UNDERWATER DEMOLITION TEAM HISTORIES
WWII UDT TEAM TWENTY
September 1944. There wasn't any
particular date. I was there when the first man came, and every man seems to
bring another part of me. It is an odd thing how I grew, never aging, but rather
maturing. When the team was completely mustered I feel a coming of age. I feel
mature. But I didn't know my life was eternal. That I would rise to heights far
higher than the towering top of our biggest beasts, that
I would sink to depths lower than any of the deep depths we would swim to. That
I would remain in the hearts of the men of the team and over a few drinks in
some far away place in the world make myself known by a quickening in speech on
the part of the speaker, or maybe a reminiscent twinkle in his eye or,
sometimes, yea even often, by a sudden pride in his bearing, as if a sudden
something increased, expanded, made proud his stature. I'm the spirit of Team
20.
The Officers had a gay old time the
first two weeks. There were no regulations. Mornings were spent at
They were getting more exercise than
any of them had had in years, but they would come back to their quarters after
being out on
Team 20 was known as
Company 'A'. Bud Ludwig was Commanding Officer. The executive officer during
training; was at one time or another
Our first week together was a nightmare
called Hell-Week. I'm not quite sure what the object was, but the entire week
was spent in seeing how close the training staff could come to killing all the
men and officers in the Company but have them still remain alive. Hand grenades
were thrown at them; they went on an unusual type hike, you were supposed to
walk until you could no longer stand, and then when you were sure you were
walking on your ankles as your feet had been worn out, you were told to run the
remainder of the way.
I enjoyed a peculiar
aging that week. The Company would be out all day playing that game with the
training staff, you know the one, the training staff sees haw close it can set
a charge to the team without blowing the. clothes off the men. You see, there
was a shortage of gear at that time. They generally go back from these games
just in time to be too late for chow. This provided a rare treat for the men.
They were enabled to have a picnic lunch as all the hot food was gone. So they
would have bologna and cheese sandwiches and cold tea. There was a
disadvantage, most of the time they would have to muster about 1830 and it
would be about 1810 when the picnic lunch was started and the boys had very
little opportunity to write about the wonderful vacation they were having in
Hell-Week was over Saturday afternoon. Saturday night I
don't think there was a sober man in Company 'A'.
You would have laughed had you been there to see the
first few days of training. The first day the Company marched out to the
Quonset Hut Area by way of ferrying across to the C.B. Docks at DRU. It was
early in the morning and you could see almost every man had a hangover. That
coupled with the aches and pains accumulated during Hell-Week gave you the
feeling as you looked, that you weren't looking at a military outfit. Oh, they
marched well, in the early days, but they looked like caricatures of men. You
had a feeling that some artist had painted the scene. Someone with a mean sense
of humor, who wanted to show the pain the human body can take and still have
the individual laugh at himself. . When the instructor said, " Okay men,
we'll take it easy to start. Let's do 15 push-ups." :I could see the
silent protest in everybody. No, it's impossible. But they did it. Yes, they
did that and more. In a week it was 25. Swimming every day; rubber boat races;
loading scullies and jetted rails; then scaffolding. That was fun.
The surf was rough. The ingenuous CBs
had the uncanny knack of always placing the scaffolding at the breaker line.
Both officers and men would be thrown against the piping as if they were scraps
of driftwood. That rubber hose was the goddamdest, clumsiest, hardest to handle
thing to load. But load it they did, and in about 6 weeks the boys were really
good. I mean it, they would come back to the tent area in the evenings and have
the usual bull-sessions with the members of the other teams. They were proud
after all, didn't they have the record in loading element C, tetrahedrons, etc.
Maybe it wasn't true, but they believed it and to see them in action, you would
believe it too.
Company 'A' points with pride to Jen-Stu-Foo. You know what that was, it
was the week spent down on the inlet between Jensen and Stuart when the unit
bivouacs in pup tents, lives off C rations and makes hydrographic and surveying
charts of the area.
