Hector's belated return home | Epilogue

Following Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945, my dad, Frank Dolan, a crewman on the repair ship USS Hector, continued his work in Tanapag Harbor, Saipan. The war now over, the myriad returning ships had to be repaired and readied to return to ports in U.S. and for service elsewhere in the Pacific. Dad remembered that many of these repairs were to ships damaged at Okinawa. Hector will have to wait until the new year for her return voyage.

On November 1, 1945, Dad received another promotion. His rating was changed from M1c to CMAA or Chief Metalsmith. It was an “acting appointment,” since, all Chief Petty Officers were acting appointments for 1 year until made permanent.

Finally, on this date in 1946, Hector steamed away from Saipan for the United States. The ship’s log for that date reads simply but poignantly, “Homebound.”

On February 3, Hector arrived in San Pedro, California. The ship went into drydock for a complete overhaul. She stayed on there to make repairs to ships. At some point while stationed at San Pedro during this period, Dad made a trip to his home near San Diego. This was the first time in nearly 2 years that he had seen his family.

On September 26, Dad was transferred from Hector for discharge at the rank of Chief Metalsmith. His formal discharge came on December 16, 1946, just twelve days short of his 24th birthday. His departure from the Navy came 5 years since he had been thrust into the war with Japan’s surprise attack on the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor.

The USS Hector continued in active service decades after the war ended and long after other triumphant ships of WWII, like Dad's previous ship, the USS Vestal, were retired or recycled. After serving as a repair ship on the West Coast, Hector sailed for her first WestPac cruise in May 1947. With the outbreak of war in Korea in 1950, Hector again saw service during conflict. After the Korean War, she operated out of Long Beach, California, in support America’s far-flung Pacific and Asian defenses that included Vietnam. Finally, she was decommissioned in 1987, and sold as scrap in 1994. 

There are a thousand new questions I would love to ask Dad about his Pacific War experiences, but that opportunity ceased when he passed from us to his eternal reward. The foregoing blog posts over the past few years will have to suffice as the best record I could muster of his Pacific War experience, 1941-1945.

Frank Dolan, at home, days after discharge, December 1946

21 days at Ulithi

During much of February and March 1945, my dad, Frank Dolan, serving aboard repair ship, USS Hector in San Pedro Harbor in the Leyte Gulf, assisted in repairing ships for ongoing naval operations in the campaign for the Liberation of the Philippines. Hector remained there on duty until March 27th, when she was ordered back to Ulithi. Escorted by the Australian frigate, HMAS Gascoyne,* Hector arrived at the atoll on today's date, 1945. The next morning the ship was assigned to anchorage in the northern part of the lagoon.

For 21 days in April, Hector's crews performed various repairs to ships assigned to Service Squadron 10. Hector's services next were required for supporting the naval forces in the Okinawa Campaign. So on April 21st, she was ordered to Saipan in the Mariana Islands.

* The HMAS Gascoyne was one of the ships honored to be present in Tokyo Bay for the formal Japanese surrender ceremony on September 2, 1945. She also received 5 battle honours for her WWII service.

Sources: USS Hector War Diary, March & April 1945

USS Hector arrives in the Philippines, 1945

For several months in 1944-1945, my dad, Frank Dolan, was stationed on his repair ship, USS Hector, at Ulithi in the Western Caroline Islands. As part of Service Squadron 10, which had converted the lagoon there into a major naval facility, Dad's ship next was ordered to the Philippines. The progress of American forces closer toward victory throughout the Philippine Islands required advancing support elements, like repair ships, into closer proximity to the fighting afloat and ashore.

Hector sailed from Ulithi on February 16th, as part of Task Unit 50.9.6, escorted by the destroyers Bancroft and Bailey. Also joining this task unit were the attack cargo ship Fomalhaut, destroyer tenders Dixie and Markab, and repair ship Prometheus.¹ The task unit was the vanguard of Service Squadron 10, of which the main force would follow in May.

On today's date in 1945, Hector arrived with Task Unit 50.9.6 at her new location in San Pedro Harbor, off Tarragona, in the northwest end of Leyte Gulf near where the Leyte Landings occurred the previous October. While the Battle for Manila raged nearby to the north, Hector's crews began repairing ships and readying other craft for continued operations against the Japanese occupiers.²

Hector remained on duty in Leyte Gulf until the end of March, when she returned to Ulithi for 21 days. Then in late April, Hector was shifted to Saipan in the Mariana Islands, while the main body of Service Squadron 10 was moved to San Pedro Harbor.

For his role in the Philippines Campaign from February through March, Dad received the Philippine Liberation Campaign Ribbon.



