Wasatch (AGC 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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i V ---1- -Qv.,..-- 1- ......M. .....-vpwmsmga-H-n-w ., -.---.---------11:-a-1-ge-f.1-v:-eq----:-ef-'. ,-., A i .. .. . Y -r - , .- . aa-.-N...gf-in-J.:z1.1:a1--:ae-.rrp-L-esyx--rn1,:...if1-- -A -- -, , ,, , , From left to right first row Fifield, Scotti, Lt.CjgD Boger, Lt. Cmdr. Alford, CGM Weaver, Petersen, and Ericson.' Second row Wilson, Wickham, Hillmeyer, Sibigtroth, Sloane, Hawkins, Gill, Stansoury, and Laveccia. Third row Wheatley, Zeltner, Le Blanc, Chace, Connors, Charles, Boileau, Robedda, and Quinn. F DIVISION ' . BY J. J. BOILEAU, FC 3C . These were the men who kept the directors aligned and the guns working, Scotti the refugee from a subchaser, with a heart of gold and a frown for every occasion, Peterson, who saw action with the army in world war one, chose the navy this time and liked the change, Ericson, father confessor, former battleship man, whose stock in trade was a worried look and an evasive answer for every Question, Sloane, twice torpedoed in the Atlantic Theatre, Hillmeyer, Wilson, Connors, Gill, Chace and Le ' Blanc, all with valuable experience behind them. Others were Robedda, Lavecchia, Quinn, Hawkins, Charles, and HRecognitionN Wheatley, capable men from boots and service schools. In the beginning, the officers were Mr. Murphy, who always had a clever story to tell, and always when a good story was the one thing most needed, Mr. Wallace and Mr. Boger.' Later Mr. Murphy and Mr. Wallace were replaced by Mr. Alford and Mr. Duda. Mr. Alford was a taut gun boss, and backed up his men with understanding. Mr. Duda supplied the Jive and made certain the magazines were as clean and shiny as his flute. New additions at Leyte were Sibigtroth, fresh from the Aleutians, Zeltner, Stansbury, Wickham and Htradern Boileau from schools. Before Borneo, Domke, Halfacre, Breck and Butler joined us, the latter two having seen months of action on carriers out here ...... Work was never easy for there was a continual fight against time, heat and rain. Many gun watches were stood from Milne Bay to the Yellow Sea, but the strain to keep alert was mercifully broken now and then by the appearance of the Japs. Ur. Alford, Mr, Schirmer and Mr, Wallace kept the watch awake and on the ball, using every conceivable method for exacting such a Boring, yet important task. Mr. Boger, soft-spoken but firm, won the hearts of everyone. Sometimes our Chief Weaver, who was a destroyer man in the early days of the war when the fighting was really uphill, checked the guns carefully and completely, always putting the boys on the right track whenever there was a question about what was wrong with a gun or how to repair it, Did he find brass to polish or painting to do? Could be ....... All was not work. A few characters like fungus Wilson would give out with gags and fun. And even if Eric and Scotti had moments of stomping hats and pulling their hair out Ca pretty tough assignment for Ericj over faults found, the good deeds over-ruled them .... Friends made, favors gladly done, loans of soap, dollars, candv from home shared by all---..If it Were be be done over again, these would be the boys one would choose for shipmates. y s

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W vl! ah V in -fa'-fi-cs S' 5' '-kwa.:-11 ,wl- K C 4 v 1 5 . A . fr is Q if hr W v i wif, z M . . My kit mf W U Ili .1 . I M V. H, W EW W W F ll Qs W N M tc W aff ml W l if 59 1 1, E DlvlsloN BY J. A. BLAIR, EM 2C urns Fighting an Any resemblance of the characters in this article to any person now living on the Wasatch is not coincidental but written with malice aforethought. The title WThe fighting E' was generously bestowed on us by our former Exec., Commander W. B. Tucker, CNow Captain Tuckerl. For further details see Captain Tucker. Our inherent modesty and native caution forbid us to say more. , Ensign W. Nepote, our division officer, brands as malicious gossip the ward- room story that he tried to improve the Exec's pistol shooting score at Lake Sen- tani. Chief Electrician Marron returned from liberty in Manila with an undying hatred for the Japs after viewing the shambles of his old retreat, The Silver Dollar. According to Hr. Marron the Pre-war Silver Dollar vied with the art museum as a cultural center. Before going any further with this article it is only fair to mention that there is no basis to the story in circulation about the writer and a certain WAC in Hollandia. He generously offered to share the WAC with his shipmates time and again. Besides, she has a beautiful soul and will inherit ten thousand dollars. Famous firsts-- Charles Russell has the distinction of holding three undis- puted firsts. He was first to go through the chow line five times fclaims he could have made six but they closed the chow linel, first to gain forty pounds after one year in the