Looking Back: Aboard The USS Neches A0-47

By Ed Anderson

Ed Anderson was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. After World War II he settled in Portland, Oregon and later in Kirkland, Washington. He has 4 children. He retired in 1987 as claims adjuster for a large insurance company. He is now Secretary/News Editor for the USS Neches AO-47 Association.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 14, 2006
• ISBN: 9781465320889

Book preview

Copyright © 2006 by Ed Anderson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 11/14/2023

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

537547

Contents

Preface

USS Neches (AO-47): A History of Courage

Chapter 1: How It Began

Chapter 2: Getting Acquainted

Chapter 3: Learning the Routine

Chapter 4: The Day of Reckoning Arrived

Chapter 5: The South China Sea Operation

Chapter 6: On to Iwo Jima

Chapter 7: Our Shining Moment

Chapter 8: New Things Abound

Chapter 9: The Giant Storm (One Thousandth Fueling)

Chapter 10: The Beginning of the End (Ensign’s Note)

Chapter 11: Victory (Letter to Parents)

Chapter 12: Going Home

Epilogue

Maps and Photos

Preface

This story is meant to remind those who read it of the dangers, uncertainty, dedication, and resourcefulness of all those men who served on ships that supplied the fuel for our warships. Fueling at sea allowed the American fleet the freedom to roam the Pacific in search of the enemy unshackled by distance. Although heavily protected by warships of the fleet during most of their operations, the tankers were always a prime target of the enemy and six were lost, five to enemy action during the war. The original USS Neches (AO-5) was the first to go down by Japanese torpedoes on January 23, 1942, followed by the USS Pecos (AO-6) on March 1, 1942, near Java by Japanese aircraft. Then May 7, 1942, we lost the USS Neosho (AO-23) in the battle of the Coral Sea, sunk by Japanese aircraft. The Kanawha (AO-1) was lost on April 7, 1943, near Guadalcanal by Japanese aircraft and the USS Mississinewa (AO-59) by a suicide minisubmarine at Ulithi Atoll fleet base on November 20, 1944. The last one was the USS Sheepscot (AOG-24) that went down off Iwo Jima on June 6, 1945, as a result of running aground during a typhoon.

Those who lost their lives in these tragedies should be remembered for their bravery and dedication to the freedom we have through their service to their country.

I want to give a special thanks to my friend Marjorie Rueber of Forest Grove, Oregon, who was the inspiration for my relating this story. Without her encouragement, this story would be left untold.

image1.jpg

USS NECHES (AO-47)

A HISTORY OF COURAGE

With nine battle stars during World War II in the Pacific, the USS Neches was the most decorated fleet tanker in the United States Navy. From Guadalcanal to Tokyo Bay and including operations in the Aleutian Islands, the Neches under the able command of Captain H.G. Hansen performed flawlessly in its task to supply the Pacific Fleet with fuel to ultimately defeat the Japanese. Not to be overshadowed by fighting ships, she shot down a Japanese suicide plane at Okinawa, the only tanker to do so in the entire war. Commissioned in September 1942, she replaced the original USS Neches (AO-5) which was sunk by three Japanese torpedoes off Hawaii. She joined the fleet for fueling operations off Guadalcanal in November 1942. Showing the admirals of the Pacific Fleet her ability to fuel without flaw, the Neches was asked to take part in every major invasion in the Pacific Theater. Those invasions included the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. It was at Iwo Jima the crew watched as those gallant marines hoisted the flag atop Mt. Suribachi. A trip from Leyte Gulf in the Philippines to the South China Sea, with only a submarine as escort, to help lure the Japanese fleet to battle with the awaiting American fleet was just one of the many assignments she took part in. Little wonder then when the Japanese surrendered, the USS Neches was invited to represent the tanker fleet and take part in the ceremonies in Tokyo Bay. She was the eleventh major ship to enter Tokyo Bay on August 29, 1945, four days before the surrender ceremonies.

Through over one thousand fuelings, the Neches never parted a