Sierra (AD 18) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 52 of the 1946 volume:

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I Y Y x i I A E 1 3 1 E R l P i ! s i 1 4 1 1 ! ll 1 m 1 1 , w I 1 'i I QE 4 .I , A Y I 1 Y . , 4 R w -Y-- .... ,. .... . ...-,-,..- ,avsm SHIPS LUIS 1944 March 20-Commissioning ceremonies at the yards of the Tampa Shipbuild- ing Company. April 13-Departed from Tampa for Norfolk, Virginia via Key West. April 19-Commenced shakedown period in Chesapeake Bay. April 28-To navy yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, for post-shakedown repairs. May l8-Departed from Norfolk for San Diego, California, via the Panama Canal. May 24-Traversed the Panama Canal. Iune 2-Anchored at San Diego. ' Iune 7-Departed from San Diego for Pearl I-Iarbor, T. I-I. Iune l3-Anchored at Pearl I-Iarbor. Iune 22+-USS Farenholt moored alongside to port, the first ship to receive repairs and tender services from the USS Sierra. August 28-Entered drydock at Pearl I-Iarbor. 6 August 3l-Left drydock. September 3-Departed from Pearl I-Iarbor for Manus Island, Admiralties. September I3--Crossed the equator. , September l4-Anchored at Seeadler I-Iarbor, Manus Island. November 9-The Iaps bombed Momote, 8 miles from our anchorage. November lil--The ammunition ship, USS Mount I-Iood, blew up. 1945 I February I8-Departed from Manus Island for Florida Island, Solomons. February 2l-Anchored at Port Purvis, Florida Island. March I5-Departed from Port Purvis for Ulithi Atoll via Manus Island. March 22-Anchored at Ulithi Atoll. May 25-Departed from Ulithi for Leyte Gulf, Philippines. . May 28-Anchored in San Pedro Bay, Leyte Gulf. I Iune 26-Captain F. R. Runquist, USN, relieved Captain P. B. Koonce, USN, as commanding officer of the USS Sierra. August IU-All hands joined in a Wild celebration at the first hint of surrend- er from Iapan. September 2-V-I Day officially proclaimed by President Truman. September 6-Departed from Leyte Gulf for Iinsen, Korea, via Okinawa. September I5-Anchored at Iinsen, Korea. Cctober 9-Departed from Iinsen for Shanghai, China. October I2--Anchored in the Whangpoo River, Shanghai, China. l946 February 5-Departed from Shanghai for Pearl I-Iarbor, T. I-I. February I9-Moored at Pearl I-Iarbor. February 20--Departed from Pearl I-Iarbor for San Francisco, California. February 27-Anchored at San Francisco, ultimate destination - Mare Island Naval Shipyard for a sixty day overhaul. u THE SIERRA A AT HN SEN KOREA EAPTAIN E. H. HUNUUIST U. S. N. HISTURY UF THE USE SIERRA Our ship, 'USS Sierra, is one of the U. S. Navy's most modern destroyer tend-ers. This is the story of her first twenty-four months of commissioned service, twenty-one of which were spent overseas. - Commissioning March 20, l944-what a day that wasl The sky in Tampa, Florida, was overcast with dark rain clouds. Fifty officers and a thousand men fervent- ly hoped that the rain would hold off, at least until after the commissioning ceremonies scheduled at l4OU. All the personal belongings of the crew had to be carried aboard an armful at a time. lt just couldn't rain that day, but it did. Brand new mattresses stacked alongside the gangways, as well as a thousand bags, hammocks, and ditty bags were soaked. There were hun- dreds of navy yard workmen still on the ship desperately trying to finish a thousand and one last minute jobs. Finally about l33O the last man came aboard just as the guests and officials of the Tampa Shipbuilding Company began to arrive. The microphone was shifted from the boat deck, where ev- eryone could see, to the starboard side of the upper deck, where' only a few people could see, so that the ceremony might be held under cover. Captain Paul B. Koonce, USN, our new commanding officer, read his or- ders and accepted the ship from the shipbuilding company. The band sounded off as the commission pennant, ensign, and jack were hoisted to their respective staffs. The watch was set with Lieutenant Cjgb Ted l-licks, USN, as first officer of the deck, and everyone breathed a sign of relief. That much was over. A The following day we shifted berth, mooring alongside the Clyde-Mal- lory dock. Here the next three weeks were taken up by completing the fit- ting out of the ship, fueling, and loading ammunition and provisions. Emer- gency drills were held daily to acquaint the green crew with their duties. On the l3th of April we got up steam, ran the degaussing range to check the ef- fectiveness of our degaussing coils, and set our course for Norfolk, Virginia, with the destroyer USS Mclseish as escort. Our daily drills continued, and after four days at sea we anchored at l-lampton Roads, Virginia. The next day Captain Hartley, USN, Atlantic Service Force Commander, came aboard to inspect the ship. For the next ten days the crew of our new tender put the ship through its paces in what is known in the Navy as the shakedown cruise. We held general quarters drills, fire drills, abandon ship drills, and simulated casu- alties, we streamed paravanes, blacked out the ship, and opened up the throttles in full power trials. At the conclusion of the shakedown the ship tied up at the Portsmouth navy yard to correct the deficiencies which had appeared during the trials. All hands received a 48-hour pass. After an ad- ditional ten day period of provisioning at the Naval Operating Base, Nor- folk, we took our leave of the east coast heading