¹Prometheus was the sister ship to Dad's previous repair ship, USS Vestal.
²Also on today's date in 1945, American Marines began their assault on Iwo Jima, preceded by 5 days of naval and air bombardment. Dreadful fighting there will last for 5 weeks.

Sources: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships; USS Hector and USS Prometheus War Diaries, February & March 1945

Repairs to battle damaged USS Langley

On today's date in 1945, my dad's ship, the USS Hector, stationed at Ulithi Atoll, received the carrier USS Langley alongside for battle damage repairs. The ship had been participating in the 3rd Fleet's daring raid into the South China Sea when off Formosa it was bombed by a Japanese fighter.

Part of the fleet's Task Force 38 (TF 38), Langley was helping to provide cover and support for the Philippine Campaign through air strikes over Formosa, Luzon, and the Visayas. She was also assisting TF 38 in destroying Japanese vessels which might threaten the landings on Luzon. From January 10-20, TF 38 went out in search of an enemy fleet that could menace the ongoing Battle of Luzon.

While TF 38 did not encounter any enemy warships, planes from its force sank 44 enemy ships, mostly merchant marine, with very few of its own planes lost. On January 21st, the carrier planes attacked Formosa, but here the Japanese used their kamikazes in striking back. USS Langley was hit, the bomb penetrating the forward flight deck and exploding in officers' staterooms. Furniture, bulkheads, piping, and deck were damaged or destroyed.*

USS Langley, March 1945, shortly after receiving repairs from USS Hector
Source: Navy Historical Center

In addition to the Langley, the carrier USS Ticonderoga and the destroyer USS Maddox were also damaged, along with 201 aircraft destroyed. In terms of human loss to the fleet, 167 pilots and air crewmen and 205 sailors were killed in the kamikaze attacks.

Langley remained alongside Hector for repairs through February 5th when she was returned to service with the Third Fleet continuing its carrier operations in the South China Sea against the Japanese Home Islands and the invasion of Iwo Jima. More combat activity followed in March through May, as Langley's planes again hit targets in Japan and supported the Okinawa operation. Back to the U.S. for overhaul and modernization in June and July, the carrier was returning to the Pacific combat zone when the war ended in August.

For a couple of months, Langley transported home veterans of the war in the Pacific. Then the ship sailed to the Atlantic where she carried out similar missions from November 1945 through January 1946. Following months of inactivity, Langley was decommissioned in Philadelphia in February 1947. In early 1951, the ship was refurbished and transferred to France under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. After more than a decade of French Navy service under the name La Fayette, the valiant warship was returned to the United States in 1963, and sold for scrap a year later.

The USS Langley received 9 battle stars for her World War II service.

USS Langley leads a very impressive force returning to Ulithi in
December 1944, from strikes on targets in the Philippines.
Source: Naval Historical Center

*The Japanese plane from Formosa that hit the Langley likely carried a 200-pound bomb. The plane narrowly missed the flight deck and crashed into the sea. The pilot may have intended a suicide attack and just missed the deck; or it is possible that he tried to escape after releasing his bombs but ended up crashing after his plane was hit. In either case, the bomb killed 3 of Langley's crew and seriously wounded 11 others.

Sources: The Two-Ocean War, Samuel Eliot Morrison; USS Hector War Diary, January 1945; USS Hector AR7- Ship's Log (WWII); USS Langley War Diary, January & February 1945 and Action Report January 1945: Naval Historical Center

Repair work on the San Jacinto

In 1944, during operations against Japanese air bases on Luzon, the Third Fleet's Task Force 38 encountered a devastating typhoon on December 18, resulting in 3 ships lost and many others damaged. On today's date in 1944, those damaged ships, which were sent ahead, began reaching their base at Ulithi for repairs. The remainder of the fleet arrived a few days later. Fleet repair ships and other auxiliaries began work immediately.*

One of those injured ships, the light carrier USS San Jacinto, came alongside the repair ship Hector, on which my dad, Frank Dolan, was stationed. Hector's crews began major repairs immediately for damage received from the typhoon. Much of the damage resulted from planes in the hanger deck breaking loose and destroying air intakes, vent ducts, and the sprinkling system. There also was widespread flooding and water damage to electrical, ventilation and power systems, and 2 doors had to be made watertight. Carriers were essential to the ongoing operation in the Philippines, and Hector labored to complete its work by December 29th.

USS San Jacinto, 1944
Source: NavSource

Launched in September 1943, San Jacinto arrived in the Pacific war zone in June 1944 to take part in the Marianas Campaign and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Throughout that summer, her planes struck targets in the Palaus, Bonins, and the Caroline Islands. During October, she participated in raids on Okinawa, Formosa, and the Philippines, and the famous Battle of Leyte Gulf. She was then part of the task group that continued the Western Pacific offensive against Japanese targets in the Philippines, Formosa, and throughout the South China Sea.

