U.S.S. ROCHAMBEAU (# 1)

 

U.S.S. ROCHAMBEAU

 

Scuttlebutt is king .   When the source of

something you heard is a mystery

it is called scuttlebutt.  Not sure about

the spelling, but scuttlebutt is often quite

accurate.

According to scuttlebutt, there was no

alcoholic beverages to be had once we

"shipped out", so if we wanted an occasional

drink we should take it with us.

 

The day before "shipping out" I bought eight

bottles of the finest "Irish".   That Irish was

securely packed in my seabag when I boarded

ship in Mare Island the next morning.

 

As we turned at the head of the gang plank

and saluted, we were relieved of our seabags.

I was shocked to see the seabag thrown into

an open hatch---- and a long silence before it

hit bottom, it must of fallen three or four

stories before it crashed.

 

The next day as the Rochambeau steamed out

the Golden Gate, I recovered my seabag which

was soaked with whiskey and full of broken

glass---- big clean up job.

 

This old ship, named after a French Admiral

who assisted us in pursuit of our Revolutionary

War was loaded with "Sea going Marines", Navy

enlisted and Navy Officers, 8,000 of us en route

further transfer at some undisclosed spot in

the South Pacific.

 

There was no one of any importance aboard

ship--- Not at that time .  At that time all the

enlisted huddled in groups on the main deck

and the officers, insignificant in their wash tans,

hung about the bridge or some other lofty

place , by themselves.   One of these officers

was John F. Kennedy, future president of the

United States.

 

Altogether the trip on the Rochambeau was not

unpleasant, with a few exceptions.   The head,

the toilet, was a long trough and the water in

it sloshed from one end to the other end as

the ship wallowed through the seas, if you sat

it washed your butt.

 

It was hot and we sweat.  To wash our clothes

we trailed them over side .  Our jeans came

clean, but they were stiff with salt when they

dried.

 

Showers were plentiful, but with salt water.

Guess that's why they call sailors Old Salts.

 

8,000 of us were 31 days on the Rochambeau.

 

One night,in the middle of the night, we were

broken out of our bunks (hospital corpsmen)

by a contingent of Marines.  We were issued

full combat gear, complete with .45 automatics.

We were told to be prepared for a landing.

It goes without saying, we wondered.

 

The next day all of the combat gear was taken

back and no explanation was ever heard.

 

We crossed the equator and the international

date line.  We were indoctrinated into King

Neptunes sailors.   When we got into the South

Pacific we encountered hundreds of islands and

the ship picked its way through the narrow,

shallow waters between the islands.

 

According to scuttlebutt, Submarines were not

capable of entering these waters and that is

why we were going where we went.  Eventually

out into the Coral Sea.   Then breakdown,

We sat for days without moving .  We actually

saw a periscope surface near us.  It must have

been one of our subs, because they did`nt blow

us up.

 

One evening an ammunition ship was blown up

on the horizon.   We witnessed part of the air

battle that was The Coral Sea Battle , then ,finally

the engines started, the prop turned and we

got under way.   Few of us thought we would

ever survive.

 

----- John Crowley