Stevenson (DD 645) - Naval Cruise Book

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Sealife Za Zfze gaadllcvf fwpm Actually, there's nothing complicated about moving through San Iuan de Fuca, but on that particular November night the fog rolled so thick that the Old Man wouldn't have more than a slow five knots . . . so that we could make one knot good against the seaward current. Really slow! Most of the boys hadn't been home in more than a year, and drinking an infrequent, hot beer from a small can on some female-deserted island with none but your buddie to yap with, well! That's not like being at home among friends. Being in sight but out of reach is what made that night bad . . . like waking up to find it was only a dream! We did make it in, -though-after losing three or four hours in unloading ammunition and another in clearing a stern line that became fouled in the port screw. We were even impatient over the fifteen minutes delay necessary in picking up our pilot. We had not been alongside Pier 92 long enough for the deck force to get all the lines secured before the first liberty party was on their way. lt was fif- teen minutes after midnight and eight miles to town,-but who cared! Have you ever seen a bunch of kids tear out of school on a Friday afternoon? That's just the way we swept up the pier, out of the yard gate and into town,-laugh- ing, shouting, bragging of what a treat we were going to give the Seattle girls. Even after we hit town to find most of it secured andyasleep Cstreet lights dimmed by economy-minded city-fathers, vanishing after-theater crowds, closed and shuttered cafes! our enthusiasm wasn't dampened but rather re- doubled by this new challenge. It didn't take the old hands long to show the younger what was where and why. We had more fun that first liberty than on any other, unless it was the night of the ship's dance when the fire department was sent out to cool us off. We don't know what all of the boys did while we were in Seattle . . . all of us got some leave . . . liberty most every night . . . working on the ship during the day. No one heard any complaints. But who could complain? Forty odd days of Stateside duty! p Christmas eve was the first really tough break that we had. That's the day we got underway for San Diego. We got to Diego in time for some of the boys to have liberty New Year's eve,-which was our last liberty in the States in spite of the fact we hung off the southern California coast for another week. That week, by the way, was one that will long be remembered, especially by the boys of the O division. lt was their show. Day and night, before meals, after meals and during meals . . . shoot, shoot, shoot . . . if all the steel we threw at targets that week could have been dumped on Honshu, General MacArthur wouldn't have a job today. Q And the following week at Pearl was Just as rugged No one really got a good rest until we pulled out for Ulithi A goodly portion of the fleet was there mostly carriers and their protecting cruisers and destroyers It was our hope that we would be assigned to one of the fast carrier groups that was scheduled to eventually ravage the Iapanese mainland but to our temporary chagrin we were given the important but colorless Job of screening tankers provision and ammunition ships in order that the fast carrier units could continue their strikes without having to return to port This duty again meant long periods at sea in the forward area and as in the Atlantic she made several depth charge at tacks without any definite knowledge of the presence of enemy submarines , - , . I . ' I ' l I I ' I ' I . . I ' ' ' I n 1 ' I 1 . . . , , I ' I 1 - , I ' I A . ' I I , - Q I . . . -