for parts unknown. May 23rd found us anchoring at Cristobal, the Atlantic terminal of the Panama Canal. l-lalf the crew had liberty that night, and the other hagfl malscfile a liberty in Balboa at the Pacific end of the canal the follOW111Q fllgcl-H 9 proceeded up the west coast of Mexico and arrived in San D1eQOa da 1 Of' nia, tying up at the foot of Broadway. Whilelsome of the men atten e anti- aircraft gunnery school, others turned to as we loaded our magazines, storerooms, and cold boxes- to capacity. Cn lune 7, l944, the Sierra departed from San Diego and from the United States-we commenced our overseas duty. Outside the continental limits . . .' - On Tune l3th Diamond l-lead made its appearance, and we steamed slowly into Pearl l-larbor. Among the other repair ships present were the USS lason and our sister ship the USS Piedmont. We soon made our first liberty in Honolulu, and many of us were enrolled in fleet schools offering instruction in welding, radio maintenance, salvage diving, fire fighting, and the operation of power velocity tools. A week after our arrival the Sierra entered a new episode in her service. Up to that time we had been prepar- ing the ship and the crew to fulfill our mission of service to the fleet, and on the 22nd of Iune the destroyer USS Farenholt moored alongside to port, the first of over 700 ships to be repaired and serviced by our tender. I But our stay in l-lawaii was not all work. Some of us made overnight lib- erties at the swanky Boyal Hawaiian l-lotel overlooking Waikiki Beach. We held our first happy hour featuring the dancing of radioman striker F rank lorgenson, and some of us were lucky enough to see Bob l-lope and Frances Langford at Nimitz Bowl. Don Swan, Slc, pitched the 4th division softball team to the ship's championship, and it was alsowhispered about that the chiefs trimmed the officers. One day during the end of Iuly President Boose- veltarrived, and we manned the rail in our whites to watch his barge pass close aboard. Late in August the Sierra went into drydock for three days to have her hull scraped and painted. The following day the USS Yosemite, our other sister ship from the Tampa shipyard, steamed into Pearl l-larbor as our re- lief. We knew then that we would soon be on our trip westward. ln the early morning of September 3, l944, the Sierra departed from her berth at Pearl l-larbor for her first assignment in the forward area. The Sierra had already attracted attention as an efficient repair unit in the Ha- waiian area, but her capacity for front-line work was still an unknown quan- tity. ln company with our ship, which bore the designation of Commander Task Unit l2.5.2, were the USS Killen CDD-5935 and the USS McCoy Beynolds CDE-4405, acting as escort vessels and anti-submarine protection. lust prior to sundown the first day out the USS Mauna Loa CAB-83 was sighted and took a position in the column of the task unit, where she remained fm- the balance of the journey. Standard speed was fifteen knots. Qn the morning of September 7th we performed one of our most unique services when both escort vessels were refueled while the task unit was traveling at a speed of ten knots. First the USS Killen moved slowly 031011 - side to starboard and received 57,742 gallons of fuel oil. When fhig WGS Cori pleted, the USS. McCoy Reynolds took her place, was connected to the fu li ing lines, and given 37,312 gallons of fuel oil. Both ships also were recipiejts of fresh bread and ice cream during fueling, which was sent across on a messenger line. The helmsmen of all three ships did a superb job, and the entire procedure was effected without threat of mishap. Crossing the line . At l000 September l3th we crossed the equator, at which time the ap- propriate ceremonies were held on all four vessels, although greatly modi- fied in comparison to the peacetime equivalent. The shellbacks , men who had previously crossed the line, initiated the pollywogs , those who hadn't. A close check revealed only a few accidental cuts and unintentional bruises when the festivities ceased, and all hands were full-fledged members of-the f'Ancient Order of the Deep. . At l500 September l4th the task unit passed the nets of Seeadler l-larbor, Manus lsland, and each ship proceeded to carry out its basic assignment. lt was here that we had our first glimpse of what was to be our most per- manent stopping place of the Pacific campaign. During the next few days several hundred officers and enlisted men, passengers on the 4,500 mile journey, were transferred to their respective ships and stations. A Cn September l5th the Sierra commenced to shoulder her share of the tremendous task of keeping our fighting ships on the firing line when the USS Lamons CDE-7435 moored alongside for availability. She was the first in the big parade of destroyers and destroyer escorts to receive repairs and other services from the Sierra during our stay in the Admiralties. At one time in Seeadler Harbor we had thirteen ships moored alongside for re- pairs, eight to port and five to starboard. Assignments were made by rep- resentatives of Commander Service Squadron Ten and Commander Destroy- ers, Pacific Fleet. The latter representative, commonly referred to as Rep- ComDesPacSoPac and with 7th Fleet, came aboard with his staff, making the Sierra a flagship as well as a tender. Work continued as usual, and on October 27th the ship and the