December 4, 1944 - Monday - 80 years ago today

 Status - John Skinner - USS St. Croix

John has reported to his new ship, the USS_Saint_Croix, which was commissioned on December 1st, 1944 at Vancouver, Washington.   Saint Croix was an attack transport, carrying 1500 troops to battle areas and landing them using the onboard landing craft.

Many of these ships were build and entered service in 1944 and 1945, in anticipation of the remaining islands to be taken, and of course the eventual invasion of the Japanese home islands. 

 USS Saint Croix:

As part of the original crew at commissioning, John received a Plank Owner's certificate.  This supposedly entitled the bearer to an original plank from the ship's deck.

For the next two months, the ship would undergo outfitting for service and then executing a shakedown cruise along the west coast of the US, ending in San Diego in late January.

There are no ship's deck logs online for the St. Croix, and so the blog will update once or twice a month during the next year, instead of every 4 days. St. Croix will remain in the Pacific during 1945, through the end of the war, and then return to the US mainland.

 

NEXT POST: JANUARY 1

November 30, 1944 - Thursday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - 

November 27th:  At sea all day, proceeding to San Francisco.  Temperatures 50s-60s, light to moderate breezes.

November 28th:  At sea all day. Temperatures 50s-60s, light to moderate breezes.

November 29th:   Entered port at San Francisco just after noon.  Temperatures 40s-50s, light to moderate breezes.

November 30th:   At San Francisco.  Temperatures 40s, light breezes.  

Daly has arrived at San Francisco for an overhaul that would last several weeks.  Many of the crew were released to other assignments, and those that were remaining got a very welcome 20 days of liberty.

John did not get any shore leave, as he was already en route to his new assignment, on board the new attack transport USS Saint Croix (APA-231), which was currently in Vancouver, Washington.

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Peleliu Island was secured by US forces on the 27th, more than two months after the invasion of the island.  On the 29th, Japanese carrier Shinano was sunk by a US submarine.

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More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 585-586.
• Leyte, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 356-370.
  
• Events of November, 1944
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, November 1944

 

NEXT POST: DECEMBER 4TH

November 26, 1944 - Sunday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS Daly: 

USS Daly (DD-519) - 

November 23rd:  Daly entered Pearl Harbor late morning.  Fueling on arrival.  Left Pearl Harbor mid-afternoon, destination Mare Island, San Francisco.  Temperatures 70s, light to moderate breezes.

November 24th:  Daly en route to San Francisco. Temperatures 60s-70s, moderate breezes.

November 25th:   At sea all day.  Temperatures 60s, light to moderate breezes.

November 26th:   At sea all day.  Temperatures 60s, light to moderate breezes. 

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The first bomber raid (using B-29s) on Tokyo occurs on the 24th.

Strasbourg, France and nearby towns were liberated during this time.  A nearby concentration camp was also liberated.

Soviet forces completed the capture of the Baltic states from the Germans.

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More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 582-585.
• Leyte, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 356-357.
  
• Events of November, 1944
  
• Logbooks of the US Navy at the National Archives, USS Daly, DD-519, November 1944

 

NEXT POST: NOVEMBER 30TH