Recollections and Impressions, Service Aboard LST1090 in World War II

Contributed by John Matthews, Boat Officer

The vast majority of the officers were "90 day wonders" - college boys, 19 to 22 years of age, with 3 months of Midshipman's school followed by 2 to three months practical training. I was barely 20, looked like I was 16 but had a maturity level of 18. The majority of the enlisted crew was just out of high school.

Don McElroy and Don MacLean's (hereafter McElroy/MacLean) description of the Captain and Execs relationship with the crew is entirely accurate. Although the Exec and I shared a common entrance to adjoining cabins for seven months, I cannot recall any remark he ever addressed to me. I can only remember icy nods, with the nose always held high. It was my first experience with rejection and proved to be valuable training for years of insults by opposing lawyers, rejection of arguments and abuse by Judges, and spousal reprimands.

I doubt that anyone had a warm fuzzy relation with the Captain, but, in retrospect, the Captain of a ship in wartime occupies a lonely position and I understand that the Navy discouraged closeness because the Captain might have to sacrifice some of the crew to save the ship and the majority of the crew. Having said that, Captain Doering was overly aloof and apparently made no effort to protect the crew from the Exec's mistreatment. Therefore, some of the dislike for the Exec justifiably rubbed off on him.

After reading several histories and accounts of World War II, I conclude that the crew of LST 1090 was not unique but fairly typical of the makeup of America's soldiers, sailors and Marines who fought and won two wars in Europe and in Asia.

The small boat crews for LST 1090 and sister ships, including your father and me, had arrived in New Orleans on a troop train from Ft. Pierce approximately a week to 10 days before the 1090 arrived in New Orleans. While the crew of the 1090 was pulling and tugging to get the ship out of the trees, the small boat crews were having a good time in the French Quarter.

When we arrived at the Panama Canal many of the officers, and probably the crew, bought tax-free whiskey that they smuggled aboard for future use. Unfortunately New Orleans had consumed most of my money and I had spent what I had left on cheap whiskey at a price that was double what I would have paid in Panama for the best brand of whiskey.

In many places, the Canal looked like a creek that could barely accommodate our LST- yet battleships and aircraft carriers passed through the same creek, probably with inches to spare.

After a 17 day scenic cruise up the coasts of Central and North America, on 5/17 we arrived at the approach to Seattle - the Straits of San Juan de Fuca. A pilot came aboard to guide us into Seattle. According to my log entry, we "were steaming in heavy fog at various courses and speeds." Additional lookouts had been posted and we commenced fog signals. Not included in the log, but vividly imbedded in my memory, is our confrontation with a Russian freighter, coming out of the Straits from Seattle. It suddenly popped out of the fog on a collision course with us. In my panic, it appeared to be as big as a battleship and as close as the house next door. Collision seemed certain. Fortunately both ships made the proper course and speed changes and avoided a collision. A shaken John Matthews arrived safe and sound in Seattle on the afternoon of May 30 where we unloaded the PT Boats and trailers and loaded new cargo for the voyage to Pearl Harbor which begin on 6/7.

At Pearl Harbor we loaded vehicles and 121 officers and men of the 427th Artillery Battalion, 9th Army Corp. We then departed for Samar in the Philippines with stops at Eniwetok, in the Marshall Islands and Saipan, in the Marianas, in a convoy of LSTs and LSMs. (LSMs were too small to cross the ocean but they did!)

We crossed the International Date Line at 2200 on 7/3, causing us to set our time ahead by one day and to lose 22 hours of what we in the South call "the 4th day". Eniwetok Atoll, where we anchored on 7/9 was a non-scenic deep-water harbor protected by a low coral reef. Saipan, where we anchored on 7/16, the scene of a bloody battle less than a year earlier, is a beautiful island similar to the Virgin Islands.

On 7/26. We arrived at Leyte Gulf (the scene of McArthur's return to the Philippines the previous October) and unloaded our cargo and soldiers.

