All Ahead Full: World War II Memoirs of an Lsm 215 Veteran

By William M. Craighead

LSM 215 Veteran William M. Craighead recounts his memoirs of LSM 215 life during World War II. *Read about the USS LSM 215 with its crew of young men, two-thirds of whom were younger than 20; and their 22 months together aboard ship. Coming from all parts of America, most had never been to sea before. Traveling on the open ocean on a landing craft became a staggering adventure but they learned to adapt to long periods at sea on a vessel with a shallow draft and no keel... *The part LSM 215 played in the war in the Pacific...the invasion of Okinawa. The historic battle included the largest onslaught of the war by suicidal kamikaze pilots. It was at Okinawa that the Navy suffered its heaviest losses in ships and manpower during World War II. Miraculously, all the crew survived with two shipmates receiving the Purple Heart as a result of kamikaze attacks... *Their journey as they took occupation troops and supplies into Northern China, a China still ancient and medieval. Finally, homeward bound, after only a few days at sea, the ship began to leak badly at several vulnerable locations. Read how the crew worked day and night for two weeks, manning the pumps until the got to Pearl Harbor. They were going home, so it was ALL AHEAD FULL! *And much more...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Jan 4, 2004
• ISBN: 9781618587619

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

World War II began in Europe in the fall of 1939, when Hitler’s Germany con-quered Poland and France. American leaders, disappointed by the failure of World War I to be the war to end all wars, were both reluctant to become combatants and worried that the British and French might be unequal to the task of stopping Hitler. At the same time, they were conscious of the general feeling at home that the United States had gained nothing useful from the sacrifices made in World War I.

The compromise solution was to adopt a strategy of supporting the Allies without risking the lives of masses of young American men. The basic device was called Lend Lease, by which the British and French were supplied with munitions, ships and other military necessities in commercial transactions.

Thoughtful Americans recognized that sooner or later we would become fully involved combatants. What was surprising was that it was an incident in the Pacific, not in Europe, that brought us into the war. That, of course, was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Why did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, making an active enemy of a nation not yet engaged in the war?

There are two reasons:

1) Most of our Pacific Fleet was at anchor there, offering an ideal opportunity to strike a crippling blow.

2) We might interfere with their Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, the Japanese term for their plan to dominate Southeast Asia.

The damage they did was most devastating, but they failed to strike our most effective weapons, the aircraft carriers, which were at sea at the time. It was those aircraft carriers that were instrumental in our winning the battle of Midway on June 2, 1942, and later determined the turning point of the war against the Japanese.

The author of this memoir was a crew member on an LSM (Landing Ship Medium) that participated in only one invasion in the Pacific, at Okinawa.

His experience came near the end of a war that began in Europe and concluded in Asia with the first use of nuclear weapons.

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The Bridge Gang

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Sturgill

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Adams

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Habermehl and Markowsky

CHAPTER 2

Boot Camp

Great Lakes Naval Training Station

Green Bay, Wisconsin

March, 1944

DRAFTEE - I turned 18 on August 20, 1943 and immediately became eligible for the United States military draft. That meant I had to register with my local draft board in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I was between my junior and senior years in high school. If I passed my pre-induction physical, I would be available immediately for conscription into the military service, before finishing my high school education. I was worried about how I would fit in with younger classmates when I came back from the war. My original classmates would have gone on to college. My neighborhood friends, the ones I grew up with, would no longer be in high school. If I chose to return to high school to obtain my diploma, I would be 2-4 years older than my classmates. This age difference between my classmates and me, along with my war experience, might be awkward for both of us.

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Bill Craighead

DEFERMENT REQUESTED - At the time, I was attending George School, a private, co-educational secondary school in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. If my induction was to be deferred, I needed a letter from George Walton, the George School principal, to the draft board. He wrote the necessary letter, and George School arranged for me an accelerated program in which I could complete all the requirements for a high school diploma in half a year, provided I passed all my courses.