In the early months of 1945, San Jacinto's planes raided the Japanese home islands and assisted with the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Remaining off Okinawa, she battled suicide planes and helped destroy the final Japanese surface warship attack in the Pacific. She again struck targets in Japan during July and operated in the area through the final days of the war.

Lt. (j.g.) George H. W. Bush

One of the more famous men to serve on the San Jacinto was future President George H.W. Bush. Bush's first assignment after finishing flight training was with a torpedo squadron based on the San Jacinto in 1944. San Jacinto was part of Task Force 58 that participated in operations against Marcus and Wake Islands in May, and then in the Marianas during June. On June 19th, the task force triumphed in one of the largest air battles of the war, the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Three months later, Bush piloted one of the aircraft that attacked the Japanese installations on Chichi Jima. His plane was hit, although he was able to complete the attack. The crew was forced to bail out several miles from the island, although, sadly, his other 2 crewmen were killed. After 30 days on his rescue sub, USS Finback, Bush was returned to San Jacinto. He saw action in the Philippines before returning to Guam, where his squadron, which had suffered heavy losses, was replaced. Bush flew 58 combat missions and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for the Chichi Jima raid. He also earned 3 Air Medals.

After Japan's surrender, San Jacinto returned to the U.S. She was decommissioned 1947. In 1959, while still in the Reserve Fleet, she was reclassified as an aircraft transport. Finally in 1971, the ship was sold for scrap. The USS San Jacinto earned a Presidential Unit Citation, 5 battle stars, and other medals for her WWII service.

*While the Hector was repairing the San Jacinto, the repair ship Ajax worked on the escort carrier Altamaha and the fleet tug Jicarilla. The destroyer Dewey was tied up to the destroyer tender Prairie for repairs. The destroyer tender Cascade had the destroyer Buchanan alongside, and the destroyer tender Dixie was repairing the destroyer Dyson.

Sources: USS Hector War Diary, December 1944; Short History of the USS San Jacinto, 3 May 1944 15 August 1945; USS Hector AR7- Ship's Log (WWII); Naval History and Heritage: Biographies in Naval History; Military Wiki Encyclopedia

National Thanksgiving Day, 1944

On today's date in 1944, Dad's ship, the USS Hector, spent another holiday far from home. For Hector's crew, work continued on the battle damaged Houston, in addition to the USS Wintle, and probably other ships anchored in the Ulithi lagoon in the Caroline Islands.

But at some point on this date, the crew enjoyed a festive Thanksgiving turkey feast provided by the talented members of the cook's staff. The USS Hector (AR-7) Association has been kind enough to post a copy of the Thanksgiving menu for the ship for this date.

USS Hector Thanksgiving Day menu cover, 1944

         _____________________________________________________________________


Proclamation 2629 - Thanksgiving Day, 1944

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In this year of liberation, which has seen so many millions freed from tyrannical rule, it is fitting that we give thanks with special fervor to our Heavenly Father for the mercies we have received individually and as a nation and for the blessings He has restored, through the victories of our arms and those of our allies, to His children in other lands.

For the preservation of our way of life from the threat of destruction; for the unity of spirit which has kept our Nation strong; for our abiding faith in freedom; and for the promise of an enduring peace, we should lift up our hearts in thanksgiving.

For the harvest that has sustained us and, in its fullness, brought succor to other peoples; for the bounty of our soil, which has produced the sinews of war for the protection of our liberties; and for a multitude of private blessings, known only in our hearts, we should give united thanks to God.

To the end that we may bear more earnest witness to our gratitude to Almighty God, I suggest a nationwide reading of the Holy Scriptures during the period from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas. Let every man of every creed go to his own version of the Scriptures for a renewed and strengthening contact with those eternal truths and majestic principles which have inspired such measure of true greatness as this nation has achieved.

Now, Therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, in consonance with the joint resolution of the Congress approved December 26, 1941, do hereby proclaim Thursday the twenty-third day of November 1944 a day of national thanksgiving; and I call upon the people of the United States to observe it by bending every effort to hasten the day of final victory and by offering to God our devout gratitude for His goodness to us and to our fellow men.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this first day of November in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-ninth.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Repairs to USS Wintle

In November of 1944, crews from my dad's repair ship, Hector, performed some work on the destroyer escort, USS Wintle. Wintle had developed evaporator and other mechanical problems while performing patrol and escort duties in the Palau Islands, and these issues needed attention.

