My Service Aboard
The USS Wickes - DD578
(Two Years Two Months 10 Days)
My Service Aboard
The USS Wickes - DD578
(Two Years Two Months 10 Days)
14 April 1943
Arrived at the receiving station and was granted 16 days leave to commence 15 April, at which time I shot back to New Rochelle, N.Y. Returned to the receiving station on 01 May After spending 14 tremendous days with the family and Dotty.
04 May 1943
Left New Orleans with a detail and orders to report to the CO. for duties in connection with the fitting out of the Wickes. Traveled to the Consolidated Steel Co. In Orange, Texas, as part of the pre-commissioning detail of the USS Wickes and to be aboard during the commissioning ceremonies and remain as part of the crew. Performed the usual and necessary duties in preparation to the commissioning of the USS Wickes (DD-578) to take place on 16 June 1943.
16 June 1943
City docks Orange, Texas. At about 1100 hours the crew came aboard in white uniforms and we held the usual destroyer commissioning ceremonies. The USS Wickes is a 2100 ton destroyer of the "flush deck" type, of the Fletcher class. I was in hopes that a CRM would come aboard to take charge of the radio gang and equipment, but I was "it" again. This was an assignment that was sort of dropped on me. The ship was loaded with all types of radio and electronic equipment. What a load to handle! Fortunately a commander Tuttle was on board during the fitting out to teach me about all of the new gear that we had. This is a hell of a job for me with only one thing to do just buckle down and get the job done. My gang and I will give it hell alright.
04 July 1943
With Lt. Comdr William Y. Allen, Jr., commanding, we get underway for the first time at sea and then proceeded to Galveston, Texas. We tested out our guns while underway (and do we have guns!). It sure was a noisy 4th of July. Stayed at Galveston for 4 days and procured the necessary tools and gear for the maintenance of radio equipment left 08 July.
09 July 1943
Arrived at New Orleans for deperming and calibrating of our direction finder for the first time. (For me, and the ship.) Thanks to my radio gang we managed to do a good job. We departed New Orleans on 13 July heading for Cuba.
16 July 1943
Arrived in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In this area we conducted a general shake-down cruise having gunnery practice, testing of all equipment and the training of the crew. Calibrated all receivers and transmitters, checking them out. We put up a new direction finder antenna. Completed all exercises, including running full speed astern. Then left Guantanamo on 22 July to contact and escort the SS Cherry Valley, who seemed to be having trouble, but she had already made port, so we refueled and returned to Guantanamo the same day.
24 July 1943
Arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico, refueled and left the same day to return to Guantanamo.
25 July 1943
Stayed at Guantanamo bay until 11 August to complete the balance of our shake-down. Had some liberty there, if you call that port a liberty base.
14 August 1943
Arrived at Charleston, S.C., Navy Yard. Received a 7 day leave upon arrival and took off for home. Reported back aboard on 21 August and stayed at the Navy Yard till 01 September.
05 September 1943
Arrived at Trinidad, British West Indies, and remained there until 07 September when we left with the USS Boston heading for the States.
11 September 1943
Arrived at Pier 37 in Brooklyn, New York. Went home on Saturday and returned the next day to depart from Brooklyn.
13 September 1943
Arrived at Portland, Maine, anchoring at Casco Bay, Maine, and held exercises during the day. Had a few liberties at night. Left 19 September, bound for somewhere???
21 September 1943
Arrived at Argentia, Newfoundland, to escort the USS Prairie back to the States, departing on 23 September.
25 September 1943
Pulled into Portland, Maine, and left on 27 September for the So. Boston Navy Yard in Boston. Mass. Remained at the Yard till 05 October (no leave was granted.)
06 October 1943
Stopped at the Norfolk Navy Yard for a one day stay.
12 October 1943
Arrived at Trinidad again, this time with the USS Intrepid which we escorted from the States. Stayed in Trinidad for 7 days, what a place! Here is where I was first introduced to real calypso music, fantastic!!! And the beer taverns ...Wow!
20 October 1943
Pulled into St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, for a short visit, as we left the same day.
23 October 1943
Arrived at the Norfolk Navy Yard for a few days stay. Managed to get a three-day pass and went home for Mom's birthday (10/24). Boy was she surprised! Dotty was in the hospital for something minor.
29 October 1943
Left Norfolk bound for Rockland, Maine, for a two day stay. Went back to Boston for a 3 day layover but could not get any time off to go home. Only 235 miles away.
07 November 1943
Arrived at Melville, Rhode Island, to refuel and continue on the next morning.
12 November 1943
Next stop, Panama.. Arrived at Colon at the Atlantic side only to continue through the canal to the Pacific side, where we stopped to refuel at the Balboa docks, then travel north. I am always really amazed with the Panama Canal, even though I have been through it a few times while in submarine duty.
22 November 1943
We arrived at San Diego, California only to stay overnight. This was my first visit to the West Coast of the USA. Too bad we didn't have a chance to enjoy it.
27 November 1943
Arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and remained till 10 December without knowing where we were bound for, but we realized that it was about time that we became useful. We spent enough time getting ready for action. What is in store for us now?
17 December 1943
Well, they sure did send us off somewhere, to the Aleutian Islands with our first stop at Adak in the Andreanoff Islands. Cold as hell with plenty of snow. After 5 days of this we left on the 21st.
22 December 1943
Dutch harbor, Unalaska. "Believe It Or Not", we came here for recreation over Christmas and New Years. Cold as the devil, snow up the nose, piercing blizzards and you had to walk leaning forward at a 45 degree angle when walking into the wind. It wasn't too bad though because we were told that there was a woman behind every tree in Alaska, but we didn't have time to locate the trees.
THE NEW YEAR 1944 GREETS US IN ALASKA
26 January 1944
Arrived at Attu, Rat Islands in the Aleutians. Played around Attu, in the williwaws until 01 February then departed for the Wickes first mission of war. You really can't believe these williwaws, they are really an unbelievable sea storm.
01 February 1944
A day to remember -- on this date I received the rate of Chief Radioman. The ship rated a Chief, but when I was transferred from the Antaeus the orders called for a Chief or First Class Radioman as did a like order to another ship. Both ships transferred First Class Radiomen. Six months later the Captain evidently felt that there should be a Chief in charge and fortunately I was the acting Chief and received the advancement in rate. Jim Craven was also made CBM.
04 February 1944
On this date we participated in a tremendous bombardment of Kurabazuki on the southern tip of Paramushiro To (island). We were told that we were the first to penetrate into Okhotsk sea by any land or naval sea forces. Our really first shots at the Japanese. Return fire was very light and inaccurate. The ride back to Adak was very rough, as we encountered a big storm. Weather still cold as hell, it never lets up here.
07 February 1944
Arrived at Adak again and hung around the Aleutians for three weeks. Did a lot of maintenance and repairs to the ship while we froze our tails off.
01 March 1944
Went back to Attu and left on the same day on a hunter-killer run towards Paramushiro. One of our submarines had sunk three or four ships in a Jap convoy, so we went out to try to help finish the job. The search was uneventful. We even went into the Okhotsk sea by a pass below Matsua Wan. No go on this one as it was too foggy to bombard. Returned toward Attu reaching there on 07 March and stayed until the 18th. What a place this is! It's also rough at anchor too.
19 March 1944
Back to Adak for "tender availability". We installed a very nice voice radio (274-N VHF) called a TBS. The captain should like this little job for inter-ship communication. We went onto the marine railway at Finger Bay on 27 March and stayed overnight. We then ran from Adak to Attu and back Adak to Dutch Harbor and back to Finger Bay to Massacre Bay etc. In general we just fooled around until the next trip to Paramushiro was ready.
13 June 1944
Bombarded Matsua Wan, below Paramushiro. Pretty foggy and we bombarded by radar control. Very successful operation (we were told). Returned to Attu on 15 June.
