Warren (APA 53) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 62 text:

mm I4 vi iwfzf 4077 N0 fuer? as 3 January ll, l94-5-Today, in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, as We un- loaded reinforcement troops for the two-day old assault, the luck of the Warren ran out. Ten men from our beach party and the creyv of the beach party boat were lost in a tragic action against the ene- my. just two days later, another of our shipmates Was to be killed and more than a score Wounded When a Jap plane sneaked in to attack our convoy sailing back to Leyte. The ship Worked on through the day and part of the night discharg- fcfi'-'51 X Z QW? it S ,, ..,. .,,, W, ..-..,.., -+..f,---.cn .. .,... .... -Y W . ,. ..,.,.-,-,. ,-,...........-..- w-. x.-,.-,- X ft HV n' ill' ll t ..il.fr ' fed hc 5 ,I FN ' ' N party spt X: ftjfilll night ctoutli W 76 cd in :ly wxh-wlcs xxehih' lip WX l1k'.lYl x1'Ehr3 plastctcd thc ht th Q with high t xplo-ixecs and shaxii fm L7 Wililt ll :th ii lt' lt I l I . . y X 111 w 1 I' r ,tl lficx at tax thc slwue. thc -hill' New -2 hh-dt zhv 'i't'if it l '- tht ,I . K ii Xipm h 2 Q e Al ' ...f .1

Page 61 text:

November l4, l944-When the six Red Cross women who were to be passengers on the Warren's second trip to Leyte first came aboard, onerof our crew remarked that old superstition of the sea- Women on board ship bring bad luck. Right or not, we all re- membered the warning when the Jap torpedo bomber . came so near to hitting us with her deadly charge yes- terday afternoon as we sailed in toward Leyte Gulf. The Warren's luck held good however, and we p cheered as the Jill slipped past our fantail and crashed inch lifted the right wing and thrown the plane off course. As we came into the bay today, We watched a Nip divebomber smash into the water a few hundred yards ahead of us, and we opened futile fire on the escorting Zeroes which twisted and darted out of range. And we thrilled as one of our Lightnings swooped down with blinding speed from high above to explode a Zero in mid-air with a single burst from his guns. Leyte was still a hot target for the Jap air forces. We discharged our cargo once more Within the space of a few hours, and once again slipped away through the darkness, headed for New Guinea. i into the sea. Only at the very last moment had a burst from the after five-

Page 63 text:

Qff our starboard beam, an ene- my plane svvooped down in a sud- den sneak attack on a nearby ship, dropped its bomb, and escaped through the brief hail of fire from . our destroyers. just a few minutes later, one Nip plane crashed in a flaming explosion near the beach, While a couple of miles off on our port side, a suicide plane targeted one of our destroyer escorts. Three days later, the Warren, sobered by her recent losses, sailed safely into Leyte Gulf once again. February 9, 1945 - Our last mission to the Philippines--and our last, too, before We finally returned to the United States-was completed today uncventfully When We landed on the already secured beaches of Mindoro the personnel and equipment of the Army's Forty-hrst Infantry division. Though air raids were probable in this sector, they did not occurgvvhile We Were there, and We unloaded Without interruption. 1 ' Thus, quietly, ended a little over a year of combat action for the Warren. She had earned the right for a rest-and so at last We sailed once more. This time We Were homeward bound! T