iInterviewee Name Here

USS NEW MEXICO

(BB-40)

The Queen’s Story

in the Words of Her Men

John C. Driscoll

ii USS New Mexico

Copyright © 2009by John C. Driscoll

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by thiscopyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form orby any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy-ing, recording or by any informational storage and retrievalsystem without written permission from the copyright owner.

ISBN: 978-0-9840784-0-0

Printed and bound in the United States of America byMaverick Publications • Bend, Oregon

iiiInterviewee Name Here

Dedication and Thanks

This book is dedicated to the crew of USS New Mexico (BB 40),whose number include my father, Harry Driscoll.

This book is dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Ann Dascher.

Thank you to Karie Jones for editing this book. Thank you toJann Outman, Karie Jones, Jennifer Jessen and Valerie Leonard fortranscribing the interviews.

51st Reunion of USS New Mexico’s Crew: September 18, 2008,Crowne Plaza Hotel, St. Louis, MO

Left to right–Front row: Jerry Bates, George Herder, Max Igleheart,

Harold Streets, George SmithSecond row: Roy Hunt, William Beard, Grant Erickson,

La Vell Richins, Vernon Dascher, Eugene WalkerThird row: Linn Peterson, Robert Way, Leon Hansen,

Robert Goodwin, Jim Oeswein, Ernie DoyleFourth Row: Edward Ehalt, Leonard Hart, John Cox, Phillip Lee,

Bill Seaman

iv USS New Mexico

vInterviewee Name Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication and Thanks................................................................... iiiPreface ..........................................................................................vii

1. USS New Mexico’s history – a summary ......................... 1

Interwar Years: 1929-19342. Oeswein, James M Div 1929-1932 ................. 133. Way, Walter B Div 1930-1934 ................. 41

War returns: 1936 - 19414. Henning, Bill R Div 1936-1941 ................. 575. Scruggs, Frank F Div 1937-1945 ................. 656. Walker, Eugene C Div 1937-1940 ................. 777. Smith, George A Div 1938-1940 ................. 898. Ford, Bill B Div 1940-1946 ............... 1039. Jacobson, Thomas F Div 1940-1946 ............... 115

Early War: 1941-4210. Baker, David N Div 1941-1945 ............... 13711. Bergen, John B Div 1941-1945 ............... 15612. Seaman, Bill 6th Div 1941-1945 ............... 16113. Spitler, Gerald C Div 1941-1944 ............... 173

Mid war: 1942-194314. Cox, John L. 6th Div 1942-1945 ............... 18315. Dove, Will D. 6th Div 1942-1945 ............... 20116. Falk, Leroy I Div 1942-1945 ............... 21317. Fuegy, Carl I Div 1942-1945 ............... 217

vi USS New Mexico

18. Herder, George N Div 1942-1945 ............... 22119. Stevens, Earl E Div 1942-1945 ............... 23920. Sobel, Walter L & N Div 1942-1945 ............... 25521. Cantley, Max 4th Div 1943-1946 ............... 27322. Clark, Bob Band 1943-1945 ............... 28923. Dascher, Vernon B Div 1943-1946 ............... 29924. Fairhead, Philip F Div 1943-1945 ............... 32325. Hansen, Leon C Div 1943-1945 ............... 35126. Hunt, Roy I DIV 1943-1946 ............... 36527. Igleheart, Max B Div 1943-1946 ............... 37328. Maddocks, H. 1st Div 1943-1945 ............... 38529. Mason, Leonard B Div 1943-1946 ............... 39530. Peterson, Linn 2nd Div 1943-1944 ............... 405

