USS NEW MEXICO (BB-40)

Interviewee Name Here i USS NEW MEXICO (BB-40) The Queen s Story in the Words of Her Men John C. Driscoll

ii USS New Mexico Copyright 2009 by John C. Driscoll All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any informational storage and retrieval system without written permission from the copyright owner. ISBN: 978-0-9840784-0-0 Printed and bound in the United States of America by Maverick Publications Bend, Oregon

Interviewee Name Here iii 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 to Jann Outman, Karie Jones, Jennifer Jessen and Valerie Leonard for transcribing 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 Smith Second row: Roy Hunt, William Beard, Grant Erickson, La Vell Richins, Vernon Dascher, Eugene Walker Third row: Linn Peterson, Robert Way, Leon Hansen, Robert Goodwin, Jim Oeswein, Ernie Doyle Fourth Row: Edward Ehalt, Leonard Hart, John Cox, Phillip Lee, Bill Seaman

iv USS New Mexico

Interviewee Name Here v TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication and Thanks...iii Preface...vii 1. USS New Mexico s history a summary... 1 Interwar Years: 1929-1934 2. Oeswein, James M Div 1929-1932... 13 3. Way, Walter B Div 1930-1934... 41 War returns: 1936-1941 4. Henning, Bill R Div 1936-1941... 57 5. Scruggs, Frank F Div 1937-1945... 65 6. Walker, Eugene C Div 1937-1940... 77 7. Smith, George A Div 1938-1940... 89 8. Ford, Bill B Div 1940-1946... 103 9. Jacobson, Thomas F Div 1940-1946... 115 Early War: 1941-42 10. Baker, David N Div 1941-1945... 137 11. Bergen, John B Div 1941-1945... 156 12. Seaman, Bill 6 th Div 1941-1945... 161 13. Spitler, Gerald C Div 1941-1944... 173 Mid war: 1942-1943 14. Cox, John L. 6 th Div 1942-1945... 183 15. Dove, Will D. 6 th Div 1942-1945... 201 16. Falk, Leroy I Div 1942-1945... 213 17. Fuegy, Carl I Div 1942-1945... 217

vi USS New Mexico 18. Herder, George N Div 1942-1945... 221 19. Stevens, Earl E Div 1942-1945... 239 20. Sobel, Walter L & N Div 1942-1945... 255 21. Cantley, Max 4 th Div 1943-1946... 273 22. Clark, Bob Band 1943-1945... 289 23. Dascher, Vernon B Div 1943-1946... 299 24. Fairhead, Philip F Div 1943-1945... 323 25. Hansen, Leon C Div 1943-1945... 351 26. Hunt, Roy I DIV 1943-1946... 365 27. Igleheart, Max B Div 1943-1946... 373 28. Maddocks, H. 1 st Div 1943-1945... 385 29. Mason, Leonard B Div 1943-1946... 395 30. Peterson, Linn 2 nd Div 1943-1944... 405 Late War: 1944-1945 31. Bates, Jerry W. F Div 1944-1945... 415 32. Ehalt, Edward Marine 1944-1945... 437 33. Goodwin, Robert E Div 1944-1945... 443 34. Hand, Harvey A Div 1944-1945... 449 35. Kirkpatrick, Francis S Div 1944-1945... 455 36. Lorenzo, Victor I Div 1944-1946... 471 37. Otterman, Bill N Div 1944-1945... 491 38. Richens, Lavell F Div 1944-1946... 499 39. Rodger, Richard E Div 1944-1946... 515 40. Shaffer, William S Div 1944-1946... 521 41. Wickham, Ted A Div 1944-1946... 529 Appenndix I: Operational activity During the Second World War... 541 Appendix II: Interviews... 544 Appendix III: Electric Drive... 546 Appendix IV: Section Photographs... 547 Index... 555

