remembered for his cheerfulness, ever-present smile and' continuous good nature. Cy was the BDF operator during G.O. and? died at his battle station on the morning of May 4th, G. L. Kane, the only regular in the gang, reported aboard after the shakedown from the SC-l3U2 after three years of Atlantic duty. B. T, Woodward, the Ioisey Kid, came to us from the old four-piper DALLAS after quite a bit of time in the Mediterranean. W. R. McArthur, oft mistaken for Dick Haymes, was one of the Chi Mob . Mac was a RDP' operator at Casco Bay before coming aboard. O, E. Cordell was- sent to us from a PC boat after several years of Panama duty. Cordy is a civilian now+probably back with his wife in the swamp country tLouisianaD Dick Perrault . , a survivor of a DD, the GLENNON, DD-630, lost off Normandy on D-D . . . ay, still claims he was almost a Coxswain and then a GM. The only two ment without previous sea duty were I.. I, Clavin from the Bronx and G. L. Barker from Weymouth, Massachusetts, both reported aboard from school l-lerby Wallenb k . ac was through five campaigns in the Pacific on an escort carrier. Wally died on his battle station-a 20 MM-fighting to the end. And last but n.ot least, V. L. Babb, CRM 'Know civilianl, who after 28 years in this outfit decided he should have been a Metalsmith. Later addi- tions- to the gang after -our loss were C, W, Rebel Tucker and S. B Love. After our arrivalin Ph'll .A hb . , r 1 y, s y and Ropski reported aboard from school. The Casablanca Kid -C, E. Kiser, came on in Philly also, Amona other things, our shack had the doubtful distinction of being the on-ly radio shack in the DesPac without a lo pot. Through an odd coincidence, Waara, Williams-, Stresky and Kane, who all had served together at one time on the Rum and Coca-cola island, all were together once again, though the ll y a reported aboard at different times and from different stations, One of the luckiest ones in the gang was Stresky, who was one of three survivors -of the 13 men inthe handling room of Mount Two. One of the toughest jobs in the 'gang was ably handled by Kane-that of putting out six pages of press e h ' f ac and every day in addition to standing his regular watches. l. W. Stres-ky, BM2fc, USNR. MEDICAL DEPARTMENT . the non-combatants of the fleet. Our weapons don't spit lead but they are potent enough against our enemy-disease. We are The ship was put into commission in Brooklyn, N, Y., by lohn W. Markson Lt. U99 fMCD USN, and lim Duffy, PhMlfc, while Pete Paglrilaro, PhM3fc was at Norfolk with the crew. With this staff and .Pat Pierce, CPhM, who was formerly with the Marines in the initial landings at Guadalcanal, The Solomons and Tulagi, we made our shakedown to Bermuda. While at gunnery practice at sea, which was a rough one, we had our first taste of a real emer- QGUCY, When a large wave splashed high over the bow and knocked three men against 5 Mount, seriously injuring them. Shakedown over and back to the States where Duff was transferred to a P.C.E., and Bob Ran. I Y Away we sailed for the We t C dies' PhM2!C Came aboard .th I u s oast and from there to Pearl Harbor wi practically no strain for the department except for routine treatments. Stan Thornton PhM3!c 1' , , re ieved B dl t P 1 and PQQIICITO became second class. With a compclelteecsoniiplerrfelrlt we sailed .for Okinawa. Stan was seriously wounded when the SHIP was hit and the forward battle dressing station was com wiped out. pletely I Y 4, 1945, was a real test for us all. Most f th f it was the only day the docs really worked, aid wee Gigi Sigh hands didna splendid Job saving the lives of many men on the fantail which had been converted into a field hospital. A few Ma -I 28 lg

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it iff iff Meuaqu Receiaec! is if is From: CTF 51 Admiral Turner CO1'1.QTCIlU1CI'fiO1'1iS Ure exteflded to YOU OH YOU? Splendid record against enemy aircraft. You have done an excellent job against enemy planes. Well done to all hands. 'ik iff ik' From: CinCPac Admiral Nimitz Congratulations to you for your excellent job in downing enemy aircraft. 'kirifk From: AdComMinPac Admiral Sharp Welcome to a gallant ship and a hearty Well done from the staff of MintPac Pearl, ifrikil' From: ComMinRon 3 Your departure is going to leave a big hole and will be comforting to the laps. Hurry back to resume your excellent Work. Admiral joins his Ibest wishes to mine. ikvfrik General Simon B. Buckner. U. S. Army, Commander Tenth Army: With full .concurrence and congratulations on behalf of the Tenth Army I am delighted to express my appreciation of the splendid services given by the personnel of the picket vessels in contributing to the antiaircraft protection of our forces at Okinawa. The bulk of enemy air attacks were directed at them which have resulted in their suffering serious casualties. Without their skill in warning and guiding our aircraft our forces would have suffered heavily in life and equipment. For their performance of their hazardous duties with cheerful efficiency and display of heroic courage they are deserving of the highest commendations. ' These are a few of the hundreds of congratulatory messages received. Lt. Donald W. Love Lt. Cjgl Charles B- OWGHS -I 27 l- I I I I I I I II I W. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