crew were commended by Commander De- stroyers, Pacific Fleet, in recognition of the volume and quality of work per- formed by all departments of the ship in our initial period of operation in the forward area. A copy of this commendation was placed in the record of each officer and man on board at that time. lapanese bombers made an appearance November 9th and made sev- eral runs on the air strip at Momote Field, approximately eight miles from the fleet anchorage. Although no attempt was made to molest the ships at anchor, we felt sure that the large number of ships in the harbor would bring the Nips back. The following day at 0855 a terrific explosion occurred, and all hands manned their battle stations in record time. lt turned out that the laps had not returned, but a more tragic event had taken place. The ammunition ship USS Mount l-lood CAE-ll? had exploded, killing all hands. ln addition considerable damage and casualties were suffered by numerous ships in adjacent berths, the worst was sustained by the 'USS Mindanao CABG-SD, which suffered approximately two hundred casualties in dead and injured and had several gaping holes torn in her hull. Although our ship was not materially damaged, the explosion spelled taps for .four members of our ships company, the crew of an LCM which was unloading bombs alongside the Mount l-lood. , 5 1 I 1 1 1 1 l W1 f 1d,i?.,.,-...:.4.., 11 Q . TI-IE MT, HOOD GOES UP A GI SHOW ON THE FQRECASTLE SOFTBALL AT MAN US We tended battleships November 26th marked the start of our two most notable repair jobs. The USS Claxton CDD-5715 moved alongside and went into drydock. There a large portion of her port quarter was completely rebuilt by the Sierra repair force. This damage had been sustained as the result of a direct hit by a lap suicide plane in the battle of Leyte Gulf. The same afternoon we reversed the usual procedure -of taking ships alongside and went alongside the bat- tleship USS California CBB-445. While moored to the battleship the repair force and the 'deck gang of the Sierra performed a navy yard job in com- pletely replacing a twin-mount 5 gun on the port side of the California. The stay at Manus, although consisting mainly of heavy work sched- ules, intense heat, and a great deal of fungus and heat rash, was not with- out its lighter moments. There were three recreation islands where daily a portion of the crew played softball, went swimming, and had their beer or soft drinks. Each division on the ship had a softball team, and the interdivi- sional games were bitterly contested. The 3rd division won the ship's cham- pionship and also placed the most men on the ship's team, which in turn won the harbor championship. Many of the men combed the waters sur- rounding the recreation beaches gathering the plentiful coral shells and cat-eyes , from which we made necklaces, rings, and bracelets for the folks back home. 'Stars and Gripes , an Army show, had a one night stand on thefore- castle, and late in December lrving Berlin and the original cast of his mu- sical comedy success, This ls The Army , played four nights in the amphi- theater on Manus lsland, which permitted all of us to attend one perform- ance. Mr. Berlin also came aboard the Sierra at the invitation of our com- manding officer and gave a highly entertaining impromptu show. About a month later Commander Eddie Peabody, the celebrated banjo perfectionist, brought his gang of entertainers aboard for a show which was received with enthusiasm by the entire crew. On February l8, l945, in company with the USS Briareus CAB-125 and the USS Whitehurst CDE-634D, we steamed out of Seeadler l-larbor bound for the Solomons. We passed between the mountainous profiles of New Britain and New Guinea, where our soldiers were still hard at work rounding up the Nips. ln the early morning of the Zlst we steamed between Guadalcanal and Savo lsland, crossed historic lron Bottom Bay, and dropped anchor off Lyons Point, just inside the nets of Port Purvis, Florida lsland, lron Bottom Bay was the burial ground for more lapanese and U. S. ships than any oth- er combat area of the South Pacific. Within our sight was l-lenderson Field where the battle of the South Pacific was turned against the laps and our forces started on the long road to Tokyo. We tend landing craft too For slightly more than three weeks our repair gangs labored on the vast job of patching up LST's, which later participated in the invasion of Okin- awa. The weather at Port Purvis was a slight relief from Manus. lt was much cloudier with frequent rains which cooled things off and ruined eighty per- cent of our forecastle movies. u Enlisted personnel had recreation at the Marker Fox recreation area THE SIERRA BAND MAIL CALL YANOWITCI-I AND SUZIE CDN TI-IE I-'CDRECASTLE where there were mediocre swimming and ball playing facilities. The main interests -were in the beer, occasional doughnut service, and games of chance. The souvenir hunters paid fantastic prices for grass skirts, bananas, and pineapples. On one occasion Hollywood starlet Martha O'Driscoll and a small troupe put on several shows for the entertainment of all hands. We left the Solomons area unescorted on March l5th. Our ultimate des- tination was Ulithi Atoll, but we stopped off at Manus to pick up some cargo that was consigned to the ship. However, when we reached Seeadler Har- bor, extremely heavy seas prevented us from sending