War Diary of Richard A. Steele - 

Seattle to Pearl Harbor or Paint and More Paint

 

Wed. Jul 11, 1945 – Had 4-8 watch. One of my boys was sea sick so I stood his wheel-watch for him. Cloudy and rainy with moderate sea. The negroes aboard think it’s awful rough.  They had a hell of a time this AM With a “sea bat” – take a pail and cover it with cloth with a hole in it – as the curious boy bends over to look in the bucket – the lookers on – whack him in the ass with a broom – these black boys have never been to sea and are really suckers for sea-going gags! Had fire drills etc, all day – too crowded and wet for much work to be done. I moved my bunk again into chiefs’ quarters – A209 – 1^st compartment forward on the starboard side.

 

Thurs. July 12 – Had 12-4 AM and 12-4 PM watches. Weather all AM misty and rain. Cleared in the P.M. “Jigs” played poker and shot craps all day – I got a snapshot of a game in the fantail.  Did deck work all day – scraped and painted.  5 men got Capt’s mast today – 3 got Deck Courts and one got Summary Court Marshal trials.  I miss Ethel more all the time and as it seems definite, I’m really going further away. It’s awful.  I wonder how she feels.

 

Fri. July 13 – Misty and cold, sea rougher. Had G.Q. at 1 P.M. Fired 1 run both sides, all four ships.  Our dear Capt. went on another rampage today – we worked all P.M., all day really and painted the entire superstructure.  Mr. Smith came out at 5 o’clock and said, “Looks good.” Two minutes later Capt comes out and says “There’s more unpainted than painted here.” He started pointing out little pin-holes and told us we’d have to work till 10 o’clock if necessary to do the job right.” The lousy bastard – every officer and man on this ship hates him and have no respect for him. He’s so damn unreasonable and unfair it isn’t funny. He’s now toting a 45-caliber pistol and if he keeps it up, he’ll need it for self-preservation the rate he’s going.

 

Sat. July 14 – Another tough day. Started at 3:30 A.M. with the 4-8 watch and kept going steady till 6 P.M. We painted, rigged fog oil barrels, scraped and wire-brushed boat cleats and in general, worked like hell. Jigs laid around and enjoyed the trip. Weather still cold and cloudy.  I’m plain homesick for my wife and family and coupled with the lousy deal we are getting, I’m a discouraged, disillusioned, low-down guy at this writing.

 

Sunday July 15 – It might be Sunday but it’s no different from any other day. We painted all day as usually. Had G.Q. from 1-2 P.M. Shot at red rubber helium-filled balloons reloaded from the bore. Good shooting by our 20’s and 40’s.  Getting warmer but still cloudy. Negroes are beginning to smell bad.

 

Monday, July 16 – Same stuff. Paint and more paint. Everything on the ship is to be done. Had 8-12 last night and same this AM. Much warmer and clearer but still hazy. Troops are having a hell of a time just relaxing – reading, lolling around, playing cards and spouting crap.  Everything we touch is wet paint. The damn old man leaned against a stanchion and got his pretty uniform nicely messed – tsk, tsk.  Expect to get in Pearl Harbor late Friday to 20^th.

 

Tues, July 17, 1945 – More of the same. Underway as before. Much warmer – sun is hot and getting good tan back again.  Today we had to pull all the life rafts apart and paint them. And it says DO NOT PAINT right on them. A hell of a job. He would jeopardize men’s lives just to pretty this damn ship up.  Also, we can’t have water to wash with yet, but he issued buckets to wash the ship’s sides around the bridge. Had 4-8AM and 6-8PM watches.

 

Wed. July 18 – Underway as before. We painted parts of the main deck and finished the life rafts and I worked splicing the ramp cable. The latest thing the Capt. wants done is to sweep out the tank deck and it is a maze of chains holding down all the vehicles.  He claims the “dirt” would be a “fire hazard” in case of a hit. It’s practically impossible to get around down there and with 500 barrels of high-octane gas, plus a wooden cat-walk, he's plain nuts.  And all the goddamn paint we’ve put on – nuts!  Weather clear and warmer - water temp up to 80 and clear.  I’ve got my tan back.

 

Thurs Jul 19 – Same stuff.  Worked all day on ramp cable. Got nicely greased dungarees a mess and can’t wash them – No water. Had G.Q. at 1300 – had 8-12 watch. Weather clear and fine. Got a swell tan. Just wore shorts in P.M.  Expect to get in early Sat. AM.   Skipper going to the hospital – we hope!

 

Fri Jul 20 – Underway as before.  Getting hotter every day.  Hosed down the deck in AM. Rigged cable and cleaned ship in PM. 4-8 watch in AM. Got 12-4 tonight. Expect to get into Pearl again at 8 o’clock AM.

 

Sat. July 21 – Had 12-4 watch. Just hit the sack when at 5:30 AM we had G.Q. for 2 hours. Fired more than at any time before. Got in P.H. at noon. Tied up at Fare #9. Went after mail. Tried to call Clayt but couldn’t connect.  Got 9 letters from Ethel – all good.  Thank God.  1 from Ma, Clayt and Glenn Talbot.  I wrote till midnight and answered all but Glenn.~