navy, and he stayed up all night to be first in line at the Exec's off- ice to check on re-enlistment. Casualties -- the first casualties suffered by PThe Fighting EW were at Manila in September, l9L5. Bill Hodge was brought back aboard the Wasatch in a . stretcher after inhaling liquid fire. After a prolonged session in sick bay, where a small flexible hose figured prominently in the first aid treatment, he was return- ed to duty. The same day B.M. Little became and am esia victim and wandered about Luzon for three days before he regained his memory and found his way back to the ship at San Fernando. Gusfsize A81 Grzegorczyk and Les Cupside downl Ainsworth tripled the movie attendance on board the Wasatch almost overnight. They resigned as movie operators we have been unable to learn the details of Charles Clan Mountainl Anderson'a prowess as mopper-upper at Panama. The mess cooks won't talk le have learned that no mops were used, and we don't mean swabs, either. F.E. Roy claims sea sickness was responsible for his need of help to board the ship at Manus and not over-indulgence in Wlron Cityn so erroneously reported by hi! 9hiPmlte5 The the e is the human interest story of a midwest boy, Roger Johnson, who n r wanted to be a gailor, He passed his physical with flying colors, but his low I.Q. relegated him to tha army, The I,C. boys in E division in compassion adopted him and he lived happily afterward on board the Wasatch Space forbids our giving a C0mD1ete hiSt0TY of nThe Fighting En. Anyone interested in the more intimate details is free to scan the brig record

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H DIVISION BY D. C. PARIS, PHMBC Commissioning day found the Medical staff complete. Lt. Comdr. M.A. Mitchell, Senior Medical Officer, Lieut. K. F. Sands, Junior Medical Officer, Lieut. B.F. Swain, Dental Officer, and CphM Murden. Our sick bay was complete with fully equipped operating, sterilizing, and dressing rooms, two wards with a capacity of 25, although this number was exceeded many times. A Wsea worthyn pharmacy which supplied complete courses in A.P.C.'s and Wblackzand whitesn... Tomaso, PhMlc, Uthe nosen, haunted the pill joint. The X-ray and darkroom was efficient with our Indiana Ubick Green, PhM2c, in command The Bacteriology Lab, where quite a few had undergone the Wsweating outn process because of carrying a good time to extremes, was Bayonne's contribution of L.H. Wilson, PhM2c, with his face in the microscope. The doctor's office and clerical office were swell hangouts complete with medical library. And what Chief you saw hanging around at all times was responsible for all the book work connected with the Medical Department? Oh, I thought you knew... he was R.E. Hensley from North Carolina! The diet pantry was finally turned into a 'Joe rendezvousn. J.B. De La Rionda, better known as J.B.D., from Brooklyn manned the Joe-detail. He went to gunnery school to learn the art of Nshot givingN, Those four lane passageways gave our strikers a pain... to vouch for that ask Costigan, Molloy, and Allie. There was the UBoudoirU and the WThree HA's, but during the cruise they became the WThree third matesu. The guy with the coal dust around his eyes was L.A. Gavel, PhM3c, from Sugar Notch, Penna... better known as Lenski. The second was USungoon, or to the people around New Castle, Penna., it was A.R. Scarazzo, PhM3c. The rebel with the WBifocalsn was D.C. Paris, PhM3c, from Carrollton, Ga., Nwhere all them peaches grown. Surely you'll remember WDuckU Quick. He was almost too small to see, but you couldn't have missed that ear ring. That dental dilly was Louigi Muller, PhM2c, from Corinth, N.Y., wow, could he buck dance! Dr. Mitchell was relieved by Lt. Comdr. C.B. WHO Landis' Jones. Dr. Jones was relieved by Comdr. O.C. Hendrix. Dr. Hendrix was relieved by Lt. Comdr. J.S. Dunn. Through all the changes in our NGold braidn department, 'PorkyN Sands treated every case of fungoo the crew mustered from New Guinea to Japan. Dr. Swain was relieved by Lt. Comdr. C.E. Loveman, who finished the cruise as our Dental Officer. Other additions to our division were nBob Crichton, PhM2c, 'The Minneapolis Kidn, and B.B. nBlueyW Free, from Bowling Green, Ky., who has the right to beast of duty in Australia. The generosity of the WASATCH to other ships of the fleet did not except the Medical Department. Many times emergencies were brought aboard and cared for even though more complete facilities were close at hand. Under the fine leadership of officers, we met all situations and mastered them. Many occasions were sprinkled with hum r and laughter, but there were also times in which humor did not fit. None of us will forget our days together and remembering them, we will cherish our friends, the Ship's Company of the WaSat0l'1- ' ' ' s -1 - 4 - s- - - H -sf - - 1 , H., .. , ' ' fa---1-- --f -as 1- .lar- '- - ' 1 - i f- ' ft- v 1a-...'.g 1 , ....f,:.,:,:er-4