Author: steve

2-28-16

Our friend Bob Knight also talked about San Pedro:

I had a twenty-one day leave and I came home.   At that time, they had the DC3’s.   I spent most of the time on the flight home sitting on the coffee urn talking to the stewardesses.   We stopped in Texas and another place or two on the way home*.   After I went home, I headed back to San Pedro.   One of my old girlfriends from high school was married and living in San Pedro.   I visited her a couple of times.

My aunt had a cousin who lived in Hollywood, right next door to Walt Disney.   I got to meet Walt and tour some of the studios.   Jane Russell was just coming in at the time and I got a quick peek at her in the studio.

* Home for Bob was Medfield, Massachusetts, almost 20 miles south and east of Boston.

4-23-16

While Okinawa raged on, the men of the Boston were stateside, enjoying their hard-earned and well-deserved 21 day leaves.   While they were away, the ship was being worked on around the clock as she lie at anchor in San Pedro.

As you probably know, I had the rare and awesome opportunity to meet, interview, and becomes friends with six crewmembers (and one officer) of CA-69 while I was working on the Baked Beans books.   Each one of them told me amazing stories, many of which ended up in the books.   They all had great stories about what they did and where they went on leave.   They also had plenty of liberty time between when the ship arrived in San Pedro and left again right back into the War three months later.   John Farkas told this story:

We had lots of leave and liberty after we got back to San Pedro.   Me and a couple of buddies decided to hitchhike to Tijuana, Mexico.   So here we are bumming a ride on the freeway out of LA and we get picked up by none other than Bing Crosby.   When he found out where we were going, he had his driver bring us to a hotel.   He paid for the room and all we could eat and drink for our whole leave.   That kept us out of trouble.

One of the guys on the ship also went down to Tijuana.   Days later, they found him dead in a ditch by the side of the road.   Never did make it back to the ship.   I guess we were damned lucky.

4-6-16

4-3-16

I received an email from Diane Balsam this morning.   She told me that her father, Joe Pulaski, aged 91, died earlier in the day.

I live on the “other coast’ from Diane, and, as such, I haven’t met her face to face.   Nor did I get the chance to meet her dad, Joseph, either. A few years back, Diane bought a set of Baked Beans and gave them to her dad.   When he read the memories a couple of his shipmates recounted about surviving the infamous Typhoon Cobra, Joe told her about his encounter with the massive storm.   Later, she emailed me this:

I was alone on watch at night on Quad 7 standing on the back part of the after stack as protection from the 100 foot high waves and wind.   I was above the water at least 100 feet when I saw a destroyer off the port side in the distance.   We made a maneuver and did a 40 plus degree roll.   I fell face down and was holding onto the catwalk steel mesh and was actually able to see the water as we rolled.   I started to pray that we would be safe.   The ship rolled back to the starboard side and I called Fire Control and asked where the destroyer was.   I was told, ‘Joe, it sank.’

I thought we were done and our ship would be next as I continued to pray.   The ship was watertight in integrity so all the hatches were closed.   I was one of the few guys above deck.   I continued my watch   –   four hours total.   I remember some survivors were picked up by our ship.     –     Joseph Pulaski.

Joseph was a CA-69 Plankowner, having mustered aboard the ship on Commissioning Day (June 30, 1943).   He came to the Boston after enlisting in the Navy in Syracuse, NY.

Diane tells me that his obituary will published in Syracuse later this week.

Sadly,

Steve

 

 

4-2-16

Frank Studenski:   March 25, 1945       Early this morning, I got my first look at the California coast line.   We pulled into Terminal Island Navy Yard flying our Homeward Bound pennant.   While the N.O.B. Band   played, Ginny Simms sang, “Oh What a Beautiful Morning,”   with a lot of brass and civilians on the pier.   Just about all of the crew were on the port side.   The first leave party left the ship this afternoon.   We also got paid this morning and I got $630.00.   I will buy my ticket tomorrow.

After more than a year and a half of active combat duty, the crew of CA-69 is back in the States.   Their ship is about to have a major overhaul, and will be retrofitted with brand-new advanced radar equipment.   When she returns to the action a few months later, the Boston will take forward position in task group maneuvers   –   leading with the best radar.   She will come to be called (call name) The Lone Ranger in the final operations of the war.

On March 1, the Boston participated in the first actions against Okinawa, but was ordered home a few days later.   Ships launched carrier strikes against the island and all around Tokyo in preparation for the upcoming “last battle before invading Japan itself”   –   Okinawa.   On April 1st, the first waves of army and marine invaders hit the beaches.   While the crew of CA-69 began enjoying their well-deserved 21 day leaves, the fiercest and deadliest battle of the Central Pacific War was unleashed.   The losses on both sides were staggering.   Over the next couple of months, we’ll look at Okinawa.   We’ll focus mostly on the incredible loss of life and hardware endured by the US ships off the shores of Okinawa at the hands of the Kikusui   –   10 organized, massive kamikaze attacks.

The following shots, from the National Archives (and included in the CA-69 folders [thanks, Bill and Rivka]) are dated April 3, and were taken by one of the planes from CVE-72,   USS Tulagi:

credits (for all 3): CVE-72#407   3 April 1945   photog: E.W. Pack, CPhoN   USS   Tulagi.   Ampibious operations on Okinawa, Ryuku Islands.   Camera K-20, F.L. 6 3/8″   Alt. 800′   LST’s on beach.