I took my physical examination at the Post Office Building in Boston, Mass., a distance of about ten miles from Waltham, Mass. A fellow next to me was rejected because he was color blind. They told him the Sea Bees would take him. On the way home I relaxed in the old trolly car and felt like the Fleet Admiral himself.
7, October 1942: I got up early this morning for my trip to Boston, on my way to Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Chicago, Illinois.
Before leaving I shook my father's hand and kissed him goodbye.
It was a clear cool morning as my sister Mary, brother John and I headed for the bus at the corner of Cedar Street. The bus and trolley car were crowded with people going to work. When we reached the Post Office Building in Boston I shook John's hand and kissed Mary goodbye. . . .
After a long tiresome day of hanging around we were finally on our way to the train station. The group was very large and they came from the New England states.
With a big band leading the way we marched through downtown Boston before thousands of people. It took about half an hour to reach the North Station and at 05:30 P.M. we were on our way.
When the train passed through my city it was beginning to get dark and I could picture the folks at home having supper. There would be an empty place at the table for some time. It would have been very easy for me to feel sad and lonely with these thoughts in my mind but we should not give in to our feelings. If we always gave in to our feelings instead of our judgment we should fall by the wayside when the going got rough.
It will be a long tiresome trip and our bed will be the seat we sit in, two to a seat.
8, October 1942: The long troop train stopped in the middle of nowhere today. It looked like a scene from a western movie in the last century. All you could see was wide open spaces with plenty of fields and a small railroad station. It felt good to get some fresh air and stretch our legs for a change after the crowded conditions on the train. Some of the fellows like myself mailed letters and cards home. The postmark on the mail was Strathroy, Ontario, Canada. It was a warm sunny day so we sat on the side of the tracks while waiting for the train to get started again.
At Great Lakes: On the evening of 9 Oct. we pulled into the stockyards at Chicago and stayed there for some time. It gave us another chance to get some fresh air and walk around on solid ground for a change. All the people in the big tenement buildings were at their windows looking at us.
At last the train was on its final leg f the journey. We were a tired, dirty lot when the train finally pulled into Great Lakes Naval Training Station in the early morning darkness. The weather was on the chilly side.
They got us up bright and early after a few hours sleep on the floor of a large drill hall. We were far from being in condition for a physical examination but that was the way we started the day and it took a long time. We went from one doctor to another upstairs and downstairs and from one room to another. They checked us from head to toe and even asked us our religion. At last it was over and our first shower in some time. It sure felt good.
We spent four weeks of training and lived in barracks. Our company number was 1291. A Chief Petty Officer was in charge of each company and our chief was liked by all.
Some of the Chiefs are hated because they go out of their way to make it as miserable as possible. They enjoy getting the fellows up at two in the morning and have them stand at attention in the cold for a long time with very little clothing.
The instructor who taught us judo enjoyed taking it out on the new recruits. He sent one of the boys from my company to the hospital in a stretcher. Our chief was boiling mad and if he could have gotten his hands on this punk he would have done a job on him.
You learned that your days of privacy were over while you were in the Navy and they would not return until you were back in civilian life again. When you ate, slept, took a shower, etc., you were always part of the crowd, you were never alone.
No one enjoyed sleeping in the hammocks because they were too tight. It was like sleeping on a tight clothesline. You felt you were going to fall out if you turned over. You felt safe on your back but you can't sleep on your back all night.
We will never forget our first haircut. When the barber got through there was no hair to cut. It was shorter than short. It was funny to see a nice looking fellow with a beautiful crop of hair get into the barber's chair and leave with no hair at all.
Great Lakes is the largest naval training station in the world and they also have one of the biggest football teams in the country. I had the pleasure of taking to Bruce Smith the all-American back from Minnesota. He was the number one football player in the country in 1941. You could not help but like him. He slept in our barracks.
We always marched to the mess hall for our meals and kept in step by singing loud and strong.
I had to go to sick call one day because of a bad blow to the ribs I received in a boxing bout but they did not do anything for me even though the pain was killing me. They think everyone is a faker when he goes to sick call, that he just wants time off from work.
We were kept on the go at all times and at last our training was over. It was home sweet home for us. We were very proud of our uniform as we boarded the train for home. After a nine day leave we returned to Great Lakes and stayed here for two days before leaving for Norfolk, Virginia, our next stop.
