Thurs. 3/15/45:
Bright, sunny, windy as hell and rough but warm. We are out about 25 miles off the islands
maneuvering with the other 3 LSTs – at 9 AM had General Quarters (GQ) man
battle stations and had firing AA practice at 2 TBF’s, [torpedo bomber
aircraft] towing targets. Our 20 &
40 MM’s fired 4 rounds a piece – good gunnery.
I have been placed in charge of Repair Party #2 since I got promoted in
rate from Cox to BM 2/c. I formerly fired
the 20 MM #20-12 beside the wheelhouse.
I like to fire and was doing swell but as Boatswains mate I have to be
in charge of a Damage Control Party and stand by ready to call to any damage,
fire, etc. that might occur during battle.
At 11AM the LST 867 took is in tow – they passed over a 21 thread “messenger”
via a line–throwing gun and we hauled it aboard thru our bull-cock on the bow
and hooked on their stern anchor cable to our towing bridle. Then they heaved in and towed us awhile - very
rough and windy. Right after chow we
towed them. Because of the high wind our
gunner-mates missed 5 times with the line throwing gun and we had a near
collision with the 867. We finally got
our cable over to them and when they got ready to let go, the ____ cut our line. We consequently lost 100 ft of 2” line and
100 ft. of 21-thread. We’ll have to see
them in Pearl Harbor and get it back. Went on watch, 12–4 and 8–12 PM. and got a beautiful tan. I wrote a page to Ethel and George Chase, my
sister’s boy and Marine at Tinion Island. Maybe I’ll see him out there someday.
Friday-3/16/45: Underway as before. Dawn found us off the Island Maui and others
of the Hawaii Islands;
all mountainous and beautiful. In the AM
we beached twice. On the 2nd beaching
we let out 750 ft. of cable and I was getting ready to get to fell away from
the winch with only 100 ft left we stopped it.
The #17 got stuck high and dry on the beach and we weren’t able to pull
her off until 3 P.M. All the ships then anchored in the
lagoon. Bow doors were let down and all
hands had a swim – my first in the Pacific.
We were anchored in 12 fathoms (72 ft) of water and the water was so
clear it looked as though it was only 10 feet deep, and warm! 75 degrees – had a
swell swim! The weather was warm, windy
and mostly dandy today.
Sat. 3/17/34: I
made out another allotment for Ethel yesterday for an additional $20. This will give her $145 a month. Today has been a routine day – ship handling mostly
a workout for signalmen. The deck force
painted the tank deck dull red before we get back to Pearl Harbor
and get another load up?? I fixed the stern anchor cable today. I put seizing on throat next to anchor. Windy, warm and clear. 4-6 and 12-4 watch tonight. Still maneuvering off the islands with the
867, 876, 17 and 844.
Sun 3/18/45: What a
day! After some firing runs in the morning and some mooring exercises with the
676, we anchored about 1 PM and the
Capt. allowed 25 men to go ashore in the small
LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle & Personnel) – we carry two, port &
starboard. They weigh 2800 lbs.
empty. [Several sources state they actually weight 18,000 lbs. empty - that measurement my father had might have been in KG's.] We went to a beautiful beach
called Green Beach
on the Island of Maui
in the Hawaiian group. The beach was of
coarse, yellow sand that looked white from offshore and under water. It was a
big half-moon beach with a huge hill of lava at each end and beautiful palm
trees all around it. The bottom was
clear and spotted with coral patches and black sand areas. We landed with the port boat and drove right
up on the beach, let down the bow doors and went ashore. The boat backed off and we went for a swim
and then set out to look the beach over.
It was about 1 mile from end to end.
We picked up coral, shells and pieces of lava for the kids and were
enjoying ourselves when suddenly, Mr. Kimber, the assistant deck officer (age
20) called us to get back to the ship and we started for the 2nd boat
which had come to get us. The boat
Coxswain breached the boat in the heavy surf and we immediately started to
struggle to get its stern on into the surf.
