The first week of March, 1944 would find Princeton anchored in Majuro Atoll undergoing maintenance and resupply. I think I will try and use this important but relatively uneventful period to touch on a couple of areas that could use some further discussion or explanation.
The first item I'd like to tackle is the administrative organization of the fleet. Actually, that's almost impossible so here's a graphic:
For our purposes, know that Princeton is part of 5th Fleet led by Four Star Admiral Raymond Spruance. Under 5th Fleet is Task Force 58 led by Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher, who looks like, to me anyway, everything one could want in a Task Force Commander:
Under Admiral Mitscher are the various Task Group Commanders, including Task Group 58.4's Officer in Tactical Command (O.T.C.) Rear Admiral Samuel Ginder:
The first entry of the War Diary each month provides a brief paragraph outlining "who's who in the zoo:"
Under the Task Group Commander are the Task Units made up of various ship's and their respective Commanding Officers, all of which have their own Chains of Command.
Atop Princeton's hierarchy was the Skipper of the ship, Captain Buracker. Reporting to him were his staff and the ship's own individual Divisions (Maintenance, Operations, Administration, Engineering, Medical - yay Dad! -, etc.), as well as Lieutenant Commander Henry Miller, who wore "two hats," one as Air Group 23 Commander (CAG) and the other as the Skipper of VF-23, the Hellcat-equipped fighter squadron, and Lieutenant Commander M.T. Hatcher, the Skipper of VT-23, the Avenger bomber squadron. This hierarchical scheme was replicated at every level, each Squadron being divided into Divisions and Branches until at last the lowest-ranking officer and enlisted man was reached.
I can tell you honestly that while I have served under, alongside and over Officers who are brilliant in every respect and who I would follow to the ends of the earth, my ultimate respect is reserved for the Enlisted men whose ability to fix anything, work 18 hour days for weeks on end, in arctic cold or equatorial heat, in sub-prison-cell living conditions (not an exaggeration), for poverty-level wages...it's something one had to have witnessed to truly appreciate. So I hope you'll just take my word for it.
1 MAR 44
By 0850 the "P" was anchored "in Berth A-17, Majuro Atoll Lagoon, Marshall Islands, in 32 fathoms of water with 120 fathoms of chain to the port anchor...other heavy units of Task Group 58.4 followed this ship into anchorage."
Boy howdy did they ever:
Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands. Ships of the U.S. Pacific fleet anchored at Majuro, 25 April 1944, shortly before leaving to attack Truk. USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6) is at right, with four "Essex" class carriers beyond her. Battleships at left include USS IOWA (BB-61) and NEW JERSEY (BB-62). There are three other "fast" battleships and three light carriers (CVL) present, as well as several old battleships, cruisers and auxiliaries.
When I first started researching this photo I was hoping that one of the three Independence Class Light Carriers that I can see would turn out to be the P. Alas, at this time she was 2200 miles to the west, fighting the Japanese at a place called Palau.
By the end of the day, Princeton had taken on 20,000 gallons of aviation gasoline, 266,274 gallons of fuel oil, 20,000 gallons of diesel oil and "completed loading fresh and dry provisions."
2 MAR 44
Further provisioning continued on February 2nd, to include food, ammunition and arrangements for bringing aboard replacement aircraft.
Rear Admiral Ginder shifted his flag from Saratoga, which had been detached from TG 58.4 on independent assignment along with three destroyers, to Yorktown.
The crew of the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) stands at attention as the National Ensign is raised, during commissioning ceremonies at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia (USA), on 15 April 1943. Yorktown is freshly painted in Camouflage Measure 21. US Naval History and Heritage Command
Note the caption above's mention of Yorktown's camouflage scheme. We may revisit camo soon.
Morale was not forgotten by leadership and thus "Limited recreation parties were sent ashore to various small islands in the atoll."
The War Diary's last entry of the day reads as follows: "Engineering department commenced maintenance work with assistance of tender services from USS VESTAL."
USS Vestal (AR-4), started her life as a collier and was refitted as a repair ship. Launched in 1908, decommissioned in 1946, she is covered in glory. Her Skipper, Commander Cassin Young earned the Medal of Honor for his actions on December 7th at Pearl Harbor. A ship bearing his name would play a significant role in the lives of many aboard Princeton before the end of 1944. That ship is now berthed alongside USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides," at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston.
"Lads, we're getting this ship underway."
Medal of Honor citation:
For distinguished conduct in action, outstanding heroism and utter disregard of his own safety, above and beyond the call of duty, as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Vestal, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by enemy Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. Comdr. Young proceeded to the bridge and later took personal command of the three-inch antiaircraft gun. When blown overboard by the blast of the forward magazine explosion of the U.S.S. Arizona, to which the U.S.S. Vestal was moored, he swam back to his ship. The entire forward part of the U.S.S. Arizona was a blazing inferno with oil afire on the water between the two ships; as a result of several bomb hits, the U.S.S. Vestal was afire in several places, was settling and taking on a list. Despite severe enemy bombing and strafing at the time and his shocking experience of having been blown overboard, Comdr. Young, with extreme coolness and calmness, moved his ship to an anchorage distant from the U.S.S. Arizona, and subsequently beached the U.S.S. Vestal upon determining that such action was required to save his ship."
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Cassin Young was promoted to Captain and given command of the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco. On the night of November 12-13, 1942, during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Captain Young died amidst an avalanche of shellfire from three Japanese warships.
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* "parties" in this case being numbers of people, not wine and cheese parties
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