Rocky Vogel was appointed Supply
Officer for the trip. What a job he did! C rations, I think the boys ate them
once during the time we stayed at Jen-Stu-Foo. He, Alex Sullivan, Robby
Robertson, and Tea McGaughy, begged, borrowed, stole and did everything humanly
possible to legitimately and otherwise procure sides of port, cases of eggs,
bags of coffee, crates of fresh and canned fruit. Believe me the boys never ate
any better. They had shipfitters, coxswains, and gunners mates as cooks.
Cochran, Carey, Erdman, Johnson, and others simply cooked the best damned food
you ever tasted. Stew Steward was temporary executive officer at the time. Boy was he hated,
but the ole boy had the lads going on the soundings and surveying. Jack Sproull
was unparalleled as officer in charge of charts. The cryword was, "Peach,
get me a pencil." The boys kidded the day-lights out of Jake, but he did a
wonderful job. Bill Fetherolf and Tom Porter made surveys of the surrounding land
and swamps that Dan Boone would have been proud of. The entire trip was
acclaimed one of the best ever done by none other than Bill Flynn, top man at
NCDU. Of course, the time of his praise was fresh after Cochran had given him
an evening snack of super-duper Team 20 style pork chop.
Our way back from the trip was one of the highest moments
in my career, there always was a lot of scuttlebutt, but this last rumor was
being heard too often not to start paying attention to it. "Standard and
Pay-Off was going to be condensed into 8 days of
day on and day off.” “We were not to get our 10 day
leaves." "We were to board a troop train the day after we finished
Pay-Off." Oh Boy, did I, ole team spirit, take a tumble.
All of it was true, but I started on
the upgrade again. After all they reasoned, "We'll get leave on the coast
before we ship out. We'll show 'em. Let's get going on Standard."
They did get going
on it and the staff was full of praises for Company 'A'. No misfires on
Standard. One on Pay-Off and that due to a faulty reel supposed to have been
tested by the. base. Shortest times on all beach heads. I'm not kidding, those
boys were good. Let me tell you of the last course on Pay-Off.
The gang knew it was to be the last
course. They knew they would be commissioned the following day, and Bud Ludwig,
the CO, he was a damn. good pepper-upper anyhow, gave the boys the word the
afternoon before. "Well, fellows. Tomorrow morning we rise and shine at
0430. It's going to be cold and you know yourself how rough it is," it was
the middle of November, "you've all got liberty tonight, but use your
heads. Don't drink too much. You're going to need your wits about you. Okay
that's all:,
Did they listen to him? Like hell they
did. Did they do the job? You're damn right they did.
Never will I forget KauttoMatson and Gut reaching the
high water line and working their way up to the dune line. The Beach-Master
came over and patted 'Mat' on the back and said, "Nice going boy, that's
real good sneakin' and peekin :" Mat said, "Thank you sir "
Gut's laughs to beat hell, could be heard all over the beach. The Beach-Master
severely glanced his way and then walked on down the beach. As he walked down
the beach, Gut was laughing so hard he could hardly get the words out but
finally shouts, "Matson, that's a hot one, he compliments you on crawling
so well. He doesn't know you're so damn drunk you couldn't walk if you wanted
to."
Oh, I forgot to tell you. On the way up
to the beach everyone of the boys were so sea-sick there wasn't enough room around
the gun-whales to hold every man. I thought Jack Sproull was out of his mind
until Ray Yalley, the new executive officer asked him what he was laughing at
so hard. He bawled out, "Look at Wehrwein." Everyone who was within
earshot, that was anyone within a quarter mile of the boat, looked. There was
Wehrwein without a tooth in his mouth. They were given the deep six along with
much other incidental stomach contents when the wave action gave him that
green, "rather dead than alive" feeling.
The signalman were a riot. They had
short lines about the rear cleat which they had bowlined to their waists and
were riding the stern sheets as if it were a bucking bronc. The sending of a
message is a story in itself. Hare would institute the message by first convulsing
the muscles of his abdomen and bending forward from waist. This was followed by
the usual BT and the teat. Each signal man along the line, Lee, Nulf, and King,
would proceed their "Rogers" with this same mild gymnastic that Hare
had started. The verbal transmission of the message to the Officers in command
of the boats was usually interrupted once or twice by this upheaval of stomach
contents by either the officer or the signalman.