Interviewee Name Here vii 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 of three centuries, (19th, 20th and 21st). Her design, prepared approximately ninety-eight years after Nelson s victory at Trafalgar, incorporated the lessons of the line of battle. She was designed as a battleship, a ship intended to serve in the van as did HMS Victory, and was also designed to satisfy the requirements for war in the Pacific. USS New Mexico s armament, when she was commissioned during the final months of the First World War, included four three-inch guns, weapons which could serve as anti-craft weapons, a defense against a threat which didn t exist when she was designed. In 1919 USS New Mexico escorted Woodrow Wilson back from the Versailles Peace Conference where was set in motion a process which 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 young men, all volunteers, who hailed from every region of the country. She went into harms way providing gunfire support for the landings at most every major action in the Central Pacific and North Pacific. She sustained her most grievous injuries late during the war when struck by kamikazes, a suicide weapon which presaged the terrorist attacks and guided missiles of the current century.

viii USS New Mexico USS New Mexico (BB 40) and her crew was the equal of every challenge they met. Many of these were unimagined when she was designed, launched then commissioned. Her history is a tribute to her builders and the men who crewed her, one of whom is my father, Harry Driscoll. Harry Driscoll USS New Mexico crewman 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 June 30, 1914. Construction of the Battleship 40, first scheduled to bear the name California, was allocated to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and began in October 1915. Battleship 40 was first scheduled to bear the name California, while Battleship 44, under construction at Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, would be named New Mexico. However, Battleships 40 and 44 exchanged names prior to launching. USS New Mexico was launched on April 23, 1917. Her sponsor was Miss Margaret C. De Baca.

2 USS New Mexico As built, USS New Mexico had a 2-A-2 turret arrangement, each built 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 drier positions at upper deck level. Submerged below the waterline, were two 21-inch torpedo tubes. She had two funnels cage masts. USS New Mexico s 624-foot hull was sixteen feet longer than any previous United States battleship. Improved compartmentation and the substitution of a clipper bow with bulbous forefoot for the ram bow of earlier United States battleships were among USS New Mexico s innovative features. USS New Mexico, based on the success of USS Jupiter s turbo-electric drive was commissioned as the United State Navy s first turbo-electric driven battleship. Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, approved outfitting USS New Mexico with four General Electric motors which propelled her at 21 knots. Secretary Daniels reported to the House Naval Committee on USS New Mexico s performance: The machinery was designed to develop 26,500 horsepower at full speed, which it was expected would give the ship a speed of 21 knots. She actually developed more than 31,000 horsepower and maintained for four hours a speed of 21 1/4 knots and this when running at a displacement 1,000 tons greater than her design called for. If she had been tried at her designed displacement, as is customary with all new ships, she would have made 21.5 knots without any trouble whatever; and what is still better, she could have kept up this speed as long as her fuel lasted for, like all our later dreadnoughts, she is an oil-burner and there would be no reduction in speed due to the necessity of cleaning fires, which must be done in coal 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 engineering, not alone because of the pronounced success in this particular instance, but because of the assurance it gives us of the superiority of our capital ships to those of foreign nations. USS New Mexico was placed in commission on May 20, 1918. She joined the Atlantic Fleet at Yorktown, Virginia then completed a brief shakedown before sailing to Boston in September 1918 where, twentyeight years later, she was decommissioned. She arrived at New York City on December 26, 1918, the NEW MEXICO for a fleet review. She sailed from New York City on January 1919 as an escort to the Brest-bound USS George Washington. Aboard the transport was President Wilson. She escorted Wilson back to the United States following Wilson s failed treaty negotiations at Versailles, which significantly figured in the sequence of events which culminated in World War Two.

History of the USS New Mexico 3 On the morning of February 22 nd, 1919, the USS New Mexico came upon the 3-masted derelict schooner Charlotte J. Sibley. After rescuing all 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 flagship of the United States Pacific Fleet. USS New Mexico and other ships assigned 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 Mexico conducted training, cruised, received ambassadors, participated in centennials and extended good will of the United States. In 1920, the USS New Mexico made a cruise to Hawaii, then, in early 1921, led the Pacific Fleet on the 6000-mile cruise to Valparaiso, Chile. In 1924, she conducted a return cruise to New York City. During the mid 1920 s, the USS New Mexico was made Flagship of Battleship Division Four. USS New Mexico departed Bremerton, Washington on April 25, 1925 for Hawaii, where she participated in training exercises and wargames which presaged her activities during World War Two. Afterwards, came a voyage to Australia and New Zealand, with pauses enroute at Samoa and New South Wales. USS New Mexico returned to San Pedro, where she carried out routine maneuvers from that base during the following years. She returned to Hawaii in 1928 then to Hampton Roads in 1930. USS New Mexico was already known as The Queen in part in tribute 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 a black circle in its center) for the best in gunnery, engineering, and battle efficiency. On March 5, 1931, USS New Mexico proceeded to Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard for modernization. Complete re-boilering and re-working of internal protection was accomplished. Her superstructure was entirely reconstructed, to include removing her cage masts. Her anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defenses were modernized. Blisters and additional armored deck protection were added. USS New Mexico and her sisters, following the 1931-1933 modernization, were the United States Navy s most effective battleships until the 1941 commissioning of the USS North Carolina.

