Shea (DM 30) - Naval Cruise Book

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COMBAT, AYE , By Charles M. white, RdM2fc The story of Combat aboard the Sl-IEA has been a very interesting one, filled with all those requisites which should make a narrative based on war experiences and human in- terest readable. But, unfortunately, there is no Ernie Pyle or Paul Gallico aboard to relate them to you. However, the story should be told and it is hoped that through these amateurish lines some account of Combat and the boys who have given its being can be recounted for those who may be interested. A This tale is n-ot without sorrow, as it is of war, and war creates scenes of horror and ghastliness that even the imagi- nations could never -anticipate. The Radar gang knows these things first hand now, and are saddened when they remember the penalty exacted of the group and the pain and suffering attendant to it. To Iohnnie Rowland we dedicate these lines-not that they are needed as a constant reminder that he was a mem- ber of the Combat team at Okinawa-for no one who knew Iohn could forget the swell fellow he was, as a shipmate and a pal ashore. His was an unusual personality, very even tempered and collected at all times. He was abreast of every situation, and had that virtuous qual-ity of being on good terms at all times with his associates. And he was an artist. A brush in his hand anid he became a creative genius. ln the early days of the ship's career when every- thing was new and in the raw , so to speak, lohn's services were in constant d-em-and through-out the' ship where letter- ing, or any decorative painting were required. The ship's insignia on No. 1 stack, which Rowland designed from an idea conceived by Commander Kirkpatrick, and the Iap flags on the Director remain as a memorial to him and his work with paints, and during the extensive overhaul and repair work to the ship at Philadelphia, the greatest care was used that Iohn's creations were not defaced or marred, and today, after a three-month yard availability they are as fresh and expressive as that day in the anchorage at Kerama Rhetto. His resting place there on Hagushi Beach beside those many Blue Iackets who als-o gave all humanly possible is a hallowed spot and all bow in silent tribute. Combat's team which embarked with the SHEA that day in September of '44 has changed many times, Lots of great. fellows have been in CIC at different times, but in the Navy it is difficult to retain any group intact for long and CIC has been no exception. When the crew was formed in Norfolk at Unit X the Combat team was drawn mostly from the pool of qualified strikers. Four men from the Radar School at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., McClendon, Bates, Boisclair, and lacksong four men f . . . rom the school at Virginia Beach, Va., Dolack, Williams, gglers . Rowland was one ef these, hdvlnfg been separated from an earlier class at Virginia Beach due to some time he put up in a Norfolk h r ' ' OSDHCII fOr -C111 Operation. The other three were fellows with a little time in and were the only ones who had been t . o sea and had any real experience. Cranford and Boudrie had been strikers in the tin can fl t Williamson, and White, and four stra ee and had seen some action. But the man who had really been around and knew what the score was and liked to relate his experiences on the deep was that able Petty Officer, Boot Mclfennq. He was to be our leading petty officer with that Radarman Third t. ra ing he had. Boot had put the BELLEAU WOOD into commis- sion and had been aboard the Elattop during all of her P .f. . . . acl ic campaigns up to that time- He had quite a repertoire -i 36 of sea stories and was a master at relating them. But GVGFY' one liked the Boot and he proved himself a real senior P.O. He was a friend to all the boYS, and Without doubt Wcfs the mggt popular man with all the fellows who had been in the sHEA's cic team. The shakedown was a novel experience for the gang. For the first time some ideas of the practical use of the gear was learned since the time in school when only a general idea of the thing was learned, and the making Of Cf Well- organized CIC team was well underwaY- Another lesson unleqmednp to this time was trying to live on dehydrated potatoes, dehydrated eggs, dehydrated milk, and other appe- tizing menus not common with the boys heretofore. None will soon forget those delectable sandwiches of juicy hunks of boiled beef, with the enormous portions of yellowed greasy fat between two slices of that bread with the peculiar bluish purple border-a delicious temptation to the boys whose stomachs