The LST did not offer many comforts. Even in a moderately heavy sea, it pitched and vibrated like it was going to break in two, and, because of its flat bottom and shallow draft, it rolled to such a severe angle that we often thought it would capsize. For 32 days our Army passengers had to endure cramped quarters, terrible food (Australian mutton, spam and some concoction on toast contemptuously called "s- - t on a shingle"), plus fright and sea-sickness during heavy seas, while we plodded, rolled and pitched across the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to Leyte Gulf. They never complained and left the ship as our friends. We visited their camp on a return visit to the Philippines and were treated to airplane rides and royal treatment. To those men, headed for the invasion of Japan, with an intermediate stop in the dirty Philippines, the 1090 was probably too speedy and quite comfortable

In contrast, the Army unit, which my later ship (LST1074) transported from Sasebo Japan to San Francisco after the end of the war, had a different destination in mind. They were going home. Their attitude was quite different. They bitched incessantly about the speed and comfort of the ship. The trip from Sasebo to Pearl Harbor took almost 30 days with no stops or sight of land. As we left Pearl Harbor, an old Aircraft Carrier, the Saratoga, passed us with a deck full of returning sailors, who waved enthusiastically. Our Army passengers waved back weakly. A few days later, the Saratoga passed us going back to Pearl Harbor and then passed us again with another load of home bound, celebrating sailors who waved enthusiastically. Our soldiers vigorously gave them "the finger"(or "shot them the bird") and shouted profanities. Shortly before our arrival at San Francisco the Saratoga passed us on its way back for more returnees At this point, fearful of a riot, we fed them our last steaks and practically burnt up our engines so that we would not be passed again. When they left the ship in San Francisco, they were definitely not courteous or friendly.

From Leyte Gulf we went to Mindoro through the Mindanao Sea and then departed for Subic Bay in convoy of LSTs but were detached from that convoy to join a larger convoy headed for Okinawa. Unlike previous convoys, we were protected by "screen ships"- Destroyer Escorts (DEs) and subchasers (SCs). One of the screen ships reported a "sound contact" and the convoy executed an emergency turn and an increase to flank speed. For the remaining 5 days of this trip to Okinawa, we were constantly called to general quarters with the convoy executing coordinated "zigging and zagging" and changes of speed. Some of the ships "zigged" when they should have "zagged", creating mass confusion in the convoy. Although I don't recall that any of these events were particularly frightening or caused any change of underwear similar to the Russian ship, we all appreciated the fact that we were entering the real war zone.

On every trip we made to or from Okinawa or Japan, there are one or more log entries about avoiding mines.

We arrived at Okinawa on 8/11. At this point in the war, our aircraft effectively protected ships against daytime Kamikaze attacks and most of such attacks were made at night. The protection used against these night attacks was to "make smoke". As I recall, the LSTs and LCVPs were equipped with smoke or fog generators. The LCVPs were lowered from the various LSTs clustered together at anchorage and they cruised among these ships, creating a dense fog that hid the ships.

The log shows that we were at general quarters, "making smoke" on the nights of 8/12, 8/13, 8/14 and 8/15. On one of these nights, we heard the "put-put" of an airplane flying low and slow over our cluster of ships. I felt like it could not be more than 100 feet from the 1090. Fortunately, it could not see us and we could not see it. After a couple of passes, it went off in search of other prey. Although I was nervous, I was not nearly as frightened as during the Russian Ship incident or in the typhoons we encountered. I suppose that this was because there was nothing we could do but sit stoically and hope that the Kamikaze pilot did not see us.

The 8/15 log states: "Offensive operations against Japan ceased. War ended." The log does not indicate any celebration and I don't recall any. The reason may be that we did not believe that the Japs would quit fighting, and, in fact, we made smoke that night. The later precautions taken on our trip back to the Philippines indicate that we continued to operate as if we were still at war. President Truman did not declare VJ Day until 9/2.

We left Okinawa for Subic Bay in convoy with 14 LSTs, 2 DEs and one subchaser with ship darkened at night. The subchaser apparently broke down in rough sea and had to be towed by 1090. (see 8/23 and 8/24 log entries.) On 8/26 we passed through the anti submarine nets at Subic Bay.

According to the log we departed Subic Bay for Leyte Gulf in convoy with 13 LSTs, still operating with darkened ship at night and on 8/30 we arrived at San Pedro Bay where we visited the camp of our Army friends. This is probably where we celebrated the end of the war because the dates coincide with President Truman's announcement.

