Shea (DM 30) - Naval Cruise Book

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Clllflflgl Gnd Crfier cr ship is put into commissi-on. Well, we worked flfl S9119 Of ihe general idea that prevails throughout the Navy GbO11t Yeomefl' 1'1eVe1' hCIV1f1Q Cinything to dol. Everything was be- gmnmg to fun Sm00lh1Y When along came the Baka. After all the casualty reports were made, hundreds of copies of Navy Yard Work Lists and innumerable sundry items, such as a stack of leave PGPSTS Gbout Cf mile high, once again we started to return to a certain' degree of normalcy.. Then came the revolution-I mean demobilization. I guess it is a case of no rest for the wicked . Chief Yeoman Vees hails from Philadelphia and could be considered the luckiest of all the yeomen. If you will recall, it was the Philadelphia Navy Yard that removed the scars of battle from the 'Th1rty an-d put her 'back in good working order. Yeoman First Class Bennett was the big fellow from Texas. If you didn't want to hear about Texas our advice to you would have been, Stay away from Bennett . Bennett rode the SHEA through all her trials and tribulations, Yeoman First Class Walker 'Cjust recently advanced from second classl is a New England lad claiming the State of Massachusetts as his home. He was assigned the duties of confidential yeoman shortly after we moved ab-oard the SHEA. lust one of those jobs in which you know everything that is going on but can't say a word about what you know. There is more than one fellow on this can that couldn't hold down a job like that. Walker is still aboard -but has his points. figured out exactly. He is counting the days until he can buy. himself that one-way railway ticket home. Yeoman Third Class Casciano has his home up in the coal regions of Pennsylvania. The chief often kidded Cash about being a coal cracker . At this time it would be most appro- priate to inform you that out of the five yeomen serving aboard the SHEA when she was hit on 4 May 1945, three of them were recipients of the Purple Heart Medal. So you see, fellows, don't strike for yeoman- if you think the shrapnel won't get you while wearing such a rate, Casciano's wounds were serious enough to necessitate his transfer from the ship. At present we are not aware of his new address, but understand, from the last re-port, he is- in the best of health. Yeoman Third Class Sarnicki is a New Ioisey boy that started out on the SHEA as a striker but earned his crow shortly thereafter. Nick's. battle station was that of first loader on one of the 4Omm guns on the port side. That was our good side and probably speaks well for Nick passing the ammunition . Yeoman Third Class Miller also started out as a striker and was just rated 3rd class the lst of November. Lefty came aboard in San Diego as part of a draft of men- that was ordered to us for duty to replace some of the men transferred at Okinawa. Now you h-ave been introduced so any time you want a Special Request Chit , a Standby Chit , or even. a Report Slip Cbelieve it or not even the Shootin,' Shea crew gets put on report every now and thenl feel free to call upon us at any moment of the day. We have plenty on- hand! Please take note, we are not, repeat not, giving out any discharges unless you have the required number of points. Don't wear out your welcome by asking for one ahead of time!! Dudley H. Walker, Ylfc. CARPENTER AND SHIPFIT'I'ER'S SHOP Aft on the fantail, below the main deck, on the starboard side, right over screws exists a very small shop, and it is this shop that has been the carpenters' and shipfitter's home, As congested and pokey as it' is, the boys some way or an-other performed their duties and managed to produce the necessary work. However, our secret ambition back here is for that day to come when we can get out in the wide open spaces, stretch out and :breathe freely without bumping each other. William Cott-on, SE'2fc, comes from Providence, R. l. Bill had charge of the shop. I must say his problems were many. One of his biggest problems was to be able to tour the ship without banging his head. lt sure is tough to be tall aboard. one of these CCIHS, . William Iames, SElfc, comes from Charlotte, N. C. Bill-is one of the new additions to our crew. He, too, COIHSS ffOII1 CI fighting ship-the AARON WARD-a ship that proved it takes more than the best the laps could throw her way to put her out of action. -l 33 l-