Late War: 1944-194531. Bates, Jerry W. F Div 1944-1945 ............... 41532. Ehalt, Edward Marine 1944-1945 ............... 43733. Goodwin, Robert E Div 1944-1945 ............... 44334. Hand, Harvey A Div 1944-1945 ............... 44935. Kirkpatrick, Francis S Div 1944-1945 ............... 45536. Lorenzo, Victor I Div 1944-1946 ............... 47137. Otterman, Bill N Div 1944-1945 ............... 49138. Richens, Lavell F Div 1944-1946 ............... 49939. Rodger, Richard E Div 1944-1946 ............... 51540. Shaffer, William S Div 1944-1946 ............... 52141. Wickham, Ted A Div 1944-1946 ............... 529

Appenndix I:Operational activity During the Second World War ..... 541

Appendix II: Interviews ............................................................ 544Appendix III: Electric Drive..................................................... 546Appendix IV: Section Photographs .......................................... 547

Index .......................................................................................... 555

viiInterviewee Name Here

PREFACE

“In our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was

given to us to learn at the outset that life is a profound

and passionate thing.”

— Oliver Wendell Holmes

USS New Mexico (BB 40’s) career touched upon the events ofthree centuries, (19th, 20th and 21st). Her design, prepared approxi-mately ninety-eight years after Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar,incorporated the lessons of the line of battle. She was designed as abattleship, a ship intended to serve in the van as did HMS Victory,and was also designed to satisfy the requirements for war in the Pa-cific.

USS New Mexico’s armament, when she was commissioned dur-ing the final months of the First World War, included four three-inchguns, weapons which could serve as anti-craft weapons, a defenseagainst a threat which didn’t exist when she was designed.

In 1919 USS New Mexico escorted Woodrow Wilson back fromthe Versailles Peace Conference where was set in motion a processwhich culminated in the Second World War.

In 1941, USS New Mexico came into her own as a man-of-war.She was an older ship manned by a crew largely composed of youngmen, all volunteers, who hailed from every region of the country.She went into harms way providing gunfire support for the landingsat most every major action in the Central Pacific and North Pacific.She sustained her most grievous injuries late during the war whenstruck by kamikazes, a suicide weapon which presaged the terroristattacks and guided missiles of the current century.

viii USS New Mexico

USS New Mexico (BB 40) and her crew was the equal of everychallenge they met. Many of these were unimagined when she wasdesigned, launched then commissioned. Her history is a tribute toher builders and the men who crewed her, one of whom is my father,Harry Driscoll.

Harry Driscoll USS New Mexicocrewman 1944-1946

Interviewee Name Here 1

HISTORY OF THE USS NEW MEXICO

(BB 40)

USS New Mexico was authorized by an Act of Congress, dated June30, 1914. Construction of the Battleship 40, first scheduled to bear thename California, was allocated to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and began inOctober 1915. Battleship 40 was first scheduled to bear the name Cali-fornia, while Battleship 44, under construction at Mare Island NavalShip Yard, would be named New Mexico. However, Battleships 40 and44 exchanged names prior to launching. USS New Mexico was launchedon April 23, 1917. Her sponsor was Miss Margaret C. De Baca.

USS New Mexico2

As built, USS New Mexico had a 2-A-2 turret arrangement, eachbuilt up entirely of flat armor plates and housing a trio of 14-inch rifles.Most of the 5-inch guns in her secondary battery were located in drierpositions at upper deck level. Submerged below the waterline, were two21-inch torpedo tubes. She had two funnels cage masts. USS NewMexico’s 624-foot hull was sixteen feet longer than any previous UnitedStates battleship. Improved compartmentation and the substitution of aclipper bow with bulbous forefoot for the ram bow of earlier UnitedStates battleships were among USS New Mexico’s innovative features.

