The Story of the U.S.S. BENNION DD662
The BENNION is one of many destroyers which participated in World War II. In many ways, the fast moving career of this ship is typical of others of the same period. Reporting to the Pacific Fleet early during 1944, she rode the crest of the American offensive wave at SAIPAN, TINIAN, the PALAUS, LEYTE GULF, THE BATTLE of SURIGAO STRAITS, MINDORO, LINGAYEN, IWO JIMA, OKINAWA, and participated in the parade into Japanese waters incident to final victory.
Early in her commissioned life, BENNION was designated as radar picket and fighter director ship. The comparatively new techniques required by these assignments were developed to a high degree which is attested to by her ability to remain in this precarious employment perhaps longer than any other vessel. Her remarkable survival as a whole ship after prolonged exposure to swarms of fanatical Japanese Kamikazes was possible only through the skillful coordination of her crew and the intervention of a kind providence.
As with other destroyers participating in amphibious campaigns, BENNION operated extensively as anti-aircraft and anti-submarine escort and as gunfire support ship for out troops ashore. During the first several months of her active service, she fired thousands of rounds of ammunition, all against various units of the Japanese Army which were opposing the American marines and soldiers and it seemed pre-ordained that this ship would go through the war without making contact with the Imperial Japanese Navy. However, when the Japanese Navy eventually made a bid for recognition at LEYTE GULF, BENNION as a unit of Squadron 56 delivered a full dress night torpedo attack in the BATTLE OF SURIGAO STRAITS "to good effect."
From this point, BENNION resumed her part of the war principally against the Emperor's aircraft--also to good effect. She was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for service as radar picket ship at OKINAWA.
Every man who served in the BENNION has the solemn pride which accompanies the realization that he was on the first team during a contest which required the highest order of teamwork, courage and skill.
The brightest tradition of destroyers and destroyer men has been further enhanced by the service of the BENNION.
In speaking of the ship, we are referring to a great deal more than the ten million dollars worth of steel and complex equipment which make up her material structure and appurtenances. These, of course, are important and indispensable but "the ship" in the broader sense, and we speak in the broader sense--is the indivisible combination of men and material bound together for a common purpose. The inanimate mass which is the material part of the ship would be valueless without the human complement and men alone would be helpless without the material counterpart. A century ago, we had "wooden ships and iron men": in this day, some humorously turn the expression to "iron ships and wooden men." Whatever the expression, the "good ship" is a splendid creation which embraces the best in human cooperation and accomplishment.
The evolution of the Combat Information Center (CIC) at the beginning of World War II was a natural consequence of the increasing complexity of naval ships. The CIC, as the name implies, is a clearing house for combat intelligence. In the "old Navy," the Captain was the CIC; all information was referred directly to him and his decisions were rendered and executed on the spot. Nowadays, with improved radio and the remarkable capabilities of electronics, more information is generated than can be digested by methods employed during the age of sail and low pressure steam. As has been mentioned before, BENNION was a fighter director ship which added an entirely new appendage to an already crowded organization. Thus, the CIC organization was established as a requirement in combatant ships for the purpose of receiving, coordinating, evaluating and distributing combat intelligence.
The importance of the CIC is well illustrated by the fact that the "evaluator" in charge of this unit in a destroyer was the ship's second in command. The tasks were many and complicated; radar operators, sound-men, lookouts and fire control stations reported to CIC; and voice radio circuits maintained direct contact with ships, aircrafts and shore stations. As evaluator, Lieutenant Commander "RED" BALCH and his twenty odd assistants kept the Captain advised regarding dangers to navigation and maintained a continuous up to date picture of targets on the surface, under water and in the air. At OKINAWA, Lieutenant LEONARD performed the function of evaluator when BENNION gained notable distinction on radar picket duty; when survival depended on solutions being right all the time.
The space assigned to CIC was originally designed as a stateroom annd destroyer staterooms are not roomy: The installation of numerous equipments taxed the ingenuity and imagination of several repair crews and the space was filled with material without the operating personnel. Unbelievably, twenty odd persons crowded into this space and accomplished tasks which required the maximum in alertness, rapidity and accuracy. In some aspects, CIC resembed a New York night club--as crowded smoky atmosphere, extremely late hours and a background of raucous noise. On the lighter side, some of the voice radio conversation of the CAP were humorous if slightly inelegant and Tokyo Rose came in on nightly schedules with a dubious but entertaining program.
Teamwork was developed to the highest quality here--this was definitely not the place for men who could do only one job at one time. The numerous tasks assigned at night in restricted waters rewuired CIC to keep the ship off the beach and at he same time furnish up-to-the-minute information on current targets. At SAIPAN, LEYTE and LINGAYEN the ship was at times confronted with two urgent problems simultaneously; furnishing fire support to troops ashore and wording off air raids. During the approach to LINGAYEN, while chasing 2 Jap destroyers off MANILA BAY, BENNION was vitally concerned in a dogfight participated in by the CAP overhead.