our boats in to pick up the cargo, and the next day we left for Ulithi, Most of the cargo that we left on the docks at Manus never came aboard the ship until months after- ward. As we left Seeadler Harbor for the second time, we fell into forma- tion with the old battleship USS New York CBB-34D and the British carrier HMS Reaper. Our escorts were the destroyers USS Leutze CDD-4815 and USS Cassin Young CDD-7935. On March 20th, as we recrossed the equator, the commissary department went all out with a big turkey dinner to celebrate our first anniversary. Two days later we arrived at Ulithi, the headquarters of Service Squad- ron Ten. Under the able leadership of Commodore W. R. Carter, USN, this huge unit of the Pacific Service Force was working night and day to re- turn our damaged vessels to the front, and Serlilon lO had even been referred to as one of America's secret weapons. As we steamed down through the north and middle anchorages to our own berth in the south an- chorage, we passed a major portion of the U. S. Pacific Fleet preparing for the invasion of Okinawa. When we left the atoll two months later, the south and middle anchorage were bare, and only a few station ships remained in the north. The first month produced some very wet weather with sweeping winds of typhoon proportions and much rain. Everywhere ships maintained an- chor chain watches with steam up, while the smaller craft tossed about dragging their anchors. Relief from this came, and the second month turned into nearly unbearable tropical heat with few breezes. ln the south anchorage we took our place in tender row with the de- stroyer tenders USS Prairie, Cascade, Piedmont, Yosemite, and Hamul. Work continued on a 24-hour basis with occasional recreation on a hot, sandy, fly-infested island, which would be most suitable for the atomic bomb tests. Our work was frequently interrupted by the sound of the general alarm, as Iap snoopers from nearby Yap tried to slip into the anchorage. However our flyers were on the job, and no enemy plane ever put in a personal appear- ance except on the radar screen. On to the Philippines Cn the 25th of May we joined a convoy with five other repair ships and seven ammunition ships and proceeded westward toward the Philippines. Three days of steaming brought us into San Pedro Bay, which is part of Leyte Gulf between the islands of Leyte and Samar, and we dropped the anchor near another famous destroyer tender, the USS Dixie. Our work load remained about the same, as numerous landing craft came alongside A OFFICERS CLUB AT SAMAR AFTER A SMOKER ON THE BOAT DECK. VOLFE, BELL, MR. PATTON, LENTZ, VICTORIA AND FITZIVIAURICE TI-IE CREW OF TI-IE GIG AT LEYTE for repairs and alterations, in addition to the regular destroyers, destroyer escorts, DMS', and APD's. On Iune 26th Captain E. B. Bunguist, USN, became our commanding of- ficer, relieving Captain P. B. Koonce, USN, who was ordered to Guam for duty involving courts martial. Captain Bunguist had formerly been com- manding officer of the repair ship USS Luzon. Another memorable event which occurred while the Sierra was at Leyte was the mysterious crash- dive of a P-38 into the fantail of the aircraft carrier USS Bandolph. When the fleet was in, we spent our recreation periods at our own rec- reation center, a small clearing in the jungle. The main attractions were the native villages a mile or two down the shore. When the fleet left, we shifted our recreation to the Osmena Beach Fleet Recreation Center, where the Seabees had constructed softball diamonds and basketball courts. The more fortunate got over to Tacloban for a real look at Eilipino life on Leyte, tgrhile the officers spent their free afternoons at the DesPac Officers' Club on amar. The most momentous news of the entire Pacific war came to our ears on the night of August lUth, when the laps sent out their first l'feelers for peace. lt was such thrilling news that we didn't even wait for confirmation. Every ship in the bay cut loose with whistles, sirens, searchlights, and py- rotechnics. The band played, and all hands paraded around the boat deck in a victory snake dance. Our minds turned to thoughts of going home, but for many of us that day was still six months away. On the first of September Commodore E. E. Duvall, USN, Commander Service Division lOl, and his staff came aboard. Eive days later we left the Philippines for Okinawa and linsen, Korea. Our stay at Buckner Bay, Okin- awa, was limited to an overnight visit, so we didn't even get ashore. Sol- diers we've met since have convinced us that we didn't miss muchl Our trip to linsen was prolonged by a detour to pass clear of mined areas, and we arrived in that political hot-spot on September l5th. The Commodore became Senior Officer- Present CAdministrativeD mak- ing the Sierra gangways look like Grand Central Station. We continued our repair activities under the direction of ComServDiv lOl, but the work load had definitely slacked off. Our white uniforms made their appear- ance for liberty-the first we'd had in over a year. Ashore we bough Kor- ean money at the rate of l5 yen to the dollar and spent it freely on silk and swords. As we finally steamed out of linsen, our new chaplain, who had been chasing the ship for months, signalled from a seaplane tender, HPLEASE SEND WHALEBOAT EOB Cl-lAPLAlN GLASS. Our reply: HOUB NEXT POBT OE CALL lS Sl-lANGl-lAl, Cl-llNA. l-le