A
Short History of LCS 53
The ship was built by the Albina Engine and Machine Works, Inc. of Portland, Oregon and was commissioned on 30 September, 1944. Shakedown training and trial runs were accomplished at San Diego, CA. We departed from the U.S. on 1 December, 1944 and arrived at Pearl Harbor where intensive gunnery training and mock invasion maneuvers were continued.
The ship was attached to the Fifth
Amphibious Force of the Third Fleet.
She was scheduled to participate in the invasion of Iwo Jima. This was to be the testing ground of the LCS
vessels; for being a newly designed ship, it was there that they were first to
be in actual combat. The subsequent
success of these small support craft was highly lauded by the fighting Marines
ashore as well as by high-ranking Marine and Naval officers in charge. Having been accredited with no small share
of the hard-earned victory at Iwo, LCS’s were thereafter termed the “Mighty
Midgets.” Officers and men of our ships
are humbly proud; for though the appellation is singularly apt, the connotation
implies a high standard of achievement which we have tried to uphold by
assiduously doing our very best in all tasks assigned to us.
We left Pearl Harbor after the first
of the year and headed for Iwo by way of Eniwetok and Saipan. The morning of 19 February was a strange and
new experience. None of the officers
and only three members of the crew had participated in previous invasions. Our initial job was to proceed in advance of
the landing boats and clear the beaches.
Accordingly, we made two runs, laying three heavy rocket barrages and
thoroughly strafing the landing beaches.
As the Marines poured ashore in seemingly endless waves, we took
position on the left flank about 200 yards offshore of Mt. Suribachi. Here we fired into caves, pillboxes and
mortar positions. One cave and a small
fuel dump were set afire while numerous direct hits on mortar positions were
observed. Marine spotting parties who
later came aboard to assist in liaison work said that the number of destroyed
Jap positions which they had overrun attested to the high effectiveness of our
support firing though we were often unable to assess the results from the
ship. During the 18 days we remained at
Iwo, our main duty was to patrol the shores of the island and deliver call
fires upon request from advanced shore parties. Our supply of ammunition was exhausted several times because of
the intensive barrage we were asked to put out. We replenished our stock from battleships which stood several
miles offshore. This proved a difficult
task in rough seas off Iwo and our sides suffered damage on each occasion. Besides ammunition they gave us ice cream, a
rare treat, and in return we gave them an eagerly sought-after first hand
account of the battle progress.
The close-in fire support and inshore
patrol became routine after the first day.
Enemy return fire directed against us was for the most part light to
moderate, usually consisting only of small arms, mortar and rifle fire up to
3-inch caliber. Occasionally, however,
a 1000-pound Jap rocket would overshoot the island and send up a huge geyser of
water a few hundred yards off the ship.
Three events at Iwo will always stand
out in our memories: an ammunition dump fire, a rescue at sea, and the flag
raising over Mt. Suribachi.
One night we were ordered to put an
ammunition dump fire out on the beach.
Huge swells necessitated the constant use of our engines to keep the bow
of the ship on the beach. Wrecked
equipment littered the area and our bow grated dangerously on a submerged
tank. The fire burned fiercely. Its intense heat could be felt back to our
fantail which was about 100 yards distant from the fire. Like a volcano it erupted sporadically due
to exploding shells and showered the ship with bits of hot casings. Japs from the bluffs on the right flank
directed a continuous mortar bombardment at the ship in attempts to impede our
efforts. However, their aim was bad and
most of their shells fell far short of the mark. The few near misses caused no casualties. Ensign John Sterling, Jr., USNR of Provo,
Utah and Ensign Stuart Robert Manegold, USNR of Milwaukee, Wisconsin were sent
ashore with the following party of men to handle the fire hoses and extinguish
the blaze:
Robert Joseph Anderson, SK3; Paul
Emment DeMent, S1c; Kenneth
Frank Hans, S1c; Victor Deldon Klien, F1c;
Charles Michael Manyak, S1c; George
Thomas Opria;
Roy Edwin Petty, S1c; Michael Romona
Russo, Sr., S2c;
Wilmer Alvin Yaun, S2c.