Arriving at Ulithi on the 16th, Wintle was assigned to the destroyer tender USS Cascade,* but quickly learned that other ships rated a higher priority for service and repair. Some jobs that could be carried manually to the Cascade were tended to.

Finally on today's date in 1944—Thanksgiving Day in the Carolines—Wintle was taken into the drydock ARD-15. Hector repaired her sonar equipment, while crews from the 3 ships mended the rudders and repainted the hull's bottom.

Wintle's repairs were completed by the 26th, and the next day she was back in service escorting a cargo ship to Guam.

USS Wintle

The USS Wintle was launched in February 1943. She safely escorted numerous oilers, cargo ships, and convoys, supported the Invasion of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, performed search and rescue, and engaged in anti-submarine warfare. The ship served her entire career in war service in the Pacific. She was decommissioned in November 1945, and sold for scrap in 1947. The USS Wintle distinguished herself during the war by earning 3 battle stars.


*Within a month, the USS Cascade, will become the scene of a naval court of inquiry to investigate the loss of 3 ships and almost 800 men in Typhoon Cobra, which struck Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet in the Philippine Sea on December 18, 1944. Among other high ranking admirals, will be the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester A. Nimitz.

Sources: USS Wintle War Diary, November 1944; Destroyer Escort USS Wintle DE-25 Home Page; Wikipedia

Human torpedo attack at Ulithi

Throughout the month of November in 1944, my dad's repair ship, USS Hector, continued its extensive repair work on USS Houston for combat damage received earlier in October. So far the work had been hampered by bad weather, the most serious of which was a typhoon that hit the area from November 6th to the 8th.

Back on the repair job early on today's date in 1944, Hector's crew heard a huge explosion and saw fire and billowing black smoke from another ship anchored in the lagoon. It was the fleet oiler, USS Mississinewa, just attacked by a human torpedo, a Japanese suicide mini-submarine called a "Kaiten."

Earlier that morning 2 enemy tender submarines near Ulithi, I-36 an I-47, launched 4 mini-subs toward the anchored fleet.* After the attack on the Mississinewa, U.S. destroyers began dropping depth charges throughout the anchorage. The Case rammed 1 in the early morning hours. At 6:25 the cruiser Mobile reported that a torpedo had passed under its bow. The destroyer escorts Rall, Halloran, and Weaver attacked and sank a mini-sub.

Source: Naval History and Heritage Command

The Hector's Log reported that it was in "Condition One" from the time of the attack until after 2 PM. The crew manned its guns, and boats were launched to patrol the water around the vessels. No contact was made, but sailors witnessed 2 underwater explosions in the atoll, which indicated the presence of additional torpedoes.

The sinking Mississinewa, November 20, 1944
She was the first ever victim of a Japanese human torpedo attack.
Source: National Archives

The explosion on the Mississinewa had ignited thousands of gallons of diesel and aviation fuel. Flames spread forward to the magazine, which caused a heavier explosion than the first. Nearby ships sent boats to rescue many of the men who escaped into the flaming waters, but after burning for several hours, the ship rolled over and sank to the bottom of the lagoon, taking 60 crewmen with her to her grave.

Kaiten Type 1
Source: Wikimedia Commons

* The Kaiten Type 1, was essentially a modified, 48-foot long torpedo, loaded with explosives, and controlled by a single man sealed inside. Once ensconced within, the pilot could not unlock the hatches. It was a 1-way mission.

Five of these suicide torpedoes were launched on Ulithi that morning from 2 subs lurking outside the lagoon. The I-47 launched her Kaitens, but none was successful in hitting a target. Three of the manned torpedoes on I-36 were unable to launch due to mechanical problems, but the remaining one successfully struck the Mississinewa with catastrophic results. This won't be the last time that the I-36 will launch a similar attack on Ulithi.

Sources: USS Hector AR7- Ship’s Log (WWII); USS Hector War Diary Nov 1944; Pacific Wrecks

Rescuing the USS Houston

By all accounts, the biggest repair job for my dad's ship, USS Hector, at Ulithi—or anywhere throughout the war—came on this date in 1944. The cruiser, USS Houston, twice torpedoed by Japanese bombers, was towed alongside for repairs. 

A couple of weeks earlier on October 14, USS Houston was attacked by Japanese torpedo planes off the coast of Formosa (known today as Taiwan), causing serious damage. Initially, the flooding was so severe that the crew was ordered to abandon ship. However, when further investigation showed that the ship might be saved, the commanding officer ordered all remaining personnel to stay on board. Two hours later the wounded Houston was under tow by the heavy cruiser, USS Boston.¹ 

For the next 2 days, the remaining skeleton crew pumped water, shored bulkheads, and fought fires while their ship continued to settle further in the water. They also found some time to burry 2 men who died of fatal burns from the torpedo attack. More burials would follow.