When we got to the boat she was about 30 degrees angle to the beach with
the engines still running and the screws turning. I was leading P.O. and boatswain and
suggested to Mr. Kimber to put the other LCVP’s anchor line under and around
the stern and pull the breached boat off the beach. Mr. Kimber who is a small boy in size was
extremely excited and running around like a madman. When I suggested we put the line on the
stern, he informed me to “Keep my goddamn mouth shut and push this boat out”, which,
I and several others knew was absolutely wrong.
I could have and as results proved, should have argued with him and
insisted we pull the stern out first.
All the time, the surf was pounding the hell out of the boat and lifting
it higher on the beach. After pulling,
trying to get it off, the line parted and the #2 boat hurried back to the ship
and came back with a 6” hawser and a handy-billy pump to try and pump out the
breached boat. We finally pulled her off
and the port side was all bashed in. We
tied her to the #2 boat and went out about 50 ft off shore. I was standing waist-deep bailing with a
bucket while Mr. King (the lst Lt. who came back with the other boat) tried to
get the handy-billy started. She was
settling fast and just as the damn pump started she went under. I had to cut the lines holding her to the
other boat and jump and swim clear. I
swam a 6” hawser (Thank God I can swim well) to shore and secured it to a
pillbox and palm tree that was one of many such on the beach (also barbed wire
strung along). Finally, the big ship
beached alongside the wreck and the Capt. was really sore – I can’t blame
him. We led a 7” line to the wreck, also
a 1” steel cable. I dove 4 times and
fastened a shackle onto a ring bolt and the side and the deck winches pulled
her up onto the beach. We uprooted a
tree that we had the hawser around and nearly tore up another palm tree. We finally pulled her in the barn doors with
the snaking winch in the tank deck and secured about 10 o’clock. I then
had to heave in the stern anchor and raise the other small boat aboard and
finally got secured at 10:45 P.M. Just then, the Capt. called for Chief
Pearsall, Corbett, Frye, Iovenette, Remein, Peters, Patten, McLeod, Demkowski
and I to report to his room immediately.
We expected to catch hell for losing the boat, although all we had done
was to try to save it. He said, “Sit
down”. Then he broke out 3 qts. of rye whiskey, 1 Seagram’s, 1 Crown and 2
Schenley’s Black. He said, “Go ahead boys, you
earned it!” We did. It evaporated in 10 minutes and we slept “tight”. As a result of it all, Mr. Kimber is awaiting
a summary court martial; also, Tannenbaum, the boat Cox who breached the boat
in the first place. I don’t believe they’ll
be fired quietly and I hope not. They
both tried to do right, although they went at it wrong. Mr. Kimber lost his head and damn near got
killed when he got thrown off the boat by a big breaker white trying to save
it. We’ll probably get a new boat when
we go to Pearl Harbor on Tuesday. A fellow named Murphy, from New
York is also awaiting summary court from slugging a 2nd
class cook in the galley. Quite a day!
[Sandy’s
note: I was able to locate the Muster
Rolls for LST 899. The men mentioned in the diary are all listed on the initial Muster Roll at the ships commissioning. There full names and initial rank are as follows: Kenneth Martin Pearsall, Chief
Motor Machinist Mate; Henry Eugene Corbett, Motor Machinist Mate, 1st
Class; William Edward Frye, Fireman, 2nd Class; Mario Andrew
Iovenette, Gunner’s Mate 1st Class; Frederick Remein, Seaman 2nd
Class; Isaac Mervin Peters, Seaman 2nd Class; Orville Frederick
Patten, Ship Fitter, 1st Class; Richard Andrew Steele, Coxswain;
Joseph John Demkowski, Coxswain; William Lucien MacLeod, Fire Controlman, 3rd
Class; Daniel James Murphy, Seaman Second Class; Daniel Tannenbaum, Seaman 2nd
Class; Joseph S. Kimber, Duty Ensign; William F. King, 1st Lieutenant. The Captain was Albert H. Thornton.]
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