James Hurtz 1989
“ I will never forget 1944!”
The Swanson was transferred to the third fleet Carrier task force 38. I didn’t like it too well for our crew wasn’t that big. It meant four hours in the fire room and four hours out. I said many times since if any body ever wakes me up that often again, I’d shoot him.
The planes would take off the carriers all day long. We refueled from the carriers all the time which was the only source of fuel we could get because there wasn’t any oil tankers that could go the speed we could go.
Some of our destroyers shelled and our aircraft bombed Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The worst of my time on board ship was the typhoons. The waves were extremely high. I spent 32 hours straight in the fire room – three other guys and me. There wasn’t any chance for anybody to relieve us. I couldn’t tell how water I had in the boiler. We were going just about straight up and straight down. There were times I thought we hit the bottom of the ocean.
God must have been taking care of us. The carriers had a lot of damage. Task Force 38 lost three destroyers. The battleships and cruisers made it all right. The storm came on so fast we could not get out of the way.
We spent Christmas Eve anchored next to the Island of Saipan, during the night we had an air raid. We got the hell out of there. The Japs blew up a fuel dump on the Island which lit up the whole sky.
A year I’ll never forget is the year 1944. That year will never be lost in my memory. Thanks to my Captain and to all my shipmates. May God Bless them all.
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In the spring of 1945 we were sent to Seattle for repairs. The Bremington navy yard fixed us up again. We got to go home for fourteen days. When the Swanson was ready to go again, we went down to San Diego and from there to Pearl Harbor . Refueled and went to Saipan Island. We were sent out to pick up bomber crews who didn’t make it back to their base.
From Saipan we were sent to Manila Bay to get ready for the invasion of Japan. The atomic bomb was dropped in the meantime. There were ships as far as you could see. There wouldn’t have been nothing left of Japan.
The good news we were on our way home. To Pearl Harbor, San Diego and then on to the Panama Canal and then to Charleston, South Carolina. I got home two days before my birthday which is December 11th.