4 USS New Mexico USS New Mexico, under the command of Captain David A. Weaver, departed Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on January 22, 1933 for refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. USS New Mexico, following a Presidential review off New York in May 1934, remained on the east coast until September 15, 1934, when she again returned to San Pedro. She cruised to Hawaii in 1936 and 1937. USS New Mexico, after completing gunnery training and tactical exercises off the Hawaiian Islands, sailed from Pearl Harbor on May 20, 1941, for Guantanamo Bay, which she reached June 9, 1941. She departed for Norfolk on June 11, 1941. USS New Mexico sailed from Hampton Roads June 20, 1941, to commence a series of neutrality patrols in the North Atlantic under Presidential shoot on sight orders. USS New Mexico, on July 20, 1941, put to sea to patrol shipping lanes being used to transport Lend-Lease material to Great Britain. She arrived in Iceland where she spent nine days at anchor within the harbor of 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 New Mexico s gunnery and navigation departments conducted training exercises in Casco Bay, before departing for Halifax, Nova Scotia on November 14, 1941. USS New Mexico sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia on November 14 for more patrolling in the north Atlantic then arrived at Boston on the November 25, 1941 to take on ammunition before returning to Casco Bay on December 1, 1941. USS New Mexico, serving as flag ship for Battleship Division, sailed from Casco Bay on December 9, 1941, stopped at Norfolk on December 11, 1942, then proceeded for the Pacific on January 6, 1942. She arrived at San Francisco on January 22, 1942. During the winter and spring of 1942, USS New Mexico prepared for operations in the central and west Pacific. She visited San Pedro on May 10-13, 1942 and June 19-22, 1942. On August 1, 1942, USS New Mexico sailed from San Francisco for the Hawaiian Islands, where she rendezvoused with Task Force 17 on August 8, 1942. She participated in exercises before arriving at Pearl Harbor on August 14, 1942. From August through September of 1942, USS New Mexico was flagship of Battleship Division Two, (commanded by Rear Admiral Theodore 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 almost immediately after Rear Admiral Wilkinson shifted his from her. During September 1942, Captain Oliver Lee Downes assumed command of USS New Mexico. She steamed out from Pearl Harbor for the forward operations area on December 7, 1942, the first anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack. On December 18, 1942, USS New Mexico arrived in the Fiji Islands and anchored at Nandi, where she participated in the final combat operations in the Solomons. On January 9, 1943, she left Suva to screen escort carriers whose planes were providing air support for United States forces operating on Guadalcanal. She continued in that capacity until February 11 1943, when she returned to Nandi. USS New Mexico, enroute to Pearl Harbor, called at Efate in the New Hebrides on March 8, 1943, at Samoa March 11-15, 1943, then reached the Hawaiian Islands on March 22, 1943. During the remainder of March 1943 and all of April 1943, USS New Mexico remained at Pearl Harbor. Vice Admiral Leary departed from USS New Mexico in April 1943. Rear Admiral Robert M. Griffin, Commander of Battleship Division 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 winds and seventy foot waves are not uncommon), is part of the Aleutians. Adak and Kiska were occupied by Japanese forces. She arrived at Adak s Kuluk Bay on May 17, 1943, commencing a three month long period of operations in the north Pacific. USS New Mexico rendezvoused with other task force members on May 21, 1943 to prevent the landing of reinforcements. Chichagof Harbor was occupied without opposition on May 30, 1943. On July 22, 1943, USS New Mexico joined in the bombardment of Kiska. Return fire was desultory and ineffectual. USS New Mexico, before departing the Aleutians, steamed to the south and west of Kiska in search of a Japanese task force which failed to appear. American reoccupation of Kiska was completed on August 15, 1943 when United States forces entered Quisling Cove on the island s northwest coast. No Japanese forces were present. They had abandoned Kiska on July 29, 1943. The Japanese presence in the Northern Pacific had been eliminated. USS New Mexico sailed from Kuluk Bay for Puget Sound on August 29, 1943. She arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on September 4,

