Transcript We left Adrian’s story when he had gone aboard the USS Melville in Iceland. Just a few days after arriving in.

We left Adrian’s story when he had gone aboard the USS Melville in Iceland.
Just a few days after arriving in Iceland the ship set sail back to United States.
The Meville arrived at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on December 11, 1943. Adrian
was probably able to spend most of the Christmas holidays with Wanda and her
family since the shipyard was only about 2 miles from where Wanda was living.
The USS Melville was ordered to join the Fourth Fleet which was in charge of
the American interests in the South Atlantic Ocean.
USS Melville
AD-2
Destroyer tender
Adrian’s log entries for this time period are very accurate. The first column is the
port, next is the departure date, followed by the arrival date and new port
location.
When Adrian left Brooklyn on January 7,
1943, he would not return to the United
States until October 6, 1943, and it would
be December 15, 1943 before he returned
to Brooklyn.
Beginning in early 1942, each ship in the Navy kept a daily diary during the war,
appropriately named the War Diary. They have been scanned and are available through
a military site called Fold3. They will be used here to indirectly follow Adrian’s time
aboard the Melville. Below are the Melville entries for January 1 – 7, 1943. The convoy
Commodore was aboard the USS Melville, and the convoy was in route from Brooklyn
to Trinidad, British West Indies with a final destination of Recife, Brazil.
The naval
code for the
base in
Recife was
Base Fox.
Naturally,
military time
is used on
these
documents;
therefore,
1720 would
be 5:20 pm.
In route to Trinidad, the
escorts for the convoy made
contact with enemy
submarines. It is noted in the
War Diary that they dropped
depth charges. The record
gives latitude and longitude
which have been plotted on
the right. The outcome is not
noted. When looking at the
ship’s location, one is
reminded of just how close the
enemy submarines were to the
United States.
The Melville anchored at
Trinidad at 7:16 pm on
January 20, 1943. In the
1855 entry states that the
ship “passed through
nets.” This refers to the
anti-torpedo nets placed at
the entrance of harbors and
around ships in an attempt
to keep the boats tied at
anchor safe from enemy
torpedoes. The photo to
the right is of the USS
Argonne anchored at Pearl
Harbor, added here for a
view of anti-torpedo nets.
During World War II, Chaguaramas, Trinidad
(point A to the right) was home to the United
States Navy. When the war was over, the Navy
evidently left a lot of stuff behind. The cast off
steel drums are part of the great story of the
birth of today’s steel pan music. Beginning
right after the war, the 55-gallon oil drum
became the preferred material to make steel
pans.
While there, the Melville
took on stores and waited
for the formation of a
convoy going south
toward Brazil.
Left: Naval Supply Depot, Trinidad
Below: Administration Building,
Trinidad Naval Base showing Carenage
Bay and, beyond the Five Islands, the
Gulf of Paria. Mountains in the
background (upper right) are in
Venezuela.
On January 23, 1943,
the Melville left
Trinidad in route to
Recife, Brazil.
On January 23, 1943, Adrian
took the required tests for an
advancement in his rank. He is
now in his fifth year of service
and by the standards of the
day would be considered a
seasoned sailor at the age of
24. The average age of a sailor
during World War II was 22
years old.
South to Recife
Once again, the
convoy made contact
with submarines and
depth charges were
dropped. Because
the latitude and
longitude are given, it
is once again possible
to plot the location.
Multiple course
changes were made to
avoid the enemy.
On December 7, 1941, the war expanded to the Americas. Most of the Latin American
countries except Argentina and Chile broke relations with the Axis countries or declared
war. Because of its immense size (and coastline), Brazil was the most important. Brazil
allowed the United States to build bases along the northeastern coast in exchange for
military and economic support. Recife was especially important. These bases and
installations along with British Ascension Island (A on the map below) helped make it
difficult for German U-boats to operate in the South Atlantic Ocean and for Germans to
access to the resources of western Africa and South America.
Recife became the Fourth Fleet Naval
Headquarters. The fleet was
responsible for maritime operations
with a radius of operation from the
Panama Canal to the southern tip of
South America.
What is a U-boat?
During World War II, U-boat warfare was the major component of the Battle of the
Atlantic, which lasted the duration of the war. U-boat is the English version of the
German word U-Boot, a shortening of Unterseeboot, which means "undersea boat.”
Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they
were most effectively used in an economic warfare role to prevent supplies from
reaching a destination, or enforcing a naval blockade of a port to halt enemy shipping.
South America and Africa had tremendous resources needed for military support such
as oil, rubber, and ores. It was imperative that the Allied countries keep the shipping
lanes open and the resources out of the Axis countries’ hands. Below is a photograph of
a German U-boat.