16 June 1944
First commissioning anniversary of the USS Wickes (DD-578)
26 June 1944
Bombarded Paramushiro once again. Another foggy trip. Not much counter-fire. No enemy damage to any ships in our group.
28 June 1944
Hung around Attu till 30 June Sand Bay, Adak, till 06 July back to Adak till 09 Julythen back to Sand Bay 10 July to 12 July where we had a beer party. Wow !!! Ran in and out of Sand Bay daily conducting exercises from 12 July to the 24 July.
25 July 1944
Attu Lt. Comdr. J. B. Crisp came on board to relieve our Captain, Comdr. W. Y. Alien. Jr. We then went under way for three-day trip for the Captain to check out his ship.
06 August 1944
Back to Adak again. Hell, we must be running an Aleutian Island ferry boat around here. We are finally leaving the islands bound for good old continental USA
15 August 1944
San Francisco - wow! Civilization for a change.......... Stayed in San Francisco until 26 August. During our stay we received a "dazzle" paint job to confuse our enemies as to what direction the ship was travelling. Our stay was not too good and not too bad. Had lots of time ashore and really boozed it up. No chance of any leave for anyone. By this time I really missed the family and Dotty.
06 September 1944
Back to Pearl Harbor for 9 days. Boy, did they install radio and radar gear! An MN - TDQ - RCK - TCS - RBS - 808 - 609 and 610. They really slapped in the gear in a hell of a hurry. A lot of it was for the CIC. I sure hope that we don't have any trouble with the new gear, which is what usually happens.
25 September 1944
Pulled into Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Had some trouble already with the radio gear, but took care of it with the spare parts that we had. Left on 28 September.
05 October 1944
Arrived at Manus Island, the largest island in the Admiralty Islands. Enroute we crossed the equator, which was the first time for me and many of the other pollywogs in the crew. Those shellbacks really gave us a hard time. What an initiation! My rear end remembers it well. Well, now I am a shellback too. Picked up a little memorabilia for the occasion. We crossed on 02 October 1944 in latitude 00Ί 0000 and longitude 153Ί 52 00 East.
We were in and out of Manus till 14 October at which time we departed to assist in the invasion of the Phillipines .
20 October 1944
Entered Leyte Gulf in the Philippines on D-day.
25 October 1944
The Task Force participated in the Battle of Surigao Straits. The Japanese took one hell of a beating !!!
01 November 1944
Pulled into Hollandia, New Guinea and left on 05 November.
07 November 1944
Stopped by at Noemfoor Island, Netherlands New Guinea, just north of New Guinea in the W. Schouten Islands group. We were granted liberty on the island where we visited with the natives. It was really primitive and very interesting. There was one of our crew who took a group of native children to showed him around the island. When he came back from his tour to where we were visiting he lined the kids up, (who could not speak a word of English), and he led them in a vocal rendition of "Lay That Pistol Down, Babe". It really was a scream and a big laugh for the rest of us. Troop ships loaded us up with supplies and we left on 14 November.
14 November 1944
Entered Leyte Gulf again to render troop reinforcements there. It was very quiet. The troops were unloaded the same day so we left to return to Manus.
24 November 1944
We had liberty in Manus (if that's what you would call it) and we didn't lose any time finding the CPO beer club. Enjoyed mingling with the other GIs. Stayed until the 28th.
29 November 1944
Patrolling off the shores of Finchshaven, New Guinea while troops were practicing landings and other maneuvers .
01 December 1944
In Bouganville, Solomon Islands. Stayed around Torokina, Empress Augusta Bay, until 16 December. Dropped the hook at Buna, in the Huon Gulf at New Guinea for a couple of days.
21 December 1944
Returned to Manus and hit the beer hall again. Had some R&R for a week and left on 27 December. Met some Master Sergeants. And had a nice time and some interesting conversation.
09 January 1945
Another invasion - entered Lingayen Bay for the Luzon invasion. We saw our first Jap aircraft and took two of them under fire, but did not get to splash either one.
10 January 1945
While underway from Lingayen to Leyte we experienced a near bomb miss which exploded off our starboard side. Sixteen crewmen were injured from bomb fragments that hit them. A few were seriously injured. No one from the radio gang was on deck, thereby no injuries to my men. On going out on deck from the radio shack there was one person lying on the radio deck and suffered from a bomb fragment going through his knee. He was being attended to by the doctors and pharmacist's mate.
12 January 1945
We headed for Leyte gulf and anchored near Tacloban where we transferred six of the more seriously injured of the crew to a hospital ship. Two of them could possibly lose a limb. One had a very bad leg and the other one had a bad arm. You could see where gangrene was setting in on EM3c Super's leg before he left the ship.
Note: Don't seem to have any entries from 12 January to the 28th
29 January 1945
Proceeded to and landed forces on Luzon to aid our previous invasion teams. This was at Zambales Province. About 25 miles north of Subic Bay. Upon arrival guerrilla forces came out to inform us that they had that section well under control, thereby saving themselves from our naval shore bombardment
30 January 1945
Landed more reinforcements at Subic Bay. Took Grande Island and landed at Olongapo. Stayed around Subic bay until 04 February
05 February 1945
Proceeded to Mindoro Island in Mandarin Bay staying overnight.
07 February 1945
Landed more reinforcements at Subic Bay. Left on 10 February.
13 February 1945
Arrived at the entrance to Manila Bay with cruisers bombarding Corregidor, with no return fire from the "nips".
14 February 1945
Took part in the bombardment of Corregidor Island, Carabao Island, Fort Drum and the shore of the Bataan Peninsula. This time receiving quite heavy return. The guns could not have been 5 inch or larger as just a few came close to our area, but nothing much. Minesweepers started sweeping an area around the entrance to the bay. Counter-fire increased. One minesweeper was sunk due to enemy gunfire. Two DDs were damaged by gunfire, while two others hit mines and were also damaged. We all had quite a few near-miss splashes. Things were starting to get real hot for the first time.
15 February 1945
16 February 1945
We sunk a floating mine at 0800 off of our starboard bow with our 40mm guns. Heavy bombardment continued on Corregidor until 0830 when paratroopers landed from C-47 transport planes. They were landed on the highest part of the island. What a sight!!! We saw a couple of the "chutes" that failed to open. They seemed to be supply chutes, rather than personnel.
Shortly after the paratroop landings we closed into short range to bombard low-lands at the center of the island. Then rocket craft led troops in by sea while they laid down a very heavy rocket bombardment. A second paratroop wave started to land continually just before lunch with men, supplies and equipment until about 1500 hours. Everything seemed to be going along smoothly. No mentionable trouble reports about the paratroopers were heard.
17 February 1945
We took off from the Manila Bay area on 16 March to proceed to Leyte. On the 17th, in company with the USS Picking and USS Young. We picked up a merchant oil tanker and escorted same to Leyte.
18 February 1945
Arrived at Leyte for a ten day stay patrolling around the area.
03 March 1945
Arrived at Ulithi Atoll, Mariana Islands. Left on 07 March.
10 March 1945
Went back to Leyte for a nine day stay.
26 March 1945 (L-6 day)
Arrived at Kerama Retto, Okinawa for occupation of the Okinawa group of islands in the early morning.
0300 General Quarters!!! Already??? It is very dark and there are quite a few bogies (enemy aircraft) around. They say that this will be a very tough operation. I don't doubt it a bit. We are only about 340 miles from Japan, and we are starting already.
0622 We fired at a few bogies.
0630 Postponed landings until 1100. Other ships are firing at bogies now. None of them are close enough to us to take under fire.
0700-- USS Kimberly (DD-521) reported a hit by a kamikaze (suicide plane) while in the transport area. Reported about 30 casualties and quite a bit of damage. Structure around #5-40mm guns was completely cleared away to the main deck.