Like all other night-mares this too
came to an end, and the Company found its way through the more placid waters of
the channel. The job was over and all hands were in some case loudly and in
others silently congratulating themselves and their shipmates on a job well
done.
Yes, it was well done. Sounds
impossible from what you have read you say, maybe so, but ask anyone that
remembers. It was a beautiful shot. No misfire, and good conduct on the part of
personnel. Okay, so its amazing, that's the way UDT operates. Either you
believe it or you don't.
The neat day the
team came into being and we left Fort Pierce by troop train for San Pedro.
There were many changes in personnel during our training period, but then we
were fully complemented and the boys were sure they were the best damn team
ever to leave NCDU.
The principal and almost sole topic of
conversation on the trip across country was how much leave would we get on the
coast. Oh what a black moment when I think of it now. The team stopped, and an
hour later they were aboard the APA 66 bound for Maui. The moment is so sad I
hate to try to tell you of it now. But like all other disappointments a unit
can suffer, the team took that one too. Loading was done in an orderly fashion.
All hands were bunked down and before dawn we were on our way.
War is hell! You're goddam right. There wasn't any answer
to what's written and engraved in the faces, ay and in the very bodies of the men who had
wives, children, sweethearts and mothers on the West Coast. Oddly enough that
corny expression, "There is a war on you know," seemed to be the drug
that eased all pains best and after a few days at sea the team was normal. They
all looked forward now to a possible leave in Pearl and the peculiar
anticipation that civilian war made warriors can have toward combat.
Life aboard ship was uneventful, but the air was electric
with the feeling of "going off to war:' Our second day out we ran into
rough weather, and there was the usual good-natured kidding by the old salts of
the unfortunate who were wishing they had never seen the sea. There were four
teams aboard ship. 18, 19, 20, and 21. With any one unit you are bound to hear
the usual run of scuttlebutt, so you can well imagine the many strange and
sometimes weird stories that were heard about. After six days, on the day of
the Army-Navy football game, Diamond Head came into view. It was about 1300 and
all hands were on deck. The greatest concern in every mind were the conditions
of liberty. Old hands were giving the word on what to do and where to go in
Pearl and Honolulu. They were pointing out the many points of interest on the
shoreline interspersing the remarks with guesses about the amount of times we
would spend on Oahu before proceeding to Maui. If our signalmen were really on
the ball they would have noticed the answer come out from the control tower in
Pearl.
We were directed to proceed directly to
Maui. Oh, the men loved that. Without asbestos paper I can't really begin to
reveal their thoughts. Only someone who has been in the Navy, at that, in
Underwater Demolition, and understands the attitude of the average enlisted man
in Demolition toward his leave and liberty, would really appreciate the vicious
but good-natured griping.
We arrived at NCDT&EB at about 2200
and were completely unloaded at 2400. We found ourselves on the beach which we
later learned to be the area surrounding the gear locker. We found ourselves
welcome but unexpected and much confusion reigned before we bunked down for
what remained of the night. Then we heard, just prior to hitting the wonderful,
wonderful sack that we were to be present that morning at quarters at 0800, it
then being about 0400, you can well picture our unbridled enthusiasm to view
the coming sunrise. Yes, Demo was a fine life. I sure was in a very law state
that day.
After quarters in the morning I picked
up considerably. There was much meeting of old friends, and the ever present
pleasure of moving to new places, seeing new faces and learning new facts. We
were to start our training in a few days and in the meantime were to obtain our
gear and shake-down in general.
I started to rise again, at first
almost imperceptibly, but as our training progressed I seemed to grow like the
proverbial bean stalk.
Team 20 started their training two days after arriving at NCDT&E
Base, on the 3rd day of December.
The training course was divided into
three phases, (1) Physical Training and Swimming, (2) Reconnaissance and
blasting, and (3) Lectures on previous invasions. This course was scheduled to
last for ten weeks.
Each day found the team on the beach
for two or three hours getting itself in shape under the supervision of CBM
Kelley, or one of his assistants. Besides calisthenics, everyone was able to
indulge in beach games including football, volleyball, tumbling and water polo.
