Wasatch (AGC 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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,3--f At 1215: Jul? 3, 19Lh, we took pilot aboard and proceeded through the Panama Canal. It was a thrilling experience for all hands and one we shall never forget. One day's lay over and an 0PD0Ttunity to see Panama City and then we were off across the Pacific bound for Milne Bay, New Guinea. This was the last we were to see of the Western Hemisphere for l7 long months to come. A As we headed south in the blue Pacific, little did any of us imagine the brilliant and leading role we were to play in the vital operations to come. Still south we sailed and soon rumors that we were entering the realm of Neptunus Rex were confirmed when Davey Jones boarded us with greetings from his Royal Majesty. We carried aboard a large and unruly number of polliwogs and from the beginning the trusty shellbacks feared mutiny. Watches were set in the spud locker, in the forecastle and on the fantail. Riots broke out all over the ship as the shellbacks clamped down with an iron hand. It was at 1320 on 7 July that we crossed the eouator and ere the minute hand of the clock made one full turn polliwogs had been inducted by one means or another into the society of shellbacks. Already we felt we were becoming a NSeasonedW crew. Day after day we practiced our drills - general quarters, abandon ship and all the other emergency bills until we became so proficient that a surprise GQ would find us at our battle stations in one minute. Our gunners sharpened up by firing at star shells, balloons and shell bursts. We felt they were mighty good and that faith was later justified by performance under attack. The letters AGC attached to our number nine on the bow have been the subject of some controversy as to their meaning. It is believed that the black gang and ship-fitters had the best interpretation - Almost Got Completed. Certainly those two divisions de- served and did receive our admiration for the splendid job they accomplished. The gener- ators gave us much trouble but under the able and intelligent supervision of the Chief Engineer, Comdr, W. F. Egllt, now our Executive Officer, we made Milne Bay, New Guinea at 1725 on 31 July, l9hL. . It had been a long tiresome trip and land was a welcome sight even if it was New Guinea. Everyone was over-joyed to see the sacks of mail come aboard for that meant word from home, letters from our wives, mothers, fathers and friends. There is nothing like mail to pep up a ship's spirit unless it be orders to return to the States. On 2 August we were ordered to Humboldt Bay and on 5 August, l9LL, at ll0O we came to anchor there. On l0 August we received our first flag aboard - Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler, U.S.N., Commander Group ONE, Seventh Amphibious Force. At last we were beginning to ful- fill our mission and it did not take us long to become acquainted with the many new duties required of us by the flag. A' The heat was almost unbearable and little relief was afforded at night. There was, however, one welcome break - a trip ashore now and again and an opportunity to enjoy some iced cold beer. We always established a ball-playing, beer-drinking beachhead at the first opportunity, and all hands will agree that they were welcome spots. On 10 September we set out on our first invasion with Admiral Barbey aboard. The Wasatch was formation guide bound for Morotai Island, our objective. On 15 September we landed the army ashore and it was here that the custom of taking General Douglas MacArth r ashore began. In all our landings except one this honor has been assigned to us. we are proud to have had this opportunity. It was here, too, that we experienced our first attack by enemy planes, a preview of what was to come at Leyte. It was not long before we were back in Hollandia chipping, painting, loading stores and drinking an occasional beer. . On lk October we received Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid and his flag aboard. we were now the Flagship of the Seventh Fleet. ' On 15 October we departed Humbolt Bay for Leyte. Early in the morning of 20 October we were proceeding up Leyte Gulf, just 1200 yards ahead of the U.S.S. NASHVILLE. In the grey mist of morning the radio crackled, NYou are twelve miles ahead of the mine sweepersf This in itself was enough to