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It was May 12, 1942 on my 17th birthday that I signed up to join
the U.S Navy. I was sent to the Naval Training Station in San Diego
for basic training, which lasted only eight weeks. Following boot
camp, I was assigned to the torpedo school at the 32nd Street Naval
Base for about 10 weeks.
After completing school, I was sent by train to the Charleston
Navy Yard in Boston for assignment to the destroyer, DeHaven. From
there, I went with a crew just adequate to board and sail the ship
to Boston for the commissioning ceremony. It was the first time that
I had been at sea and I was somewhat seasick by the time we reached
Boston.
I was a Seaman 1C and assigned to the division responsible for
the torpedoes and depth charges. This division was required to
remove the torpedo and depth charge firing mechanisms and install
the primers upon leaving port and then remove them each time we
returned to port. This work was sometimes unpleasant as we
encountered some cold and rough weather during our shake down cruise
on the north East Coast.
It was great weather as we sailed south from Norfolk in November
1942 en route to the Panama Canal and the South Pacific. I had
recovered from being seasick and relieved from having to remove and
install the primers in the torpedoes and depth charges from every
unit on board ship upon entering and leaving port.
I don't remember the date, but during our trip to the south
Pacific, I was promoted to Torpedoman 3C. The 1st class Torpedoman
and I were the only petty officers in the torpedo division. There
were several Seamen that worked with us. I had the torpedo shack
almost to myself as the 1st class Torpedoman spent most of his time
with other petty officers of more nearly the same rate. We had our
own coffeepot and some pure white torpedo alcohol available if we
wanted something stronger than coffee.
After arrival in the South Pacific, we were assigned convoy duty
between New Caledonia, Esperito Santo and Guadalcanal. During one of
these trips, a submarine periscope was spotted off our starboard bow
while I was standing watch on the bridge at the torpedo directors
and depth charge controls. Orders were given to immediately drop a
full depth charge pattern and I was really excited about doing the
necessary functions to drop and fire the depth charges from the
bridge controls. It was not determined whether we sunk the
submarine, but I was glad to see the charges gone, as there were
fewer rust spots, which had to be scraped and painted. It was one of
my duties to keep the rust from the torpedo tubes and depth charges
and the deck around them. We were with several other destroyers for
several days during the last part of January 1943 which were
shelling the beaches of Guadalcanal with the 5-inch guns. We would
anchor in Tulagi harbor at night and spend several hours off loading
5-inch powder cases and loading ammunition to replace that which had
been fired during the day.
My brother, George, was on the USS McKean, an APD, which entered
Tulagi harbor while we were there and he was able to get the ship's
whale boat to bring him to the DeHaven for a short visit. He was
later transferred off the McKean and my other brother, Arthur, was
aboard it when it was sunk on 11-17-43 at Empress Augusta Bay.
Japanese dive-bombers attacked us on 2-1-43. Just before the
attack, I was scraping paint on the deck near the number 2 torpedo
mount. Just after getting to my duty station at the torpedo director
on the starboard side of the bridge, the first bomb struck and
penetrated the deck near where I had been scraping paint. It
exploded below deck and I'm sure that it must have killed most of
the fire and engine room crews in that area.
The 1st class Torpedoman immediately ordered over the sound
powered telephones that all depth charges be placed on
"safe". As I was trained in this procedure, I asked for
and received permission to go below and assist the men set the
charges on "safe". After finding that the order had been
carried out, I started to return to the bridge, but after climbing
the first ladder to the second deck, the bomb that struck the bow
exploded and I was blown down onto the main deck onto a pile of
potatoes that had broken out of their wooden crates, where they had
been stored on deck, by the force of the explosions. I was dazed and
when I got to my feet, water was already on deck. It was obvious
that the ship was sinking fast, so I stepped over the lifelines and
into the ocean, which was covered with a thick layer of heavy black
fuel oil. The oil seemed very hot and coated me from head to foot. I
had not blown up my life belt which we wore rather than the life
jacket. I found that I couldn't open the inflation valve with my
hands coated with oil, so I put the valve into my mouth, clamped
down with my teeth and twisted the hose and was then able to open
the valve and inflate the belt.
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