0730 Our planes are now bombing small islands in the area. Spasmodic firing at bogies in the area all morning.
1320 Intensive bombardment of a small island where our troops will be landing.
1530 Rocket LCIs attack the beach and land troops at 1550.
1720 More bogies...but the CAP (Combat Air Patrols) drive them off. No incidents.
1925secured from GQ and retired to sea.
Note: What an operation. Getting hot as hell already and we haven't even started. We just got here and this was really a day of learning.
27 March 1945 (L-5 day)
Reveille at 0515 for dawn alert.
USS Callaghan (DD-???) Was attacked by 3 suicide planes. One of them knocked off her radar antenna.
USS McCord (DD-534) was torpedoed at the bow blowing up the forward magazine damaging all of the forward superstructure. The ship was beached saving 90 men.
USS Hallegan (DD-584) was torpedoed and sunk claiming about 95 casualties.
USS Owens (DD-536) & USS O'Brien (DD-725) had suicide plane crash attempts on them, however, the planes crashed into the water near them and exploded. Very light casualties reported.
28 March 1945 (L-4 day)
USS Nevada (CL-) & Biloxi (CL-) were hit by suicide planes and damaged. On some islands that were overtaken by us there were some "suicide boats" about 20 ft. long that were loaded with explosives in them. What won't these Japs do next? During the day a dispatch was copied informing us that a Jap task force was tracked by our submarines just south of Kyushu. Our Task Force 58 was ordered to intercept and destroy. By the end of the day we reported to Radar Picket #9. Here is where my work really starts. Radio gear must be in A-1 shape at all times for this type of job. We are a "CIC" ship (Combat Information Center). The information procured with our radar and radio equipment must be forward to the command ship and other vessels by voice radio immediately. Had GQ a couple of times during the night. No activity.
29 March 1945 (L-3 day)
This was a pretty quiet day for us. We had GQ about 2300.
30 March 1945 (L-2 day)
Picked up a few bogies during the daytime. Had GQ sounded at 0200 - 0800 - 1200 and 1600 A slow day ???
31 March 1945 (L-1 day)
Went to GQ at 0130 for bogies and fired upon them but no splashes. At 0345 GQ again with more bogies in the area.
At 1645 GQ with 15 bogies reported in the vicinity.
At 2345 we picked up the invading forces on our radar gear.
01 April 1945 (L day - preset landing day)
02 April 1945 (L+1 day)
0225 Went to GQ for bogies in the area. None close enough for us to fire at. Secured at 0400 only to have GQ again at 0600 for morning alert.
0700 Two bogies seemed to be making a run on two hospital ships in the area. We opened fire on them immediately and I guess we scared them off without any action. Being as there were no bombing attempts made, we secured at 0710.
03 April 1945 (L+2 day)
Rockets all night and all day. Went to GQ at 0425 - 0525 and again at 1030. At 1350 we picked up five survivors that were off the APD-21. Their ship was bombed by a Betty (Medium Bomber) and when the Betty was damaged by gunfire it turned back and made a suicide attack on the ship. Their raft had been afloat for about 36 hours. The men were in pretty good shape except for one that had burnt hands and one other with burns on his nose. We could all imagine how they felt about losing their ship and also for being picked up by us out of the sea. We had an evening alert, but the rest of the night was quiet.
04 April 1945 (L+3 day)
Quiet all day and finally got a full nights sleep.
05 April 1945 (L+4 day)
The good nights rest was evidently the lull before the storm. It looks like a big day ahead. We received messages telling us to expect a large raid at about 0400 estimating a few hundred aircraft.
06 April 1945 (L+5 day)
GQ alarm about 0530 with bogies all over the place, like flies. There have already been 9 raids in the transport area consisting of 2 to 8 planes in each wave. We were relieved of radar picket duty and returned to the transport area for fuel and logistics. We could not wait to get the hell out of the fueling area tied up to the fueling ship. We knew what could happen if there was a hit in the vicinity of the fuel ships. Over 50 aircraft were reported shot down by the CAP so far today.
The Bush (DD-529) was sunk by a suicide plane on R.P Sta. #1. In the evening. The Calhoun (DD-802) went over to aid the Bush at Station #1 and was damaged by another suicide plane. In the evening we came into Kerama Retto, there was a liberty ship and an LST afire. Do not know the cause. About 1900 we took a bogey under fire at over a mile away. It appeared that he was heading for us, but turned away when rapid fire started. We shot this one down at about a one mile range. This was the first aircraft that we had definitely splashed by our gunfire.
About 5 minutes later an APA (merchant ship) took a bogie under fire and hit it several times, but couldn't stop it resulting in another suicide dive. There was a tremendous fire instantly on contact. No doubt, from the planes gasoline supply.
What a sight!!! The first we saw. It gives you a very funny feeling inside. At 2200 we refueled and laid alongside the tanker until early in the morning of the 7th.
Note: the Kerama group consists of the following:
Tokashika Jima (the largest) - Jamami Jima - Aka Shima Kerimi Shima - Fukashi Jima - Amuro Jima (the center island) - Koba Jima - Yakan Jima
07 April 1945 (L+6 day)
Underway at 0330 for Radar Picket Station #12.
0335 - Went to GQ while there was anti-aircraft firing at bogies in Kerama Retto. We left the area without doing any firing.
Secured from GQ at 0455, only to return again for morning alert from 0530 to 0600.
0720 GQ again and more bogies. No delay this time. We started firing immediately at a plane in the clouds. We were firing by radar control for a couple of minutes. A couple of minutes later bogies appeared visually and started a suicide run on us. I stood on the main deck at this time and saw him gliding right for us. When he was about 600 yards away our 40mm and 20mm guns joined in with the already firing 5 inch guns, but still it was coming right at us. It looked as though he made a slight turn for the bridge (and the radio shack) but..when he was about 200 yards away one of our 40mm guns evidently hit a vital spot causing the plane to explode and burst into flames then the engine preceded the plane going right over the fantail and landing in the drink on the port side of the ship. I hope that was the only one meant for us. One crew member panicked and went over the side. Can't blame him much. I guess he was about as leery as I was. He was fortunate that the action stopped so that we were able to pick him up a few minutes later.
Came in for more ammunition in the evening but only had time to take powder aboard when bogies were picked up, so we got underway again. Didn't want to be alongside an ammunition ship in the event of a suicide dive on it.
2250 All quiet again, so we proceeded back to RP #12.
08 April 1945 (L+7 day)
0225 Arrived on station. Today was exceptionally quiet.
Newscast: Received reports that Task Force 58 sunk Japan's largest battleship, 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers. Also left 3 more destroyers in flames while our planes fired rockets and strafed the remainder of the Japanese task force. They were reported heading our way. We heard that over 100 planes were shot down on 06 April. Later official reports put the total at 116 planes.
09 April 1945 (L+8 day)
Morning alert at 0530 - no bogies.
1840 General Quarters. Tracking bogey by radar that seem to be about 10 to 12 miles away. Can't see him, but he is closing in.
1855 a Jap "Nell" (twin engine torpedo bomber) sighted at about 8 miles and running parallel to us. She started to make a run on us and we opened fire with our 5" guns. She veered off at about 7000 yds and some say that she dropped a "fish" at us. We saw no torpedo wake at all. Damn, we should have had that one. The setup was perfect, but we just didn't connect. We stayed at GQ till 2100. Thank God that Nell didn't dive in at us. It would have been swell to shoot it down. They carry about 6 men.
2200 Received a dispatch warning us of an expected heavy air attack tomorrow, due to the good weather. We sure hope it is just scuttlebuttt.
10 April 1945 (L+9 day) -- Well! We don't know whether we hoped away the scuttlebuttt, but it was a very quiet day for all of us. Thank you!!
US badger (DD-657) was reported hit by a suicide boat which blew a large hole in their side. They reported to have both main engines flooded, however there were no casualties. Don't understand how that could be. They were very fortunate in that score.