Late Friday evening Nov. 21, a large group of us boarded a truck for the pier. It was a great feeling as I staggered up the gangway to the ship with my sea bag in one hand and the mattress cover loaded with blankets, mattress, etc., over my shoulder. The name of the ship is the U.S.S. Montpelier. It is a light cruiser. At last I have a home, and a warship at that.
We slept in out hammocks in the mess hall at first but then we were assigned to divisions. I went to the 5th division. It is a deck division.
It will take some time before we know our way around this large ship. It is over 600 feet long and has many decks and compartments.
Today at eight in the morning we left Norfolk for the Philadelphia Navy Yard . . .
-Seaman 1st Class, James J. Fahey
From: The United States Navy in World War II
Compiled and edited by: S.E. Smith
Part II: Chapter 10: Enlistment Days
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Great Lakes Naval Training Center: a
| Naval Station Great Lakes | |
|---|---|
| North Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
 | |
| Naval Station Great Lakes insignia | |
| Coordinates | 42°18′33.08″N87°51′0.25″W |
| Site information | |
| Owner |  United States of America |
| Controlled by |  United States Navy |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1911 – present |
| Events | |
Great Lakes Naval Training Station
| |
 | |
Great Lakes Building 1
| |
| Nearest city | Waukegan, Illinois, U.S. |
| Area | 193.2 acres (78.2 ha) |
| Built | 1906 |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival, Other, Federal Revival |
| Governing body | Federal |
| NRHP Reference # | 86002890[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 15, 1986 |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders | Captain William Bulis, USN |
| Garrison | Recruit Training Command |
Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of theUnited States Navy's only boot camp, located near North Chicago, inLake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center and Navy Recruiting District Chicago. Naval Station Great Lakes is the second largest military installation in Illinois and the largest training station in the Navy. The base has 1,153 buildings situated on 1,628 acres (6.59 km2) and has 50 miles (80 km) of roadway to provide access to the base's facilities. Within the naval service, it has several different nicknames, including "The Quarterdeck of the Navy", or the more derogatory "Great Mistakes".
The original 39 buildings built between 1905 and 1911 were designed by Jarvis Hunt.[2]
The base is like a small city, with its own Fire Department, Naval Security Forces (Police), and Public Works Department.
One of the landmarks of the area is Building 1, also known as the clocktower building. Completed in 1911, the building is made of red brick, and has a tower that stands 300 feet over the third floor of the building. The large parade ground in front of the administration building is named Ross Field.
WORLD WAR II NAVY BOOT CAMPS
At the beginning of World War II the United States Navy had four Boot Camps at San Diego, CA; Bainbridge, MD; Newport, RI; and Great Lakes, IL. During the war they added three more camps at Norfolk, VA; Sampson, NY; and Farragut, ID.
At the beginning of World War II the United States Navy had four Boot Camps at San Diego, CA; Bainbridge, MD; Newport, RI; and Great Lakes, IL. During the war they added three more camps at Norfolk, VA; Sampson, NY; and Farragut, ID.
Items Issued to an Enlisted Man In Boot Camp On entering Boot Camp during the World War II era, besides getting his shots and a buzz haircut, a Navy recruit discarded his civilian attire and possessions. He boxed his shirt, underwear, and pegged pants and shipped them home. Then after he stood shivering in the nude in a large room with hundreds of other young men, Navy Supply Clerks tossed at him the uniforms and other gear he would use during his period of enlistment. They piled on his arms uniforms, with little attention to size, that the recruit learned wear, not always the proper way at first. The Navy then gave him his sleeping gear. In the tradition of the old navy they issued him a hammock with a mattress, two mattress covers (sailors called them fart sacks), one pillow, two pillow covers, and two blankets. The Boot needed a place to store these items, so one of the first items issued to him was his Sea Bag. This cylindrical canvas sack of 26" x 36" had grommets on top through which the man wove a line to use as a draw string to close the bag and to hang it from a rack. As with everything else he got, he stenciled his name on the side of the bag. This bag was his and his only. It was his entire and unique identity as an individual among the mass of other men. When traveling, a sailor rolled his mattress and sleeping gear inside the hammock which he then wrapped around and secured to his sea bag. This pack he slung up on a shoulder and marched off with all he owned. Before rolling his mattress, however, a sailor laid out his bedding items on the flattened mattress in a specific order according to regulations.
