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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGerald McCaskill - Bio WWII Gerald McCaskill GERALD McCASKILL U. S. Navy - U.S.S. Tennessee Pacific Theatre I was born in Leon County, Texas to Daniel A. and Sallie Tilley McCaskill. My father was a farmer and rancher in eastern Leon County in the Trinity River Bottom. I attended a three room school at the community of Malvern. Since they did not offer a high school diploma, I transferred to Centerville where I graduated. I was 16 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. My older brother was already in the Army Air Corps. Being too young to enlist earlier, Gerald McCaskill did not join the war effort until 1944 yet fought three major battles within less than three months from the time he left home and his Mother. I was inducted in the Navy March 15, 1944 in Houston, Texas. We were shipped by train to San Diego for boot camp. I assume that they needed replacements in the Pacific because we only were given six weeks training before being loaded on a troop ship for Hawaii. We were assigned to various ships as needed and I along with several buddies were taken on the battleship U.S.S. Tennessee (bb43) June 10, 1944. We were not immediately assigned to a division so we had to sleep in our hammocks for several days. I was eventually assigned to the "R" division (repair) with the 1 st Lt.'s office and Damage Control. "On June 14, our ship, the USS Tennessee, was engaged in the invasion of Saipan and Tinian (Marianas chain). During this engagement in the Pacific we were hit by three shells from a Japanese shore battery on Tinnian. One shell hit a 5" gun battery and killed all inside it. Another hit on the starboard side just above the water line. The third shell landed on the quarterdeck exploding in the compartment above our battle station. "It happened the deck above us was a vegetable locker and a lot of potatoes came- down on us," Gerald said smiling. "That was a strange kind of funny thing." "Luckily no one in our compartment was killed or badly injured but we lost 8 sailors that day. We had quite a bit of damage in our station, mainly broken water lines and structural damage. My job during a battle was damage control. Our primary duty was to minimize damage. In other words, if a water or electric line should be hit, our duty was to stop the flow of water as best we could until a repairman could get through. We were more or less a stopgap." After this operation the ship participated in the invasion of Guam on July 20. During this engagement a spotting plane was lost, killing the pilot and gunner. Their next campaign was to shell the island of Angaur, Plaau Group, West Caroline Island. "Usually we would shell for 3-5 days before the invasion, then our ship would 'lay off stand by for 'calls for fire' from our troops after our forces landed." "I felt pretty amazed the first time one of the big shells were shot off," Gerald said. He was walking along a passageway inside the ship's lower decks when he heard the thunder of his first big gun and felt the ship shudder. Gerald smiled when he told about sneaking up on deck to watch the 14" shells being fired, although he wasn't supposed to. "We were there for the invasion and re-taking of the Philippine Islands but we had it real bad when we were caught in a typhoon and had to weather it out before we could get to our next assignment. Waves were so deep other ships were hidden between them. Of course, cooks could not cook, so we had no hot food. It lasted a couple of days and lots were seasick. "It was pretty danged rough where we were down in the control room standing our regular watch," said Gerald. "We were way down below about deck 4. My job was to talk to gun mounts -- the 40 mm guns and 20 mm and relay their calls to the bridge. We had one officer, three phone talkers, and a boatswain's mate. We also had a navigator, and gyrocompasses and other instruments at our station. Our job was if something happened to the Bridge, we were to take over. "But generally we didn't have anything to do. We stood 4-hour watches, rang bells for time and passed the word of what was happening. The call to general quarters was a steady ringing, as opposed to one bell for each hour." Another really significant battle was in the early morning of October 25 when the Japanese decoled Admiral Halsey north with his new battleships, carriers and support ships of the 3r fleet -- hoping to return to the Philippines and retake the island. But they did not know Rear Admiral Ohlendorf. Even though the Admiral only had old ships left, he could pick the place for the battle and he chose the Surigao Straits. "Our intent was to destroy the Japanese fleet with six old battleships that made up the ih fleet. In the early morning of October 25 the USS California, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia battleships had positioned themselves in the strait along with various cruisers, destroyers, P.T. boats and other support ships. As the Japanese fleet came into range, the big guns of our battleships began the attack. Our ships were positioned in such a manner that all 14" turrets could fire simultaneously where the enemy could only fire their forward turrets. The battle was begun at a distance of 1 0 - 12 miles and was over in a matter of some 20 minutes. The outcome was decisive in our favor. This was the last battle between huge fighting ships and will never happen again. " Then they were dispatched back to the states