startle us, but at the same time one of the port lookouts reported a mine on our port bow. A destroyer sank it by gunfire. On up the gulf we steamed, the ever increasing crescendo of gunfire from supporting battle-ships, cruisers and destroyers sounding in our ears. Overhead our Hellcats and Wildcats were eager for the Jap to appear. We were somewhat surprised at first by the lack of opposition. It became clear now that we had caught the enemy comvletely Off bilance' we had hit him where and when he had least expected. His reaction was not long in coming, for in a few Hgyg all hell broke loose, It was now that the Wasatch came into her own. She was the heart brain and nerve center of that tremendous assembly of ships and men. She then and there became the Queen of the Amphibious Force Flagships. In and out of her communication roomlpoured message after message, order after order. UP in the Combat information center the enemy was tracked f0P COUPSG, SP09d and 'iz' of Paid from the time he was within llO miles. ' ' . , . l f Q.gns-n.vu-u-..-...a...--.......-.,.a,.,.aw..Js.:x..4.,a.,.za1..Y.-3--sa..-n..e,.,,....-.-.- -ua-'

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1 w A ...... L.W. -.-. -:-- ,..,...... M 2,-as-,ar I ,-H-germ-N..-g-T f'-rp ,. L. - I T 1 A 2' L 3 P. I 1 i I I 1, w w w r 1 P r I 1 I 1 f T 1 1 1 i i i , v I SHIWS HISTORY LT. JG JAMES CONWELL WELSH EDITED BY LT. JG JACK HOLT BOGER ,,. 'yi' ,- f ' As an Amphibious Force Flagship the purpose of the Wasatch was to provide for coordi-Q nation of land, sea and air forces in an amphibious operation. Among the many thlngs d included were accommodations for the Amphibious Force Commander and the Commander of the Coordinating Forces and their staffs. Facilities for communications, of course, had to be .immense.f The Wasatch has done her job well - and much more. During the last 18 months she has operated as tanker, supply ship, hospital ship, transport and floating hotel for tran- sients. .'f ' ' E. In volume I no. 7 of Wasatch News Notes published 9 May, 19Lh, there is an article A ,which is quoted because of its significance in connection with this publication: , c Light Off . ' T r ' The first entry in one of the ship's log was made Monday: to wit, 01510- lighted fires under number one boiler.Hv Five minutes later, number two boiler. sent its smoke column up the stack. Somehow, it seemed as though the ship had taken her first breath of life and was.signaling her intention to take an ear- ly departure I' V V 1 ' ' . With the boilers lighted off she began to generate electric powerhand a- ,board the Wasatch, electric power is used for so many pieces of gear it staggers -is A ones imagination.' A While work on conversion was going on space at Portsmouth, many of the officers and 1 men were being organized into divisions at the pre-commissioning headquarters at Newport ,R.I. Here, under the direction of the Executive Officer Comdr. Wm. B. Tucker Cnow Ca tid. P Tuckerl, organization began to take place. Division officers were appointed, divisions fo d d rme an men assigned to each. Friendships were made--friendships that have endured t V .A r, T . . hrough those 18 months of sea duty, friendship that will last as long as life itself' ' friendships welded on the forge of each day'e work, of each day's hours of relaxation: and tempered in the heat of battle B th t . W . y e ime the detail was ready to entrain for Norfolk I g much of the frame work had been built. The various divisions reported aboard ready and eager to take up their duties only to find that there was much more to do before the ship would be completed and so little time in which to do it. ' On our first trial run a breakdown occurred making it necessary to be towed back to the dock 'S hy ' ' W . omew at crestfallen but not disheartened, we set about repairing the trouble and soon were off on our formal shakedown in Chesapeake Bay After some da s of stea r - .A n ' Y m' ing, gunnery drills, calibrations, turning circles and whatnot, plus a liberty in Annap- olis, we returned to the yard for final check and adjustment.- It was not long before all hands were loadi t P C ng s ores, last letters were hurriedly posted and we were on our way to the a a d n ma ,anal with two destroyer escorts, the USS STAFFORD and the USS La PRADE I A . None knew just where we were going after the Canal but scuttlebutt had us first in Australia, then the Aleutians and even Pearl Harbor. '