Then the Navy issued the Boot his bible,The Bluejackets’ Manual. This book contained all the Boot would need to know to become a sailor and handle himself like one at his future stations either ashore or afloat. Training Program In Boot Camp Up and at em, drop em and grab em, fire drill, scrub down that deck, inspection, move it Boot. Now. I ain’t your mommy asking you. It’s me. I’m telling you.
These and other commands the Chief Petty Officer assigned to a Boot company shouted mostly in the middle of the night after a hard, tiring, long, ten hour day of marching, calisthenics, scrubbing clothes, rifle-over-your-head drills, pulling oars in a boat, loading heavy shells in a 5" gun, and other training activities. The obvious reason for harassing the Boots was to get them accustomed to discipline, to respond to disagreeable orders, to function with little sleep, and probably to give the Chief his kicks, Whatever. It worked.
World War II Navy Boot Camps ground out thousands of sailors well enough trained to go aboard ships and win the war. Boot Camp training lasted about six weeks plus or minus a couple depending on the Navy’s need at the moment for men in the fleet. Graduation From Boot Camp Finally the moment came the graduating companies fell in for a parade and pass in review. Then some dignitary declared the Boots had finished their training and would get leave to go home and display their uniforms with pride.
Donald Duck Navy.
Aboard ship he moved the contents of his sea bag into a locker. Now he no longer felt or thought like a Boot. He was a sailor and would start his cruise with the Navy.
End of A Sailor’s Cruise
By the end of his cruise in the Navy, a sailor would gather up his uniforms, gear, and mementoes. He would shift his belongings out of his locker and back into his sea bag to leave for home. Not only did he take his physical possessions, but his sea bag would also be filled with memories.
For more about WWII Navy boot camps and life aboard the small ships used in World War II read Sea Bag of Memories by Wm. J. Veigele, Ph. D. Lt, USNR (Ret).
Class: Cleveland Class Light Cruiser
Registry: CL-57
Commissioned: 9, September 1942
.
.jpg) Montpelier at Port Havannah, Efate, New Hebrides, 22 April 1943 | |
| Career (United States) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Montpelier |
| Builder: | New York Shipbuilding |
| Laid down: | 2 December 1940 |
| Launched: | 12 February 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 9 September 1942 |
| Decommissioned: | 24 January 1947 |
| Struck: | 1 March 1959 |
| Motto: | "Mighty Monty" "Legend of the Solomons" |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Cleveland-class cruiser |
| Displacement: | 10,000 long tons (10,160 t) |
| Length: | 608 ft 4 in (185.42 m) |
| Beam: | 66 ft (20 m) |
| Draft: | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 33 kn (38 mph; 61 km/h) |
| Complement: | 1,255 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 12 × 6 in (150 mm)/47 cal guns, 12 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal guns, 28 × 40 mm guns, 10 × 20 mm guns |
| Aircraft carried: | 4 × Curtis SOC-1 Seagulls |
| Service record | |
| Operations: | World War II |
| Awards: | 13 battle stars |
USS Montpelier (CL-57) was one of 26 United States Navy Cleveland-class light cruisers completed during or shortly after World War II. She was the second US Navy ship to be named for the city of Montpelier, Vermont. Montpelier was commissioned in September 1942 and saw service in several campaigns in the Pacific. Like almost all her sister ships, she was decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, and never saw active service again. Montpelier was scrapped in the early 1960s.
Montpelier arrived Nouméa, New Caledonia on 18 January 1943 from Norfolk, Va. Rear Admiral A. S. Merrill chose her for the flagship of Cruiser Division 12 (CruDiv 12). On 25 January, she reached Efate,New Hebrides, her home base for the next few months. While making a sweep around beleaguered Guadalcanal, she participated in the Battle of Rennell Island on 29 January, the last naval engagement of theGuadalcanal Campaign.
Montpelier covered the landings on the Russell Islands on 21 February. On the night of 5–6 March, she heavily bombarded the Vila‑Stanmore airfield on Kolombangara in the Solomons, and helped sink an enemy destroyer in the battle of Blackett Strait. She and three other cruisers bombarded Poporang Island on the night of 29–30 June, in preparation for the invasion of New Georgia. On the night of 11–12 July, she bombarded Munda, enabling troops to continue their conquest of New Georgia. She patrolled the New Georgia area for the next four months to prevent Japanese troop withdrawals.