USS New Mexico, based on the success of USS Jupiter’s turbo-elec-tric drive was commissioned as the United State Navy’s first turbo-electricdriven battleship. Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, approvedoutfitting USS New Mexico with four General Electric motors whichpropelled her at 21 knots. Secretary Daniels reported to the House Na-val Committee on USS New Mexico’s performance: “The machinerywas designed to develop 26,500 horsepower at full speed, which it wasexpected would give the ship a speed of 21 knots. She actually devel-oped more than 31,000 horsepower and maintained for four hours aspeed of 211/4 knots and this when running at a displacement 1,000 tonsgreater than her design called for. If she had been tried at her designeddisplacement, as is customary with all new ships, she would have made21.5 knots without any trouble whatever; and what is still better, shecould have kept up this speed as long as her fuel lasted for, like all ourlater dreadnoughts, she is an oil-burner and there would be no reductionin speed due to the necessity of cleaning fires, which must be done incoal burning ships after a run of four hours at top speed….On the whole,I think the country has cause to be proud of this achievement in engi-neering, not alone because of the pronounced success in this particularinstance, but because of the assurance it gives us of the superiority of ourcapital ships to those of foreign nations.”

USS New Mexico was placed in commission on May 20, 1918. Shejoined the Atlantic Fleet at Yorktown, Virginia then completed a briefshakedown before sailing to Boston in September 1918 where, twenty-eight years later, she was decommissioned. She arrived at New YorkCity on December 26, 1918, the NEW MEXICO for a fleet review.

She sailed from New York City on January 1919 as an escort to theBrest-bound USS George Washington. Aboard the transport was Presi-dent Wilson. She escorted Wilson back to the United States followingWilson’s failed treaty negotiations at Versailles, which significantly fig-ured in the sequence of events which culminated in World War Two.

History of the USS New Mexico 3

On the morning of February 22nd, 1919, the USS New Mexico cameupon the 3-masted derelict schooner Charlotte J. Sibley. After rescuingall crewmen, she sank the wreck with shellfire.

USS New Mexico arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia in July 1919.Admiral Hugh Rodman, commander of the newly organized Pacific Fleet,chose to break his flag in USS New Mexico, making her the first flagshipof the United States Pacific Fleet. USS New Mexico and other shipsassigned to the Pacific Fleet proceeded to San Pedro, California.

USS New Mexico’s next two decades of service were determined,first, by the belief that there would never be another major war and,second, by the constraints of the Great Depression. USS New Mexicoconducted training, cruised, received ambassadors, participated in cen-tennials and extended good will of the United States.

In 1920, the USS New Mexico made a cruise to Hawaii, then, in early1921, led the Pacific Fleet on the 6000-mile cruise to Valparaiso, Chile.In 1924, she conducted a return cruise to New York City. During themid 1920’s, the USS New Mexico was made Flagship of Battleship Di-vision Four.

USS New Mexico departed Bremerton, Washington on April 25, 1925for Hawaii, where she participated in training exercises and wargameswhich presaged her activities during World War Two. Afterwards, camea voyage to Australia and New Zealand, with pauses enroute at Samoaand New South Wales. USS New Mexico returned to San Pedro, whereshe carried out routine maneuvers from that base during the followingyears. She returned to Hawaii in 1928 then to Hampton Roads in 1930.

USS New Mexico was already known as “The Queen” in part in trib-ute to honors won in competition with other battleships. In 1920-21,1927-28, and 1929-30 the ship took the “meat ball” (red pennant with ablack circle in its center) for the best in gunnery, engineering, and battleefficiency.

On March 5, 1931, USS New Mexico proceeded to Philadelphia NavalShip Yard for modernization. Complete re-boilering and re-working ofinternal protection was accomplished. Her superstructure was entirelyreconstructed, to include removing her cage masts. Her anti-aircraft andanti-submarine defenses were modernized. Blisters and additional ar-mored deck protection were added. USS New Mexico and her sisters,following the 1931-1933 modernization, were the United States Navy’smost effective battleships until the 1941 commissioning of the USS NorthCarolina.

USS New Mexico4

USS New Mexico, under the command of Captain David A. Weaver,departed Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on January 22, 1933 for refreshertraining at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. USS New Mexico, following a Presi-dential review off New York in May 1934, remained on the east coastuntil September 15, 1934, when she again returned to San Pedro. Shecruised to Hawaii in 1936 and 1937.