On the 16th, the tugboat Pawnee took over towing Houston to Ulithi for repairs. That afternoon a second aerial torpedo hit the ship, killing 55 crewmen and wounding many more. However, despite the terrible human loss and further damage to the ship, Houston's heroic crew fought to keep the ship afloat.² The brave men of the Pawnee also never wavered in their task. Amazingly, both ships managed to make it to Ulithi on this date where the Hector was waiting.

The skeleton crew left aboard Houston managed to keep the stricken ship afloat
throughout its 14-day, 1250-mile tow to Ulithi. The first torpedo hit Houston amid-
ships on October 14th. The second struck the cruiser's starboard quarter while she
was under tow on October 16th.

Initially, Hector's crews spent a great deal of time and effort in clearing away wreckage, welding up holes, pumping out water, washing up oil and fuel, and otherwise readying the ship for extensive repairs. During this stage, there also was the grim task of removing bodies. The remains of 30 victims had to be recovered from the lower, flooded parts of the ship.

Dad was among welding crews completed myriad repair jobs, including the installation of more than 2,000 feet of T-bar to stiffen and reinforce the main, second, and upper decks. Houston's girders and plating were strengthened, and equipment was salvaged and repaired. Steering control to the bridge was also restored.

Hector's repair crews tended Houston from October 27 to December 14, 1944

Although interrupted by enemy sub attacks³ on ships in the harbor and hampered by a severe typhoon season,⁴ Hector managed to repair Houston by December 14, in addition to work on many other smaller vessels.

Houston next was towed to Manus Island for further repairs, and then headed back to New York Navy Yard in March 1945. Her permanent repairs were completed as the war drew to a close. Houston  remained in service until 1947, when she was decommissioned. In 1959, she was sold for scrap. 

The valiant USS Houston received 3 battle stars for her World War II service.

The resurrected Houston in January 1945, following emergency repairs by Hector

¹ The cruiser, USS Birmingham, was another ship that came to Houston's aid after the attack. She acted as escort for the damaged ship and took on almost 200 crew members evacuated from Houston. Birmingham will again come to the aid of another critically damaged ship in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. However, tragically, on October 24th, Birmingham suffered extensive damage in the rescue attempt, and received 200 casualties among her crew.
² Houston's War Diary for October 1944 is fascinating for its detail and description of the 14-day ordeal on the stricken ship.

³ On November 20, 1944, the Ulithi harbor was attacked by Japanese human torpedoes (kaitens) launched from 2 nearby submarines. The fleet oiler, Mississinewa, was struck and sunk. Guns were manned, and boats from Houston and Hector patrolled the water around these vessels. No contact was made, but sailors witnessed 2 underwater explosions in the atoll.

⁴ On November 5, Hector towed Houston to the southern part of the harbor near Pig Island for shallow water anchorage during the typhoon that hit from the 6th to the 8th. Wind and rough water caused additional damage to the ship. Houston remained there through the end of the month.

Sources: USS Houston War Diary, October-December 1944; USS Hector War Diary, October-December, 1944; USS Hector AR7- Ship’s Log (WWII); Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships; Naval Historical Center

Ship repairs after the October storm, 1944

One of the early projects that the USS Hector tackled at Ulithi was the salvaging of the Landing Craft Tank, LCT-1052. My dad, Frank Dolan, who was a weldor and certified diver on Hector, likely would have participated in recovering and restoring this vessel, which work was begun on this date in 1944.

The lagoon at Ulithi Atoll provided a natural harbor, which was soon to become home to over 600 ships. The northern and southern ends of the lagoon offered the smoothest water for anchorage. However, the lagoon had a serious drawback: It could not provide adequate shelter in stormy weather. The 40 islands surrounding it were barely above sea level, and they offered only slight protection from high winds.

USS LCT-1290, sister ship to LST-1052, beached at Ulithi
in 1944, and repaired by Hector
Source: Navsourc.com

October was the middle of typhoon season in this part of the Pacific. On the morning of Tuesday, October 3, 1944, word came of an impending typhoon passing about 150 miles north of Ulithi. That evening Ulithi's lagoon was hit by 8-12 foot waves, which were enough to drown the engines of the LCT-1052, causing her to drift and then to sink. Her 14 crew members were rescued, but tragically her commanding officer was lost. Another LCT (LCT-1290) and several LCMs (Landing Craft Mechanized) were also damaged by the storm.*

A week later on today's date in 1944, Hector went to work salvaging the LCT-1052. Hector's diving squad patched leaks, sealed tanks, and by using compressed air was able to float the vessel enough to be towed. By attaching Hector's anchor chain to the LCT's stern, she was able to raise the LCT to a point where, with assistance from the USS Enoree, it was brought alongside and hoisted clear of the water. Hector's crews then went to work making the LCT-1052 watertight. Finally, they repaired and replaced all equipment, putting the vessel back into operation by December 7.

