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Link to Amphibious Navy Bolo Ties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History of USS LST 919 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
( MacArthur's Navy ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The destinies of two great empires --- seem to be tied up in some damned things called LST's Winston Churchill stated to President Franklin Roosevelt, June 1944. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S.S. LST 919 was commissioned at Hingham, Mass. on the 31st of May 1944. With acceptance by the United States Navy, the Bethlehem-Hingham shipyard set a record for this type of ship. (14 LST's commissioned during the month of May 1944.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lieutenant (jg) Nils K. Stamps, USNR was the commanding Officer, and with his crew of 110 and 12 officers, began to make the ship livable and ready for her future duties. There were minor alterations to be completed, storage spaces, magazines, fuel, and water tanks to be filled and finally we were ready for the first sustained test run. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
We left Boston on the 7th of June 1944 and proceeded independently to Little Creek, Virginia. Here we received one day of availability before reporting for shakedown operations at Cornfield Point, Maryland in the Chesapeake Bay. For one week we underwent ceaseless experimental and tactical operations under the guidance of the shakedown board. Upon completion of operations we tied up at the Portsmouth Navy Yard for five days availability before loading bulk cargo at N.S.D. Norfolk., Va. On the 1st of July with our tank deck well loaded we set out in formation with LST 1018 and LST 1025 for New York. Here we tied up for six days while workmen constructed launching ways and loaded five sections of LCT 1048 and LCT 1150 on our main deck. At 0000 hrs. on the 10th of July we got underway and sailed in convoy from New York harbor. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There was a day layover in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba before we reached Coco Sola on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. On the 24th of July we passed through the canal and together with LST 1018, LST 1025, LST 618 and LST 746 we proceeded across the Pacific. Crossing the equator at 1200 10¢ WEST longitude on the 1st day of August, there was much activity aboard as Neptunus Rex and his Trusty Shellbacks, took over the ship. Morning and evening general quarters were held during this time, and once while engaged in a surprise drill during the night an American cruiser was spotted on the horizon. Our last days of the voyage were made on one engine due to a reduction gear casualty. We arrived at Espirito Santos after 32 days at sea on the 25th of August. ; Not only was the sight of land wonderful, but the mail had also been flown in and was awaiting us. After a few days we proceeded independently and arrived at Manus Island in the Admiralties on the 7th of September. Here we unloaded both LCT sections, bulk cargo and received availability at the ship repair base. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our group commander came aboard temporarily and served as OTC. We departed Manus Island for Finschafen, New Guinea on the 13th of September together with LST 700, LST 703, and LST 746. We shoved off from Finschafen, New Guinea on the 8th of October, with Army heavy engineering equipment aboard. This equipment was destined for Hollandia, New Guinea, and soon after unloading we rebeached, took on troops and equipment for the 919's first major operation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
We sailed in convoy on the 17th of October with Army Signal Corps units aboard, our destination White Beach Leyte, Philippine Islands. ARRIVING AT SAN PEDRO BAY, EARLY ON THE 24TH OF OCTOBER WE PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRST KAMIKAZE ATTACK, AS PART OF THE INVASION OF THE PHILIPPINES. Before beaching, our guns had downed a Japanese Betty bomber and scored other hits on Japanese aircraft, Later in the morning we beached and unloading was completed during the night. Retracting on the 25th we lay off Samar Island, and with other L.S.T.'s spent 3 days waiting for the outcome of THE LAST GREAT SEA BATTLE OF WORLD WAR II THE BATTLE OF LEYYE GULF. At times the night sky lit up like the 4th of July. After the battle we unloaded empty ammunition cases from Capital ships participating in that fleet action. The U.S.S. Tennessee was one of the ships. On the night of the 26th we accounted for our second Japanese plane downed when a Val came low over the water off our starboard bow. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Towing a YMS in the heavy weather, we left San Pedro Bay on the 28th and returned to Hollandia, New Guinea. Upon unloading we departed for Noemfoor Island in the Schouton group. Army engineering troops and equipment were taken aboard and carried to Leyte near the city of Tacloban, where we arrived on the 19th of November. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our next operation began on the 12th of December as we departed from Leyte. Our load consisted of infantry troops and equipment and our destination was “Blue Beach” Mindoro, Philippines. We were told at a briefing, we would have a 30% chance of returning alive. En-route on the 13th of December we witnessed the kamikaze crash-diving into the light cruiser Nashville killing 133 and wounding 190 men. We also saw our air patrol down 2 Japanese fighters. We beached shortly after H-hour on the 15th of December, being the first L.S.T on “Blue Beach”. Before unloading begun, we were engaged in an air raid and effectively repelled one strafing Japanese fighter. We witnessed the kamikaze crash diving of 2 L.S.T.’s, and saw several near misses as their planes fell apart after being hit and missed their targets. In the early afternoon one Japanese plane sneaked in low and dropped a small fragmentation bomb off our port beam which inflected no damage. At sundown, in the midst of another raid we saw Mindoro fade into the horizon. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Christmas and New Years Day were spent in San Pedro Bay. On the 3rd of January 1945 we sailed in convoy for the largest invasion of the Philippines. On this trip we carried members of General MacArthur’s staff and their equipment. We saw the massive explosion of a Japanese destroyer that was torpedoed beyond the horizon late at night, also the Kamikaze crash dives on a A.P.A. and a L.S.T. On the 9th of January we accounted for our third Japanese plane down. We unloaded at Lingayen Gulf on the 9th of January. General MacArthur waded ashore from a small boat, and before getting into his jeep said, “I HAVE RETURNED”. A Life Magazine photographer took a picture of the General sitting in his jeep with L.S.T. 919 in the background. We departed the following night during a terrible air raid while our PA system played a stuck record for more then an hour of Bing Crosby singing Silent Night. At Leyte we were loaded again, this time with equipment and men of an Air Command group and returned on the 27th of January to Lingayen Gulf. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A series of runs between New Guinea and the Philippines commenced as we returned to Leyte on the 5th of February. The first trip carried us to Sansapor, New Guinea, where we loaded a medium bomber group. After a short stop at Biak Island, where we buried Ensign J.C. Quimby with a military funeral at an Army base cemetery. (Ensign Quimby suffered a massive stroke.) We proceeded and reached Palawan Island on the 12th of March, upon leaving we spent a week at Leyte. On the 1st of April we arrived at Hollandia, New Guinea, and began loading infantry troops and equipment. These troops were carried to Moratai where they replaced other infantrymen which we later carried to Parang, Mindoro. We made 2 trips to Parang, the first was on the 22nd of April. Returning to Leyte after this operation we spent a week in port before leaving for Saidor, New Guinea. Arriving on the 22nd of May we loaded Army bulk supplies to be carried to Finschafen, New Guinea. We departed Finschafen on the 27th of May with the staff and equipment of an Army station hospital aboard. Col. Charles Mayo Jr. MD of the Mayo Clinic, was commanding officer. En-route there were stops at Hollandia, Manila, and Subic Bay before unloading at Batangas, Luzon on the 20th of June. We returned to San Pedro Bay on the 27th of June and remained inactive awaiting availability for main engine repairs. Moving to Guiuan, Samar on the 21st of July we went into dry dock for scraping and painting of the hull, and later received engine repairs and replacements. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WAR END’S Japan surrendered, on 14th of August 1945. On the 2nd of September the surrender document was signed on the deck of the battleship Missouri. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joining our group we sailed from San Pedro Bay on the 4th of September for Iloilo, Panay Island. At Iloilo troops and equipment of an Army amphibious engineer brigade were taken aboard. We sailed in formation with other L.S.T.’s and L.S.M.’s on the 13th of September. Due to bad weather we laid over in San Pedro Bay 2 days en-route and arrived in Chemulpo anchorage, Jinsen, Korea on the 25th of September. After unloading at “Red Beach” on the 26th we again anchored at Chemulpo anchorage awaiting further assignment. We received orders and left on the 30th of September from Jinsen, Korea, less cargo, destination Manila, Luzon Island in the Philippines. Immediately after leaving Jinsen the weather and ocean became rough with possible signs of meeting a typhoon ahead on the set course. We rode out the typhoon. The waves were so high; one minute we were looking up at the sea the next we were looking down. During the typhoon our mast was broken, we had no radar, with a heavy overcast and torrential rain, our fear was running into another ship during the night. The 919 was lost for 4 days, during that time we saw half of an abandoned ship floating in the open sea, finally we made radio contact. We anchored off the West Coast of Okinawa, on the 4th of October about fifty miles above the capital. The 5th of October brought better weather, and again we headed for Manila, arriving on the 10th of October. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Upon arrival some of the first enlisted men were transferred to another ship, going to the states with hopes of getting a discharge. Leaving Manila on the 16th of October we anchored in Subic Bay later the same day. From here a trip was made to the neighboring island of Mindoro where we stopped at San Jose. From San Jose, partly loaded, we started for Manila. Upon arriving, we picked up cargo consisting of a medical unit. Leaving Manila on the 21st of October we put in at San Fernando, Luzon on the 1st of November due to choppy water and bad weather conditions ahead. On the 2nd of November Korea bound, we left San Fernando arriving at Chemulpo anchorage Jinsen Korea on the 5th of November. We quickly unloaded the medical unit in the tidal basin; this was necessary since the tide at Jinsen is approximately 28 feet. After the ship was unloaded more high point men left the ship going to the states for a discharge. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Orders were received, and on the 20th of November we proceeded to Tsingtao, China. Empty, with a day and a half of the voyage ahead, we anchored off Tsingtao on the 22nd of November. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Here we awaited orders during a few days of availability anticipating the job of transferring Former Japanese prisoner’s of war, from China to their homeland. We carried 14 Japanese Officers, including a General and his interpreter, who were allowed quarters off the forward tank deck. We also carried a large number of men, women and children, who were quartered on the top deck, where they lived, slept and ate. Our trip to Sassabo, Japan took seven days and was uneventful, even with severe winter weather and no heat. After discharging our human cargo, we returned to Tsingtao on the 14th of December. After two days layover our next destination was Taku, China. We continued to operate along the China seacoast until mid January 1946. |
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I left the ship, which had been my home for 20 months, on the 13th of January1946. My orders reading to proceed by way of San Diego to discharge station in Charleston, South Carolina. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I have been told that the U.S.S. LST 919 continued to be active in both the China Sea and the Yellow Sea, visited Hong Kong, Shanghai, China and Hawaii, before beaching in San Diego on the 15th of May 1946, with 4 PLANK HOLDERS aboard. (Lt. R.L. Simonton, Lt. (jg) Frank Powers, Lt. (jg) Robert Bolger and MoMM /2C Hal Newman.) Later the 919 continued the voyage to Bremerton, Washington for decommissioning. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This short and brief history reviews activities aboard the L.S.T. 919 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From 31st of May 1944 ? to the 15th of May 1946. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History: Lt. (jg) Rudge M. Calhoun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commanding Officer, Lieutenant (jg) Nils K. Stamps, upon his return to the states was awarded: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bronze Star | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All ships crew awarded: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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American Theater Medal Asiatic-Pacific Medal 2 Stars Victory Medal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Philippine Liberation Ribbon 1 Star | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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