caught us there. Chin-cr The trip to Shanghai was high-lighted by the sighting of numerous floating mines, several of which were exploded by the gunfire of our es- cort, the USS Spencer. We anchored overnight in the delta of the Yangtze Biver awaiting a pilot to guide us up the treacherous waterway to Shang- hai. The following day we caught our first glimpse of metropolitan China. Even before we'd made our mooring in the Whangpoo Biver, a horde of sampans had come alongside peddling their wares to the eager sailors, and KOREAN IUNK CARRYING FIREWOOD ENLISTED MENS CLUB-IINSEN f w 1 I? LIBERTY IN HNSEN I i, 1 4 l 4 A i before many days had passed, we had all spent at least one evening in the c1ty..Cur most notable neighbors in the river were the USS Rocky Mount, later relieved by the USS Estes, the USS Nashville, later relieved in turn by the USS St. Paul and the USS Bremerton, the USS Dixie, which returned to the States in early December, and the USS Bepose, which had no relief. When the skipper of the Bepose ugot his points, he just tied her up to the dock and went home. Shanghai offered us the best liberty of any port we had visited since leaving the States. The American Bed Cross supervised a servicemen's club at the Foreign YMCA, which has a gymnasium, a swimming pool, handball courts, and bowling alleys. There was also a soda fountain, where we could buy coffee, pie, sandwiches, and ustateside Cokes for a nickel. Farther out Bubbling Well Road was the Enlisted Men's Club, where we spent many evenings, the officers congregated at the Shanghai Cfficers' Club in the Sun Sun Building. For those who wanted more atmosphere 'there were nightclubs and restaurants too numerous to mention. We often spent after- noons shopping for souvenirs at the Army PX or the Bazaar, and for a quiet evening's entertainment there were several modern theaters showing recent American movies. Following in the footsteps of our near sister, the USS Dixie, we soon be- came a part of many local activities. Ding-Dong Bell, steward second class, together with several other boxers, represented our ship in the ring and did an admirable job of it. Bell was considered the leading contender for the welterweight title of China, but we left Shanghai before the local boxing au- thorities could come to an agreement as to who was the present titleholder. The basketball team, led by loe and Ernie I-lecklinski, twin pharma- cist's mates, racked up 25 wins against four losses and finished second to the USS St. Paul in the U. S. Armed Forces l-loliday Basketball Tournament. loe l-lecklinski received awards for each member of the team from Lt. Gen- eral Wedemeyer, Commanding General of the China Theater. Bill Polczyn- ski, storekeeper third class, represented the Sierra in football and quarter- backed the victorious Navy team in the China Bowl game on December lst, just thirteen hours before the regular Army-Navy game in the States. And we had some social activities, too. Early in November we held a ship's dance at the Metropole Ballroom, the starboard watch attending the first night and the port watch the following night. Everyone had a good time, and the dance committee, headed by Lt. Cjgl Bed Spain and Mike Grejtak, machinist's mate second class, was highly commended. Cn Christ- mas Day fifty Chinese and Bussian orphans were the guests of the Sierra's crew. They received a huge turkey dinner and were then entertained by movies, a magician, and Santa Claus, in the person of Chief Boatswain's Mate A. E. Calvert. The last social event in Shanghai was the banquet in honor of the basketball team which had completed a highly successful sea- SOI'l. 1 Homeward bound Since our ship was acting both as a destroyer tender and a flagship, it was necessary for us to have two reliefs before we could leave. The USS San Clemente came alongside in early lanuary to receive ComServDiv lOl THE CAPTAIN SPEAKS AT THE SHIPS DANCE MOTOR MINESWEEPER ALONGSIDE EOR REPAIRS THE COMMODORE AND CAPTAIN ENTERTAIN THE MAYOR OF SHANGHAI ENLISTED MEN 'S CLUB SHANGHAI IMICKEYH GUTI-IRIE, SIC 'DING-DONGH BELL, St2c MARCYH VICTORIA, SIC I'3-i3q.f::,4WON 25-LQST 4 7-I Y.- CHRISTMAS DINNER N ' I I QUR CHRISTMAS GUESTS SAILING UP THE WHANGPO LOOKING DGWN NANKING RQAD SHANGHAI U. S. WARSI-HPS IN SHANGHAI NANKING ROAD-SHANGHAI SAMPANS ON LOOCHOW CREEK SHANGHAI LOOKING UP SNANKING ROAD- SHANGHAI A VICTORY QVER T1-IE I USS SAN CLEMENTE . . .. , , . .. . -izw . V ,. in 5 if .v5:.'EL.Z?:grb5'qj5 -ff Q V and his staff. Three Weeks later the destroyer tender USS Markab steamed in, and the Sierra was officially relieved. On the 5th oi l:'ebruary.We jubi- lantly dropped our moorings and proceeded down the Whangpoo River ustateside bound. Three Weeks ot steaming, broken only by a one-night stand at Pearl I-larbor, brought us into San Francisco Bay. Early on the morning oi February 27, l946, the mighty Sierra moved slowly through the iog and passed through the Golden Gate. .We tied up to a dock to discharge our 500 passengers, and then We anchored out in the bay. Several days lat- er We steamed up to the U. S. Naval Magazine at Port Chicago, California, to unload all our ammunition. This job completed, We Went to Mare Island Naval Shipyard to commence our sixty-day overhaul period. .ge .i ge 6 Tin .x tu I Q? ' iii:-:'f T 1: 2121 ,A tv! , . I .,,t1 Aff? - -1 T.-We ,, 4 nff, f M -' ii Q.. 4 0' . .ygif-,L .., :Rfv lT3'?l-41, 9351.