The bow of USS LCT-1052, victim of a typhoon near Ulithi, October 3, 1944,
recovered by USS Hector and returned to operation in December.
Source: NavSource.org

Of course, this extensive repair job was just one of many for Hector during October. The largest, by far, was the work done on the battle damaged cruiser, USS Houston, which was started on the 27th.

*According to Hector's War Diary for October, "Salvaged LCTs 1052, 1290 and several LCMs which had been stranded in recent storm.”

Sources: USS Hector AR7- Ship’s Log (WWII); USS Hector War Diary, October 1944; USS Aldebaran War Diary, October 1944

Avoiding the censors at Ulithi

There was a lot of secrecy surrounding the U.S. Navy's forward operating base at Ulithi in the Western Carolines, and for good reason. By October 1944, it will grow into the hub for U.S. Navy operations in the Western Pacific, including key combat operations at Leyte and Okinawa. It will maintain that role for 8 months until the liberated Philippines replaces it as the new forward staging area. At its peak, during the staging for the invasion of Okinawa in May 1945, Ulithi will be home to 722 American and Allied ships.

In order to avoid betraying a ship's destination at Ulithi and other advanced bases by her mail cargo, numbers were assigned by Navy and Marine Corps. Mail going to Ulithi was designated "Navy 3011." And, for added security, return mail home was heavily censored.

Frank Dolan, Ulithi 1944

My dad, Frank Dolan, assigned to the USS Hector, always tried to write his family back home about where he was stationed and what he was up to. But the heightened secrecy about Ulithi meant that letters had to be cleverly written to avoid the censor's cut. When Dad wrote to his sister, Flora, he used a prearranged code. They had agreed that he would disguise his location in the second paragraph of his letters. He buried the name "Ulithi" in the first letter of each of the first 6 syllables: “Un-less I tell her I’m OK Mom will worry about me.” The message got through, although apparently in 1944, it was nearly impossible for the family in California to find a world map that included the location of the tiny atoll.

Source: Frank L. Dolan's personal remembrances

Sailing for Ulithi, 1944

During the summer of 1944, my dad, Frank Dolan, was stationed aboard the USS Hector at Eniwetok Atoll, only recently captured from the Japanese. While there, crews from Hector repaired numerous ships both alongside and docked throughout the harbor.

By late September, Hector's services were needed at the new forward naval base at Ulithi Atoll for support of Task Force 38, the fleet's main striking force in the latter half of the Pacific War. The rest of the Navy's mobile service force, Service Squadron 10, would follow in the days ahead.¹

On today's date in 1944, Hector and destroyer USS Whitman, forming Task Unit 57.4.8, steamed on a zig-zagging course for the small atoll in the Western Caroline Islands. For part of the nearly 1,400-mile trip the ships had to endure extremely heavy seas and wind, which caused some damage to equipment aboard Whitman. The fierce weather was a harbinger of an unusually violent typhoon season ahead. Repairing Whitman's damage became Hector's first job upon arrival at Ulithi.

Located 360 miles southwest of Guam, 850 miles east of the Philippines, and 1,300 miles south of Tokyo, Ulithi was ideally situated to anchor the entire Third Fleet and to stage operations in the Western Pacific. The atoll was formed by a natural harbor, 19 miles in length and about 5 miles wide, surrounded by 40 tiny islands barely rising above sea level. The Japanese had established a radio and weather station at Ulithi and also anchored ships there early in the war. However, by September 23rd, as part of Operation Stalemate to take Peleliu² and the Caroline Islands, the American invasion forces took the Ulithi without enemy ground opposition. By the 25th, the harbor was completely occupied.

Southwest Pacific

Some mopping up operations were still underway when Hector arrived at Ulithi on the morning of October 5th. The lagoon had just been swept of mines, and there were no port facilities for repairing or resupplying ships. As it reached Mugai Channel, Hector was met by the minesweeper, YMS-177, who directed her to berth 39 within the lagoon.

The remainder of Service Squadron 10 and all its equipment for the new base followed in 4 convoys, the first leaving Eniwetok on October 4th. Remarkably, no personnel or equipment was lost in the immense transport of Squadron 10 from Eniwetok. And nearly as remarkable was the fact that the enemy allowed the transfer to take place unopposed.