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' . ' t t ntil that fateful morning of May 4, 19515 We dai hedilrginfiffighrf lit? Clnenof the hardest hit gangs aboard ship 1 f H ttinger, Miller, Frey and the Sonar gvgiciigiel-TCljgi1i1eH. HCbod.uWords cannot express the tribute due these men. k' fi t, with the initiation of the point system, we had iliigenbgf ouupf midst able men leave with the first group of dis- Chgrgees Those lucky ones were Olson, Carroll and Kellner. Carroll one of the best known and best liked men aboard ship, Servedlcontinuously as Mail Clerk while with us. He returned to Boston-. Good luck and our best wishes to Tommy Cff1.Cl.TedClY- Seeking replacements for this sl1OIfCfQe Of men, We were lomed bY CI very capable man-C. I. Smith, SoM2fc. The gang at present consists of Case, SoMlfC: Smith, S'OM2fCi Ffoendhofff SOMSXCF Reddingus, SoM3fc, and Finch, SoM3fC, However, Reddingus expects to become a civilian soon. I B. L, Case, SoMlfc, USNR. THE STOREKEEPER GANG - THE PAY BOYS I The original Storekeeper gang of the SHEA consisted of smiling lack Boyer and Leo 98c Katz, wh-o under tthe supervision of genial Ensign now Lt. Cjgl Iohnny Iohnson went through the trials and tribulations of commissioning the ship. Soon after com- missioning they were joined by Iohn McFadden Cno relation to Bernarrl and so the gang of two became a gang of three. In time a fourth member was added to the gang: he was Sam 99c Birnbaum, out of whose mouth words came like bullets from a machine gun, As Katz spoke little if any slower than Sam, to hear the two of them argue, as they frequently did, was really something to listen to! Boyer and McFadden are both remembered for their smiling faces, good dispositions and willingness to help, whatever your troubles were. Having lack Boyer in the Ship's Storesmade it a real pleasure to go there to buy something even if you did have to sioned, that was, tons and tons of equipment and supplies to The gang was badly disrupted when the ship was hit on the fourth of May, 1945, as lack Boyer was killed at his station in Number 2 upper handling room, and Iohn McFadden suffered severe wounds and a broken leg in Mount One. Iack's death was a blow to everyone on the ship, as he was universally liked but it was especially hard on the rest of his gang, with Whom he' had worked so closely. When the SHEA arrived in San Diego, two new men joined the gang, Iulian Ab Absalom and Russell Max Maxwell. N While the ship was undergoing repairs and overhaul in the avy Yard at Philadelphia the storekeeper gang had about the same kind of trials th-at it had had when the s-hip was commis- sioned. That was tons and ton-s of equipment and supplies to be ordered and followed up. Sam Birnbaum left to be discharged, CTh 1 k t'ff ' b- ably back at his job of packing New York subilv uc ty is 1 his pro ay rains ynow.l Katz. left the gang the day before the SHEA left Philadelphia- his destination w Ch' 'P T 1 as icago and shore duty, but a recent communica- tion from him says that he is in Toledo, Ohio. Maxwell, Sklfc. YEOMAN i h . a a yeoman et ' t ff' can tell his side of the story without gn? fe-la? at P051 lon Where he . o interruption. This is a report about yeomen on the SHEA d ' f yeomen I see no reason wh h h an Writ en by one of the '. ' Y e s ouldn't take advantage of his igijovrjunity. You.would be surprised at the amount of uff must take Just because he wears the crossed quills g G It is not very often th t Our troubles started almost immedi t l ' t t . . H Cf 1? Y after being assigned ,O he SHEA- TO X01-1, the ummtiated, it would be difficult to imagine the mountains of paper work that is r equired prior to, ml: 32 :I-