11 April 1945 (L+10 day)
0530- Morning alert. Went to GQ twice during the morning due to radar bogey contacts. None came in too close to us. Left RP #12 and went to Kerama Retto Bay for fuel and ammunition. Went to GQ just once in the evening. We were never too happy while tied up next to a tanker or ammunition ship, especially during the night.
12 April 1945 (L+11 day)
Stayed alongside the tanker all night. At 0450 GQ alert for more bogies. At 0510 we were underway for RP #4. It was all quiet until about 1400 when the bogies began again, so we stayed at GQ for another 2 hours. 2100 Bogies in the area were dropping flares trying to spot our ships, however we did not open fire as that would reveal our position. About a half hour later we saw a big fire and then station #3 reported splashing one bogey.
An official report for the afternoon was 39 Jap planes shot down, but during the afternoon 5 ships were damaged
2235GQ, naturally, bogies again. A DMS and a support ship had a bogey under fire on our station. They evidently convinced the pilot to change his mind, under heavy fire, so he scrammed.
Secured from GQ at 2300. Nothing developed, so we hit the sack for a couple of hours.
13 April 1945 (L+12 day)
GQ at 0245 for bogies that were not too near us. Could see AA fire from a DD on the next picket station. The bogies did not close in on us, so we could not open fire. Secured at 0335 only to rest until 0415 when the bogies were back again. Secured again at 0440 only to come back again for morning alert at 0515. After securing from morning alert we had a chance to get some shut-eye until about 1800 at which time we went on evening alert. During this alert 1 Zeke and 1 Betty were splashed at station #1. Looks like it is going to be an active day, especially for our CAP pilots.
Received a dispatch announcing the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. (It was a pity that he could not have lived a bit longer, with V-E day near.)
14 April 1945 (L+13 day)
0400had GQ for some low flying planes that closed to About 4-1/2 miles. We did not open fire,
0515 Morning alert. All quiet. Secured a half hour later.
0730 GQ for about an hour due to more bogies.
1840 GQ for bogies picked up on the radar screen. Our CIC sent the Marines' CAP out after them before they could close in on us. Shortly we saw a Jap splash in the drink in flames. Thanks to our CAP coverage. It was reported that about 1-1/2 hours earlier that the CAP had picked up 7 bogies and splashed all 7 of them.
2300 All quiet now. Radar screen clear.
Received official results for 12 April activities:
16 April 1945 (L+15 day)
0505 Morning alert, bit early due to bogies in the area.
0525 Started firing at a Jap plane just at dawn when he flew forward around our bow at firing range, but did not come in at the ship. Evidently he also had figured that the gunfire was too heavy. We had no desire to witness another suicide dive. I guess we just scared him away. Thank god!!
0625 All quiet again, so we secured from GQ
0820 Had a long GQ that lasted until 1100. There were bogey reports all over the area. During this period the following ships were reported as damaged by suicide planes:
Three smaller craft were damaged at various stations. The damaged ships were relieved on station.
THERE WERE OVER 20 JAP PLANES SHOT DOWN THIS MORNING.
This morning there were some newer Jap planes encountered in the raids, namely Jacks and Bettys. However, the Marine CAP Squadrons under our fighter director control shot down 11 aircraft and 1 probable. They got 7 jacks, 2 Zekes, 2 Vals and 1 probable Jack. Not a bad run. It was reported that:
123 JAP PLANES MORE SHOT DOWN TODAY IN THE WHOLE AREA
1840 Evening alert until 1945. All quiet now. Chow time.
17 April 1945 (L+16 day)
Had morning alert at 0515 for 45 min.
0920 GQ for bogies. Secured in 20 min.
1842 Held evening alert. This was a welcomed quiet day.
18 April 1945 (L+17 day)
Held morning alert. No action.
1800 GQ for bogies on radar screen. Cleared by 1820 with no action. Another restful quiet day with time to go about radio shack business and straighten out things in general.
19 April 1945 (L+18 day)
After morning alert we had another GQ for bogies in the area. Secured at 0915 with no action in the area. Was relieved from Sta. #12 during the afternoon and proceed to refuel at sea from a fleet tanker and then we were assigned to Sta. #14 to which we proceeded and covered.
20 April 1945 (L+19 day)
After morning alert we came in to take on food and supplies. This evening, after replenishing logistics we returned to Sta. #14. Enroute to our station we encountered a Jap plane that came into extreme gun range and we opened fire at it. He went low on the water and it looked as though he might start an attack, but he turned away and departed. A few minutes later CAPs appeared and were sent after the bogey and reported back that they splashed him at 1850. We secured from GQ at 2010 only to have contacts and GQ again five minutes later. A few minutes later the DM on station with us opened fire by radar control but did not get a splash out of it. We secured at midnight.
Note: We saw a destroyer on a reef today being assisted by a tugboat. Couldn't make out the numbers on it
21 April 1945 (L+20 day)
Usual morning alert with no action. Very quiet all day until 1650 when we had bogies on our radar screen and proceeded to send our CAPs out after them only to discover that they ended up to be a PBM and an ASP that were not transmitting their IFF signals for identification. Naturally they were recognized by the CAPs, without incident. Secured from GQ and later had an evening alert without any action. After chow we made some time for a little game of acey-ducey or cribbage. We also looked forward to some quiet sack-time.
22 April 1945 (L+21 day)
0110 Had bogies in the area and went to GQ all of the action was on another RP station close by.
0200 Secured from GQ and had a couple of hours sleep till morning alert at 0515.
0600 Secured from GQ upon the arrival of our CAP coverage.
0700 GQ for about 15 minutes while we tracked bogies on our screen in the CIC.
1725 Back on alert again with bogies in the area. This time a Jap Val came within firing range and so our 5" guns opened fire. He turned away changing his mind about an attack. A few minutes later we received a message from the CAP squadron leader informing us that we damaged the aircrafts tail, so they went in for the kill and splashed it. One Jap less to worry about.
1830 We had another Val approach us at about 300Ί relative in a straight glide heading right for us. We opened fire and continued firing with our 40mm guns while scoring hits. Upon getting close to us he probably figured that the gunfire was too heavy to get through for a suicide dive so he banked toward our port side and dove right into an LCS that was one of our support craft. The plane immediately blew up in flames and some of its crew started to abandon ship as the ship was starting to sink. It took LCS-15 about 2 1/2 minutes to sink out of sight. Most of the crew was rescued, with the exception of those who were killed aboard.
Note: Upon picking up survivors by another ship, one of them was the Jap pilot. The captain of the ship reported to the Task Force officer requesting what he should do with him and the voice reply to his question was loud and clear: "Strip him of any information that he may have on him. Then "through the bastard back in." This was exactly what they did with him. It wasn't feasible at this time to keep a prisoner on board. A kamikaze pilot was out to commit suicide, so we helped him out. Today has been a very busy day all around this place. During all this time our CAP, directed by our CIC tallied up 21 planes "shot down" and 3 probables. This was a total of 24 kamikazes that were working on our station. We had a busy day, and a damn lucky one at that. We lost one F8F fighter, but the pilot was picked up at a nearby RP station. Good!!! 2110 GQ again. We go to alert for any little thing. This one was for a high speed surface target. One of our ships investigated it, only to find out that it was a flock of large birds. We don't fool around though. We go to alert for anything that puts a blip on our radar screens.
Note: received a very nice dispatch bearing a message of congratulations as follows:
From: Commander Task Force 51
To : USS Wickes (DD-578)
You have done a magnificent job X Congratulate you very much on the good work X Pass this on to your CAP and supporting craft.
from Vice Admiral Turner
The following score was revealed for Japanese losses in the Okinawa area for today:
| Downed by CAP | 37 Jap planes |
| Downed by AA guns | 12 " |
| Suicide dives and hits | 4 " |
This totals 53 aircraft for this date, including kamikazes.