6 USS New Mexico 1943 for maintenance, in preparation for subsequent operations. Captain Ellis Mark Zacharias assumed command of USS New Mexico during September 1943. USS New Mexico left Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on October 9, 1943. She arrived at San Pedro on October 12, 1943 then sailed for Pearl Harbor, which she reached on October 26, 1943. Near the equator, approximately one hundred miles north of Tarawa and 2,500 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor, was a Japanese seaplane base located on Makin island. Makin and Tarawa Atolls had been picked as the striking point for Operation Galvanic, the United States push into the Gilbert Islands. One the morning of November 20, 1943, USS New Mexico and other members of Rear Admiral Griffin s Battleship Division Three commenced bombarding Makin island. USS New Mexico provided gunfire support for soldiers of the 27 th Infantry Division, the unit which had been assigned the task of occupying Butaritari, an important link in the Makin ring. USS New Mexico s bombardment was singularly successful. No effective Japanese fire was directed against her and no casualties were sustained. USS New Mexico sailed from the Gilberts for Pearl Harbor on November 29, 1943. She reached Oahu on December 8, 1943. During January 1944, USS New Mexico returned to the Central Pacific. This time it was the Marshall Islands, which extend over six hundred miles of water and screen the island of Truk, then the key Japanese naval fortress in the Carolines. USS New Mexico sailed from Pearl Harbor on January 22, 1944, arriving off Kwajalein Atoll on January 31, 1944 to participate in the pre-invasion bombardment. She bombarded Ebeye and Kwajalein Islands before retiring late in the afternoon on February 1, 1944. It was here that USS New Mexico suffered her first casualty of the war. USS New Mexico s two Kingfisher scouting planes were operating over Kwajalein. The aviators relayed topographical information and target locations to the battleship s gunners. One of them, piloted by Lieutenant Forney O. Fuqua, USNR, with Radioman Second Class Harrison D. Miller as passenger, was struck by enemy shellfire over Kwajalein s eighty-mile long lagoon. Fuqua radioed his ship: Cockpit full of gasoline fumes hit very badly am making emergency landing. Taking over the controls, Miller brought the damaged plane down on the surface, but it overturned before landing. A minesweeper operating inside the lagoon rescued Radioman Miller, but the Kingfisher sank before 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 on February 20, 1944 then Wotje Island in the Wotje Atoll on the 21 st of February, 1944. USS New Mexico s main and secondary batteries fired 2,400 rounds during her operations in the Marshalls. USS New Mexico entered Majuro Lagoon, located 270 miles southeast of Kwajalein, on February 23, 1944. She then continued southward to Havannah Harbor, Efate for reprovisioning. On March 20, 1944, she joined other units in a day long diversionary bombardment of Kavieng on New Ireland, in coordination with a United States Marine invasion of Emirau Island, 75 miles to the northwest. Japanese counter battery fire was rapid, but did not harm USS New Mexico. USS New Mexico, in the company of USS Idaho and USS Pennsylvania, sailed southwest from Efate on April 23, 1944 for Sydney, Australia, which she reached on April 29, 1944. On May 5, 1944, USS New Mexico sailed from Sydney for Efate, which she reached on May 10, 1944. By the spring of 1944, United States forces were preparing to pierce Japan s inner defense perimeter. Rear Admiral George L. Weyler replaced Rear Admiral Griffin as Commander of Battleship Division Three in May. USS New Mexico, for the first time since she returned to the Pacific, went into her next action without a flag officer on board. On June 14-15, 1944, USS New Mexico conducted bombardment operations off Tinian. On June 16, 1944 she then directed her fire on Japanese airfields located on Guam. She also provided protection for auxiliary 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 Marianas campaign. The first phase, the taking of Saipan, had taken longer than anticipated. Undisputed control of the Marianas approaches was decided by the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19-20, 1944). USS New Mexico anchored within Eniwetok Atoll on June 27, 1944, where she remained until July 15, 1944. USS New Mexico joined with USS Pennsylvania, USS Hailey, USS Haggard, and USS Hamilton on July 15, 1944 to form a force which arrived off Guam on July 17, 1944. The bombardment continued until July 21, 1944 when the Marines landed. USS New Mexico then provided them with gunfire support. Following the initial landings, USS New Mexico responded to a request for illumination fire to prevent Japanese counter attacks under cover of darkness by firing star shells over Japanese positions. At dawn, Major