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er Providence, R, I., boy, is Norman And?-lrlsen,GrC5NffiQc,Agigr3thThere,Sy not much I can Say better knownutolxm ewgting this little Story, 'CEditor's note: Eashtul here-after, Ct ' 11 from Dorchester, Mass., and: in civilian lite was AnolY is Oflglgli 'Teaching profession, in Providence. Andy is an engaged m it H, and his handiwork is displayed in almost every excellentfcrla S'1'i? Good matured, affable, Andy has been Father Ceocririi-slsouri ariedsgulide to manY Cf Wcflfwmld Son of the SHEA' That teacher's instinct will come to the torell William Feichik, SPWC, better known to the gang Us Lime Willie comes from lohnstown, Penns-ylvania. Willie took care of . ,I W ll knew enough to get out of Will'ie's grudywvjhi-?ThSrgdeC1?eSnieraleQruarters alarm was sounded. I won-aer if Mary still loves him? . SF3f I th b tom Orlando, Florida. We all agree thatllncieekilitiii a 'lovgr ofehidnsabk. What a lOb to get him Out Of lt- We really feel sorry for his wife. She must have her troubles! Norborne Murray, Slfc, is a rebel from Mobile, Alabama. What an appetite! It will cost him money if he ever goes! back to civilian life. Oh, well, we will let him worry about that angle though he doesn't appear to worry too much. Arthur Esposito, Slfc, was from Schenectady, N, Y. Arthur WCiS one of the boys who made the supreme sacrifice, by giving his life for our country while in fbattle at Okinawa. Arthur was a popu- lar boy and very much liked. His- good disposition, loyalty to his country and ship and that winning smile of his will never be forgotten. We sure have missed him in our shop, M. T. McDowell, S'2fc, comes from the City of Brotherly Love- Philadelphia, Don't say his initials too fast or you may get the ,wrong meaning. I d-on't know what we would do without Mac, as he is one of those fellows who can always manage to make you laugh and forget your troubles. And what a politician! From now on there will be many changes. Back to civilian life for some, another hitch for others. Let's hope that we will all meet again some dayi, so until then smooth sailing and happy landing. Norman Anderson, CMZXC, USNR. QUARTERMASTERS Quartermaster's the hardest rate to make in the Navy, it is said. Actually, the duties of a QM embrace a half dozen or more rates plus various duties that require eight hands and four legs when thin s are h ' ' ' g umming. The QM talents include the following arts and artifices: Navigation and Steward's Mate, Aerographer and Paintscraper, Signalman and Electrician Publication Ex ert , P and Switchboard Operator, Author and Soothsayer, Yeoman and Lens Paper Manuf t P -, ac urer, hilosopher and Errand Boy, Executive Secretary and Office Boy, expert procurer and Bos'n mate striker and a walking information service. Other than these tasks all we do is relax, an art at which we are also quite expert. Every time we have special sea detail or G.Q., we play a mock football game on the bridge and in the pilot house the OM versus the lunior Commandos. We seldom win, being outweighed, Oh! What a madhouse the 'bridge is during the busy hours! The Captain roars commands, the TBS and MN roaring out messages, hoots, howls and garbled Wilcos and Rogers come howling out of a half dozen voice tubes, telephones, each with a nerve-racking buzz of its own, keep ringing, the boys -on the pelorus shouting bearings to the navigatorg all these combined with lack of space and about a dozen Junior commandos doing the mile run! on a forty yard semi-circular track using the QMS and talkers for practice hurdles. Oh, we QMS don't have many hash marks but we sure develop a complex from so many teeth marks. How I'd like to have a copy of one of Gibbons-Neff's 0015 dissertations on Bridge watches, etc., or perhaps that quiet discourse of Chief Proknow's, so softly and smoothly spoken., entitled uls there no end to this torture? , The QMS prided themselves on th i ft f ' t' th '- afbility to handle a difficult and e r um Y O' Organize! lpn' eu 1 g very responsible job with ease by proper timing and he t t - ar y eamwork. Never a gang had a better PPSS'-Lf F- CBGHHYD Stapleton, lr. He was regular , That's the highest tribute for a man in any walk of life. -l 34 l-