After a brief workout, the swimming instructor would take us to the pier and
instruct us in the three fundamental strokes; side stroke, breast stroke, and
back stroke, which were the only ones used by teams in their actual work. Along
the same lines we were taught surface diving, breath control for underwater
swimming, life saving, combat swimming, instructions in the use of fins and
mask, and those unforgettable mile swims which took place about twice every
week.
The reconnaissance and blastings took
place at most any hour of the day or night. Some would be made into APD
problems, while others would consist of four small boats, escorted by an LCI,
or LCT to the beach where the operation would take place. There were dawn,
daylight, and night recons with and without LCRs. We had problems where we
blasted channels through a coral reef, blew coral heads which were
obstructions, and removed every kind of man-made obstacle from the beach.
Besides coral blasting we were given a course in lava blasting which took a
period of seven days. During all our blasting problems both coral and lava,
Team 20 only had one misfire.
During all our work, we used different
equipment given to us by the experimental department. Among these were the Lambertson
Lung, a rubber tubing whereby packs of tetrytol were transferred to shore
faster, exposure suits, flying mattress, reels which contained line that was
marked off in yards and told the user just how far from the shore he was. All
of these things gave us a deeper insight into the possibilities of a more
efficient demolition team.
During these problems of course,
everyone was able to improve their technique of getting into the water from the
small boats and being picked up by a line and a rubber boat. Our time improved
from two hours to less than one.
The lectures given to us by members of
older teams of their work out in the field helped us a great deal to picture a
whole operation. We heard about everyone from the first up to Okinawa. They
still gave us all the minor details and answered all questions that were still
troubling us
This training was over in ten weeks and
we were able to stay there until the middle of July, five months longer, so we
took over our own training schedule. Physical training, swimming and all other
parts of the training continued, but not as intensive as it was before during
the first 10 weeks. Team 20 stayed in fine shape, but had more chance to
breathe easier and take part in competitive sports which took place on the new
athletic center.
The team found the lectures by
representatives of the teams that had been out both instructive and enjoyable,
and I'm sure there was a certain amount of that inexplicable envy that is shown
in hero worship.
After the first bone-breaking and
muscle-rending week the physical training became something the men could almost
look forward to do with something resembling welcome in their minds.
The Team's principal instructor during
those first six weeks was Ens. Wakefield of old Team 7. He was continually amazed
that we never lost a swimmer on our night reconnaissances. Our officers were
very critical and always seemed to be trying for the perfect reconnaissance.
But when our training was almost completed, "we dood it.' Our team had
numerous APD problems which all added to our smooth running outfit, but one
night off Brown Beach, 6 swimmers not only missed the rubber boats, but even
got beyond the PR screen and swam all the way out to the APD. The swimmers had
been in the water five hours and didn't show up to the APD until 0400. The lads
were mighty cold but their spirits were high and I think secretly felt a little
boastful about having swam all the way out to the APD. Then was the night
another group took off from the beach in a rubber boat from Violet Beach. Radar
picked the boys up closer to McGregor's point than to the APD. I don't think
anyone will forget the day we made a recon over at the island of Hawaii. The
fourth platoon boat came in to pick up swimmers and instead one of those 20 to
25 foot waves picked up the boat. Shorty Hawkins had his leg broken above the
knee. Stew Stewart wound up in sick bay for about 10 days and Harris and
Thacker both had ankles they couldn't walk with. King, signalman, lost
half a tooth and had the funniest grin.
Halfway through our training we lost our original CO and R.B. HERBERT
took over. By the time we finished the training our new CO was a regular part
of the team and we were anxious to shove off. Team 21 received the first nod
and we were all envious but good naturedly kidded them about going out to win
the war while we stayed behind to enjoy the tropical sunshine of the Hawaiian
Islands.
Team 20's training at
On Christmas the base had a gigantic
field day featuring boxing events and a huge swimming meet. Team 20 had more
members on the boxing card than any other team on the base. They placed second
in the swimming meet which was a real achievement in view of the fact that they
had only been in training three weeks at the time and the team that took first
was original Team 6 which was then back on the base being rehabilitated. Many
good but at the same time sad moments were had over Christmas and New Years.
