Sierra (AD 18) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE SIERRA A AT HN SEN KOREA EAPTAIN E. H. HUNUUIST U. S. N.

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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

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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