The aforementioned officers and men,
aided by a party from LCS (L) 54, fought the fire for more than one and a half
hours. Hot shells cast out of the fire
landed among them. They threw this live
ammunition down the embankment into the water.
Several exploded after being tossed aside. The deep loose volcanic sand impeded their progress and made the
handling of the fire hoses a laborious job.
However, the sand proved to be a boon, for just as the last glow of the
fire was being put out, a Jap “Betty” glided in at mast height and dropped a
stick of four bombs scarcely 75 yards from the scene. The bombs burrowed deeply and exploded harmlessly, showering the
area with sand. Gunners at battle
stations were ordered not to fire, for although the proximity of the plane made
it an easy target, it continued across our lines and, had it been knocked down,
it would have crashed into our Marines dug in on the slopes, causing
casualties. Physically exhausted from
handling hoses with 20 pounds pressure, the fire-fighting party had to be
hoisted aboard. Both men and officers
who were ashore have been awarded a Bronze Star for their meritorious
achievement. Needless to say, the
entire crew did its utmost to help.
Many others volunteered to go ashore, however, there were guns, pumps,
engines, radios and other equipment aboard ship which had to be manned. These stations were not without hazard. Our only casualty was Curtis G. Leonard, S1c
of Beldenville, Wisconsin, stationed at
one of the after guns. He was cut above
the eye with a piece of flying shell casing.
Dusk had overtaken us one night as we
completed taking on ammunition.
Proceeding into the beach we answered an SOS some six and a half miles
offshore. It was sent by a small boat,
an LCVP, loaded with nine wounded Marines.
They were lost, having spent more than four hours trying to locate a
hospital ship, which had, at his time, departed the area, so in spite of the
rough sea, we took them aboard and Lt. G. W. House (MC), USNR, of Grand Rapids,
Michigan, our group doctor, administered blood plasma and other treatment
within our facilities.
During the period of getting them
aboard there was an air raid and our gunners fired on a flight of enemy bombers
which were in the area. The next day
the wounded were transferred to U.S.S. Solace.
One morning several days after D-Day
we were requested to lay an intensive 30 minute barrage into the western slopes
of Mt. Suribachi. The guns were set on
automatic fire and the gunners had a field day. Marine shore batteries, other LCS’s and destroyers added to the
merciless bombardment. Upon being
secured we lay about 150 yards off the extinct volcano awaiting further
orders. An hour later our Marines had
overrun the last Jap positions on the “rock” and we witnessed one of the most
thrilling moments enacted in the history of the war: the raising of the American flag over Mt. Suribachi. We were very proud of our fighting Marines.
At the close of the Iwo campaign we
returned to Saipan where the ship was overhauled, repaired and readied for the
capture of Okinawa. The crew was given
further training and briefed on the invasion plans.
Upon completion of logistics and
training we set out for Okinawa. On D
and D plus one day we participated in demonstration landings, designed to draw
enemy troops from the real invasion beaches.
Our convoy approached the shores in the prescribed manner of a real
landing. We fired at the beach area and
laid a smoke screen, but our troops did not land. Tokyo Rose later reported that an attempted landing had been
thwarted with the infliction of heavy casualties. However, we encountered no opposition, and not a single shot was
fired.
Our subsequent duties at Okinawa might
roughly be classed into three categories:
anti-aircraft picket, suicide boat patrol and smoke screen defense.
As a picket ship we were stationed
from twenty-five to seventy-five miles from the transport anchorage. A ring of such stations circled the island
and was able to forewarn the ship-laden area of approaching enemy aircraft. The Japs tried to break this ring by
concentrating determined Kamikaze attacks on the picket ships. They were never successful. Our primary purpose was to assist the
destroyers in repelling these attacks.
There was no want of opportunity to accomplish this purpose. During the twenty-five days on picket patrol
we shot down three planes and registered hits on others. One evening at dusk a flight of four enemy
planes appeared in the area. They
hovered about out of range waiting for the cover of darkness before
attacking. Just before dark one of them
drew near, doubtless to scout the formation of ships. A destroyer promptly brought him down in flames with a single burst
of five-inch fire. The others closed in
after dark. Again the destroyer scored
a direct hit and an LSM splashed another.
