Sierra (AD 18) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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THE SIERRA BAND MAIL CALL YANOWITCI-I AND SUZIE CDN TI-IE I-'CDRECASTLE

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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