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members of the crew made up a plasma team, preparing the plasma for ready injection, Any onlooker could see a hospital unit working as efficient as any good and well trained team could. Amputations on the spot, the calming of hysteria -among the wounded, immediate first aid for shrapnel wcpznds, treatment of extensive body burns, treatment of shock, fractgzres and many other emergencies. Coming iback to the States, leaving Stan in a Naval Hospital Base on one of the Pacific islands, Ioe Kelly, PhlvI3fc replaced Stan and Gil Ditrick, CPhM, relieved Chief Pierce. All in all, we of the hospital corps have our -own particular jobs which we try to do to the best of our knowledge. Now that the ship is completely repaired and facilities once more the way they were, the docs are ready. We are called many names, such as doc, dope mixer, pill roller, butcher, etc., but these we accept in the same nature as they are given, We shall never have the chance to fire a gun, but give us that trusty syringe, some APC's and a hot water bottle and we are in our glory, Iust bring on those colds, sore backs and hangovers and see. V Pete Pagliaro, PhM3fC. CHIEF 'S STORY I guess the chief's story really started down in Norfolk for it was there that the SHE!-Vs crew was assigned t-o the U.S.S. SHEA CDD-7501, later to be converted into the DM-30. First impressions are the standard by which a crew member makes up his mind as to whether or not he is going to get along with the rest of the crew, So, it was with more or less a sigh of relief we found out that the SHEA's chiefs were mostly old salts with two or three hitches in, and in a couple of cases, four and five hitches, Referring to the chiefs alphabetically so that no one will feel slighted, Chief Radliomani Bab'b was- the Pappy of the outfit. Babb went all the way with us and when Uncle Sam decided to give the old men a break Cthose over '4'2l and let them apply for discharge or inactive duty, he used this means of getting back to the struggling ways of a taxpayer. Chief Mineman Bailey stood up under the ruggedi shakedown cruise but became a soft-ball casualty., during our first stop at Pearl Harbor. Chief Electricians Mate Borshay was one to make sure you knew he was from New York City and also never backward in making you aware of the fact that he was most anxious to get back there. Chief Machinist's Mate Bryan was the Big Boy of the crew. None of us is sure of the exact measurements of Rebel Bryan, but 'it is safe to state that when you refer to him, use King Size , Chief Machinist's Mate Burk is still with us, but don't call him by his lawful name or he is liable to pass you by without knowing you are talking to him. lust inquire for Zeke , Chief Machinist's Mate Cadden was one -of the snipes that made good on the SHEA. He reported aboard the SHEA as- a Metalsmith First Class but the ship realized his talents were going to waste and after a bit of paper work the Skipper was able to change 'his rate to Machinist's Mate First Class and thence to Chief. Chief Boatswain's Mate Dixon is one fellow that will never be forgotten in the CPO quarters, even when all the original crew has departed from the SHEA. His antics and sea stories. will be handed down from generation to generation. Chief Fire Controlman Ary is an-other one of the gang that made chief on the Thirty , The last we heard of Ary was the day the SHEA was leaving the Yards at Philly, He was headed for more fire control school days in Washington, D. C. Chief Fire Controlman Hrastich, like Ary, reported aboard as fire Controlman first class. Considering the number of target sleeves shot down during our recent gunnery practices, it is easy to see that Hrastich has been using his experi- ence gained at Okinawa to good advantage. Chief Radioman Knuteson is the handsome boy 'Cwith the mustachel that is so ably filling the shoes of our old friend Babb. Knute is one of the boys you need to have around in order to get all your g'ismoes fixed and in good working condition. Chief Watertender Michr is quite a well known character aboard the Shooting Shea . Greet him with a cheery Hi Ya, Ed and you'll always get a -big smile in return, Chief Signalman Oglesby is what you could literally call a flag waver . There are three things you will invariably find Ioe doing, either he is drinking a cup of lo, tying a Turk's Head or looking through that old long glass of his, Chief Machinist's Mate Nutter was another snipe that made good. Handsome E. I. Nutter, he was known as in them days, but the Baka proved just -I: QQ 1-