The following tally was also given for our losses to date in the Okinawa area. All the following were sunk:
| Destroyers (DD) | : Halligan - Bush - Calhoun - M.L. Abele & Pringle |
| Minecraft | : Ewons & Skylark |
| APD | : Dickerson |
| Gunboat | : PGM-18 |
| Landing craft | : LST-477 LCI-82 LCS-33 LCS-115 LCT-876 |
| Ammo ships | : Hobbs Victory & Logan Victory |
Word was received that the Isherwood (DD-520) was hit by a suicide plane resulting in heavy casualties. It struck the #4- 5" gun turret and leveled the complete mount. A fire set off some port side depth chargers and seriously damaged the after engine room and killed quite a few more men.
Note: Later total was: 49 killed or missing and 15 wounded.
23-24-25 April 1945 (L+22 +23 +24 days)
All fairly quiet days with morning and evening alerts as usual. Had CAP coverage at all times. Those Marines are really fantastic. I'll never forget the times that they would return from an air battle they would fly over our ship, dipping their wings ready to make a report by radio to our Captain. A few times they buzzed us so close that I was afraid that they were going to take my antennas off the yardarm. In the late evening we were relieved from our RP station and proceeded slowly to arrive at transport area by dawn.
26 April 1945 (L+25 day)
We went over to see the Isherwood (DD-521) (which was one of our sister ships in DESRON 49). What a mess, she was really badly damaged. On the way over and back we saw the following ships in the area:
Saw two Jap Q-boats (suicide jobs) on the LST that we received ammo from, they found them in a cave on Okinawa.
27 April 1945 (L+26 day)
I left Kerama Rhetto in the morning and went to the Okinawa transport area. Had GQ twice in the evening. During the second GQ at about 2100 we heard by radio circuits that a suicide plane had sunk a Liberty ship. An APA was also sunk and an APD caught two suicide planes on her bow without suffering any casualties to the crew.
28 April 1945 (L+27 day)
0230 GQ for a large group of bogies about the area. We saw the airfields being bombed by Jap bombers at 0300. They were not dropping any of the bombs near us. Thank God.
0330- A Jap plane was shot down just astern of us, out of our gun range and she really went down in flames. The anti-aircraft guns fire like crazy when bogies come into the transport area. Shells are flying all around us like the 4th of July with a big umbrella of lights above us. We knew damn well that it wasn't a good place to be at a time like this.
0410- Secured from GQ (and boy! Were we tired.)
0525 Upped anchor and got underway once more with our destination unknown. Possibly as an AA screen.
Note: The FIDO officer went over to visit the El Dorado, the Command ship, and got the official score for the CAPs directed by the Wickes on our big night of 22 April:
The following ships were hit last evening:
1470 GQ for bogies. We are now covering RP station #7. Secured about 25 mins. Later with no action for our ship.
1720 Had GQ that lasted for about a half an hour for bogies in our area. During which time the USS Twiggs and the USS Daly were both hit by suicide planes. The Daly was reported to have had heavy damage. They were both on #2.
2000 GQ for bogies again, which lasted about 1-1/4 hours. During GQ the USS Wadsworth (DD) took a kamikaze hit right at the bridge. At about 2100 the hospital ship, USS Comfort was hit by a suicide plane. At the time of the hit she was about 40 miles from Okinawa.
2230 Received orders to leave our station to give the USS Comfort any necessary assistance, as they were reported to have started to abandon ship. At 0030 we caught up to and overtook the Comfort and relieved an APD from escorting her. The DMS-22 and the Wickes escorted the Comfort for the night.
0100 Received a report from the Comfort as to the extent of her damage. As follows:
"Hit by a suicide plane whose remains are still aboard completely demolished. Surgery quarters badly demolished. Inter-ship communication disrupted. Fifty men killed and they were sorely in need of surgeons and surgical instruments."
We were ordered to leave the Comfort at 0600 and resume our RP station #7. Upon leaving, the OMS-22 escorted her south to another port. Had GQ three times during the day and early evening but it was very quiet for us as nothing materialized.
30 April 1945 (L+29 day)
2230 All is nice and quiet, now. A comparatively quiet day. Had GQ only once real early this morning with bogies in our vicinity who came within three miles of us, but we withheld fire.
01 May 1945 (L+30 day)
0340 GQ a Jap plane was tracked high above us and we expected it would be a bomber, or if a lone suicide job, he might attempt a dive. He finally left us and went over to Karama Retto and bombed the minelayer USS Terror (CM-5). Where the plane went from there we didn't know. Maybe he was shot down, I hope. We secured at 0430. Had one more alert a little later.
02 May 1945 (L+51 day)
A most quiet day with only the morning and evening alerts. We have two CAP night fighters under our control tonight. It sure would be nice to knock down a couple of Japs with them.
03 May 1945 (L+32 day)
Had morning alert as usual.
0935 GQ for bogies without anything happening. Secured shortly after and left our station to proceed to the transport area for fuel and provisions. At 1530 another alert without incident, so we secured at dusk.
1800 Arrived at Kerama Retto and went alongside a tanker for fuel.
Note: Received word this evening that the FIDO men were to leave the ship and report aboard the Gainard. We don't know what is in store for us, but we don't think that this job is finished for us. Some say that we may be fire support for the army on Okinawa. Other scuttlebuttt is that we will assist on a landing on one of two small islands. One to the south and the other between here and Japan. I hope it is south for us, as the one to the north has active air strips. This evening the USS Aaron Ward (DM-34) was hit by five (5) suicide planes and is badly crippled with many casualties and is proceeding to port from RP station #10.
The USS Little (DD-804) was also hit on the same station and was sunk.
2000 We left the tanker area and anchored out until morning.
04 May 1945 (L+53 day)
0305 GQ called for bogies in the area. Secured at 0530. The USS Morrison (DD) was reported as being hit by a suicider sustaining quite a bit of damage.
The USS Luce (DD-522) was hit this morning and sunk by a suicide plane. This is the first ship that was hit and sunk from our squadron DESRON 49, even though four others have been damaged. Let's hope that it will be the last one. This leaves only four of the original nine that remain undamaged.
0800 Took on some 40mm ammo and had GQ 10 minutes later as we got underway for the transport area in Okinawa.
At 1115 we were stationed as an AA screen on the outskirts of the transport area.
Received mail today for the first time since the end of March
1700 Evening alert. All pretty quiet while the cruisers and battleships are still pounding away with the big guns at Okinawa island. Pretty close by us.
05 May 1945 (L+54 day)
1225 to 0450 at GQ, for bogies in our area, but none in our vicinity. Pretty quiet after securing from GQ
In the evening received word that the USS Birmingham (CL-62) was hit by a suicide plane. The DMS-21 was reported being hit by three planes. We could see a hole clear through her bow when we passed her as she came in to port. The USS Gwynn (DD), A 220 ton can, was hit or damaged by suicide planes.
Casualties aboard the Luce were reported as light. I hope so.
2150-2225 GQ for bogies that came within 24 miles of us. Our big guns are still bombarding the beach, continually.
06 May 1945 (L+35 day) Sunday
0215 Jap planes bombed our airfield again. Looks as if they intend to make these trips nightly. Secured GQ at 0500.
0825 to 0950 Stayed on alert for this short time. This trip they are staying pretty high up in the sky.
Got underway during GQ for ASP station B-11. It seems that my predictions for the type of duty that we would draw was wrong. From experience with other ships this ASP duty is worse than RP stations as far as suiciders are concerned.
07 May 1945 (L+56 day)
On ASP station #B-11
0225 Bogies again. It is a very dark night and we are here tracking aircraft all around us. We tracked one raid that went right over us but we did not fire, as we do not believe that they can see us anyway, as it's just too dark. One group dropped a batch of flares about a mile astern of us. Damned good flares that these Japs have. Hell, they always made pretty good fireworks. Secured about 0330. At 1700 we refueled at sea and then proceeded to Okinawa where we anchored in the transport area. This evening we heard news of the unconditional surrender of the German army. This must almost be the end of Germany.