This and following images are pages from Adrian’s book from when he crossed the
equator for a second time. His first crossing was on the USS Helena shakedown cruise
three years before (January 13, 1940). This book belongs to Regina Cross. The entire
book will be scanned later and put on the blog.
Except from Wikipedia LineCrossing Ceremony:
“As late as World War II, the linecrossing ceremony was still rather
rough and involved activities such as
the "Devil's Tongue", which was an
electrified piece of metal poked into
the sides of those deemed pollywogs.
Beatings were often still common,
usually with wet fire hoses, and
several World War II Navy deck logs
speak of sailors visiting sick bay after
crossing the line.
Efforts to curtail the line-crossing
ceremony did not begin until the
1980s, when several reports of blatant
hazing began to circulate regarding
the line-crossing ceremony, and at
least one death was attributed to
abuse while crossing the line.”
Adrian must have been quite thankful
to be a crossing as a Shellback this
time!
The Melville had 85 sailors
that were Shellbacks and
about 775 Polliwogs. As a
member of the Royal Cops,
Adrian’s job would have
been keeping order and
“arresting” polliwogs not
complying to the orders
given by the Royal Party
that included such
dignitaries as King
Neptunus Rex, Queen
Amphitrite, Davy Jones, Peg
Leg Pete, and a Court
Jester.
At the back of the book were
84 photographs from the
event. Adrian does not
appear in any of the photos,
nor did he label any of the
them.
Copy of his certificate from the back of the book.
Each time a sailor crossed the line, they
were given a card (credit card size) to
be kept with them. If a sailor was
aboard a ship crossing the line and
could not produce a card showing he
was a Shellback, he had to cross as a
Pollywog. Adrian did not keep the one
from his Helena crossing, only the one
above.
The above record shows Adrian’s change in rank from FC2c to FC1c as of February
1, 1943. This report was completed on February 28, 1943 at Recife, Brazil showing
all changes in personnel during the previous month.
Melville war
diary for
February 2,
1943 in route
to Recife.
Note latitude
and longitude
location
plotted on
map.
Notice all the instances of “changed course” which lead to a zig-zag
maneuver. Anytime the Navy suspected or had evident of enemy U-boats
nearby, the Navy required zig-zag maneuvers.
Below is an excerpt from “War Instructions of the United States Navy.”
Chapter 7, Section I: Antisubmarine Measures
After zig zagging down the coast of Brazil, the USS Melville finally docked in Recife
during the morning of February 5, 1943. Thus began several months of the Melville’s
crew doing what they were trained to do – repairs and upgrading equipment on any
ship that needed their services. No records of specific shore leaves have been
found, so other than work, work, work, Adrian probably spent a good bit of time
thinking of Wanda and writing letters.
When in port, destroyer tenders like the Melville were designed to make minor repairs on
ships, especially destroyers (hence the name). Other types of tenders included sea plane
tenders and submarine tenders; though during World War II, repair work was carried out
on any type of ship that needed it. When in harbor, multiple ships were often tied to a
tender as seen below. Due to high security during the war, no pictures exist of the Melville
in port tending ships during the time Adrian was on board.
This photo of the
Melville was taken in
1932. Notice there are
six destroyers
receiving repairs.
When reading the
Melville war diary
during the months
stationed in Recife,
she had a constant
stream of various
types of ships tied
alongside for repairs.
Of course Adrian is the sailor in the middle of the front row. Though the insignias on the
sleeves of the men in back cannot be seen, they too are probably fire controlmen. No
names were written on the back. The note written on the front is in Adrian’s handwriting.
On June 29, 1943, the USS Barnegat, a
seaplane tender, left Natal, Brazil for Recife in
order to tie up alongside the USS Melville for
repairs. When you read their war diary, they
were traveling alone, had an engine about to
give out, had the ship darkened, and everyone
at general quarters (battle ready). They
probably all breathed a sigh of relief when they
docked next to the Melville about 7:30 in the
morning. The ship would remained tied to the
Melville for five days of overhauling and repair
including the armament which Adrian would
have worked on.
USS Barnegat – sea plane tender
After having repairs made, the Barnegat returned up the coast of Brazil to the Naval
base at Natal. There must have been some additional work needed on the guns
because when the ship left Recife on July 3, 1943, two men from the Melville, Adrian
and a gunner’s mate named Mello, were temporarily put on board. Remember,
Adrian was not just a fire controlman but one trained in maintenance of those
systems.
While on course to Natal and back to
Recife, Adrian and Mello worked on the
armament and probably expended quite a
bit of ammunition fine tuning the fire
control system. The ship zigzagged up the
coast under Condition III watch where onethird of the ship’s armament was manned
and ready in case of a surprise attack.