8 USS New Mexico General Roy S. Geiger sent a message to USS New Mexico in which he stated, Thanks you saved the day. During the Guam operations, USS New Mexico accomplished an extraordinary feat of indirect fire. One of her target spotting planes detected a shore battery then requested fire. Although the objective was completely obscured from view, the navigator obtained range and bearing. The fourteen inch rounds achieved a direct hit, which destroyed the target. Two pilots for USS New Mexico, Lieutenant (jg) Thomas H. Moore, USNR and Lieutenant (jg) Harold K. Anderson Jr., USNR (missing in action) were awarded Air Medals by Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner for their service during these operations. The rear-seat radiomen-gunners were cited by Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz for efficiently carrying out numerous naval gunfire spotting missions during the Marianas campaign. One of the planes was riddled by fragments of a Japanese shell while over Guam, while both planes encountered heavy caliber and automatic 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 on August 2, 1944, then departed Pearl Harbor and returned to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on August 11, 1944. She had completed a year of heavy bombardment operations. New guns were installed by Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Her crewmen departed for leave or new assignments and new crewmen reported onboard. During September 1944, Captain Robert W. Fleming assumed command of USS New Mexico. USS New Mexico departed Puget Sound on 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, 1944 at Ulithi, before sailing into Leyte Gulf on November 25, 1944 to cover the battling on Leyte and Samar. On December 2, 1944, the force of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, of which USS New Mexico was a member, departed Leyte Gulf for logistic replenishment. Augmented by several escort carriers, the group returned a few days later and entered Surigao Strait, then passed through the Mindanao Sea into the Sulu Sea to screen and support on the 15 th of December 1944. The Lingayen Gulf invasion of Luzon, the biggest and most-prized of the 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 during early January 1945. Onboard her at the time were Rear Admiral George L. Weyler, whose embarkation made USS New Mexico once again Flagship of Battalion Division Three, Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, Commander-in-Chief of the British Pacific Fleet and Lt. General Herbert Lumsden, leader of the armored herd which trampled Rommel in North Africa. They were on hand to observe United States amphibious tactics. Also onboard was William Henry Chickering, a Time Magazine correspondent, who had covered operations in the Pacific Theatre with General MacArthur since 1942 in New Guinea. He filed his last dispatch from the NEW MEXICO on January 2, 1945. USS New Mexico arrived in Lingayen Gulf on the morning of January 6, 1945, then commenced her bombarding of Luzon. At 1000, the Japanese began retaliating with fierce and repeated air attacks on the formation. It was here that the newly-formed Special Attack Corps of the Imperial Air Force made its debut in force. USS New Mexico carried on with her gunfire assignments while fighting off kamikaze attackers. At approximately 1200, January 6, 1945, a kamikaze plane with its 500-lb bomb, struck the portside of the navigating bridge, then detonated. Damage repair parties and corpsmen immediately responded. The attack left 30 dead and 87 wounded. Among the dead were USS New Mexico s commanding Officer, (Captain Fleming), Bill Chickering and Lt. General Lumsden. Commander John T. Warren, USS New Mexico s Executive Officer, assumed command. USS New Mexico, in spite of the attack, continued to bombard Luzon in preparation 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 and roughly 7 1/2 miles inland. Though they were considered almost impossible to hit, the USS New Mexico s gunners damaged one beyond repair and made the other useless to the Japanese. United States forces went ashore on January 9, 1945. USS New Mexico expended 25,795 rounds bombarding Luzon. She departed Lingayen Gulf on January 22, 1945, and then arrived at San Pedro Bay, off Leyte on the 24 th of January 1945. USS New Mexico stopped 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 command of USS New Mexico. She departed for Ulithi on March 9, 1945. Her

