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I wish I could remember who this is and how the dog got aboard. It is near the aft gun turret. He seems a nice guy and the dog is obviously very nice. |
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Going Home! We made a stop in San Diego after repairs in Ulithi to our damaged screw - damaged in the hurricane in Tokyo Harbor - before the armistice signing. We didn't have steam in time to avoid drifting back into a cargo ship and picking up their anchor chain with our screw. We dragged that anchor all the way back to Ulithi. Here we are going through the Panama Canal. We made a flank speed run from the canal up to Charleston where we decommissioned the ship - and where I was married. Joe Copestakes, Chief Radioman, was the best man, and Bob Tvelia's wife, Jerry. was matron of honor. |
This was the R and R at the Ulithi Atoll - Mog Mog. We were each issued 3 or 4 cans of really bad beer which we drank sitting on a fallen palm tree log. As you can see there are lots of us around. It was not a very big place. Our main objective while there was to steal a case of Fruit Salad. We had none of the niceties aboard. We got our ice cream - rarely - from carriers from which we got a drink of oil once in awhile. Pictured here as best I can remember from notes are from left to right: Doc Kolavich, John "Ichabod" Hood (me), Black, Green, Deacon Hall, John Mineva (looking away), Bert Wagner (Looking down).
Where my memory differs from the "official history" of the
Nicholson is with regard to the battle of Okinawa. We were there all right and
it was pretty scary. What we feared the most was assignment to Picket Duty. I
recall vividly how relieved we all were NOT to be assigned to what at that time
was almost suicide duty. That battle was the longest Naval battle in history and
the US lost more tonnage of ships to Kamikazes than in all previous battles
fought in the entire history of the United States. Naval losses at Okinawa far
exceeded those at Pearl Harbor.