DEFERMENT GRANTED - My deferment was granted just before the opening of school in September, allowing me to complete my senior year by February 1944. It was a great senior year for me. Along with my studies, I was in a dramatics class play, Arsenic and Old Lace. In the fall I played on the varsity soccer team, followed by varsity basketball until I left. We ended the season with a 13-2 record, beating all our rival schools. In the dormitories, seniors replaced male teachers who had entered the military service. Along with three other seniors, I was a dormitory proctor in the younger boys’ dorm. I was fortunate enough to have a girl friend with whom I spent many pleasant hours my senior year. I especially remember dancing to the songs of the Big Bands of the 40’s.

All of this was a part of growing up very fast. Then, like a bomb shell, it all came to an end when I graduated. On my last night at school, the business manager and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Buckman, gave a going-away party for me. My girl friend, Edie, and the Buckman’s’ daughter and her boy friend were also present. It was a very special party, with ice cream and cake, of course. There was also a poem wishing me good luck.

HEADING HOME - It was time to pack my clothes for the train ride home. I had a trunk and a couple of suit cases when I first arrived in the fall. I invited a lot of friends to my room and gave away any of my clothes they might want, including coats, shirts, sweaters, trousers, shoes, ties, and sport shirts. I figured it would be a long time before I would need them again, and that they probably wouldn’t fit me after my return. I gave my girl friend my white wool sweater. I felt good about making those gifts. I sent my dirty clothes home by parcel post, and I left with one suit case. It was a lonesome train ride home.

A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT (FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT) GREETINGS - When I arrived home my Dad said, You just received a letter from the President to report for your pre-induction physical examination at the induction center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at 7:45 A.M. on. February 10, 1944. On February 22, I learned that I had been declared physically fit for the Navy, the Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard. March 3, I received an order to report on the March 11, to the induction center on Cameron Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The long awaited hour was finally here.

DRAFTED - A SELECTIVE VOLUNTEER - We were required to be at the induction center by 9:00 A.M., at which time we were given a brief orientation about the service in which we were to serve, and then sworn in. I was what they called a selective volunteer. That meant that if there wasn’t a specific quota required to be filled for a certain branch of service; you might get your choice. After standing in a long line for more than an hour, my turn came to select a branch of service.

O.K. Mac what will it be, the Army or the Navy? I had already made up my mind that it would be the Navy, in which my Dad had served as a medical corpsman in World War I. My reply was, The Navy, sir. With that, on his roster, he stamped Navy. Most of the fellows before me were also getting the branch of service of their choice.

THE TRAIN STATION - HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - After many long hours of waiting for further instructions, we were finally herded into buses and driven to the train station in downtown Harrisburg. It was March 11, 1944. By late afternoon I was officially a part of a large contingent of Navy men about to board a train for the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

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Boot Camp, Great Lakes NTS, March 1944, Company 534 shipmates: Craighead, Hunt, Kiehl.

THE BOX CAR—OUR PULLMAN SLEEPER - If this train ride and accommodations represented the conditions I was going to experience while in the Navy, I knew I was in for a lousy time. It was anything but comfortable. From Harrisburg to Chicago was about 800 miles, a good 24 hour train ride. Our sleeping car on the train was a converted box car. It was no Pullman sleeper, that’s for sure. The car was dark, dingy and without windows. There were interior lights and the sleeping bunks were four high, spaced like bookshelves in a library.

We were served meals on the train in a dining car, but military style, the standard tin tray with separate compartments for the different foods. After the evening meal, most of us retired to our bunks for the long, bumpy, noisy ride across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Because it was winter, most of our trip was at night. Some fellows played cards, while a few others shot craps. That night seemed the depths of discomfort, especially the loud and continual clinking of the box car’s wheels on each length of rail. But most of us found out later that it was better than being on a ship pitching and yawing far away from home. We finally arrived at the Great Lakes Naval Training Base at Green Bay, Wisconsin, just north of Chicago, at mid-afternoon the next day.