USS New Mexico, after completing gunnery training and tactical ex-ercises off the Hawaiian Islands, sailed from Pearl Harbor on May 20,1941, for Guantanamo Bay, which she reached June 9, 1941. She de-parted for Norfolk on June 11, 1941. USS New Mexico sailed fromHampton Roads June 20, 1941, to commence a series of neutrality pa-trols in the North Atlantic under Presidential “shoot on sight” orders.

USS New Mexico, on July 20, 1941, put to sea to patrol shippinglanes being used to transport Lend-Lease material to Great Britain. Shearrived in Iceland where she spent nine days at anchor within the harborof Reykjavik. USS New Mexico departed Iceland on September 25,1941. Her operations with Task Force 15 ended on October 3, 1941.USS New Mexico, under the command of Captain Walter E. Brown,departed Argentia, Newfoundland bound for Casco Bay, Maine.

From October 12-25, 1941 and November 9-11, 1941, USS NewMexico’s gunnery and navigation departments conducted training exer-cises in Casco Bay, before departing for Halifax, Nova Scotia onNovember 14, 1941. USS New Mexico sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotiaon November 14 for more patrolling in the north Atlantic then arrived atBoston on the November 25, 1941 to take on ammunition before return-ing to Casco Bay on December 1, 1941.

USS New Mexico, serving as flag ship for Battleship Division, sailedfrom Casco Bay on December 9, 1941, stopped at Norfolk on December11, 1942, then proceeded for the Pacific on January 6, 1942. She ar-rived at San Francisco on January 22, 1942.

During the winter and spring of 1942, USS New Mexico prepared foroperations in the central and west Pacific. She visited San Pedro on May10-13, 1942 and June 19-22, 1942. On August 1, 1942, USS New Mexicosailed from San Francisco for the Hawaiian Islands, where she rendez-voused with Task Force 17 on August 8, 1942. She participated inexercises before arriving at Pearl Harbor on August 14, 1942.

From August through September of 1942, USS New Mexico wasflagship of Battleship Division Two, (commanded by Rear AdmiralTheodore S. Wilkinson). Vice Admiral Herbert F. Leary, commanding

History of the USS New Mexico 5

all Pacific Fleet battleships, raised his flag in USS New Mexico almostimmediately after Rear Admiral Wilkinson shifted his from her.

During September 1942, Captain Oliver Lee Downes assumed com-mand of USS New Mexico. She steamed out from Pearl Harbor for theforward operations area on December 7, 1942, the first anniversary ofthe Japanese surprise attack.

On December 18, 1942, USS New Mexico arrived in the Fiji Islandsand anchored at Nandi, where she participated in the final combat opera-tions in the Solomons. On January 9, 1943, she left Suva to screenescort carriers whose planes were providing air support for United Statesforces operating on Guadalcanal. She continued in that capacity untilFebruary 11 1943, when she returned to Nandi.

USS New Mexico, enroute to Pearl Harbor, called at Efate in theNew Hebrides on March 8, 1943, at Samoa March 11-15, 1943, thenreached the Hawaiian Islands on March 22, 1943. During the remainderof March 1943 and all of April 1943, USS New Mexico remained atPearl Harbor. Vice Admiral Leary departed from USS New Mexico inApril 1943. Rear Admiral Robert M. Griffin, Commander of BattleshipDivision Three, embarked with his staff in May 1943.

USS New Mexico sailed for Adak Island on May 10, 1943.The island, located in the north Pacific (a region where 100 knot windsand seventy foot waves are not uncommon), is part of the Aleutians.Adak and Kiska were occupied by Japanese forces. She arrived at Adak’sKuluk Bay on May 17, 1943, commencing a three month long period ofoperations in the north Pacific.

USS New Mexico rendezvoused with other task force members onMay 21, 1943 to prevent the landing of reinforcements. Chichagof Har-bor was occupied without opposition on May 30, 1943.