Too much in praise cannot be said for the superlative fighter director team. Lieutenants GILL, DUBOIS, SMITH, MARVIN and HOWES ably supported by HAUSER, BARTH and others fitted easily into the ship's organizationin such a way that no cleavage existed between "ship" people and staff experts; and as a result, there was on team instead of several in the same ship.
Particular credit is due WILLIAM F. MCDOWELL, Chief Radar Technician, who worked around the clock repeatedly to keep the electionics equipments ready for use when needed most. In some cases, this meant working all night so that the radars would work during the daytime; and at other times, it was a case of sharpening up the gear by day for use at night. Through his untiring and skillful effort, he maintained BENNION's equipment during the period of hottest contest with the Kamikazes, when the ship's employment would not permit time out for the installation of new and up-to-date equipment. Radar Technicians SWARTZ, REDBURG and CONRADalso contributed in this all important work. Over-all performance met the test handsomely in daily competition with ships equipped with more up-to-date models. The human element was very much in BENNION's favor with radarmen GRAY, HENDRICKS, HOLLIDAY, HIGHTOWER, KELLY, MILLER, MCGRIEVEY, MCDERMOTT, MEACHAM, FLETCHER, CHILD, KENNEDY, KOENIG, PIATT, SIERCKI, and THOMAS standing a watch in three, week in and week out, month in and month out, plus full time during "red" alerts. The ship owes a great measure of its survival to the conscientious performance of its CIC.
Lieutenant Commander JOHN B. BALCH was awarded the Legion of Merit Medal; Lieutenant (jg) EDWARD J. MURRAY and JOHN MCDERMOTT RdM2c were awarded the Bronze Star Medal for outstanding performance during the BATTLE OF SURIGAO STRAITS. Lieutenant JAMES G. LEONARD was awarded the Silver Star Medal; ROMY C. MEACHAM RdM2c, WARREN H. FLETCHER, THOMAS W. GRAY RdM2c and JOHN J. KELLEY RdM2c were awarded the Commendation Ribbon for outstanding service at OKINAWA.
Proficiency in the art fo detecting an enemy submarine and then pressing home a successful underwater attack is a requirement for all destroyers. As is the case with most of the present day ratings, a good sound man is required to be intelligent, alert, dependable and, above all else, honest. Most of the sound man's existence is pure drudery, listening to thousands of "pings' and waiting patiently for a metallic return, but the exhilaration experienced when he makes a firm submarime "Contact" compensates for the long dull watches which precede it. Lieutenant (jg) MORRISON possessed a keen musician's ear which must be sorted out and indentified in order to obtain a basic understanding of the fundamentals; and more important wa a patient and thorough instructor.
The sound man is never free of his trade. He "pings" around the clock while underway and on arrival in port he works out on numerous artificial aids. It is a safe bet that the accomplished operator will carry echoes with him for the rest of his life. BENNION's sound crew were food and they maintained a uniformly high standard from Bermuda to Tokyo. The ship's employment against the enemy seldom brought us into contact with his submarines, but the routine dependable day by day endeavor of FAWCETT, AGRESTA, BRANSCOME, ACKERMAN, COFFIN, HASSMER,SEPE, SMITH, DILLON and MARTZ was an everlasting source of comfort for the crew.
Communications are the lifeblood of modern fighting ships. the best shooting ship and the most efficient shipboard engineering plant are ineffective unless communications enable the ship to know what to do, where and when to go. Intelligence on which ship operations are based must pass through the several stages of transmission, and decipherment rapidly, accurately and still maintain essential security. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. A sleepy radioman, an incorrect setting on a transmitter or receiver, a mistake in encipherment, incorrect operating procedure--any one of these can nullify all of the good work of an excellent Communications Department. In no other department is "heads up" performance more important.
The remarkable advances in the science of radio has imposed hitherto new problems on the already overworked radioman. The necessity of installing numerous high requency receivers in CIC leads to shielding problems: the fact that the ship frquently operates a dozen voice sets simultaneously causes recording difficulties: some of the voice sets require three or four outlets and, as a consequence, the ship soon runs out of radiomen. Continuous gunfire subjects radio equipments to serious shock which in turn requires continuous and expert attention; salt air and the tropics are natural enemies of this sensitive equipment. These are a few of the elements which make up the radioman's day's work.
Chief Radioman CYRENUS I. SCHMIDT was the leading technician and his excellent service was later rewarded by promotion to Chief Warrant Radio Electrician. The all important support for the radio division was furnished by AUERBACH, FICKLE, HOLLOWAY, HOWES EDSEL JOHNSON, KORNCAVAGE (KORNEY), LYNN, MANNING, MCGRATH, SABLE, SHIEL, SCHLACHTER, SNYDER, STENZEL, WADE and ZUVERINO.
