MEMOIRS OF USS SNOHOMISH COUNTY (LST 1126) Lt. Ronald A. Campbell, Commanding Officer. (1959-1962) I received my orders as Prospective Commanding Officer of the USS SNOHOMISH COUNTY in November 1959. At the time I was a Lieutenant serving as Assistant District Operations Officer on the staff of Commandant of the Thirteenth Naval District in Seattle. My prior experience was limited to two destroyers and an APD, so I was concerned, as I had never been on an LST before and judging from those I had seen, they appeared to have unusual handling characteristics to say the least. I was familiar with the county name as it is the next county North of Seattle. When detached, my family and I went to San Diego to move into government quarters and then reported to COMPHIBPAC. The PCO course was only one week and I was able to do two-day cruises on LST ships. As we backed out of the slip on the first day, I asked the CO which way was he going to turn? His reply was that he was waiting to see which way the ship wished to turn and he would then help it along! From then on I was very alert for additional guidance. At this time (December 1959) the ship was deployed to WESTPAC and I traveled to Yokosuka, Japan and reported to the senior command for information on the current location of SNOHOMISH COUNTY. The operations office did not have this information and it was necessary to send an inquiry, which determined that she was to arrive at the Iiwakuni Marine Corps base in two days. After spending an overnight at the Marine Corps base, I went down to the pier the next morning to await the ship’s arrival. There was a heavy fog and shortly after 0800 the ship loomed out of the fog and tied up. A Jacob’s ladder was dropped down the side and I proceeded to make the long climb up to the main deck. On stepping over the chain rail I was greeted by the CO “Doc” Lamb who announced, “Welcome aboard to Snow White and the seven dwarfs.” It turned out that besides the CO, the wardroom consisted of 7 ensigns. When I inquired as to what happened to the LT (JG) XO that I was expecting, I was advised that he was in the Yokosuka Naval base hospital with ulcers. The ship proceeded to Yokosuka where the change of command was to be held. The ship was moored in the outer harbor and as the time approached for the ceremony the weather picked up and the boat carrying the local senior officers planning to attend had to turn back. However, the ceremony was uneventful although many of the officers and crew had their hands on their caps to prevent them from blowing over the side in the strong winds. When I reviewed the service records of the wardroom officers, I discovered that they were all very inexperienced and in fact I had more time at sea than all of the seven officers added together, which was not very comforting. The XO was ENS Bruce Holmberg who had been on board a short time and his prior experience was on an Amphibious Command Ship where his biggest concern was getting bedsores from an abundance of sack time. We joined with our LST Division for our first exercise, which was to be a beaching at Numazu on the coast of Japan. Naturally I was anxious, as I had never participated in a beaching exercise before. I asked the Chief Engineer, ENS Paul Gilbert “How do we ballast for beaching?” He said we just go in with whatever is in our tanks. This didn’t sound right so I read all of the manuals written about 1942-1944 about LST operations and his answer was correct. In wartime, you go in with all ballast tanks dry to try to get a dry ramp to unload the trucks and tanks and hopefully you would be able to extract from the beach. However, in peacetime, you keep the ballast tanks full so you can pump them out if you need assistance in retracting from the beach. The other critical item was to determine the correct point to drop your stern anchor. There is 900 feet of wire on the stern anchor reel. The ideal amount of wire to have out after beaching is 600 feet. If you drop the stern anchor too soon the wire runs off the drum, as there is no way to stop it. If you drop late you will have insufficient wire out for the stern anchor to get a good purchase on the bottom. The manuals detailed how to judge the correct moment for dropping the stern anchor as follows: standing on the forward area of the conning tower, you sight across the forward area of the conning tower, you sight across the edge of the forward 40mm gun shield and when the line of sight reaches the center of the surf zone, you drop the anchor. OK, this sounds simple so we are ready for our first beaching. The LST Division is in line of breast formation as we head for the beach at full speed. As the surf zone draws near, I establish my line of sight and as it reaches the middle of the surf I tell the telephone talker “Drop the stern anchor”. The talker relays the order then announces that he has lost communication with the fantail. I run to the back of the conn and wave to the boswain mate who waves back. By then most