On July 22, 1943, USS New Mexico joined in the bombardment ofKiska. Return fire was desultory and ineffectual. USS New Mexico,before departing the Aleutians, steamed to the south and west of Kiskain search of a Japanese task force which failed to appear.

American reoccupation of Kiska was completed on August 15, 1943when United States forces entered Quisling Cove on the island’s north-west coast. No Japanese forces were present. They had abandonedKiska on July 29, 1943. The Japanese presence in the Northern Pacifichad been eliminated.

USS New Mexico sailed from Kuluk Bay for Puget Sound on August29, 1943. She arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on September 4,

USS New Mexico6

1943 for maintenance, in preparation for subsequent operations. Cap-tain Ellis Mark Zacharias assumed command of USS New Mexico duringSeptember 1943. USS New Mexico left Puget Sound Naval Shipyardon October 9, 1943. She arrived at San Pedro on October 12, 1943 thensailed for Pearl Harbor, which she reached on October 26, 1943.

Near the equator, approximately one hundred miles north of Tarawaand 2,500 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor, was a Japanese seaplanebase located on Makin island. Makin and Tarawa Atolls had been pickedas the striking point for “Operation Galvanic,” the United States pushinto the Gilbert Islands. One the morning of November 20, 1943, USSNew Mexico and other members of Rear Admiral Griffin’s BattleshipDivision Three commenced bombarding Makin island.

USS New Mexico provided gunfire support for soldiers of the 27th

Infantry Division, the unit which had been assigned the task of occupy-ing Butaritari, an important link in the Makin ring. USS New Mexico’sbombardment was singularly successful. No effective Japanese fire wasdirected against her and no casualties were sustained. USS New Mexicosailed from the Gilberts for Pearl Harbor on November 29, 1943. Shereached Oahu on December 8, 1943.

During January 1944, USS New Mexico returned to the Central Pa-cific. This time it was the Marshall Islands, which extend over six hundredmiles of water and screen the island of Truk, then the key Japanese navalfortress in the Carolines. USS New Mexico sailed from Pearl Harbor onJanuary 22, 1944, arriving off Kwajalein Atoll on January 31, 1944 toparticipate in the pre-invasion bombardment. She bombarded Ebeyeand Kwajalein Islands before retiring late in the afternoon on February 1,1944. It was here that USS New Mexico suffered her first casualty ofthe war.

USS New Mexico’s two Kingfisher scouting planes were operatingover Kwajalein. The aviators relayed topographical information and tar-get locations to the battleship’s gunners. One of them, piloted byLieutenant Forney O. Fuqua, USNR, with Radioman Second ClassHarrison D. Miller as passenger, was struck by enemy shellfire overKwajalein’s eighty-mile long lagoon. Fuqua radioed his ship: “Cockpitfull of gasoline fumes … hit very badly … am making emergency land-ing.” Taking over the controls, Miller brought the damaged plane downon the surface, but it overturned before landing. A minesweeper operat-ing inside the lagoon rescued Radioman Miller, but the Kingfisher sankbefore Lieutenant Fuqua’s body could be recovered.

History of the USS New Mexico 7

USS New Mexico sailed for Tarawa Island in the Maloelap Atoll onFebruary 20, 1944 then Wotje Island in the Wotje Atoll on the 21st ofFebruary, 1944. USS New Mexico’s main and secondary batteries fired2,400 rounds during her operations in the Marshalls.

USS New Mexico entered Majuro Lagoon, located 270 miles south-east of Kwajalein, on February 23, 1944. She then continued southwardto Havannah Harbor, Efate for reprovisioning. On March 20, 1944, shejoined other units in a day long diversionary bombardment of Kaviengon New Ireland, in coordination with a United States Marine invasion ofEmirau Island, 75 miles to the northwest. Japanese counter battery firewas rapid, but did not harm USS New Mexico.