Ulithi Atoll
Source: Univ. of Texas Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection

The task confronting the service squadron at Ulithi in October was to convert its lagoon into a major naval resupply and staging area. Within a month of the occupation of Ulithi, the Navy had constructed a floating, operational base—a vast network of pontoon piers, floating drydocks, and repair yards. It was an astonishing engineering feat.

Ulithi Atoll, late 1944. Foreground is one of several depot islands surrounding
the anchorage (from U.S. Navy photo from NARA collection)
Source: Mighty 90: Official Website of USS Astoria

Ulithi offered a huge capacity for anchorage for the ships of the fleet. It was larger than either the bases at Majuro or Pearl Harbor. Up to 700 ships could anchor within the lagoon at a time, creating the largest naval base in the world. And, with a base there to refit, repair, and resupply, many ships were able to deploy and operate in the Western Pacific for a year or more without having to return thousands of miles to a major base facility like Pearl Harbor or San Francisco.

¹ Other repair vessels would eventually arrive at Ulithi and share in the daunting task of servicing and repairing the fleet's ships, equipment, and shore facilities. These repair vessels included sister repair ships Ajax and Vulcan, the heavy-hull repair ship Jason, internal combustion engine repair ships Mindanao and Tutuila, and several floating dry-docks.
² On September 15, 1944, the U.S. 1st Marine Division landed on the beaches of Peleliu, one of the Palau Islands, 400 miles to the southwest of Ulithi. The amphibious assault was part of a larger operation to provide support for Gen. Douglas MacArthur's planned invasion of the Philippines. At Peleliu, the Japanese introduced a new tactic of fighting, which would be used again in prolonging the fighting on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Rather than meeting the U.S. invaders on the beach, the defenders' main line of resistance was located well in the rear. While a token defense was offered at the beaches, the main force utilized interconnected caves and rugged terrain from which to mount a series of counterattacks. The island was declared secured on the 27th. The cost in American lives proved historic: Over 9,000 were killed or wounded by the time the invasion was over. The Japanese lost nearly 11,000 in killed and captured. The high casualty rate for the Americans exceeded all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War. Peleliu was never used in significant operations against Japan. Instead, Ulithi become the major staging base for operations in the Philippines and the invasion of Okinawa.

Sources: USS Hector War Diary, September & October 1944; USS Whitman War Diary, September & October 1944; USS Hector AR7- Ship's Log (WWII); Wikipedia; Mighty 90: Official Website of USS Astoria; The Two-Ocean War, Samuel Eliot Morrison,  Beans, Bullets and Black Oil, Chapter 18: "Further Stalemate Support," Worrall Reed Carter

Repairs to the carrier USS Hornet

The repair ships of WWII were fully equipped to address almost every kind of damage or make nearly every other kind of repair that a vessel might need. In the Pacific, these unique ships, stationed at advanced bases in combat zones, provided maintenance and support to warships of all kinds including landing craft, destroyers, submarines, seaplanes, battleships, and aircraft carriers. My dad, Frank Dolan, who had previously served on another repair ship, the USS Vestal, was also a weldor on the repair ship Hector, now stationed at Eniwetok.

On today's date in 1944, the aircraft carrier, USS Hornet (CV-12),* received catapult repairs from Hector's crews at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands. Hector had to complete significant work on the ram and piston in order to put the catapult in operation. As a weldor, Dad probably would not have worked on this project, but it does illustrate the varied tasks that confronted a repair ship like Hector.

USS Hornet, October  27,1945
Source: Wikipedia Commons

The USS Hornet was commissioned in November 1943, and it quickly played a major part in the war in the Pacific. She spent weeks providing intensive air strikes in the Marianas Islands, including Saipan, Guam, and Tinian. On June 19, 1944, she participated in the decisive Naval Battle of the Philippine Sea. Her fighter pilots sank the Japanese carrier Shokaku and damaged another carrier and cruiser. They also shot down 52 Japanese planes in the famed "Marianas Turkey Shoot."

That same year, from its base at Eniwetok, Hornet attacked the enemy from Guam to the Bonin Islands south of Japan. Then it was on to the Palaus, the Philippine Sea, and to enemy bases on Okinawa and Formosa. Hornet's aircraft supported the invasion force at the Battle of Leyte, October 20. During the Naval Battle for Leyte Gulf, October 23-26, she launched raids against the Japanese in the Battle off Samar, the center-most action in the Battle of Leyte and hastened the retreat of the Japanese fleet.

Through the remainder of 1944, Hornet attacked enemy shipping and airfields throughout the Philippines, including participating in a raid that destroyed an entire Japanese convoy in Ormoc Bay. On December 30, 1944, she departed Ulithi in the Carolines for raids against Formosa, Indochina, and the Pescadores Islands. 