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ARRIVAL AT BOOT CAMP - As we pulled into the train station at Green Bay, Wisconsin, we paraded off the train and walked to the nearby Great Lakes Naval Training Base. There we were greeted by Chief Petty Officers, who directed us to a large frame building where we would be assigned our sleeping quarters, and eventually obtain our Navy gear (clothes) and be assigned to our camp and company. As we approached the building, we were greeted by hundreds of other boots who had arrived earlier the same day, yelling out the barracks windows all kinds of scary things like, Wait ‘til you get your shots, the one with the square needle or the one with a propeller on it. The area was a virtual zoo, extremely noisy, and in a state of mass confusion. We were guided into one of the barracks, where we threw our belongings onto the nearest bunk. Most of us were between 18 and 20 years of age; very few were over 25. After chow, most of us returned to the area nearest our bunks and played poker or shot craps. Some read a book.

GOODBYE CIVVIES, HELLO NAVY BLUES - The next day we changed into our navy denims. They gave us a flat, folded piece of cardboard that opened up into a box. We were to strip down and place all our civilian clothes in the box and address it to our homes. This left us stark naked, a situation we quickly remedied by putting on skivvies, a white T-shirt, and a pair of boxer shorts of a style I still wear today. We added the traditional enlisted man’s uniform of a blue denim shirt, pants, and a pair of black Florsheim shoes, topped off with a white hat. Some personal belongings we could keep, but no bracelets or neck chains.

THE NEEDLE - Twice a week during our entire stay in boot camp we received shots for one disease or another. I think I received 27 shots in all. We stood in long lines waiting to be hit with a hypodermic needle. It wasn’t a delicate process, and waiting in line didn’t help matters. Some guys even fainted. One guy did so almost every time we got the needle. He weighed over 200 pounds, and once hit the floor with a resounding thud.

COMPANY 534 - There were thousands of men standing around waiting to be assigned to specific companies. Finally, my name was called and I was assigned to Company 534. Each company had a complement of 144 men, housed in wooden, army type-barracks. Each man would remain with his company until the completion of his boot camp training. During peace time, training was 16 weeks; ours was three and a half weeks. After the completion of our boot camp training, we would go to another base for further training. Our sleeping quarters in the barracks were plain, but adequate and comfortable. We slept in double-decker wooden bunks.

CRAIGHEAD-CRAWFORD - My so called bunkmate was a man from Tennessee. I’ll never forget him. He was a large man with sandy hair, weighing over 200 pounds at 37 years of age, married with two kids. He was just a year short of the maximum draft age. We were placed alphabetically. His name was Jim Crawford He came from the hills of Tennessee, and spoke with a typical hill-billy drawl. To my amazement, he couldn’t read or write. You wouldn’t know that, however, in an ordinary conversation with him. He was an extremely nice guy, so I volunteered to read and write letters for him, which he greatly appreciated. We developed an unusual type of camaraderie, where he let me into his life by reading his letters to him. I would write letters for him, as he told me what to write. Sometimes I would tell him about my letters from home. He could sign his name, so where his signature was required, he had no trouble signing his name rather than just writing a plain old X.

THE FLYING FIVE - After being assigned to a boot camp company, one of the first things we did was get our Flying Five. We went to a counter and received a five-dollar bill to purchase personal items, mostly bathroom articles. You immediately return the bill to pay for your purchases. It was called a Flying Five, because we spent it right away. The first item we received was a canvas bag called a Ditty Bag, large enough to hold about two gallons of water. We put in it a double-edged razor with a packet of blades, shaving cream, a sewing kit with some extra buttons, a towel, a tooth brush, a bar of soap, some writing paper and a Blue Jackets manual. At the end of the line, we were given $2.25 cents in change for spending money. Before we left the area we had to get a haircut, also to be paid from the Flying Five, at a cost of $.25 cents. They kiddingly said, Don’t bother crossing your legs, you won’t be here that long. How true, for in less than five minutes we got the traditional navy haircut. We all became skin-heads.

