Summer 2001
I remember being assigned to the Saugatuck AO-75 commissioning crew in January 1943. There were 35 men on-board at the time when we left Chester, PA and there were still some civilian welders aboard at the time from what I remember. We went to Baltimore for refitting and then to VA for the shakedown cruise. We managed to run aground and had to go back to dry docks to see if the sounding gear or the bottom was damaged. If I remember correctly we went to New Port Island for repairs.
Getting my hair cut off and running through garbage shoots during initiation when I became a Shellbacker on the U.S.S. Saugatuck on May 3, 1943 at longitude 87 degrees 22 west. The ships Captain at the time was LCDR Koerner.
One evening while I was on guard duty the shotgun I had slipped down between the vents above the bakery. As it made its way down the shotgun broke some valves and gauges in the boiler room as well as damaging the shotgun. Due to this incident I was restricted to the ship for 30 days but we were at sea for 40 so it never made a difference.
I served as an orderly to Captain Koerner when we pulled into harbors and did this for 3 months in 1943-1944 around the time we were in Paptte, Tahiti. I was assigned to Deck Force 2nd Division and worked in Rigging/Fueling at Sea. This was really hard work, but we ate well. I also served gun watches on the 20mm.
During a typhoon in 1943 off the coast of Australia we cut cables on all the oil drums and acetylene tanks and let them go overboard. We kept the 2 or 4 Corsairs that were tied down. The ship would go through one wave and you would hear a loud crack, then you would go straight through the next. At times the screw came totally out of the water and the ship would shutter. I never thought anything of it… I was young and didn’t know any better. The storm lasted for about two days.
We went through the Panama Canal on the way to Sydney, Australia. A hospital ship was sunk and our course was changed to Esparitos Santos instead. A bearing went out in one of the screws and we stopped for a day while it was repaired. I remember the ships Dr. catching a shark and they hoisted it onto the ship. The Dr. cut him open and pulled out a white hat and said, “look, he ate a guy… all that’s left is his cap.”
Later on when we were in Esparitos Santos one of the Corsairs was dropped into the ocean when a cable broke on one of the winches. They brought in a deep sea diver to hook onto it and they pulled it back up. The first time they pulled up a piece of coral, the second time the Corsair came out.
I recall going ashore in San Bula, Fiji in 1943 and running into a bunch of guys. When they asked where I was from I said North Dakota. They said there were a whole bunch of guys from ND at the barracks. Turned out a friend from ND in the 164th Infantry was there. I went to the barracks and there was Harold sitting on his cot cleaning his M1. That Sunday Harold, Cliff Martin, Max Nagle (AO 75 Cook) and I ate dinner on the Saugatuck. Who would have thought you’d have four guys from small town ND all being in Fiji at the same time.
One day we went ashore to a beer beer party and there were signs warning of head hunters. You couldn’t drink aboard the ship but we had beer parties on the islands at times. I can remember picnic tables of all things.
Cordinea (spelling?) the ships head baker – from Chicago I think.
Tate, the gunnery officer taking us to fire fighting school.
The hard work, but good food!
Gene Tuney – World Champion Boxer fighting with one hand tied behind his back a Golden Glove boxer and winning.
Hearing one guy who always said, “I want to get off this damn rust bucket… all I do is work, work, work.”
Being stationed with my friend Albert Parker from Boot Camp. We both transferred off at the same time and were fortunate enough to have both been transferred to to U.S.S. Little – DD 803.