-1u?3'1Gs x ' ji-S17 1:1325-Q-4 ,X t-lk, T ' A Y., , .-j-XG giji ' ' AVG' -W. fayiuibif' 1,4- 'ITV'-1 4 A .45 fg1:q,.. '.-eff.-5 wif- 's . 31,21 31?- .. tor ,.-2-7 rr.: .1 1, . ' if .5 fir 17. 355 J. X! if Ha 7' -. Q. . . If ,.Z:Tj'..5,Il,-fl fi 1... . :JL : aa I seals-:sf il? ani? 'iii . t 1 A V. E256 tif? ivan . 'rf 1 ,EAP l, 2 -- 'if' . 33: if-ilu K M ,gg 123.4 . X, .Mg Lv f 10. 1 + ' COMMANDER DESTROYERS PAClFlC FLEET 1 2 27 October 1944. 0 From: Commander Destroyers, Pacific Fleet. To: Commanding Officer, U.S.S. SIERRA CAD-181. Subject: Commendation. 1. The Type Commander has noted With gratification that, during a recent nine-day period, the U.S.S. SIERRA performed 21,392 man-hours of Work on a total of 65 ships. , 2. lt is also noted that all the departments of the ship shared in this splendid effort, spares, provisions, small stores, and money orders to the ex- tent of over SlUU,OUO, being issued during this time. i 3. Commander Destroyers, Pacific Fleet, takes sincere pleasure in commending the Commanding Officer and the Officers and men of the Sierra Who, in their initial period of service in the forward areas, have contributed in a marked degree to the success of recent operations. H W. K. iirtiiiips. Copy to: ComServPac. RepComDesPacSoPac QS 7th Fleet. UUE SERVTEES .TU THE ELEET The USS Sierra is a destroyer tender designed to supply all the wants and needs of her brood of destroyers. However, due to the shortage of ade- quate repair facilities during the strikes on Palau, Leyte, lwo lima, Okin- awa, and the lapanese homeland, our ship found herself tending not only de- stroyers, but also battleships, cruisers, carriers, minesweepers, every kind of landing craft, and even merchant ships. This is the story of our services to the fleet. Repair Department - The repair department of the USS Sierra can be compared on a small scale to the industrial organizations of any modern city. lts facilities consist of over thirty shops. Each of these shops would be a small business of its own in a city, but combined into one department of the Sierra's organization, they make up a force that is capable of repairing almost anything. lt has shops that can repair broken down batteries, boilers, or bulkheads. A black- smith shop that has never shod a horse nevertheless has an electric furnace to do heat treating and the customary forges, tool slabs, and anvils for hand work. The optical shop fixes binoculars, telescopes, and all kinds of naviga- tional instruments. The watch and typewriter shops repair and overhaul in- struments as their names imply. The carpenters' shop does all kinds of re- pair work and construction in woodwork. When a casting job comes in, there is the pattern shop to make the necessary pattern for the foundry. The foun- dry is equipped with two electric arc furnaces which make it possible to manufacture castings of iron, brass, aluminum, and zinc usually required by destroyers. The largest of all the shops is the machine shop. lt is equipped with all modern machines, including lathes, grinders, milling machines, a 60-ton horizontal-vertical hydraulic press, and various other machines which make up a shop capable of turning out all types of machine shop jobs. The shipfitters' shop can handle all kinds of hull repairs and general structural work. There is a shop to repair radio, radar, underwater sound, and other electronic equipment. This activity also makes installations when necessary. lf it's plumbing or pipe work needed, then the pipe and coppersmith shop is available to do the work. The sheetmetal shop can perform all kinds of sheetmetal work, including the manufacture of cabinets and light bulkheads. Electrical repairs, such as rewinding motors and generators, and electrical installations, such as installing a cable or an electric searchlight, are han- dled by the electrical shop. Also in the electrical line but under the heading of instrument shop is the place to have ohmeters, voltmeters, and meggers tested and repaired. lf the gyrocompass of a ship fails to work properly, a man from the gyro shop takes a trip over to check it and remedy the trouble. CIARPENTERS' SHOP BQILER SHOP INSPECTING A CASTING IN THE FOUNDRY Small boats have engines which from time to time need repairs, and there is the boat engine shop to do this type of work. ln addition to those already mentioned, there are several other shops: the print shop, the photo shop, the welding shop, the refrigeration repair shop, and the sail locker. The repair department of the Sierra accomplishes for ships of the fleet work which cannot be done by the ship itself for lack of equipment, mate- rial, or trained personnel. Whe'ther or not a ship comes alongside is deter- mined by the size of the job and the number of jobs to be done. Duringha period of nineteen months more than 250 ships have been tied up alongside our ship for repair work, and more than 500 have been tended in other berths. Those tied up alongside have ranged from little LCl's and YMS,' which were dwarfed by the huge Sierra, to the USS California. As the sizes of the vessels tended have varied, so have the jobs. lt might be turning out a small gear in the machine shop, or it might be lifting the stack off one de- stroyer and setting it down on another, and that stack switchingjob was ac- tually done by this department. lt isn't just the fine tools and equipment that makes the repair department a going concern, it's the men using them that count. Quite often during the war these men worked round the clock in shifts in order to put a combat ship back on the firing line. Seven days a week they worked, and there was no time and a half for overtime or double time for Sundays. The USS ,Sierra operated in the Pacific Ocean areas with the assigned task of repairing ships that needed it. She can report to the world at large- Mission accomplished. 