USS New Mexico, in the company of USS Idaho and USS Pennsyl-vania, sailed southwest from Efate on April 23, 1944 for Sydney, Australia,which she reached on April 29, 1944. On May 5, 1944, USS New Mexicosailed from Sydney for Efate, which she reached on May 10, 1944.

By the spring of 1944, United States forces were preparing to pierceJapan’s inner defense perimeter. Rear Admiral George L. Weyler re-placed Rear Admiral Griffin as Commander of Battleship Division Threein May. USS New Mexico, for the first time since she returned to thePacific, went into her next action without a flag officer on board.

On June 14-15, 1944, USS New Mexico conducted bombardmentoperations off Tinian. On June 16, 1944 she then directed her fire onJapanese airfields located on Guam. She also provided protection forauxiliary ships, transports, and supply ships near Saipan until June 25,1944, when she steamed away from the Marianas.

Retaking Guam was the focus of the second phase of the Marianascampaign. The first phase, the taking of Saipan, had taken longer thananticipated. Undisputed control of the Marianas approaches was de-cided by the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19-20, 1944). USS NewMexico anchored within Eniwetok Atoll on June 27, 1944, where sheremained until July 15, 1944.

USS New Mexico joined with USS Pennsylvania, USS Hailey, USSHaggard, and USS Hamilton on July 15, 1944 to form a force whicharrived off Guam on July 17, 1944. The bombardment continued untilJuly 21, 1944 when the Marines landed. USS New Mexico then pro-vided them with gunfire support.

Following the initial landings, USS New Mexico responded to a re-quest for illumination fire to prevent Japanese counter attacks under coverof darkness by firing star shells over Japanese positions. At dawn, Major

USS New Mexico8

General Roy S. Geiger sent a message to USS New Mexico in which hestated, “Thanks…you saved the day.”

During the Guam operations, USS New Mexico accomplished anextraordinary feat of indirect fire. One of her target spotting planesdetected a shore battery then requested fire. Although the objective wascompletely obscured from view, the navigator obtained range and bear-ing. The fourteen inch rounds achieved a direct hit, which destroyed thetarget.

Two pilots for USS New Mexico, Lieutenant (jg) Thomas H. Moore,USNR and Lieutenant (jg) Harold K. Anderson Jr., USNR (missing inaction) were awarded Air Medals by Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turnerfor their service during these operations. The rear-seat radiomen-gun-ners were cited by Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz for efficiently carryingout “numerous naval gunfire spotting missions” during the Marianas cam-paign. One of the planes was riddled by fragments of a Japanese shellwhile over Guam, while both planes encountered heavy caliber and au-tomatic anti-aircraft fire during their hazardous missions.

USS New Mexico, after thirteen days and firing 6,500 shells rounds,departed the Marianas on July 30, 1944. She called at Eniwetok onAugust 2, 1944, then departed Pearl Harbor and returned to Puget SoundNaval Shipyard on August 11, 1944. She had completed a year of heavybombardment operations.

New guns were installed by Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Her crew-men departed for leave or new assignments and new crewmen reportedonboard. During September 1944, Captain Robert W. Fleming assumedcommand of USS New Mexico. USS New Mexico departed Puget Soundon October 26, 1944. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on November 1,1944.

She sailed from Pearl Harbor to Ulithi, located in the western Carolines,on November 10, 1944. USS New Mexico spent November 21-23, 1944at Ulithi, before sailing into Leyte Gulf on November 25, 1944 to coverthe battling on Leyte and Samar.

On December 2, 1944, the force of battleships, cruisers, and destroy-ers, of which USS New Mexico was a member, departed Leyte Gulf forlogistic replenishment. Augmented by several escort carriers, the groupreturned a few days later and entered Surigao Strait, then passed throughthe Mindanao Sea into the Sulu Sea to screen and support on the 15th ofDecember 1944.

The Lingayen Gulf invasion of Luzon, the biggest and most-prized ofthe Philippine Islands, was the final operation of consequence in the South-

History of the USS New Mexico 9

west Pacific. USS New Mexico met the Japanese in Lingayen Gulf dur-ing early January 1945.