Good in the instance of the bunch of officers who started the game "sing a
song and drink a drink." That consisted of having the boys sit around in a
circle and handing one member after the other three songs to sing. At the end
of each set of three intermission was taken to have
every one get a nip. All the boys passed thru the stages that evening that make
up a Christmas away from home. Melancholy, comradeship,
giddiness, riotous fun, and lastly as always, blendness.
It was the end of
Then came the very dark period when we
took over the multitudinous and seemingly useless watches on the base. From a
productive point of view we felt them useless. The only thing they seemed to
produce was many men on report. The old military game of "sweating it
out" was what we were doing and that never produces anything worth while.
We spent almost two months doing that, putting in some physical training and
swimming and sometimes a reconnaissance of some area we had been over before
and before.
It was during May that half the team
started to study lava blasting, and the other half did research work for the
base. The feeling that we were finally doing something tended to lessen some of
the gloom we had been experiencing. There were rumors going around that we
would be going out soon and the team seemed to be truly ready to go.
Then the most stunning blow of all. There were only two
of the older teams left on the base who hadn't been
out. That was Team 18 and ourselves. There seemed to
be very little to choose between the two teams but a selection had to be made
for a team was needed to operate with the Seventh Fleet. Yes, you have guessed
it. They left. Then for the third time we said good-bye, but this time I'm
afraid they were acrimonious and to ourselves rather galling, but we did feel
certain it couldn't be much longer before we would go.
The base retained a very sensible attitude and allowed us to
pretty much run our conditioning program from then on. It consisted of mile
swims, range work, physical training, reconnaissances and APD problems. It was
much less intensive than our earlier training and was much more objective, our
emphasis being on genuinely polishing our previously learned techniques.
At the end of July we had been on
Teams 22, 23, 24, and 25 along with ourselves and all our
gear loaded aboard three LST's in
The biggest joke aboard ship was the irony of our moving
back to the States after being so long on
The only disagreeable thing about the ride back was it's length and general quarters at dawn. The boys had a
tough time breaking out of the warm sacks, but once up were able to enjoy many
happy hours on the main deck in the sun. We arrived at
There were the boys who had wives and children on the Coast
whom they knew they would surely see in a few days. And then there were the
others who had other feelings but which too would be well taken care of in a
few days at the most.
We
were to stay at
We weren't in port much more than a few hours when it was
noticed that Bob Brodd wasn't around. Investigation showed him to have taken
the first available train to
While
at
gear aboard. It took a bit more than a day to get everything
aboard and secured in the hole.
On V-J Day we boarded APD 130 which would be our home from
that time until ' our return to the
The weather was fine for the whole trip and we stopped at
Every type of ship was there in the bay and hundreds of
each. Carriers, BB Cruisers, DDs and all types of landing
craft.
From the time we left
Our first meeting with the APD 130 was not an auspicious
occasion. Having spent eight months on
Having
been notified of our assigned APD we went about the task of loading with all
the eagerness of beavers for our sailing time, though unknown to us, was
suspected to be imminent. The complete list of equipment necessary to outfit a
Demolition Team presents a both bulky and varied assortment of material ranging
from the 750 pound rubber boats to the tiny yet important capsules necessary to
inflate our life belts.
All was to be loaded except our
explosives before we left
Ships company did their share on assisting the loading, menial as
it was. To bring aboard some of the heavier equipment, that material which all
together couldn't possibly lift, they rigged the boom, which could be done in a
few minutes in capable hands. The ship gave us a free hand and it was our job
to see that it was all secured to our liking. That we did. The skimmer,
supposedly the personal property for use and disposition of our Commanding
Officer was brought aboard and made secure on the port side of the fantail.
Previous to our coming aboard, a
berthing officer was appointed and it was his job to determine the distribution
of our team personnel. This was a fairly simple task for the APDs all have been
built for the specific purpose of carrying troops, either UDT or Marine
Personnel. Furthermore, the space allotted to us was to be solely occupied by
our team, ship's company being berthed off to themselves.