The fourth plane emerged from a low cloud and came at us in a steep
dive. Our guns clipped off his wing
tips and probably killed the pilot before the plane hit the water about thirty
feet off our starboard side about midships.
The ship was showered with fragments of plane parts, and we suffered two
personnel casualties. On another
occasion six enemy planes were indiscreet enough to attempt an attack before
sunset. Our Marine Combat Air Patrol
fliers splashed five of them. Only one
crippled Val was able to make his run and our gunners disposed of him rather
easily. He hit the water ingloriously
while still 200 yards off our stern.
Several times the Japs tried to make mass attacks during the haze at
dusk but without success.
However, not all of the Japs coming to
our area came into attack. Many of them
passed on to the transport anchorages and others struck at different picket
stations. During one 36-hour period we
experienced 72 alerts, but were unable to fire a shot because no enemy planes
closed in on us.
The Japs had numerous small suicide
boats on Okinawa which were used against ships and also to carry raiding
parties behind our lines. They had only
18 inches of free board and were particularly difficult to spot at night. Often it was our duty to patrol a specific
area to prevent suicide boats from crashing into ships in the transport
anchorage and also to thwart any attempted ship boardings. Our gunners sank two suicide craft and
damaged a third during one abortive attempt at infiltration.
When enemy aircraft approached the
transport area at night a smoke screen was used to protect the ships. While in the anchorage we helped to make
that screen. It effectively blanketed
the area while shore batteries and night fighters drove off the enemy. If attacks occurred during the day we moved
to the fringe of the area and with other gunboats formed a formidable ring of
anti-aircraft batteries. Japs trying to
suicide into the area were doomed. Such
a heavy curtain of steel rose to meet them that it was impossible to determine
which ship actually brought the victim down.
Altogether we spent 110 days at
Okinawa, 25 on picket stations, 30 days on suicide boat patrol and the
remainder at various transport anchorages around the island. During this period the ship was called to
general quarters a total of 275 times.
We received a “well done” from high Naval officials on several occasions
for work against particularly determined enemy attacks. The ship’s success both at Iwo and Okinawa
was in a great measure due to the excellent training and leadership of Lt.
Comdr. Paul Stone of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the commander of our group of
gunboats. His experience on support
craft in campaigns in the South Pacific made him well qualified to lead LCS
ships and his courage was admired by all for he took an active role no matter
how dangerous the duty. He was board
the LCS 31 when she was hit by three suicide planes. We also express gratitude at having been able to work with the
U.S.S. CONEIL, a destroyer on picket patrol.
Her alert personnel kept us so well informed of approaching aircraft
that it made the job much easier. She
inspired a confidence in our crew that aided their morale immeasurably.
Leaving Okinawa in July we proceeded
to San Pedro Bay in the Philippine Islands where for two long months we enjoyed
rest and rehabilitation. However before
the final Jap surrender we were overhauling the ship and preparing for the next
invasion. When the Japs signed the
treaty we were ready too, and in Sept. the ship left for Wakayama, Japan, to
assist in the occupation. Here our
duties consisted solely of patrolling against possible aircraft or small boat
attacks. But the occupation proceeded
smoothly. A few audacious Jap fishermen
who insisted on fishing in restricted waters learned quickly to remain in
proper territory when the lesson was punctuated with rifle fire.
Our group of twelve LCS’s had usually
worked together on all previous engagements, however, upon leaving Wakayama a
month later, we were split into two divisions of six ships each. Our division
sailed for Formosa by the way of Shanghai.
At Formosa we did mine destruction.
All day long we followed mine sweeps and blew up the mines they had cut
loose. Occasionally we acted as a pilot
vessel for convoys entering the mined areas.
Having completed the sweeping operations we returned to Shanghai for the
Christmas holidays.
So far our little ship has sailed
25,000 miles. She has weathered some
rough seas. Five times typhoons have
passed close at hand. She has proven
her seaworthiness and the crew, respecting her achievements, are proud to call
this “Mighty Midget” their own.
By John Rooney, LCS 82
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