Onboard her at the time were Rear Admiral George L. Weyler, whoseembarkation made USS New Mexico once again Flagship of BattalionDivision Three, Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, Commander-in-Chief of theBritish Pacific Fleet and Lt. General Herbert Lumsden, leader of thearmored herd which trampled Rommel in North Africa. They were onhand to observe United States amphibious tactics. Also onboard wasWilliam Henry Chickering, a Time Magazine correspondent, who hadcovered operations in the Pacific Theatre with General MacArthur since1942 in New Guinea. He filed his last dispatch from the NEW MEXICOon January 2, 1945.

USS New Mexico arrived in Lingayen Gulf on the morning of Janu-ary 6, 1945, then commenced her bombarding of Luzon. At 1000, theJapanese began retaliating with fierce and repeated air attacks on theformation. It was here that the newly-formed Special Attack Corps ofthe Imperial Air Force made its debut in force.

USS New Mexico carried on with her gunfire assignments while fight-ing off kamikaze attackers. At approximately 1200, January 6, 1945, akamikaze plane with its 500-lb bomb, struck the portside of the navigat-ing bridge, then detonated. Damage repair parties and corpsmenimmediately responded. The attack left 30 dead and 87 wounded. Amongthe dead were USS New Mexico’s commanding Officer, (CaptainFleming), Bill Chickering and Lt. General Lumsden. Commander JohnT. Warren, USS New Mexico’s Executive Officer, assumed command.USS New Mexico, in spite of the attack, continued to bombard Luzon inpreparation of MacArthur’s landings.

USS New Mexico’s gunners continued to distinguish themselves.Among the targets assigned her were two bridges, each 16 feet wide androughly 71/2 miles inland. Though they were considered almost impos-sible to hit, the USS New Mexico’s gunners damaged one beyond repairand made the other useless to the Japanese. United States forces wentashore on January 9, 1945.

USS New Mexico expended 25,795 rounds bombarding Luzon. Shedeparted Lingayen Gulf on January 22, 1945, and then arrived at SanPedro Bay, off Leyte on the 24th of January 1945. USS New Mexicostopped at Ulithi, enroute to Pearl Harbor for repairs, on January 28,1945. She arrived off Oahu on February 6, 1945.

On March 1, 1945, Captain John Meade Haines assumed commandof USS New Mexico. She departed for Ulithi on March 9, 1945. Her

USS New Mexico10

next operation was participation in the capture of Okinawa, the mostdifficult operation undertaken by United States forces in the Pacific, andalso the most ambitious amphibious push of the Pacific war (1,213 ships,564 carrier-based support aircraft, and 451,866 Army-Marine groundforces).

USS New Mexico’s crew went ashore for rest and relaxation on theisland of Mog-Mog, located in the Ulithi Atoll, while taking on stores,fuel, and ammunition. On the 20th of March 1945, USS New Mexicosteamed northwest toward Ryukyus.

During the six days prior to the landings on Okinawa, USS NewMexico supported underwater demolition teams and minesweeping op-erations in the area. So thorough was the preparatory bombardment that,before the first wave of assault forces landed at 0830 on April 1, 1945,every known coastal gun in USS New Mexico’s sector had been silenced.

On April 5, 1945, USS New Mexico became the Flagship of AdmiralRaymond A. Spruance, Commander United States Fifth. On April 6,1945, kamikazes began attacks hitherto unknown intensity.

During the 64 days spent at Okinawa, the USS New Mexico went toGeneral Quarters 82 times and to Air Defense 86 times. USS New Mexicoincreased her tally of downed planes to 21, by destroying eight Japaneseaircraft. Four of them were shot down within a sixteen minute periodduring a heavy air attack which occurred on April 12, 1945. USS NewMexico, while operating off Okinawa, out maneuvered torpedoes firedat her by a Japanese submarine.