On 9/7 we arrived at Manila Bay. The 9/10 log states that we got underway to a new anchorage "due to rough sea and heavy wind." I am relatively sure that this was the time I was in an LCVP that we were trying to hoist before getting underway. The ship was rolling back and forth 20 to 25 degrees in each direction. The boat, which was alongside the ship, would be even with the main deck on one extreme of a roll and then 10 to 15 feet below the main deck at the other extreme. The hulls of the ship and boat were crashing and grinding together. We were trying to secure two heavy and potentially lethal pieces of hardware, attached to a cable on the davit which would hoist the boat onto the ship, to two fixed hooks in the forward and aft portions of the LCVP. The cable and hardware were too long at one extreme of the roll and too short on the other extreme. The cable and hardware were swinging around uncontrollably when the ship rolled away from the LCVP and came down uncontrollably when the ship rolled back toward us. We had to grab the hardware and precisely time the attachment of both to the roll of the ship. The operators of the davit had to precisely time their hoisting to our securing of the hardware and the roll of the ship. I foresaw broken arms and brain injuries, or men being thrown overboard and drowning, including yours truly, in our several failures in timing. I was more than nervous- severely frightened- and was much relieved when we finally got it right and the boat was secured.

I recall that we rode out the typhoon at sea which McElroy/MacLean describe, but I can't find a log entry that would put a date to this typhoon. The nearest I can come is an entry on 8/23 that "wind velocity increased, sea very rough" between 0200 and 0245. This does not describe the weather conditions I remember and that McElroy/MacLean describe. Brent's web-site has a list of ships that were lost or damaged during typhoons on 9/16&17/45 and on 10/9/45. The log shows that we were underway from Manila to Lingayen Gulf on 9/16 and underway from Lingayen to Wakayama on 9/17, with no entry suggesting heavy seas. A severe typhoon hit Okinawa on 10/9 but the 10/9 log states that we were underway from Subic Bay to Lingayen Gulf, with no mention of rough weather. I know we were in some very heavy weather at sea but I can't figure out when.

Liberty in Manila was a depressing experience. The city had been essentially demolished, first by the Japs and then by the Americans. There was an awful stench to the place. Any food or drink was potentially lethal. Little boys roamed the streets, stealing what they could and pimping for their little sisters. One night, we discovered a "bum boat" was tied to our stern anchor with a woman offering to entertain our sailors with what the Filipinos called "pom-pom". A fairly long line was forming when I ran the bum boat off. For a few days, I was less popular than our Exec but regained some popularity when we learned that one of her customers on a sister ship had developed a disease which he would not want to go home with.

I have often wondered whether my exposure to the Philippine people was limited to a minority of innately corrupt and immoral people who were not representative of the majority or whether the ones I was exposed to were made that way by the war, i.e. "There but for the grace of God go I".

On 9/15, we loaded 95 vehicles and 322 officers and men of Gen. Krueger's 6th Army for the initial occupation of Wakayama and on 9/17 we were underway in a convoy of 123 ships carrying Krueger's 6th army to Wakayama. On 9/25 we anchored at Wakanoura, Japan. Shortly after arrival at Wakayama a fairly large flotilla of LCVPs were assembled to transport Krueger's soldiers ashore in advance of the beaching of the LSTs. After the soldiers landed, without incident, those of us in the LCVPs assumed that it would be safe to explore a little. I remember walking through a warehouse area that was like a ghost town- not a living soul in sight. I don't recall seeing a single Jap during the eight days we were at Wakayama.

On 10/8, we were back at Lingayan Gulf where we loaded elements of the 431st Engineers and departed for Wakayama. When we returned to Wakayama the Japs were out in force, acting like our best friends- the "Bataan Death March" never happened, trading whatever they could for candy and cigarettes which they sold on the black market.

From Wakayama, we went back to Manila where Lt. Bigelow, was transferred to the USA for discharge. Both the crew and Lt. Bigelow were overjoyed, but for different reasons On 11/5 we were underway to Lingayan Gulf where we anchored on 11/6 and began loading elements of the 1876 Battalion of the 6th Army. On 11/7 we departed Lingayan for Sasebo in convoy of 10 LSTs and a LCFF. On 11/14 we moored in Sasebo Harbor. On 11/20, I was "detached to report to LST 1074."