In 1945 Hornet left Ulithi for full-scale aerial assaults on Tokyo, then supported the amphibious landing on Iwo Jima, February 19-20. Her planes next supported the amphibious assault on Okinawa on April 1. A few days later, her fighters joined in attacks which sank the Japanese battleship Yamato near Okinawa. For another couple of months, Hornet provided support to ground troops on Okinawa and raided the industrial capacity of Japan. In almost continuous action for 16 months, Hornet was never hit by enemy fire. But from June 4-5, 1945, the carrier was caught in a typhoon, which collapsed a large section of her forward flight deck. She was forced to return to the states for major repairs. She was returned to service in September 1945, in time to bring home victorious American troops.

USS Hornet. Collapsed flight deck, June 1944
Source: NavSource.com

Unlike many of her sister warships, Hornet saw lengthy service after WWII. She next served in the Korean War and then Vietnam. She also had a role in the Apollo space program recovering manned and unmanned spaceships. In 1969, she recovered the Apollo 11 astronauts after their return from the first moon landing, and then she recovered the crew of Apollo 12 later that year.

Hornet was decommissioned in June 1970 and finally struck from the naval register in 1989. In contrast to so many other WWII warships, Hornet was spared scrapping, and in 1991 was designated a National Historic Landmark. She is now preserved as the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California.

For her extraordinary WWII combat record, USS Hornet earned 9 battle stars.

*The previous ship of this name was the USS Hornet (CV-8), the carrier that launched the B-25s in the Doolittle Raid over Japan in April 1942. It was destroyed in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 1942.

Sources: USS Hector AR7- Ship’s Log (WWII); Naval History and Heritage Command; US Carriers

Repairs to battleship USS California

Two and a half years after she was badly damaged and sunk by Japanese torpedoes and bombs at Pearl Harbor, the rebuilt battleship USS California reentered combat in the Pacific. One of her early tasks was to provide heavy gunfire support for the invasions of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian during June and July 1944.

On June 14, while California was bombarding Saipan, she was hit by a shell from a Japanese shore battery, killing 1 man and wounded 9. On today's date in 1944, the ship finished making her way to Eniwetok where she was received alongside my dad's ship, USS Hector, for repairs to her damaged guns. The barrels were replaced by spares from Hector and all other damage was restored by July 3. Back into action, those same guns helped clear the way for the assaults on Guam and Tinian from July 18 to August 9.

In October and November of that year, California took part in the Leyte Campaign, including the October 25th Battle of Surigao Strait, history's last fight between opposing battleships. In January 1945, California participated in the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines. Damaged by a kamikaze attack on January 6, she remained in action for more than 2 weeks before returning to the states for repairs and an overhaul.

California returned to the Western Pacific in June 1945, in time to take part in the final stages of the Okinawa Campaign. She covered occupation activities in the wake of Japan's surrender, then sailed for Philadelphia in December 1945. The USS California was decommissioned in February 1947 and sold for scrap in 1959.

USS California, 1945
Source: reocities.com

Launched in 1919, this venerable flagship of the Pacific earned 7 battle stars for her World War II service.

Sources: Naval Historical Center; USS California War Diary June & July 1944

Emergency repairs to USS Saranac

On today's date in 1944, the fleet oiler, USS Saranac, was received alongside my dad's repair ship, USS Hector, at Eniwetok for emergency battle damage work.

Saranac had been refueling carriers 30 miles east of Saipan when on June 18th, she and 2 other oilers in her group were attacked by Japanese aircraft. Saranac was hit by a bomb in her after superstructure deck, and her sick bay and engine room also were badly damaged. Tragically, 9 men were lost and 21 were wounded. The next day the stricken ship limped under her own power toward Eniwetok, all the while under enemy observation.

Crews from Hector worked in double shifts fully intending to complete Saranac's repairs. However, after the repair work was well underway, the Saranac received orders to return to the states for permanent repairs. Hector's crews then turned their attention to repairing the ship's power plant, enabling her to sail under her own power on July 2nd.

USS Saranac, near Mare Island, June 20, 1944
Source: Shipscribe.com

After her stateside repairs, Saranac rejoined the war in the Pacific. She supported the naval action in the Battle of Leyte starting in October 1944, the invasion of Okinawa in April 1945, and through the end of that year she refueled ships in the South China Sea. At the end of the war, Saranac was converted to a floating power barge for military installations in the Pacific. Finally, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1956, and a year later was sold to a private corporation.

For her distinguished World War II service the USS Saranac received 5 battle stars.

Sources: USS Hector AR7- Ship’s Log (WWII); USS Saranac War Diary, June & July 1944