1 Communications Department The communications department of the USS Sierra has given valuable service not only to our brood of ships, but also to the staffs which have had their headquarters on board this ship. Our signal bridge and radio room, as well as the coding room, worked night and day sending, receiving, coding, and decoding messages not only for our own ship, but also for all ships alongside. ln addition the men of the communications department daily edited and mimeographed the press news for distribution around the Sierra and all ships alongside. At one time our signal bridge handled an average of l50 messages a day, and twice that number of messages were handled in one record 24-hour period. Our general message center played a very large part during the war in supplying small craft with back copies of general messages. During a period of twelve months over one million copies were mimeographed and distributed. The post office was another function of the communications department handling a large volume of mail, as well as selling money orders and stamps. Every Sunday church services are held either on the boat deck or in the mess hall, and our schedule of religious services was sent to all the ships nearby, so that they could attend. When there was a Catholic chaplain in ? BLACKSMITH SHOP UPPER MACHINE SHOP 4 QPTICAL SHGP PQ the harbor, our chaplain would exchange services with him, thus giving the crew the advantages of properly-conducted Protestant and Catholic serv- ices. The chaplain was always ready to talk to the sailors from the ships alongside, as well as our own ship's company. l-le maintained a library for the crew and used this library as a book exchange for the destroyers. They would bring their books over to the Sierra and swap them for some of ours Engineering Department The engineering department of our ship made its most important con tribution to the successful completion of our first overseas assignment by get ting the ship where our orders told us to go. However, when we dropped anchor and prepared to take the tin cans alongside for repairs, the engi neers' work did not stop. Many of the ships that came alongside had to se cure parts of their engineering plants in order to effect repairs to boilers generators, pumps, or steam lines. The tender's fireroom gang were not only making steam to run our own auxiliaries, but they were also supplying steam to as many as four or five ships alongside. Likewise the large turbo generators in our enginerooms supplied electricity not only to run the ma chines and equipment all over our own ship, but also to run the electrical mission. The distilling plant of the Sierra had capacity to distill up to 60,000 gal lons of water per day from sea water, and much of this water was pumped to ships alongside as drinking water or boiler feed water. The tender's ice making plant manufactured l000 pounds of ice daily, and this too was occa sionally supplied to destroyers. And if the regular fueling activities were in adequate, the Sierra's oil king could supply the smaller ships with fuel oil, diesel oil, or lubricating oil from our reserve of over a million gallons C 61 R Department The construction and repair department, headed by the First Lieutenant consisted mainly of from l00 to 240 men in the deck force. These men han dled the lines of each ship that came alongside the Sierra, and their work as riggers with the ship's six cranes was a necessary item contributing to the success of the repair department's activities, When we changed the twin five-inch gun mount on the USS California and swapped stacks between two destroyers,- the deck force was the group that handled the rigging. ln addition, men from the deck force were assigned as boat crews for the Sierra's eighteen boats which were often loaned to other ships to haul am munition, stores, or liberty parties. On occasions working parties were even sent along from the Sierra to help discharge stores from a cargo ship to the vessels we were tending. - equipment on the destroyers alongside, whose generators were out of com- ., ,.... , CATHQLIC SERVICES CN THE BOAT DECK 1 PRCTESTANT SERVICES CN THE BCAT DECK Supply Department A The supply department on a destroyer tender plays a major role in the daily operations of the ship, whether they concern services to another activ- ity or maintenance of our own vessel. ln order to carry out these duties the department is divided into four distinct groups, these are the disbursing group, the general stores group, the commissary group, and the special ac- tivities group. ln addition to maintaining the pay records of our own ship's company, the disbursing office has been called upon many times to pay the officers and men of various small craft temporarily separated from their own disbursing activity. ln some instances the disbursing office has also handled foreign ex- change, so that the men could make purchases ashore. Over twenty storerooms are