08 May 1945 (L+57 day)
Heard a special radio broadcast from the USS el Dorado about Germany "surrendering unconditionally, for better or for worse!" the broadcast station was called KUOJ. Which is the Command ship in this area. Prime minister Winston Churchill said that May 8th would be celebrated as V-E day and the 8th and the 9th would be holidays. The official speech by President Harry S. Truman will be broadcast at 2200 this evening. This is supposed to climax 5 years, 6 months and 7 days of war in Europe. I'll bet the Germans are even glad that it is all over. I don't blame them a bit.
Had all night in the sack without interruption from air raids. This is a very unusual night. Maybe the Japs are worrying about Germany.
09 May 1945 (L+58 day)
Battle stations were called only twice from 2000 to 2400, but for that, we had a very quiet day in port. Had my off-duty men get plenty of sack time and relax all day. God only knows that they have really earned it.
10 May 1945 (L+39 day)
0030 GQ for bogies, securing a half hour later. Only to be called out again at 0230 to remain on station until about 0500. During this time several Jap planes were fired on by Army AA guns. The transport area was totally smoked out, as it usually is during an air raid.
Around 0400 there were two violent explosions. One forward of us off of our port bow. The other one aft of us on our starboard side. I looked as though a bomber went right above us and dropped the two bombs that straddled the ship. (They must have had our name on them, but they didn't know how to spell Wickes). They sure were close to us. In fact too close. We couldn't figure out what kind of bombs they were. They left a large shower of sparks in the air that died out as they hit the drink. They may have been incendiary or pyrotechnic. They were very much visible through the well laid smoke screen.
1940 GQ for more bogies. We secured in about a half hour.
11 May 1945 (L+40 day) TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY - 30 YEARS OLD.
0115while I was in the CIC room they were tracking three large raids coming in. They were about 35 miles out and closing, so I expect to hear the alarm any minute.
0150 GQ The raids are splitting up now and there are single bogies all around us. They aren't accomplishing anything as they are probably having trouble locating their targets. They can't be "hecklers", there are too many.
0315 Very heavy Army AA fire from the beach going right over us. Too much smoke for us to see anything. Just sit and wait.
0450 More army AA firing again lobbing then right over us to the beach. Secured at 0515.
0845 GQ for more bogies until 1000. Nothing happened during this alert. It was basically a very quiet day and evening. Boy! What a birthday. I'll not forget this one for a long, long time.
Note: Today we saw two sailors riding a home-made type of an aquaplane being pulled by an LCVP. What a Navy. Here we are about 325 miles from Japan with air raids almost every night and American sailors still must have their fun riding aquaplanes right out in the open. I'll bet the Japs in Tokyo are not that relaxed while being on the lookout for B-29s day and night.
12 May 1945 (L+41 day)
1700 Had a very quiet day today, except for the noise from The big guns from our heavy units nearby bombarding Okinawa on a steady basis. Those guys never let up.
The ground swells increased today, so we calculate that there must be an approaching storm or one passing by close to us. We hear that storms around here are really lulus. They can not be any worse than those williwaws up north. Received mail aboard this afternoon. I didn't do too bad at all with birthday greetings, very timely, and letters.
1900 GQ a plane came in on a very steep dive winging over on its left wing and headed almost straight down for the USS New Mexico. About 150 yards above the battleship heavy AA fire got him and he burst into flames and missed the ship completely. A second plane immediately followed, but the sky was so full of AA bursts it made it very difficult to see the plane which made it easy for him to land on the port side of the battleship starting a large fire. The ship was underway just aft of us moving slowly when it was hit. We did get in a few shots without hits. These damn APAs and small craft fire all over the place. Their shells were going directly over us and pretty low at times. This damn place is getting dangerous again. An unexploded projectile fell near our starboard beam at about the same time that the first plane hit the drink. It swished by us and exploded about 200 yards straight off of our beam. A bit too far for any shrapnel problems. Three more planes were seen off of our port beam going aft at just about the altitude that the Japs have been flying at. One ship opened fire and about 5 seconds later about ten more joined in the action. A few seconds later every ship that saw them was firing - some even way out of range. They flew out of range and then circled over Okinawa. Some of the gunners said that they looked like Corsairs (F4Us) which they could have been.
2010 Everything is pretty quiet now so we secured from battle stations. Will we get any shut-eye tonight??? It is a bit too active and a bit too much to wish for. Oh well!!!
13 May 1945 (L+42 day)
0335 Well here we are at battle stations again. I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be a night for sleeping. More bogies all around the area being tracked by radar. Smoke was being laid down over the transport area for coverage. Ships inside the smoke area are not supposed to fire at distant aircraft, as the army uses their searchlights and heavy AA guns. Twice during GQ the aircraft fire was very heavy. Once they had a plane in a good cross beam when it looked as though the plane turned on their recognition lights as the searchlights shifted to another target while you could still see the planes lights. It must have been a friendly that was in a darn bad spot. Upon shifting to the enemy target they had him in a perfect spot and splashed the plane immediately. You could see him burn all of the way down.
0500 Secured from GQ and went alongside a tanker to refuel early this morning just outside the transport area. Now we are assigned to ASP duty while other ships fuel alongside the tanker which will return to the transport area when all ships are fueled. During the fueling GQ was sounded for bogies, so the tanker was sent back to port while we went out to sea to assume an AA screen in the evening. A DE was hit this evening on ASP station #B-12. She was hit by a suicide plane aft, jamming the rudder and putting her screws out of commission. A tug was ordered to come and tow her into port and the Wickes went right out to cover Sta. #B-12. We remained at GQ most of the time while going out, as it was dusk, when we had to be on alert. The DM that was with us on RP #14 recently was reported hit by a plane tonight only a short distance from here. The USS New Mexico requested a Catholic chaplain this evening to administer "last rites" to some dying men. Casualties were reported as close to 150 men. Four anti-aircraft gun crews were completely wiped out where the plane crashed. A 5" battery was completely demolished.
14 May 1945 (L+43 day)
Came down from the CIC shortly after midnight and everything looked clear, so I guess I'll try to get some shuteye.
0310 GQ for one hour during which time a bogey went over us at a pretty high altitude. God! When we track them over us in the night we never know. We just sit there and wait to see if a bomb falls. We have been very lucky so far.
Daybreak Fueled at sea and then returned to transport area to take on stores.
1925-2015 Bogies again and naturally, GQ again.
Hot news: Just received word that tomorrow we are assigned the duty of screening a convoy heading for Ulithi. Boy every man aboard is only too anxious to get out of this area for a while and maybe have a little peace and quiet for a change.
15 May 1945 (L+44 day)
This is really a day to celebrate. We have been on this Okinawa duty now for 51 days. We really could use some time without being on continual alert.
0730 We got underway screening and escorting a 14 ship convoy to Ulithi. Who knows, we might even get to go back to the States. Wow! But that is just scuttlebutt around here. We were ordered to make out job orders both for tender work and navy yard work. I sure hope that the Navy Yard gets them alright. However, I'm thankful to be leaving here in one piece. The prayers of all of our parents are surely being answered. Well, the last 51 days that we spent around Okinawa practically right off the coast of Japan has been a hectic situation, especially after that last suicide attempt. It was tough and tiring being continually on the alert. There are only two of the original 15 radar picket ships that were assigned around Okinawa that were not hit or sunk. The USS Hancock had only one days duty and was sent somewhere else. We never heard of any reports on her, so we were the only one of the remaining 14 that are still fully intact. It is really something to think about. I'm glad HE watched us. We are now feeling about as safe as we would be if we were sitting down at home. You can almost feel the relaxation in the crew as a whole, including myself naturally.
16 May 1945 (L+45 day)
Everything is exceptionally quiet today and we are well away from the action, however we are very alert on our radar. Can't afford to slack off at this time. Hope to have lots of rest in a few days.