At 1700 on May 12, 1945, a formation of Japanese aircraft closed inon USS New Mexico from astern. One broke from the formation thendived on USS New Mexico. A 5-inch shell burst directly under the kami-kaze, lifting it clear of the mastheads as it zoomed overhead. Closeaboard, it smacked into the sea. A second suicide aircraft crashed on thegun deck and tore into the funnel, leaving a jagged 30-foot hole in theside.

The plane’s bombs exploded upon impact. Aviation gasoline in theruptured gas tanks sent flames skyward 200 feet. Twenty millimeterand forty millimeter ammunition from the ship’s anti-aircraft guns tumbleddown the stack through the battle bars. Doctors, corpsmen, and emer-gency stretcher-bearers went to the aid of the wounded. Others removedthe injured, then passed up shells to hard-pressed gunners still fightingoff enemy planes. Damage control parties, aided by volunteers from guncrews, broke out fire hoses and extinguished the fires. Within fifteen

History of the USS New Mexico 11

Kamikaze hits USS New Mexico off Okinawa, 12 May 1945

minutes, all fires were reported under control. In twenty-one minutes,all fires were extinguished.

USS New Mexico crewmen worked throughout the night, clearingdebris, appraising damage, and readying the ship’s guns for new attacks.Casualties incurred amounted to 177 men, including 55 dead and 3 miss-ing.

Before dawn on May 13, 1945, USS New Mexico’s anti-aircraft bat-teries, excluding those smashed in the attack, were ready for action again.During the days that followed the attack, USS New Mexico’s crewmen,aided by technicians from USS Oceanus, which was alongside, accom-plished so much in such a brief period of time that the USS New Mexicowas able to continue to serve as Admiral Spruance’s Flagship until May27, 1945, when she was ordered to Guam.

USS New Mexico, during her Okinawa operations, fired a total of21,876 rounds, which included 2,778 projectiles for her main batteryalone. USS New Mexico arrived at Guam on May 31, 1945 then sailedfor Leyte on June 4, 1945, where permanent repairs were made fromJune 7 through August 3, 1945.

USS New Mexico12

Via Ulithi, and with a stop at Saipan on August 12, 1945, USS NewMexico was enroute to Okinawa’s Buckner Bay when the Japanese ac-cepted the Potsdam Ultimatum. On the following day, August 16, 1945,USS New Mexico anchored in Buckner Bay, Okinawa.

On August 23, 1945, USS New Mexico sailed from Okinawa for arendezvous with the Third Fleet, which occurred three days later offSagami Wan at the entrance to Tokyo Bay. On August 30, 1945, USSRevenge led USS New Mexico and 188 combatant United States Navyships, their auxiliary supporting force, and 17 Royal Navy warships pastYokosuka Naval Base into Tokyo Bay.

On Sunday, September 2, 1945, at 0855, the Japanese delegationmounted the USS Missouri’s accommodation ladder and then formedbefore top-ranking Allied leaders on her O-1 level where they affixedtheir signatures to the instrument of Japan’s unconditional surrender.

USS New Mexico departed Tokyo Bay September 6, 1945 for BucknerBay, Okinawa. She arrived there on September 9, 1945, embarked sev-eral hundred high-point Pacific veterans, then began her voyage back tothe United Stated on September 10, 1945.

After five days at Pearl Harbor (September 20-25, 1945), USS NewMexico steamed to the Panama Canal Zone. She transited the PanamaCanal for the last time on October 12, 1945 then arrived in Boston onthe 18th of October 1945.

Commander Arnold H. Newcomb, who had served as Gunnery Of-ficer during the Philippine and Okinawa Campaign, took over commandfrom Captain Haines on November 15, 1945. In the subsequent months,while USS New Mexico was laid up at Boston, Commander Newcombsupervised preparations for her decommissioning. On July 19, 1946,USS New Mexico was placed out of commission. On February 25, 1947,she was stricken from the United States Naval Registry.