There was ample space for both on Starboard and Port sides of the ship
extending from just forward of the fantail to the messing spaces. It was found
more convenient after an inspection by the Captain of the ship to have all
seabags and gear other than that which could be fit into the lockers, stowed
below in the cargo hatch, the passageways leading through the berthing spaces
were to be kept unobstructed at all times. A detail which was
left up to our men. The officers were berthed..,that
should suffice-as far as the sentiments of all were concerned. Yes, we were
stowed away in a special cubby hole designated as the troop officers
quarters. How the ship designers ever contrived to fit that particular space
into the blueprints I'll never know. It was definitely on the other side of the
tracks. There were twelve of us to be quartered-we were quartered-our space,
rather our niche in the wall was below the forecastle just aft of the chain
locker. I have often wondered how anyone would have found us if upon first
arriving aboard we took down the sigh which told everyone we were holed up in that
particular space...F.B.I. included.
It was understood before coming aboard
that there would be certain duties for the team personnel to perform. The
Captain of the ship and our Commanding Officer went into a huddle and the
edicts were posted. Specific watch lists were drawn up and I will briefly tell
how our duties were required and justify the same. First, the four boats kept
aboard the APD were made available to us almost simultaneously with our arrival
aboard. Our own boat crews were to service and keep the boats in tip top shape
which they accepted willingly-as ordered-with the job of maintaining the boats
we also fell heir to the boat deck which we kept in order by assigning two men
from each platoon to that task. Our second and probably our most trying duty was to keep the berthing spaces clean and in good condition.
To that task a compartment cleaner from each platoon kept a watchful eye on the
number of cigarette butts and other trash strewn about and manned the broom
whenever necessary. There were daily inspections made by the ship and a UDT
Officer, most of which were favorably reported. Mess-cooking presented an
ever-lasting problem. Not being familiar with the messing organization aboard
the ship, we were constantly receiving gripes from both the ship and our own
men as to how many men were required to what their duties were. We supplied
mess-cooks for our own mess and let our cook take his place in the galley
assisted by whoever he thought was capable of lending assistance. I might add
at this point that none of the duties I described necessitated any great
exertion of either mental or physical talents, but we received the usual gripes
ever present with an organization involved in carrying our assigned duties. An
added and most beneficial duty to our cruise was an evaporator watch. The
evaporator was to keep us supplied with additional water enabling us to shower
more frequently and stave off the inevitable condition described as briefly
"water hours." Even with the evaporator, we were forced to use
aforementioned procedure. We were forced to supply a watch in our cargo spaces
after a few days at sea. Ransacking of team property and other gear was
discovered and we put a constant watch on duty.
In addition to the above described
duties a great number of the men were able to obtain permission from the ship
to practice their rates in the various departments aboard, such as shipfitters,
quartermastering, watertending, etc. The men, with few exceptions, kept themselves occupied through the long days but were not
refused the opportunity to get ample relaxation.
The officers were at first included in
the underways watch list but their duties and opportunities to learn anything
beneficial proved so few that the procedure was dropped shortly after we left.
A communication watch maintained by the assistant platoon leaders proved to be
great aid to the communications department. We were receiving a large number of
dispatches and it was necessary to have a man available to decode them in the
event they pertained to us. Other than the above mentioned work, our
contribution to manning the ship was negligible. Possibly for
the best.
In covering the neat subject I wish to mention at this
time that I am a very temperate person, quite capable of seeing both sides of
an argument and acknowledging a wrong when I perpetrate it, furthermore, I wish
to state that Team Twenty of Underwater Demolition was composed of a group of
officers well aware of the importance of cooperation and good relations in
maintaining any composite organization, either ship or land based.
To run the UDT operation as planned by
the powers, there must be complete cooperation between ship and team. Any
shortcomings of this requisite more or less defeated the purpose of plans. On
our particular ship it was found very difficult by both officers and men, to
mold themselves into a well balanced, efficiently operating combine. There were
numerous occasions where ship and team were found to incapacitate as to
understanding one another mainly in respect to the above mentioned
factors-.cooperation and good relations. By stating the
opinion of the Engineering Officer, a senior officer aboard as far as duty and
action seen in this war. I believe I can throw some light on the
subject: I quote, "Perhaps things would have run smoother if our Junior
Officers had been a little more cognizant of the fact the UDT operating
personnel were aboard the ship in the same capacity as the previous teams that
had gone into the field to work. I have worked with them before and I know
quite a bit about their way of doing their specific jobs and what is required
of them on a cruise such as this. Our Junior Officer perhaps looked upon you as
freeloaders and can't help feeling a twinge of animosity toward you"
It was true in that respect that during the entire trip
relations between ships officers and team officers were tense and not in
conformity with usual standards of Navy compatriotship. My opinions are
undoubtedly colored slightly in favor of our cause, but I honestly believe we
did our share in attempting to strike a
happy medium with the miserably(?).