of the bridge personnel join me and are all shouting, “Drop the anchor”. Finally the anchor is released and I assume that there will be very little cable paid out. As the ship bow grounds the ship continues to move up the beach a good distance. As the ship comes to a stop, the fantail then reports “610 feet of cable paid out” It is a near perfect beaching and I don’t understand how it happened. In the meantime, the Commodore’s LST flagship, USS TIOGA COUNTY, reports that it has lost its stern wire over the fantail and is sending a boat with a grapnel to retrieve it. In reviewing the circumstances, it was noted that beach shelves down very rapidly so that when the anchor is dropped, it descends a good distance. Also, the Numazu beach is composed of round pebbles that act somewhat like ball bearings so the ships slid up on the beach an unusual distance. These two circumstances resulted in the fact that our delayed anchor drop was the correct solution for this particular beach. I then decided that this would be a lucky and successful command tour. Our next scheduled exercise was an amphibious landing on the North coast of Taiwan. We embarked Marines and their equipment at Yokosuka and proceeded in formation to Taiwan and completed a successful beaching. Afterwards, we extracted from the beach and anchored in the harbor to await the time to reembark the Marines. While at anchor the Chief Engineer reported that we had a cracked head on the starboard main engine, which placed it out of commission. This was a real problem as I didn’t want to beach the ship with one engine and also we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the squadron on the return trip to Japan. The engine was one of a pair of GE sixteen cylinder diesels of the same type used in railroad locomotives. The cylinder head was not an authorized on board spare but we did manage to locate one on another of the squadron LSTs. After getting the cylinder head on board it was found that it would not fit down the engine room hatch thus requiring a hole to be cut in the tank deck to allow the head to be lowered into the engine room. The repair was successful and the hole welded shut just in time for the ship to beach for the reembarkation. When the deployment was completed the squadron took the northern great circle route back to San Diego. We encountered heavy seas passing South of Alaska. When the ship drove into a large wave, there was a loud bang and a shudder passed though the hull. In a quartering sea, if you were standing on the forward starboard wing wall looking aft, the red cross marking ship the sick bay would disappear as the ship twisted, then reappear as it twisted back. I thought this was quite amazing and demonstrated the fact that there was six feet between the frames. I was told that no LST had been lost due to a storm, which demonstrated how rugged these ships were built. The home coming at San Diego was a joyous occasion followed by liberty and leave. The ensuing months were devoted to exercises including towing another ship, pulling an LST from the beach, practice landings on Silver Strand, inspections and drills. We were scheduled to commence a yard overhaul in January, so in Mid-December 1961 I visited the COMPHIBPAC material officer to discuss the specifics of work to be done in the yard. I also mentioned that we had a small hole in the tank deck that needed to be repaired. Also, I was completing my two-year tour in a few weeks. He said that all this was no longer a concern as the ship was deploying on January 2nd for a highly classified movement. We were to proceed to Hawaii where we would be advised of our assignment. I had the privilege of announcing this change in plans during the annual Christmas party held the next day on the tank deck, which included a visit from old Saint Nick and presents to all the children. We left on January 2nd in company with USS POLK COUNTY. The weather for the passage was fair with blue skies and slight seas, which was beneficial in restoring morale. The ships alternated as guide and we did underway exchanges of movies, repair parts and popcorn. On arrival at Pearl Harbor we received orders to report for duty to Commander Joint Task Eight who was an Army Lieutenant General. Our assignment was to support “Operation Dominic”, the United States’ last above ground atomic weapons testing to be held in the Pacific. Our first task was to proceed to Johnston Island to pick up equipment and return to Pearl. On our way back, we received an inquiry from the Task force Headquarters asking if it was considered feasible to enter Johnston Island harbor, as it was many years since a large ship had entered the port through the long narrow channel. We answered in the affirmative and we received a “Bravo Zulu” for our efforts. Two days later were ordered to divert to Eniwetok Atoll to pick up additional equipment consisting of generators and portable freezers. Fortunately an LST has sufficient fuel storage to go almost around the