were none too stable. Poor Lee Boisclair. He went below one time after putting out to sea and that was sufficient for him. Some evidence has been sought showing that Lee did go below to eat again but everything points to the fact that he spent all the time at sea upon some old mail 'bags in the vicinity of No. l stack. It was learned there that if the crew could survive the rigors of Bermuda, they were ready for anything the laps had without fear of defeat. Upon return to Norfolk the first of the many personnel changes started. Lee Boisclair was transferred to the De- stroyer RHIND in exchange for a Radarman Zfc, and Dariel Welch same aboard to supplant McKenna as senior man, Ed Williams had not g-one on the shakedown. He had been having some trouble with his stomach, which seemed to be aggravated considerably as time for shoving off neared, and he was sent to the hospital the day before leaving. But upon returning to Norfolk for post-shakedown check, Ed was on han-d and came back aboard only to remain a couple of days when he was transferred to some shore station, and that was the last we saw of Ed, a swell fellow who was well liked by the entire group. He was a great character who saw that none of the minutes dragged by monotonously. Was quite a comic and entertainer and everyone wished that, Ed might have gone along with the ship, And all regretted that Boisclair had to be sacrificed to make way for a rated man. The team had alread-y had a shakeup and Cranford, who was earlier transferred to the Radio Tech group as a striker, was transferred to a new command along with Wil-liams. Boudrie also was shifted to the RT's and a short time later made his third class rating. Iackson, upon re- quest, was relieved of his Combat watches in order that he might devote ful'l time to his new station as ship's barber. After Welch came aboard another second class with more time in than Welch was sent as senior man and Lee Ellis remains to this day in that capacity. Lee had been aboard two ships prior to this, a carrier and a can, and from Brigantine Hotel. He came to the SHEA on transfer was quite experienced and was a valuable addition to the s-hip, not only from the standpoint of his ability, but his knack at handling a gang as senior P.O. And on Radar none has been as proficient as he in finding the targets interpreting them as friendlies or bogeys, and developing the plots on them. Lots of switches have been experimented with but it always came back to the fact that none could handle the mechanism like Ellis. After some libertylin Panama, which all the boys en- 1.E

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Handsome Chief Stretch Procknow, hailing from San Antonio, will CTIWUYS be remembered for his thoughtfulness towards the men working under him. Hyphen Gibbons-Neff, our first class, was the photographers pride and joy as exemplified by that picture in the Philadelphia Bulletin. He brings to mind these thoughts: Aversion. to having his picture taken with a Hula-dancer, contagious chuckle, out- standing artist's ability, knowing his rate, a true pipe-smoker, his good humor on mid-Watches, his heroic efforts in aiding the wounded. There has been a great deal of discussion about a nick- name for our youngest QM, Katy has stuck. His winning smile has been an inspiration to all of us. Random memories include easy-going, hates to get up, late to relieve, the banker, the gen- erous QM, king of the IV circuit, and fearless under fire. Pappy Hicks, spark plug of the gang, one of the nicest fellows we've ever met. Pappy brings to mind subtle wit of humor, patience personified, sea stories deluxe, never gets excited, loves his coffee and will talk for three hours about his family on the slightest provocation. William Morris Calhoun, better known to his shipmates as Sack- Coon , the Philadelphia Van lohnson-, is of course our prize athlete, the erstwhile Frank Merriwell of the QMs really took the boys to town on VI night, holds the chipping championship, and carries the torch for Radnor on high, over the seven seas. E. l. Miller, QM'2fc USN was the shining light of the QM gang. He was our outstanding Quartermaster and the most proficient helmsman who ever swung a ship through perilous hours. Eddy was badly wounded on May 4th but in his true and typical fighting spirit fought his way back to health and we know Eddy Will make a success of anything he tackles, He is that kind of a guy. The Grand Rapids master salesman lohn L. Dok, QM3fc USN, the Adonis of the group, the man who knows how and gets more leave and liberty than any man aboard, the boy who will be lost to us if the Hollywood producers ever