June 5th, 2007

Served under the following Commanding Officers
Capt. Lewis Coxe, Capt. Isaac C. Johnson, Jr., Capt. Allan S. Farquhar[Later Admiral]

4th Division - GM Striker

Born: February 12, 1914 in Ohio

I enlisted March 12th, 1934 at Lima, OH. Sent to Norfolk, VA. for boot training. From boot camp went to the ship at Hampton Roads, VA.

Good Will Tour
The next morning we upped anchor and headed up the coast [Summer, 1934] on an extended Good Will Tour. First up the Delaware River to Philadelphia. Thence to Brooklyn Navy Yard for some minor fixes. Thence to Newport R.I. We anchored out and got to witness the Americas Cup Race. then Provincetown, MA., Portsmonth, NH, and Rockport, ME. Most every place we put in some local society would give a clam bake.

Raining Worms
The ship was scheduled (Fall, 1934) to join another heavy cruiser division for war maneuvers, so the next destination was the Caribbean area. Before our rendezvous we encountered a very severe hurricane. I had no idea what category of storm (the green horn that I was I thought the storm was humongous). The ship was battened down for several hours. When we were allowed to go back topside the teak deck was covered with thousands of red fish worms (1-2 1/2 inches long). We tried to squeegee them but that merely crused the worms. So we cleaned the deck with high pressure water hose.

Rifle Team
We put in at Gitmo for an extended stay. While there I fired several matches with the Scouting Force Rifle team. Our other stops in the Caribbean were Kingston, Jamaica and Porta Prince, Haiti. Thence through the Panama Canal. Our destination Long Beach, CA. which was considered our home port.

De-Barnacle
The ship went into dry dock several times to de-barnacle the bottom. I specifically remember Mare Island, Bremerton, WA., Pearl Harbor (twice). August, 1935 we were in Puget Sound, Seattle.

Will Rogers & Wiley Post
We witnessed the take off of Will Rogers and Wiley Post on what was to be an around the world fight. Sadly they crashed and were both killed the next day at Pt. Barrow, AK. on August 15, 1935. The Salt Lake City had headed for Alaska also. After the sad news the scuttle butt was that the SLC would return the bodies. However, that was soon squelched and the mission went to the Coast Guard Cutter North Star.

USS MACON
We were on maneuvers off Pt. Sur, CA. when the airship USS MACON (Airship Dirigible) went down in the Pacific. On the date February 12, 1935 (my birthday) I was a crewman member of a motor launch (one of many) that picked up any floatable debris. Several fairly large pieces (aluminum frame work) were being held afloat by other floatable material. Of a crew of 84 I think there were only 3-4 causalities. When the USS AKRON crashed the causalities were reversed.

Shellback Initiation
The ship would join up with other ships at various times for war maneuvers -- usually 2-3 times a year. usually at the end of maneuvers we would make Good Will stays. Such as Frisco, Portland, Seattle, Alaska, Hawaii (3 times), Valpariso, Chile. Leaving Panama we headed for and crossed the equator on May 20th, 1936 at 8 a.m. and, of course, the initiation to become a shellback.

Amelia Earhart
July 2, 1937 we were in Peal Harbor when the news arrived about Amelia Earhart. My memory says the SLC, Chester, Lexington, 3 or 4 destroyers, fueled up, took on other supplies and departed on a week search for any evidence of same.

Discharged
Nearing time for the end of my enlistment, March 12, 1938, I was transferred to an Army Transport headed for Frisco. The SLC was in Pearl Harbor when I left the same. After a week at Goat Islands, CA. I was trained to Great Lakes for discharge on March 8, 1938.

Re-Enlisted
March 30, 1942 I enlilsted in Naval Reserves. Sent to Norfolk again. Of course I did not take training again. I was assigned to a ship that was in Portsmonth Navy Yard and did not expect to get to sea for 2 or 3 months. Meanwhile I was a chauffeur for the Commander of Receiving Station (Captain J. J. McCoy). Having been a GM striker on SLC, I was immediately made GM3c.