[this is straight from the archives..] I do not wish at this
time to offer any solutions to the aforementioned problems. I feel whomever
holds sway with the powers to change or alter administration will see a
solution to this more or less social problem on being physically [fit...] to go
to sea. To go to sea and maintain the highest traditions of his responsibility
to the ship and his shipmates and constantly do everything in his power to
defeat any counter feelings which may take root.
By the time we arrived at
Our CO, Lt. Comdr. Herbert started his daily trips to the
flag ship to receive his orders for the day, but it seemed as if Team 20 was
destined to sit and wait for nothing. The officers and men were able to go
ashore to Saporio,
At last orders came, but they were for
the ship and not the team. APD 130 was to escort twelve LSTs from
A few were able to get ashore that
afternoon, but only those who had friends or relatives there. The officers that
were fortunate enough to go like all good Demo men, were able to get their
hands on a few cases of beer, so by the time they returned to the ship, they
were in very good spirits.
The next morning we headed back towards
Again in
The USS COOK anchored outside the breakwater of Hokadate at
1000 the eventful morning and waited for the Japanese to come out to us. After
a short wait, a small boat came out with Japanese Officials aboard and they
came aboard our ship where the official surrender took place.
A guide boat came out to us after the surrender was
completed and we raised our anchor and steamed inside the breakwater and into
the harbor where we anchored and would stay until the army arrived to take over
the city.
Our work only took the team three days and then for four
days we had liberty and stood by awaiting the 77th Division.
That afternoon the team started its work and went ashore.
Everyone was armed, for we didn't know just what the people's attitude would be
towards us, but it proved that they welcomed us with friendly gestures. The
team groups took soundings of the whole harbor, measured all the piers, docks,
and tested them for strength. The roads were inspected for good entrances and
exits from the places which would prove to be the best landing places for barges.
All buoys were examined to find out what ton ship it would be able to hold with safety... all these were painted
with numbers in order that they could be referred to easily on the charts.
Sunken ships were marked in one way or another in order that they would prove
to be no obstacle. All the fishing ships that were anchored or tied up in rows
of three along the main pier were ordered to move and when the army arrived
they had every bit of information about Hokadate and it's
harbor.
As always, the team, to the man, found
things to do and enjoy themselves. The boat crews obtained souvenirs from Jap
landing barges, and our PRs sounded like fire engines as we went through the
harbor. Liberty parties were able to requisition sabers,
pistols, rifles and all other types of souvenirs. Flags were taken from
the ships but our greatest work were the signs that were painted on the roofs
of buildings stating that UDT 20 welcomed all services to Hokadate.
Everyone did a
very good job here and also, I believe that everyone learned a bit about the
Japanese people. As we were the only Americans there and the first to arrive,
we had a good chance of getting in on the ground floor of everything.
The Army arrived, and we left to return
to
Bob Brodd, our Mine Disposal Officer
took many pictures of our trip to Japan, and was able to print enough pictures
to give every man on the team a set.
When we received our orders to escort
LSTs, LCIs and SCs to
Our trip to
With only a layover of one day there,
we had to hurry and get ashore to the clubs. Both officers and men were
permitted liberty, and all hands had a real "Demo" time. There were
millions of laughs and Ed McMahon was lucky enough to meet his brother, a pilot
of B-29s while there.
Away to
With a layover
of two days at
The days from
13 November
found us at
Some partings
were sad, for many men had been together, since the team first organized at
(compiled by Robert Allan
King for the
TEAM ROSTERS - To
protect the integrity of the Teams and the privacy of individual frogmen, Team
rosters are not made public. If you or your relative was a member of UDT Team
TWENTY and you would like further information, we suggest you contact the UDT-SEAL Museum.