10 USS New Mexico next operation was participation in the capture of Okinawa, the most difficult operation undertaken by United States forces in the Pacific, and also the most ambitious amphibious push of the Pacific war (1,213 ships, 564 carrier-based support aircraft, and 451,866 Army-Marine ground forces). USS New Mexico s crew went ashore for rest and relaxation on the island of Mog-Mog, located in the Ulithi Atoll, while taking on stores, fuel, and ammunition. On the 20 th of March 1945, USS New Mexico steamed northwest toward Ryukyus. During the six days prior to the landings on Okinawa, USS New Mexico supported underwater demolition teams and minesweeping operations 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 Admiral Raymond 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 to General Quarters 82 times and to Air Defense 86 times. USS New Mexico increased her tally of downed planes to 21, by destroying eight Japanese aircraft. Four of them were shot down within a sixteen minute period during a heavy air attack which occurred on April 12, 1945. USS New Mexico, while operating off Okinawa, out maneuvered torpedoes fired at her by a Japanese submarine. At 1700 on May 12, 1945, a formation of Japanese aircraft closed in on USS New Mexico from astern. One broke from the formation then dived on USS New Mexico. A 5-inch shell burst directly under the kamikaze, lifting it clear of the mastheads as it zoomed overhead. Close aboard, it smacked into the sea. A second suicide aircraft crashed on the gun deck and tore into the funnel, leaving a jagged 30-foot hole in the side. The plane s bombs exploded upon impact. Aviation gasoline in the ruptured gas tanks sent flames skyward 200 feet. Twenty millimeter and forty millimeter ammunition from the ship s anti-aircraft guns tumbled down the stack through the battle bars. Doctors, corpsmen, and emergency stretcher-bearers went to the aid of the wounded. Others removed the injured, then passed up shells to hard-pressed gunners still fighting off enemy planes. Damage control parties, aided by volunteers from gun crews, 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, clearing debris, appraising damage, and readying the ship s guns for new attacks. Casualties incurred amounted to 177 men, including 55 dead and 3 missing. Before dawn on May 13, 1945, USS New Mexico s anti-aircraft batteries, 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, accomplished so much in such a brief period of time that the USS New Mexico was able to continue to serve as Admiral Spruance s Flagship until May 27, 1945, when she was ordered to Guam. USS New Mexico, during her Okinawa operations, fired a total of 21,876 rounds, which included 2,778 projectiles for her main battery alone. USS New Mexico arrived at Guam on May 31, 1945 then sailed for Leyte on June 4, 1945, where permanent repairs were made from June 7 through August 3, 1945.

12 USS New Mexico Via Ulithi, and with a stop at Saipan on August 12, 1945, USS New Mexico was enroute to Okinawa s Buckner Bay when the Japanese accepted 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 a rendezvous with the Third Fleet, which occurred three days later off Sagami Wan at the entrance to Tokyo Bay. On August 30, 1945, USS Revenge led USS New Mexico and 188 combatant United States Navy ships, their auxiliary supporting force, and 17 Royal Navy warships past Yokosuka Naval Base into Tokyo Bay. On Sunday, September 2, 1945, at 0855, the Japanese delegation mounted the USS Missouri s accommodation ladder and then formed before top-ranking Allied leaders on her O-1 level where they affixed their signatures to the instrument of Japan s unconditional surrender. USS New Mexico departed Tokyo Bay September 6, 1945 for Buckner Bay, Okinawa. She arrived there on September 9, 1945, embarked several hundred high-point Pacific veterans, then began her voyage back to the United Stated on September 10, 1945. After five days at Pearl Harbor (September 20-25, 1945), USS New Mexico steamed to the Panama Canal Zone. She transited the Panama Canal for the last time on October 12, 1945 then arrived in Boston on the 18 th of October 1945. Commander Arnold H. Newcomb, who had served as Gunnery Officer during the Philippine and Okinawa Campaign, took over command from Captain Haines on November 15, 1945. In the subsequent months, while USS New Mexico was laid up at Boston, Commander Newcomb supervised 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.