required to carry the thousands of tons of various articles found in the general stores group. These are the materials necessary for the maintenance of the' ships tended by the Sierra. Some of this equipment is issued directly to other ships, while the rest' is used by our repair department in their work on these ships. One of the most important groups in the supply department is the com- missary group. We carry'large quantities of dry, fresh, and frozen foodstuffs not only for our own consumption, but also for issue to ships assigned to us for tending. lt has been necessary to continually replenish the many dry provision storerooms and the huge chill boxes, .capable of holdingihundreds of tons of fresh and frozen prod-ucts, so that we could fulfill the needs of our brood. The galley and bake shop are also integral parts of the commissary group. Many times it has been necessary to feed the crews of other ships or furnish bread and pastry when the facilities of ships alongside have been temporarily put out of commission. . And last, but far from least, is the special activities group which is set up to furnish all hands with their many personal needs. Coming under the cognizance of this group are the barber shop, tailor shop, cobbler shop, ship's store, clothing and small stores, laundry, and soda fountain. During the past two years the crews of many other ships have also enjoyed the benefits of these very efficient services' F Accurate maintenance of allgirecords concerning these activities is car- ried out in the supply and disbiirsing offices, and a close coordination be- tween all the various groups of the supply depargtyment has resulted in the rendering of services of the highest caliber during the many months that the Sierra has been in commission. , Medical Department Behind every functioning department of our ship stands the medical de- partment-endeavoring to prevent accident and disease and always ready ' THE SIERRA IN PEARL HARBOR THE COOKS PREPARING CHCDW to care for the injured' or sick. As we have been efficient so have we insured the efficiency of our ship as a whole, and thus have we added our own bit in the carrying out of the mission of the USS Sierra in which we all have taken pride. Our duty has been to promote health by every means at our dispos al. Toward this end we have educated the ship's company as to self-protec tion and the care of injured shipmates. We have guarded the food and water supply as have our comrades of the supply and engineering depart ments. Prophylaxis has been an essential part of our health program, possi bly the long lines of men awaiting vaccination have not been singing our praises as they advanced needleward. Similarly sanitation has been upper operation of the crew as a whole As our ship functioned as a small navy yard in the forward areas of the Pacific, so have we 'functioned as a hospital to those vessels of the fleet who sought our aid. Alongside or anchored in the stream or harbor they have sent over their injured and their sick. Many of the smaller vessels have been en tirely dependent on our medical and dental officers, and others with more extensive medical departments have been partially so. Sometimes there have been the more serious matters of emergency surgery, difficult diagnosis and severe injuriesg but why go into such-that's what we're here for. Our routine repair jobs have been well done like those of the repair department and so we have helped the Sierra mother her chicks in the manner which was intended. Equipment and supplies have been excellent and a joy to use. We have been proud of our spotless operating room, and we have liked to walk through our shiny dental section. We have wanted to show off our neat ward with its fifty beds, and sometimes we have done so to large partiesg there were, we remember, particularly the dysentery tribe at Leyte and the cat fever crew from the Whangpoo. Things got so bad the corpsmen couldn't even find a place to sack upl Of course our darkroom could get by on all inspections. All we did was turn off the lights, and the captain had to agree that it looked 4.0 for a darkroom. When we had nothing else to do, we could always retire to the lab and look over some of the foreign bugs on display there. Our isolation ward has been comfortable, if not always without mono tony. The pharmacy and the medical office complete our tour of the depart ment. most in our minds, and so we have all lived on'a clean ship, thanks to the co- ? THE DENTAL OFFICE SIEH BAY TI-IE OFFICERS A TI-IE CI-IIEF PETTY OFFICERS THE FIRST DIVISICDN THE SECCDN D DIVISON TI-IE TI-IIRD DIVISION TI-IE FOURTH DIVISION i-f ,,., W, . .. ... -- za' I I I , I I I I I I I TI-IE SIXTI-I DIVISION I I S I I I I I I TI-IE SEVENTH DIVISION I III WW IIIII I I I I I I THE SEVENTH DIVISIQN THE SEVENTH DIVISION TI-IE EIGI-ITII DIVISION TI-IE NINTI-I DIVISION THE NINTI-I DIVISICDN THE NINTI-I DIVISICDN f A DIVISION 'B DIVISION C 61 N DIVISION C ci N DIVISION , , . ., -T I . fa? '. N522 . .H . ,N K I E 135 I' ' K 'Nw Ni .fi' i! V x 1, 'K f ff'4f?1' f'!:'H , I 5 fp , R, .,,, I L f 4353 , 1 ' in I iff ' E DIVISION F DIVISION i F G DIVISION 'HH DIVISION M DIVISICN O DIVISION IR DIVISION S DIVISION S DIVISION S, DIVISION Charles Ioho Mikrut, SFSC Robert Eugene Hartley, Slc Charles Ross, Sr., Plc Melville Dabney Trice, SZC lames. Arthur Welch, SZC Grant Glenn Parsons, Slc Ted Preston Gist, SZC