After a run to Sydney, Australia, she joined Task Force 39 (TF 39) as its flagship for the invasion of the Treasury andBougainville Islands. On 1 November, Montpelier shelled the Buka‑Bonis airfields on the northern tip of Bougainville, and hit the Japanese defenses on Poporang and Ballale Islands. TF 39, consisting of cruisers and destroyers, engaged a superior Japanese force in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay while guarding transports on the night of 2 November. The result was a clear cut victory for the U.S. ships commanded by Admiral Merrill. The victory turned back the Japanese from what would have been a disastrous assault on the Bougainville landing forces. Besides assisting in the destruction of one ship,Montpelier's gunners shot down five enemy planes.
From 15–19 February 1944, Montpelier covered the amphibious landing on the Green Islands in the Bismarck Archipelago. In March, she hunted shipping south of Truk and participated in the invasion of the Emiraus, and began shelling Saipan on 14 June to support the Mariana Islands invasion. She joined TF 58 and participated in the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea from 19–21 June. During the engagement, Japanese carrier air groups were virtually annihilated. Montpelier returned to the Marianas, and continued her shelling of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. She left the Marianas on 2 August for overhauling in the United States.
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Returning on 25 November, she joined a task group off Leyte Gulf. While steaming on defensive patrol off the Gulf, Montpelier was slightly damaged by a kamikazeattack on 27 November.[1] She fought off numerous other kamikaze attacks, shooting down four planes.
Beginning on 12 December, Montpelier provided beach cover for the invasion ofMindoro. Fighting kamikazes, she protected troops at the Lingayen Gulf landing in January 1945. In February, she supported operations off Mariveles Harbor,Corregidor, and Palawan, and from 14–23 April, she covered the landings on Mindanao. From her base at Subic Bay, she steamed to Brunei Bay, Borneo, arriving on 9 June. From 17 June to 2 July, she sailed off the oil center atBalikpapan, providing support for minesweepers, underwater demolition teams, and amphibious forces. Australian troops were extremely grateful for the devastating shelling of enemy positions, which saved many Allied lives. During the latter part of July and early August, Montpelier made three anti-shipping sweeps in the East China Sea.
Post-War[edit]
When hostilities ended, she anchored off Wakayama, Japan, and helped speed up the evacuation of Allied prisoners. After an inspection of Japanese ships, part of her crew went ashore to view the ruins of Hiroshima. On 18 October she covered the landing of occupation forces at Matsuyama. Montpelier departed from Hiro Wan and Japanese waters on 15 November for the East Coast, having fought the enemy from their deepest point of advance to their very homeland. From the Pacific, Montpeliersailed first for Hawaii, then to San Diego, California, before heading south to pass through the Panama Canal, with her final destination being New York City.
She reported for duty with the Atlantic Fleet on 11 December, and on 1 July 1946 reported for duty with the 16th Fleet.Montpelier decommissioned and berthed in reserve at Philadelphia on 24 January 1947. She was struck from the Naval Register on 1 March 1959, and was sold for scrap to Bethlehem Steel Co. 22 January 1960.
Awards[edit]
Montpelier received 13 battle stars for World War II service.
Commanding Officers of Montpelier[edit]
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- Captain Leighton Wood - 9 September 1942 – 9 June 1943.
- First Captain, died during cruise.
- Captain Robert G. Tobin - 9 June – 2 December 1943.
- Captain Harry D. Hoffman - 2 December 1943 – 3 March 1945.
- Promoted to Admiral.
- Nicknamed "The Horse."
- Captain William A. Gorry- 3 March 1945
- Captain at time of Japanese surrender.
Coat of arms[edit]
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Depicted:
- The Green Mountains, principal topographical feature of Vermont, for whose capital Montpelier was named.
- A crowned eagle, replica of the crest of the Empress Augusta, wife of Germany's William I, after which Empress Augusta Bay was named.Montpelier, as Flagship of Task Force 39, played the principal role in the defeat of the Japanese in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay.
- On fringe are coral cockershells, representative of the vast expanse of the Pacific, main theater in which Montpelier operated.
Life on Montpelier[edit]
Decades after the war, James J. Fahey (1918–1991), Seaman First Class, published Pacific War Diary: 1942 - 1945, The Secret Diary of an American Sailor. The diary provides a first person account of the experience of a sailor on Montpelier throughout the war, from its first cruise from port to its final journey home. In general, keeping a diary was against Navy regulations. Thus, Fahey offered a rare view of life on Montpelier and on wartime naval life as well.
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