CLEAN-UP DETAIL - Every morning after chow, we made our beds and cleaned up the barracks. One odd part of the process was taking a piece of steel wool and, with the sole of your shoe, scuff the floor to remove the black heel marks. An inspection of the entire barracks followed. If the commanding officer found you responsible for anything wrong, your name was posted on a roster for extra duty, which usually meant marching on the drill field after hours.

SMOKING LAMP - Special provisions were made for smoking. At certain times during the day or evening, an announcement was made that the smoking lamp was now lit. This meant that you could go to a certain designated area in the barracks for about 15 minutes, sit at a table and smoke a cigarette or two.

MAIL CALL - Mail call was always the most welcome event of the day. Though I had just left home a few weeks before, it was always nice to have a letter from home, my girl friend, or even one of the neighborhood gang. I could also take time to read to him my bunkmate’s letters from home.

DAILY ROUTINE—MARCHING - Days were spent marching, drilling and more drilling. We learned to march with a gun and do the 16-count manual. The 16-count manual was a drill where you stood at attention with a gun held at your right side. Then on a given command, at the count of one, raise the gun across your chest, bring to a firing position, return across your chest again, and then back down along your right side, to its original position. This is done in one continual move, all the while counting in a chant from one to sixteen. We marched to the commands of a platoon leader. Forward march! he shouted. To the right flank, march; to the rear, march; to the right oblique, march; forward, march; to the rear, march. We would usually practice for about an hour at a time. In the beginning, when all these commands occurred within a minute or two, men would be spread out all over the parade ground. Yes, 144 of us. Later on, guys who were entirely out of step, would be given extra duty to improve their marching skills. Sometimes Chief Howe was so mad at the way our company marched that he gave the entire company extra duty marching on the parade ground.

OLD PROS - Eventually marching became ‘Old Hat.’ We all quickly learned how to do all the rifle counts and marching commands perfectly. We had to, or we would still be out on the parade grounds. The war might have to go on without us. The longer it took us to do the drills perfectly, the madder Chief Howe would get. Some days were absolutely awful. At times he would single out a recruit for extra marching duty, and then make another individual in our company drill him. As a form of discipline, if you had done something wrong during the day, you might be assigned to an hour of extra duty marching at the end of the day or on Saturday, when the rest of the company had some free time. There were companies that took great pride in their marching. A segregated company of blacks performed flawlessly with a singing chant. It was quite a sight to see them perform. They were almost as good as the Rockets, at the Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Parts of other days were spent in the loft learning to tie knots, in gas mask drills and in swim tests. Airplane identification was extremely important, I must admit I became quite good at it. They even had a 50 caliber machine gun set up with a screen to fire on airplanes, like the ones in amusement parks. I could have spent the rest of the war playing with this device. Little did I realize, that only six months later, I would be firing at the real airplanes.

OUR COMPANY COMMANDER, CHIEF PETTY OFFICER, HOWE - Chief Howe fit the bill as a company commander to a T. He was big, and had a distinctive deep voice. When he gave commands, they did not have to be repeated. His uniform fit him perfectly. He exuded authority, knew how to use it, and seemed to enjoy every minute of his command. He commanded obedience! At the same time, he appeared to be a really nice guy.

DISCIPLINE - Discipline was strict, as I quickly found out. One day, after morning chow, as I was walking into the barracks, I just happened to pass by Chief Howe, our company commander, when he noticed an orange in the pocket of my peacoat. I failed to see a notice forbidding the removal of food from the mess hall, and consequently paid a severe penalty. He made me stand in front of the entire company and said, O.K. Craighead, you eat the whole orange, including the seeds and rind. After 20 minutes, I still hadn’t finished the orange, so he dismissed the company and walked away without saying anything further to me.

BUDDY SYSTEM - We were encouraged to find a friend that we could call a buddy. The idea was to have someone that knew where you were at all times, so we could check on each other. My buddy’s name was Bill Barley, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. We were virtually inseparable during our boot training, and spent all our