get a look at him. The Great lohn L., who is everybody's friend, and our nominee for the sharpest QM who ever came out of Bainbridge. Carrigan, LE., QM3fc USNR, the father and social adviser of our fair group, is commonly known as Mr. Carrigan., Bostonian-the man who never forgets he is in the advertising business, Red is remembered for that dignified and beautiful beard he wore during our tour of the Pacific. The argument Red and the old man had about shaving it off will also be remembered as one of the greatest since Webster beat Mr ...,,,,......................,..........,..,...... Newly assigned to the ship are the follovqing men.: Already their powerful personalities have made a deep impression on us, Speed Simmons from Lincoln, Nebraska, has endeared himself with the gang by his ready wit and apt descriptions of hallucinations in three quarter time. We like Fred and are glad to have him aboard. Sunshine Burge, the California Kid, claims he will find relief for his nostalgia only when he re- turns to Sunny California. l-le's the boy who is trying to convince us that he voluntarily gave up permanent shore duty in Boston to sail the Qcean Blue. Sometime get him to give you his version of Boston town's history, NSD Dorwart, better known as The Shadow has graced our group with a new excellence in stand- ards of the art of promotion, This boy from Lancaster can d-o more work in less time than any sailor we ever saw, he says. Our days at sea may slip from our memories but we'll wager that the officers of the SHEA will be haunted for many long years by ghastly thoughts of KHOW the devil could we have ever got along without the Quartermastersll Milford F. Spruill, QM3fc.

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joyed, came San Francisco and more additions to the gang. Three new thirds came aboardt-W. D. Iones, Bill Kelly and B. M, Gillham. These fellows had just returned to the Treas- ure Island Receiving Station from their thirty-day survivors leave and were assigned to the SHEA. They had gone through Boot Camp together, went to Point Loma Radar School together, caught the DE SHELTON and all survived the sinking in the engagement off Manus, and returned to the Pacific theatre aboard the SHEA. That gave the Radar gang two seconds and nine thirds, as five of the original men had been rated coming into Frisco-Dolack, McClendon, Rowland, Williamson and White. So it was obvious that some reduction in compliment would be forthcoming. Upon arrival at Pearl 'Harbor the axe fell and Welch and McKenna were sent to the Receiving Station there. I , With the conversion of the SHEA to a Fighter Director ship at Pearl Harbor some further changes in the CIC gang was necessary and came in the form of additional men who came with temporary assignments, Three Radarmen came :rboard together with an RT, a Radioman, and three officers. All of these men soon found their places and fell right in with the crew and all soon forgot that these fellows were only aboard under detached duty, so well liked were they and so eager were they to fit themselves in with the ship. These new men were Mr. Silva, the RT officerg Mr. Barnhill, the Fighter Director, and Mr. Walsh, who was to control that new department with which all the CIC became so familiar, Snapper , or visual fighter director atop the Pilot House. Mel Stuart and Ray Thompson were both secon.d class radar- men and Wakefield came as a qualified srtiker, Leaving Pearl the latter part of February for Ulithi in the Carolines the battle dress for CIC was complete and from there on the set-up was much as it was upon leaving. The three watches were of five men and an officer. Watch l had White, Stewart, Dolack, Rowland and Iones, in Watch 2 there was McClendon, Williamson, DeStefano, Gillham and Wakefield, and Watch 3 was made up of Bates, Thompson, Kelly, Ellis and Nichols, who had been sent to Combat upon leaving Pearl from another division, he having had some radar training, Mr. Hood stood the watch with Watch I, Mr. Godfrey had Watch 2, and Mr. Love was in Watch 3. The three FD officers assisted on these watches, The trip to Eniwetok and the Marshalls was uneventful, and a splendid opportunity was presented for further cement- in.g the organization so lately formed and to acquire skill in handling the gear CIC was the order sponsibility rested The watches were tiniuous drills were and plotting all contacts. Alertness of and all realized what a tremendous re- on the fellows who manned the gear. stood in a creditable manner and con- conducted in further preparation for the coming engagement with the laps. At Ulithi 1'l'lOT9 exercises were conducted during