On the bridge, the signalmen have other problems. They must be able to pick up a flashing light signal that the average mortal would pass off as of no consequence and to read signal flags even though only the edges of the flags are visible, and it is almost axiomatic that the majority of visual signals are sent when visibility receiving conditions are the worst. The signalmen deserve particular credit since, in addition to their regular duties, they constituted the first line of defense as lookouts--and experience justifies the contension that alert lookouts, radar notwithstanding, were most important members of the survival team. This excellent division included ELLIS, KENT, KLEIN, NAPURSKI, NASSOIY, NORRIS PARKINSON, SHAWVER, STASIAK, WALTERS, HOLLENBECK and EDWARD SMITH.
Regardless of the method, code, voice or visual; presentday ships require rapid exchange of information and the surest way to qualify for the second team (that is to be the loser) is to drop the ball in communications.
Lieutenant WEIR, an experienced destroyer officer, set up the initial organization expertly and carefully and followed it through three quarters of the war cruise. With the assistance of Lieutenant (jg) BUSKIRK, he accomplished in a few eeks, tasks which in ordinary times would ahve taken six months. Later, in the ship's career, Ensigns ATHERTON, BEAR and YOUNGBLOOD all served in communications.
Codes and siphers covered a vast field in itself. At odd times, most of the ship's officers with the exception of the Captain and executive officer served in the "Black Chamber" detail. Officers who contributed considerable time to this essential effort were Lieutenants WEIR, TEETER, MCCOOL, Lieutenants (jg) BUSKIRK, WEIS, MORRISON, LOOMIS, Ensigns YOUNGBLOOD, ATHERTON, RUSSELL. through the capable performance of the Coding Board, the ship was kept in step with the remainder of the Pacific Fleet.
Insofar as practical navigation was concerned, in the course of her 142,000 mile cruise BENNION encountered most of the known hazards; snow, ice and fog off the New England Coast; a variety of typhoons in the Western Pacific; numerous uncharted areas incident to the several campaings and finally the subarctic conditions in the Aleutians. To combat these dangers to navigation the ship was admirably equipped in a material sense but more important her vigorous young navigators worked conscientiously around the clock.
The quartermasters served as assistants to the Navigator, helmsmen during general quarters and special evolutions, and doubled as signalmen. In the latter capacity, they were (as was the rest of the crew) lookouts. This highly trained group included ROSTY, FABIAN, FELKER, GREGG, LAUDENSLAYER, MALLOY, MORGAN, MURRAY, and PACE.
FELKER and GREGG deserve particular mention for their proficiency as "special detail" helmsmen. During tricky evolutions such as fueling at sea, passing mail or personnel between ships or when dodging Kamikazes, it was most helpful to the Captain or officer of the deck to have an expert at the wheel. In such instances, a wrong twist of the wheel could cause a great deal of trouble. Thanks to the manual dexterity and mental equilibrium of the "special detail" men BENNION had no trouble.
BERNARD J. PACE QM3c was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for outstanding performance of duty in action at OKINAWA
"Time was when a Captain's first thought was of ships and guns, but now before the anchor breaks one hears the resounding cry--'All yeomen get the mail!"
The ship of today is not exactly organized along the lines indicated above but it is inescapable that the numerous operation plans, orders, instructions and procedures which control ship movements present a problem in paper shuffling which requires the greatest skill, organization and mental equilibrium in the ship's office. A smooth running office is the badge of a well organized ship and a poorly consituted one is a mark of confusion.
During war conditions reports and paper work are in theory kept to a minimum, but the minimum amount remaining was found to be more than enough for the meager yeoman force assigned to a destroyer.
BENNION's yeoman took the papers in stride and in addition manned important battle stations.
Chief Yeoman RUNSKI, TUFTS, and BLAIR served in succession, well supported by RUBENSTEIN, FUREY and HALL. JOHN A. RUNSKI served in all the Pacific Operations through the first part of the OKINAWA CAMPAIGN as Captain's talker. From his battle station at the Captain's elbow he relayed orders to all control stations in the ship and maintained a running account of information from these stations. He also maintained shorthand notes for the ship's war diary and as a natural consequence of long hours on the bridge became one of the first string lookouts for enemy aircraft. Chief LYMAN C. BLAIR relieved him of these important duties at OKINAWA and continued the good work. RUNSKI transferred to NEWCOMB where on picket station he narrowly escaped death when the ship was severly damaged by multiple suicide attacks. Happily, he lived to enjoy recruiting duty in Springfield, Massachusetts.
DELMONT L. TUFTS, CY was soft-spoken, capable and thoroughly dependable as senior ship's writer and, in addition was one of the best 40-mm gun captains in the business. His crew quickly learned that for all his quiet exterior CHIEF TUFTS was able to handle himself and his subordinates to good advantage.
BIRCHELL C. HALL, Y2c, viewed the war from a 40-mm director station on the bridge. His alert and accurate shooting hastened the demise of numerous Japanese aircraft and in several instances definitely contributed to BENNION's survival. He was awarded the Commendation Ribbon for outstanding conduct in action at OKINAWA; and the Purple Heart for wounds received in action at LINGAYEN
FRANK A. FUREY, Y2c was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action at OKINAWA.
From the above, it is apparent that BENNION's "pencil pushers" and "paper shufflers" possessed the wide range of accomplishment which stamped them as all-round destroyer men.