Task Force Duty on the USS Richmond

USS Richmond
Mare Island Navy Yard
September 1943

One of the things that we all looked forward to was our turn to go out on task force duty. Usually that turn would come after many months of duty on Adak when a change was really looked forward to.

My turn finally came after I was on Adak for about 14 months. We left on July 10, 1945. The Germans had already surrendered and we were pushing the Japanese back toward their homeland and it was evident that the war was coming to an end. I had mixed emotions, I wanted to go home, but I also wanted my turn on Task Force Duty after hearing the guys who had already gone tell about their experiences.

We arrived at Attu on July 12, and left on July 13. On July 19 we sighted many planes, birds, and a rocky shore land. The Japanese planes did not bother us, but went in retreat to their bases because of our superior firepower and air support. We were not near or in the Ohohst Sea, and we were picking up many radio signals, plain language, oral, and code.

I should back up and tell a little about our situation on the ship. Because we were at that time a top secret outfit, when we went on board the light cruiser, they took all of our radios, special typewriters, and code books, etc. directly to the Captain’s quarters for security reasons. We set our equipment on the Captain’s dining table and conference table. We slept in the regular quarters, but spent all of our waking hours in the captain’s quarters. There were nice chairs and a sofa in his dining room.

Teletype Operator
Army Communications
Antwerp, Belgium
Although this picture isn't representative of exactly what Dad did, it gives us an idea of the kind of equipment he may have used during his time in the Navy.

We had four operators, and worked two shifts. Because we were always in there, with typewriters going and radio signals, the Captain stayed in his other quarters on the upper deck by the control center. They were not as plush as his regular quarters, and he didn’t like being put out of his regular quarters. He was probably near retirement age and would have been retired if it were not for the war.

The Captain did come down to his quarters sometimes during the day and he would shower, shave and get dressed in his regular quarters. One day when he came down to shave, he cleaned out his razor and found very black whiskers in his electric razor. There was only one of our crew who had black whiskers and the Captain’s hair and whiskers were very light grey or almost white. He was furious!

He got hold of our only officer, Lt. Monroe, and told him that one of us had used his razor during the night. Lt. Monroe insisted that none of “his boys” would even think of using his razor. He suggested that probably one of the Captain’s Philippino orderlies had used the razor. They had quite a standoff, but it was finally dropped. We knew it was one of our crew, but denied knowing anything about it. The Captain wasn’t very friendly after that, and he spent very little time with us.

On July 22, 1945 at 0050 we bombarded Suribachi Air Base at Paramuchiro, Japan, which is on the northern most island of Japan. It lasted for just 25 minutes, 510 6” rounds. Each time we fired, it shook the whole ship and our equipment would bounce around and we would have to hold on to it.

We thought that they might retaliate, but to my knowledge there was no resistance at all. So we headed back to Attu and on to Adak, arriving there on July 29, 1945.

Now I was really ready for the war to be over so I could get back home. I had been gone from Pueblo since about April 15, 1944.