(17 May to 21 May spent at sea.)
21 May 1945 (L+50 day)
Arrived at Ulithi in the morning and fueled up, then moored alongside a DM - USS Shea who came along with us on the trip as she had a lot of damage as a result of a Baka bomb going through her right side below the bridge and right through the CIC room. (just missing the radio shack.) They were pretty lucky that the bomb did not explode until after it went completely through the ship and was about 50 feet off the port side. Yet when it did explode shrapnel from it killed and injured quite a few of the crew. The port side looked like a sieve. What a terrible sight she was. I went on board her to see the Chief Radioman. The ship was really badly damaged, although they had done quite a bit of patching up already. I was told that they had about 25% casualties.
23 May 1945 (L+52 day)
Went alongside the USS Prairie for repairs and such. Not much to be done in the Shack or to any other radio gear as our gear had to be maintained in top notch condition at all times. Thanks to my crew of Radiomen and some Radar Technicians, who always chipped in to help with any repairs to the gear, we managed to maintain the equipment very well.
We went ashore on the island of Mog Mog. This was the fleet recreation island where they sold beer by the case. We took along steaks, onions, barbecue sauce and bread. They had charcoal pits for cooking meat on the grills. We had lots of fun and plenty of beer. I felt pretty tipsy at that. I may even admit that I may have been loaded. Chiefs rated liberty every other day, and I wasn't about to miss any.
26 May 1945 (L+55 day)
Tied up alongside the USS Stanley (DD-478) 100 #s below ours) She was also hit by a Baka bomb at Okinawa, the bomb went directly through the CPOs quarters from starboard to port leaving large holes in the ship. The bomb went right through without exploding at all. Fortunately, this is about the only place on a tin-can that would be completely unoccupied during battle stations. There was only one crewman hurt during the mishap.
07 June 1945 (L+67 day)
Received orders to prepare to get underway with a convoy that will be heading back to Okinawa again. Recalled liberty party that was on the beach and got underway with a 12 ship convoy, right back to what we thought we were through with. There wasn't much chatter amongst the crew, but you sure as hell knew that there was lots of thinking about going back again. This is what happens when you try to contemplate the next moves. I could read the thoughts of my crew who were most likely thinking that we went through it before and we could do it again. We sure would like to be heading back to the States, but it isn't over yet and we still have a job to do. Are we ever going back? We surely hope so.
09 June 1945 (L+69 day)
I was listening to the 'air raid' radio circuit from Okinawa and found out that they have had at least 10 air raid alerts already this morning. It surely looks as though it will still be pretty hot up there. We will probably arrive the morning of 13 June.
10 June 1945 (L+70 day)
While escorting our convoy we test fired all of our guns to make sure that they were all in A-1 condition while giving the gun crews some practice.
11 June 1945 (L+71 day)
Received reports of a hurricane blowing up west of us. Time to batten down the hatches and everything else that isn't nailed down. Just in case the hurricane reaches us. We are maintaining a tight radio watch on the weather report frequency. These storms can be really bad down here.
12 June 1945 (L+75 day)
A very quiet and peaceful day as the hurricane never did get anywhere near us. You can be sure that things will pick up tomorrow upon arriving back to Okinawa.
13 June 1945 (L+75 day)
0455GQ Morning alert as usual which lasted less than an hour while we are entering port,
0650 GQ with bogies at 12 miles. I believe they turned out to be P-47s. Same old stuff.
Secured from alert at 0715 0930 Passed westward of the south end of Okinawa. The big battleships are still bombarding the island. At least we had some rest in Ulithi, but there was no rest for the Japs while we were gone. Continued on to Kerama Retto to take on fuel.
14 June 1945 (L+74 day)
Went into the transport area to report to the CTG 31.5. Upon reporting we received a form to be completed listing all of the electronic gear that we had on board. Radios, radar, sonar, sound equipment, crystals and test gear. I wonder why he wants all that. We are heavily equipped for FIDO (Fighter Director Operations) work and will probably be kept here. Oh well! That's what we were built for, so let's go.
Note: Upon arrival at the transport area we received word by signal light that the USS Porter (DD-579) had been sunk by a Baka bomb. This is the second ship (of 9) in our DESRON-49 that has been sunk. The suicide bomb came straight down in a dive and missed the ship, but when it exploded under water it broke the porter's keel and she sunk. I sure hope that CRM Knauf is OK. He got to be a good buddy of mine as he lived at Westchester Square in The Bronx, N.Y.
15 June 1945 (L+75 day)
Went to battle stations three times during the evening on account of bogies. The night fighters (P-61 black widows) shot down a few of them by radar control. Those night pilots can really find them and knock them down in the dark.
16 June 1945 (L+76 day)
The Wickes' second anniversary and still going strong.
0350 GQ - Bogies. A Jap plane was just brought into a cross beam of two army searchlights and was shot down.
0450 A Jap bomber dropped a string of bombs about a half mile forward of us. It is difficult to judge distance in a smoke screen, but the explosion was pretty loud. We think that they all missed targets.
0525 Got under way and went out onto an AA station. Later we came in to anchor and then went to Kerama Retto to top off our fuel tanks. Only needed a little fuel - 20,000 gallons.
1430 Underway to cover RP sta. #16 while the USS Picking was already heading for Sta. #14. It looks as though we are back at the old grind again.
We just had a new FIDO team come aboard from the USS Bennington. Don't know why. Maybe an anniversary present. Just after starting out to our station the Admiral of CTG 31.5 asked us a lot of questions, such as:
How long since your last overhaul?
How long since your last tender period?
How long since your last time here?
I'm wondering what this all means. I can guess, but I don't want to do so. Just hope that it is all favorable so that we can get the hell out of here. We are all still hoping to head for home for a change.
1745 GQ more bogies as we arrive on station to join with the Cogswell, Van Falkenberg, Cowell and Brown. Pretty strong station, wouldn't you say? I guess they don't expect us to get much shuteye out here. We are used to it by now.
17 June 1945 (L+77 day) [my sister Mary's birthday. Xxxxxxxs]
On RP station #16 all day.
0100 Short GQ for bogies. No action all day.
2100 GQ tracking bogies heading in towards Okinawa.
2130 Secured from alert. Sack time.
18 June 1945 (L+78 day)
0545 GQ picked up aircraft on radar and tracked them. Turned out to be our PBMs on submarine patrol. Secured GQ heard reports that the USS Twiggs was sunk by a torpedo last night. No details as yet. Had evening alert as usual.
19 June 1945 (L+79 day)
0140 GQ for aircraft in the area. A night fighter shot down a Betty (medium bomber) about 18 miles from here. The men on deck saw it burn all the way down. It had been within 6 miles of us earlier. Secured from GQ about 0200.
Received word today that Lt. General Simon Bolivar Buckner, ComGen of the US. 10th Army, had been killed yesterday on Okinawa by a Japanese shell burst. Too bad, with victory on Okinawa almost here. Lt. General Buckner has sent our group and our Admiral dispatches of congratulations for the help extended by Naval forces to the Army forces fighting on the island.
20 June 1945 (L+80 day)
Received orders to leave RP Sta. 16 so we headed in for Kerama Retto arriving just a little before midnight. Took ammo and supplies and remained in port overnight.
21 June 1945 (L+81 day)
Returned to the transport area to report in to the Task Group Commander (TGC). Early in the day we were ordered to act as AA screen for the transports.
0650 GQ two Jap planes came right into Kerama Retto flashing our IFF signal and suicide dived onto two seaplane tenders, the USS Curtiss (AV-4) and USS Kenneth Whiting (AV-14). I guess they somehow got two of our IFF transmitters from downed aircraft or managed to copy our code. Pretty scary...isn't it?