the stay there awaiting the start of the operation in which the SI-IEA was to have a part. The only opportunity there to put the war training into practice dtid not develop. One assignment as radar picket northeast of the atoll was uneventful, but the night there in the Ulithi Anchorage when the two lap planes sneaked in, one crash- ing into the RANDOLPH, brought the war very near. CIC was man-ned for action immediately after word of the attack came over the TBS and was edge? for the Opportunity to spot a few real bogeys, but no further visits from the laps materialized. D . The events that transpired from the CIQIY .We left Uhlfu until that fateful morning of MaY 4 YOU Will fmd related In other parts of this book in more detail than we have SDCTCG for here. The fighting career of CIC and the Sl-IEA were tern- Porarily halted. There remained the week at Kerolmcl Rt19TTO -I 37 when the gaping holes in the ship were patched, decks re- placed and bulkheads rebuilt temporarily to make her sea- worthy for that long trek back to the States and home. The memorial service for those of our boys who were killed was an impressive ceremony, held, as it was there on the boat deck while tied alongside the repair ship at Kerama. It was a meagre thing the ship could do for them there in return for what the boys had given, but the surviving fellows put their spirits into it as they probably had never a sacred service before, and a tribute to their memory came truly from the hearts of those present. The long voyage back was uneventful. Combat was far removed from the classic setup which graced the super- structure deck when the ship put out for the Pacific, The gear was repaired to where she performed after a fashion, most of the trip without a gyro as- that part of the gear was the last to be repaired, and the Plot was out, so all you six-raids-a-minute plotters visualize yourselves plotting all contacts and keeping station under those conditions. Venti- lation was poor and life in CIC was not the best on the ship by any means. But watches were stood in an alert fashion and every use was made of the facilities at hand. The per- sonnel was decimated almost to the point of extinction. Two men on a watch with one officer. Mr. Hood had been killed and Mr. Moore from Plot came up to stand his watch. At Ulithi the Figher Director team was transferred to the beach and that took three of the remaining Radarmen, but the ship came on in, with stops: at Eniwetok and Pearl, each succeed- ing port becoming more attractive and much like the attain- ment of a long-lost dream. Then San Diego, and the first replacements for those lost in battle. Dwight Iohn William Burgener came as the only Radar replacement, he just com- ing from the San Diego Boot Camp and a course in Point Loma. From San Diego to Panama and then to Philadelphia came a lot more dead reckoning plotting but the gang en- dured it and acquired a lot of practical experience which in school had only been something of a theory. But Philadel- phia with its long availability in the yard-, the leaves granted to all hands from there, and the easier life which was per- mitted there in the barracks was a fitting reward for all the hardships and privations undergone in the Pacific. Then came the last changes to the personnel of CIC up to press time. A, T. McClendon, Ioe Dolack and Ioe Bates were returned to the ship after long periods int various hos- pitals, but McClendon and Dolack did not fully recover from their injuries and both received medical discharges. Struck came aboard as a new second classy Bill Hubbard and Paul Ries came on tran-sfers as rfew thirds, and Iacobs and Watson were the new strikers. With this leave will be taken of a group that has d-one much and seen much together. Through the days of pre- commissioning, Seawall, Little Creek and the Mayflower, Brigantine, then the long life at sea aboard the SHEA, friend- ships have developed which will last through the years. Examples of congeniality and un-selfishness have resulted which should make examples of peacetime living. To all those fellows who have been aboard at one time or another the best wishes of all are extended, to the wounded go the warmest good Wishes of those remaining, and to the be- reaved family of Iohn Rowland, a real Buddy, Combat ex- tends its heartfelt sympathy, But to the new fellows aboard now and all those who through the years to come will take the SI-IEA on through her frothy path on the deep is ex- tended the hope that they will ever keep Combat that place where accurate information is dispensed with dispatch and that the traditions of the original crew will be carried on. 1-