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-.3-1 7 .,,q+,.-1-ang:-enfnsar-anurnqemenn-1.x T r i e il t f m the bsb carriers were the most magnificent msn of the battle' A Those p o s ro y d They were the men who couldn't be beaten. To them we owe so much for their courage in heroism. With their carriers sunk and no place to land except a small rough strip a Tacloban, they put 'em down, refueled, rearmed, and somehowhmanagiddtsiggttgir-bogn? tO give us that air cover we so desperately needed. From we w o wo e em an' rom all ship's company on the U.S.S. WASATCH, hat's off. The final SCOPO for OU' V005 '55 more than two hundred Jap planes destroyed. A While all this air attack was in progress word was received that thgtJaE battlein fleet was on its way from Singapore Formosa and Manila. Constan repo s ep us - formed as to its size, course and position. ,The southern part was due to enter lower . Surigao Straits at mid-night, 2h October. The northern group was due to pass through narrow San Bernardino Straits at the same time. We were caught in a pinchers - so the Jap thought. From Admiral Kinkaid to Admiral Olendorf's battle-ships and cruisers went the order to intercept the enemy to the South and destroy him. What a night it was, brilliant with the flash of gunfire and the glow of victory against numerically superior forces. ' We had barely caught our breath when word was received that the Jap fleet had got- ten through San Bernardino unopposed and had our baby carriers under close range fire. The situation was desperate. A call for help went out to Adm. Halsey who had engaged the Jap carrier task force off Northern Luzon. Racing south, he launched s long range strike which caught the retreating Jap. This was the end of Japanese naval power. we knew it and so did the enemy. No accounting of that battle would be complete without mentioning our own gun crews. They were really hot. Although only given credit for one plane shot down we know they hit many more. Through it all they were helped by C.I.C. who gave them such accurate information that they knew in advance the very minute the Jap was to arrive. On 29 October we left for Hollandia in company with battle-ships, carriers, cruisers, destroyers and destroyer escorts. That was the night we experienced ou first typhoon. On 23 November we again returned to Leyte to experience more air attacks. It was from the asatch that the battles of Ormoc and Mindoro were planned and directed. ' Despite all air raids, Christmas was celebrated aboard. Packages from home brought happiness and memories to us all and everyone enjoyed a generous portion of turkey. 6 ganuary gazing off to Luzon by way of famed Surigao Straits where some months prior our eavy an g t surface ships had won such a brilliant victo . Nea Manil under violent air attack by Jap suicide planes. One hesitated aboverus, thznwglghgzd into the side of the carrier Kitkun Bay. A half hour earlier another suicider had crash- ed into another carrier just ahead of us. Finally, enshrouded by darkness we moved north- llzgigidzlgiigegnd 02 igtobLi2gayeniG:lf. Again theliap was hurling his full fury at us - su c e os s su c e swimme a in in f thi ld t ' the gigantic forces of American,Amphibious powersfrom pourzhg mehragg material onstgg Zgighasg dihgcfagatcghgarggdathi right totretain her titleghfor itfwas from her that all . I g n g gan c nerve cen er ere ormation vital to the success of the operation was received, controlled, disseminated, From Lingsyen we sailed to Hindoro to await the final assault on Subic Bay. This Zggsggtzdngslgeg 0112 501' T3-:SB Once more as after the battle of Leyte, we re- , one rom , Q , On 3 February we had a change in command Capt Granum was relieved b A . - - y Capt. Ringle. ::3ti:1:3':2gedcigQdmz Kinkalg sgiftgd his flag ashore and for the first time in several ou a s a a ea ,r These days were pleasant ones for us for the y were filled with plenty of baseball 33532311 aid beer drinking. It was here that the softball teams and baseball teams were all .ci 3 record if the baseball team is particularly note-worthy because they liter- r.mimbe:a't'ehatuP 31 :ou1gPSzn:ul'38i :hey may have lost a game or two but none of us can they 'ore all-so good a r o single out any individual for praise inasmuch as On 22 larch Adm. Noble and staff came aboard.