Tarawa (CV 40) - Naval Cruise Book

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Commanding Officer HE COMMANDING OFFICER of the USS TARAWA during her cruise of the Mediterranean was Captain Clifford H. Duerfeldt, USN. Born in Gordon, Nebraska, in 1902, the skipper graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1926. Two years on the briny deep washed the mid-western dust from his boots and found him in flight training laying the basic foundation for what was to be a career in naval aviation. During the 30's he flew from the carrier SARATOGA and the battleships MISSISSIPPI, WEST VIRGINIA, and ARIZONA. Shore duty claimed him as Operations Officer at Corpus Christi in 1940 and he then served as Executive Officer aboard the carriers CARD and HORNET. The latter years of WWII found Captain Duerfeldt as Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel, Air Force, Pacific Fleet, followed by duty with the Bureau of Personnel in Washington. Through the winter of '48 and '49 he attended the National War College, D. C. With many years of experience at sea and as Commanding Officer of several squadrons he became the Commanding Officer of the escort carrier SICILY and retained that post for one year. He was then attached to the joint Strategic Plans Group, Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was serving in that capacity when he received orders to assume command of the TARAWA on july 27, 1951. A ready smile, a hearty laugh, an ear for humor, an easy non- chalance and a quiet dignity distinguish the skipper of the Terrible T . Having served with both land and sea naval activi- ties for over a quarter century he has developed a bearing and manner which engender immediate liking and respect. Upon his assumption of command the TARAWA became a fighting ship in every sense of the word. He was a leader men worked to please. In addition to various area and campaign ribbons, Captain Duerfeldt holds the Legion of Merit with combat V, the Bronze Star, and the Presidential Unit Citation.

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On February 3, 1951, the TARAWA was commissioned for the second time, with Captain john H. Griffin as Commanding Officer and Commander Charles E. Robertson-as Executive Officer. Six weeks later the speakers platform, the microphone, and the red, white, and blue bunting were again in place on the hangar deck. This time the occasion was unique in naval historyg the TARAWA was adopted by the State of Connecticut, with Governor John D. Lodge officially assuming responsibility for the welfare and enter- tainment of the crew. The end of March found the TARAWA anchored in the pale blue waters of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the next seven weeks were spent on a 'tshakedownu training program. Flight operations were resumed with Carrier Air Group Seven embarked, exercises and drills of all kinds-flight, gunnery, communications, CIC, en- gineering, damage control, etc., became the order of the day. A measure of the ship's progress was the improvement in grades assigned by the Fleet Training Group for the mid-term and final battle problems . For the former the grade was 56125 for the latter 81'-Z, Return to the United States late in May was followed by two weeks in dry dock at Portsmouth, Va., and first leaves for many of the crew. The next stop was Quonset Point, Rhode Island, which was to become so familiar in the months to come. It was during these months that the TARAWA earned her nickname the B.B.F. fbe back Fridayj, soiregulari was her operating schedule. g Our foster parent, Connecticut, arranged a gala Independence Day 1951 for the ship's company in New London,-and vice-versa. In August two more weeks were spent in the yard, this time at Boston, and thence to Jacksonville for a fortnight's operations with Carrier Air Group Eight. It was here that a newspaper representative from Macon, Ga., uncovered some startling statistics about the ship. Her daily consumption of fresh water, for exam- ple, is approximately 75,000 gallons, of bread, 900 poundsg of butter 275 poundsg of coffee 550 pounds. Her laundry does a 45,000 lb. wash each week, her post office receives 3,000 outgoing letters a day, and over the counter of her gedunk stand are sold 135 gallons of ice cream every 24 hours. Carrier Air Group Eight rejoined the TARAWA on September 30, in time to operate at sea for two weeks before putting into Boston for repairs to a leaking fuel tank. With Rear Admiral D. V. Gallery, ComCarDiv 6, and staff embarked, she departed on October 24th to take part in the full-scale, mock-war exercise known as I.antFlex-52. This meant 21 days of continuous opera- tions, complete with day and night air strikes against land and sea targets, defense against enemy submarine, surface, and air attacks, and plenty of propaganda. When it was all over, the Terrible T may have been gasping from exhaustion, but there was no doubt of her readiness for the real thing. Return to Quonset Point gave ten days for loading stores, for leaves, and for last-minute transfers before setting out for European waters. It was the men saying good-bye who brought home to us how powerful had become the personality of the TARAWA. We had cursed her countless times, yet now we realized she was far from being the ogre we had made her out to be. She had provided us with a wealth of experience, a host of friends, and the satisfaction of working hard and successfully for a common cause. ' On November 28th the Terrible T steamed out of Narragansett Bay for the last time in 1951 and headed due east. During the next six months she sailed 31,742 nautical miles, and added 4801 aircraft landings to make her total 34,897. These months were filled with brilliant experiences for all aboard, the pages following have been assembled in an effort to help preserve these memories for the years to come.

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Executive Officer OMMANDER FRANK K. UPHAM, USN, became Executive Officer of the TARAWVA on ll October 1951. From the start it was apparent that here was an Exec with an abiding interest in his men. He knew that three squares and a rack are not enough to make a happy crew, and he has battled for every feasible project, from beer parties to Happy Hours, which would raise the morale of the ship. A native of California-which may explain his sunny disposi- tion-CDR Upham graduated from the Naval Academy with the Class of '34, After serving for two years aboard the USS TEN- NESSEE, he went to Pensacola for flight training. Flying duty with FIGHTING 4 in the RANGER and with the aviation unit of the SAN FRANCISCO followed in 1937 and 1939 respectively. VVhen the japanese struck Pearl Harbor, CDR Upham was flying patrol boats over Panamanian waters for VP-32. He went from there to Utility Squadron 4 in Norfolk, and thence, in 1944, to VF-81 aboard the WASP. The end of the war found him on the ESSEX with AIR GROUP 4, having taken part in the first carrier strikes on Tokyo and having won the Presidential Unit Citation, two Air Medals, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. From combat the Commander was sent to Los Alamitos, Cali- fornia, as CO of a replacement pilot training group. Next came duty with ComCarDiv 2 in 1946, with ComAirPac Staff in 1948, and the following year attendance at the Naval War College in Newport. His last billet before joining the TARAWA was as Executive Officer of Moffet Field, California. Once a Californian, always a Californian. By way of proving this old adage, CDR Upham's wife and seven-year-old son are living in Santa Monica.