world so we didn’t have to worry about refueling. On return to Pearl Harbor we embarked a large group of civilian workers who were being sent to establish a scientific base on a remote island. After leaving Pearl, we set course South for Pago Pago, Samoa. This took us across the equator and resulted in a visit from King Neptune and his court that initiated the pollywogs into the mysteries of the deep. On arrival at Pago Pago the Samoans arranged for a welcoming party, which was enjoyed by all. On completion of replenishing stores, we set sail for the island of Tongareva (also called Penrhyn Atoll), which is located just South of the equator. To show how isolated this island is, it should be noted that the chart that we were issued for this island was made by U.S. Navy Lieutenant Mathew Wilkes in 1841. As we approached the island, a native dugout canoe came out of the opening in the island reef and headed for the ship. When it was alongside a native boarded and was escorted to the bridge. As the village representative sent to welcome the first visiting large ship since WWII, he announced a baby boy had been born in the village that day and he was to be named after the ship in honor of our visit. We carefully spelled out the name and with big smiles he reentered the canoe and they paddled back to the village. To this day I wonder if there is an island chief named “Snohomish County”. Shortly after the native crew left, the official boat carrying the New Zealand representative arrived and among other instructions we were advised that as our last port was in Samoa we were under a rhinoceros beetle quarantine. This beetle eats the buds from coconut trees and as the island’s main export was copra they were concerned. We could enter the atoll the next day but tonight we had to be at least 5 miles downwind of the island as this was the maximum distance that the night flying beetle could travel. We cautiously entered the lagoon the next day and secured the bow lines to coconut trees and lowered the ramp to commence offloading all of the equipment necessary to establish the scientific camp. The purpose of the camp was to measure readings from the atomic tests far to the North. Our arrival was met by smiling villagers who waved palm fronds and danced in the sand. We had planned to give the native children candy from the ship’s store but a representative of the London Bible Society mission on the island advised that it was Sunday and children we not permitted to eat candy on Sunday. We did leave the candy for later distribution at a more appropriate time. In all, it was a very enjoyable visit to Tongareva. Our next port of call was Christmas Island in the Line Islands group where the major portion of the atomic testing was taking place. When we were about 50 miles from the island, many hands came on deck in the early morning hours to observe a scheduled test on the Island. Being so far away, we did not know what to expect and wondered if we would see anything. At the appointed time the dark night suddenly turned into day and then gradually faded. We were impressed. On arrival at Christmas Island, we were assigned the duty of embarking the native population a few hours before the next test to ensure their protection in the event of an unexpected shift in wind direction, which could result in fallout across the island. Everything was proceeding on schedule until a seaman raced to the bridge with the announcement that the natives had started a small fire on the tank deck to cook breakfast. The chief boatswain had the fire doused in short order. Other assignments included a visit to Washington Island to drop 55-gallon drums of diesel oil over the side attached with flotation devices, which were carried to the rocky beach by the wind and surf. The native village had no other means of receiving supplies. On return to Christmas Island we embarked a civilian couple and made an overnight passage to Palmyra Island. The couple had been assigned to the underwater cable booster station located on the island. Altogether, it was an interesting and challenging assignment to Joint Task Force Eight. When released, we returned to Pearl Harbor, where my relief was waiting. A few days later, after the change of command, I returned to San Diego. Submitted by Ronald A. Campbell A foot note Writings like this by the Captain of the ship is priceless in bringing the history of the ship to light. I really appreciate this contribution by Captain Campbell. It has shed a lot of light on what the ship did right after I had completed my 4 years and was discharged. Certainly this writing will bring back memories for those who served during these times. They sound exciting to me and most interesting. I would hope that if someone reads this, that they recall some of the events and possibly others, and that they would also provide them to me for publishing on the website. I'm always looking for photos and stories. (ccb) |
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