These records relating to the USS
Barnegat are the only ones found
relating specifically to Adrian during his
time in Brazil.
After all the candid photographs Adrian had
from his time in Hawaii, it seems strange
that his and Wanda’s albums and loose
pictures have very few from his 8 months in
Brazil.
This photograph shows an excellent view of
Adrian’s patch and insignia on his sleeve. It
indicates Fire Controlman 1st class, the new
rank he achieved on the way to Recife.
Though this is a really good picture,
on closer inspection, Adrian has
noticeable circles under his eyes and
does not appear to feel too well.
Maybe he had been sick or more likely,
concerned about friends back on the
Helena.
During his time in Brazil, like other sailors, he would have been following the news about the war.
Though he was “relatively” safe in Brazil, his former shipmates on the Helena were not so lucky. He was
probably quite anxious about the ship’s movements in the Pacific. The ship was sunk July 6, 1943.
January 4, 1943. Bombarded Munda. Repelled dive bombing attack by Jap planes
January 23, 1943. Bombarded enemy installations in Kula Gulf area. Repelled enemy torpedo plane
attack.
May 13, 1943. Bombarded Kolombangara, Enogai Inlet, Bairoko Harbor. Repelled air attack.
July 5, 1943. Convoyed troops to Rice Anchorage. Bombarded enemy installations in Kula Gulf and
covered landing operations.
July 6-7. 1943. Participated in Battle of Kula Gulf and was sunk by enemy torpedoes after destroying or
helping to destroy 4 enemy ships.
At Kula Gulf
USS St. Louis
Helena in battle
USS Helena
Adrian’s friends, George Yellak and
Charlie McClelland, both
firecontrolmen, were on board when
the ship sank. Both made it. No
record of George’s experiences can
be found but Charlie McClelland has
written a short summary of his
experiences, and they are posted on
the USS Helena website and follow.
The Final Fight At Kula Gulf
by Charles McClelland
On July 6, 1943, almost eighteen months after Pearl Harbor, we were
fighting the "Tokyo Express" in Kula Gulf. My battle station was in the
after fire control station where I was the "range keeper operator." After
the first torpedo hit, I grabbed my lifejacket hanging on the bulkhead,
and was lacing it up when the second one hit. In the excitement I failed
to take off the head-phones and laced the jacket over the chest plate of
the phone. The third hit knocked me down, and after I picked myself off
the deck I managed to get the telephone disentangled. No one had to
tell me we were going down. We just knew it. By the time I got to the
main deck everyone was going over the side, so I went with them.
There were malted milk balls and canned meat on the raft, but the water in the casks was unfit to
drink. I don't think it had ever been changed. As I recall, there were 30 of us on the raft, and we were
in the water three days. We were all tired, and each morning there would be empty spaces where
somebody was the night before, but I don't know who they were. The natives from Velle Lavella, a
Japanese held island rescued us, and after getting us ashore they smuggled us up the mountain at
night. As I remember there were 61 of us, plus the Japanese pilot the natives had captured.
After being rescued from Vella Lavella I returned to the United States. Like many of my shipmates I
had contacted malaria during the week on Vella Lavella. I was assigned to the USS Houston, and after
a shakedown cruise to South America I returned home and married Agnes. (We celebrated, our 50th
wedding anniversary in 1994.)
After a month on the Houston I was transferred to the battleship Missouri, but due to a recurrence of
malaria I was detached and assigned shore duty.
A little detective work has revealed that the
park where this and probably the next picture
was made is called Parque Treze de Maio
located across the street from the Faculdade
de Direito do Recife (Law school) shown
below. The park area is close to where the
Navy ships would have been located. Notice
the window constuction on the image below.
It is too bad
Adrian was
in the shade.
This is the second of the two candid
pictures from Brazil. Though of poor
quality, it could not be left out! When
enlarged, it is obvious that Adrian is
holding something up, but it is too far
away to see. Use your own
imagination!
In September of 1943, the
Melville received orders
to return to the Navy
base at Norfolk, Virginia.
They departed
September 23 at 2:31 pm
in the company of one
ship, the destroyer USS
Winslow.
USS Winslow
Though the Melville
records do not
mention that all
lights were
extinguished at night
to prevent visual
detection by the
enemy, the Winslow
entries do.
On Thursday, October 7, 1943, the USS
Melville dropped anchor at the Norfolk
Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia.
During these months while Adrian
was in Brazil, Wanda was working for
Clarostat Manufacturing Company.
For more information about her life
during this period, please read the
article “Werbicki Family Supports the
War Efforts.”
Wanda – taken sometime in 1943 or 1944