The APD-29 was also hit by a suicide plane about 5 miles out and is taking on water badly and is reported sinking. We came down to the southern tip of Okinawa during GQ to patrol an "anti small boat" station. I trust that the Jap suicide boats stay away. Well, we would probably knock the hell out of them and blow them out of the water. We hear that they aren't very successful anyway. Short GQ at 2300.
22 June 1945 L+82 day)
STANDING ANTI-BOAT PATROL TODAY.
0250 Secured from GQ from 2500 last night. We thought it would be a short alert, but it lasted 3-1/2 hours.
0810 GQ again for bogies. The men on deck saw an aircraft that was shot down over Okinawa. Started back to AA screening during GQ remained at our stations till 1130. There were 35 Jap planes shot down during the last GQ
I also hear that we lost 8 or 10 CAP aircraft.
R-e-d h-o-t d-o-p-e
Received orders this day to prepare to escort a convoy to the rear area along with the USS Picking (DD-685) and CDS-49 who will be in charge of the escort vessels and the convoy. (CDSthe Commander of destroyer squadron 49. Which was our original squadron.) We were then ordered to anchor in the transport area and at 0430 we will take up AA screening station to cover morning alert after which time we will get underway to rendezvous with our convoy at 0900 today.
2225 GQ Jap planes in the area dropped two batches of flares astern and to starboard of us. They never seem to come down and you would think they were hung up there. Once again I repeat that they have damn good flares and they were not too far from us. There were 13 to 15 in each batch. The results were nil as nothing happened after the flares. I guess that the aircraft that was supposed to fly low with bombs were either shot down already, or they didn't see their targets. More than three Jap planes were shot down, but no definite number was given.
2320 Secured from battle stations. I don't feel like hitting the sack as I am too excited about getting out of this area.
Sometimes it's good to be an RMC as you do get the dope a bit faster. Here is what I picked up...wowff !
The FIDO officers contacted the Command ship to find out what they should do, before we leave to join the convoy. They were instructed to: "Remain on board the Wickes for transportation to Pearl Harbor." This must surely mean that we are on our way to Pearl also. It really looks like Stateside for sure this time.
Wow!...Wow!...This is the best news yet...You should just see the expressions on the crews faces. Talk about smiles...... They are the biggest and broadest smiles I have ever seen. I heard from unofficial sources that it will be a 15 knot convoy with the USS J. Franklin Bell in charge.
23 June 1945 (L+85 day)
What a day if everything pans out for us we should be on our way to the States today. I sure hope so, again. I do believe that the Okinawa campaign is chalked up as won and the L-days are ended. It took 90 days of tough fighting, but it can still get hot on the radar screens until we do get out of here, away from it, at a good distance. The RP stations are still active even though the island has been declared secured. We were here six days before the L-day landings and we are here after the island has been secured. When we leave here I never wish to see another one like it. The USS Halloran (DE-305) was hit by a suicide plane last night. We were on our AA station since 0430 and are now returning to the transport area at 0515
0800 Surprise Jack Schilling, CEM just woke me up and said: "Hey! Get up your transfer orders just came in the mail". He didn't know where to, but I had a good idea, however I went around looking for Sullivan, CY only to find out that I had received orders for Naval Radio Material School in Dearborn, Michigan (just outside of Detroit.) Oh boy! If I can only stick to it and go all the way through the school it will mean that I could get married and be assured of being in the States for at least 9 months. After all this sea duty. Just wait 'till the family and Dotty hear this news. I will write a couple of letters and mail them as soon as we reach the first port.
0900- Joined our convoy at sea, as ordered, and received info that we were heading for Saipan in the Mariana Island group possibly I may be able to try to get air transportation back to the States. My orders are to report to the school on 23 June. That is today, the mail took 11 weeks to get here.
2000we are well underway now. I am sure of getting home now and the rest of the crew feels they are in a very good position to do the same. Casually ambling along with our convoy. All is peaceful. Everyone is unusually happy. Can you possibly imagine how I feel. I can't sleep as I just keep thinking and planning for the future.
24 June 1945
Another beautiful day as we leisurely cut through the sea, leaving a beautiful wake behind, along with the war area we also left. All kinds of talk is going on about the ship, the crew, the officers and everything in general. What an attitude the men have. A matter of a couple of days has turned apprehensive scared crewmen, (and don't think we weren't), into light hearted, happy, devil-may-care human beings. We thank the Lord.
25 June 1945
Well, here it is again. Received a dispatch today with further orders to continue on to Saipan for further routing to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, thence to the West Coast of you know what, the USA for scheduled overhaul. It has been a long, long wait, but now we will be well compensated. That was probably the reason that my orders came through as they already knew that we were due back. I probably will ride the Wickes all the way back to the States. That doesn't make me unhappy though as I look forward to spending this leisure time with my shipmates in a relaxed surrounding. I can't think of anything but praise for the complete ship's personnel, what a bunch of men who stood up so well through the mess that we went through and really stuck together.
26-27 June 1945
Things are still happy. The fellows are overjoyed and are starting to call me a "lucky devil" and I agree with them 100%. I wish each and every one of them the best. Tomorrow, arrival at Saipan. We all hope it isn't for long
29 June 1945
At least we are not missing all of the action. Shortly after midnight we picked up some Saipan based B-29s on our radar. No doubt raiding Japan. Bon voyage fellas, bombs away!!
0610 Morning alertbut, the only reason that the Captain had called it was that he wanted everyone up when we entered port in Saipan. It got to be habit for the crew to get up whenever they pleased during the past few months. You couldn't blame them up around Okinawa as one never knew when the hell they would get a chance to catch some decent shuteye.
0630The B-29s have started to return to their bases on Saipan and on Tinian Islands. God, but they are immense with a continual stream of them that came right over our heads to land one right after another with no strain. We had a perfect view of them coming in.
0870 R-29s still returning from somewhere. Guess where. We copied a dispatch this morning action to Navy Yard Mare Island and info to us that the Wickes was available on 16 July for 47 days. If they can take us on that date we will really have to drag-ass to get there. I will probably go all the way back on the ship now. I'm not unhappy,
Note: Spoke to the Executive Officer today in reference to my reporting date for school, which has already past, and he said to me that he would try to get me a reassignment for a later date when we arrived in Pearl Harbor so that I might be granted leave or a 20 to 30 day delay in reporting. I trust that he will be able to do that, as it would really make things very nice all around. It is possible that I may have to be on board for a week or so in Frisco to get the work started with RM1C Hunnicutt.
1835 We anchored this morning inside nets and later took on fuel. We have taken off about 75% of our ammo and left it here. At this time we are now getting underway with the USS Picking and USS Hall (DD-583) for Pearl Harbor. We intend to pass Eniwetok, but do not intend to stop for fuel.
Left Eniwetok doing about 20 knots and estimating Pearl arrival on 07 July.
04 July 1945
Crossed the international date line at 2130thereby making it the 3rd of July and tomorrow we can celebrate the 4th of July again. Actually we did have two 4ths of July in 1945.
07 July 1945
Arrived at Pearl Harbor at 1400 to refuel and to confer with COMDESPAC on overhaul and transfers. COMDESPAC threw a beer party for the crew and extended his personal congratulations for the good work by the Wickes.
08 July 1945
1400 Departed Pearl Harbor for the last stretch, San Francisco here we come,.... This will most likely be my last cruise on the wicked USS Wickes. E.T.A. Frisco 14 July at 1400.
14 July 1945
0645 Went under the Golden Gate Bridge and proceeded to Mare Island to unload all explosives prior to entering Hunter's Point Navy Yard.
1400 Arrived at Hunter's Point my transfer orders are complete and I leave the ship immediately with my papers and travel vouchers. Never to cruise on the wicked Wickes again.
Finally: After going through what we have been through for the past 90 days, or so, would you believe that a Chief could go down the gangway with tears in his eyes? Leaving all of my shipmates and buddies. I wondered if and when I might see or speak to any of them again.