to Bremerton, Washington for much needed repair and refitting. The entire crew was granted a 30 day leave -- half at a time -- to go home in December for the first time since their enlistment since boot leave had been cancelled in the push to get over in the Pacific. "I was happy, happy, happy to get leave," smiled Gerald. "I just missed home. I had left there in March and it was December. In nine months aboard ship I had been in five major battles and had just turned 19. But since I was one of youngest and newest, I was allowed to wait and go home after the others returned," Gerald said explaining the point system. "We caught the train to Dallas, standing mostly because there was not room for so many to sit. After a while some seats became vacant as soldiers got off along the way. It was cold on the train and I couldn't sleep. But I thought it was real nice when some ladies came on the train at Pocatello, Idaho and gave us coffee, donuts and milk. The real milk was a treat because the Navy used only powdered milk. I later tried to contact them but could not. " The train took almost three days to get to Dallas and I rode the bus on home from there but didn't get my full 30 days leave. "They hurried up and completed the repairs ahead of schedule so we had to go back early," Gerald said flatly. Back at Seattle the crew went aboard. We took the ship on a "shakedown" cruise and set sail from Seattle on January 27, 1945 headed back to the South Pacific and the Philippines. Did Gerald dread going back? "Didn't think too much about it. That was where my ship went. That was where I was going to be." By February 16 we were at Iwo Jima participating in the invasion and conquering that island. The Marines were the most prominent in conquering that island. From Iwo we next saw action at Okinawa -- a long ordeal for our troops ashore. By then the Japanese were desperate and using Kamikaze suicide planes in great numbers. On April 12, 1945 we were attacked by seven Kamikaze planes, six of which were shot down, but one got through. It hit up on the superstructure and tumbled down and caused extensive damage to the open gun mounts. "I believe it was equipped with a 50# bomb which exploded on the main deck above our battle station and opened up a large hole. Fortunately no one in our compartment was killed and only minor injuries from shrapnel. But 26 sailors were killed that day with 110 were injured. It hit in our compartment again and we had water everywhere as well as electrical damage which we minimized as quickly as we could so the repair crews could properly take care of it." "April 12 was the same day President Roosevelt died. It came over the P.A. system right way. We were real sad. With 110 injured and the burials at sea -- there was a lot of sadness. I was given a citation by the commanding officer, Captain Heffernan for our work and the 'excellent service in the line of duty during air attacks during which Japanese suicide planes crashed into his ship. By his prompt and efficient action, he contributed materially in minimizing the damage to his ship resulting from fires and flooding. His conduct gives evidence of his value to the Naval Service.'" After Okinawa was secure, we sailed south to have some repairs done before our next engagement which everyone assumed would be Japan but we were low on ammunition and food having shelled so much, and had started reloading for invasion when word came they dropped the bomb at Hiroshima. I was glad. The dropping of the atomic bombs and the final surrender of Japan was good news to our crew and I know for the guys in the Army and Marines. After the bomb and the war was over, our ship (the flagship) had a lot of time at sea and had seen much action, so we were scheduled to head back to the States and transferred command and the flag before we left to the U.S.S. Pennsylvania. But guess word had not gotten to everyone because the Japanese dropped a torpedo on the Pennsylvania, disabling her, so we took the Admiral and the flag back aboard. We didn't get to head for home but ended up in southern Japan at Wakayama. I was fortunate to get to go ashore, not for a liberty but a work party. "I had been on the ship the whole time except for one time on a deserted island -- for repairs. I was kind of a finagler or someone who could talk his way into things," Gerald said with a glint in his eye. "So when I heard that some of the crew were going ashore in the motor whaleboat on a work detail, I asked to go with them. They were given a choice of 2 beers or 2 Cokes. Gerald, being from a "dry" county and had never tasted beer, "took beer and went ashore to play baseball, volleyball and horseshoes." By the way, the work detail was to get sand. Since they had a little time, the Commander ordered the wooden decks cleaned and polished using sand and a "holy stone -- like a brick with a hole in the top of it". So the sailors first had to fill sandbags before they got to play. "We were loading up sacks of sand when a woman and little kids came down to look us over." Gerald pulled out what looked to be half a broken teacup and an orange silk bag the old woman had given him as a present, having kept the mementoes all these years. "Usually they shipped you back home but I worked it back to get discharged in New York." They needed some volunteers who could type to go back and process others out and told us we were supposed to fly back to the States to be given leave and discharge. About six of us volunteered. But they didn't fly us and instead put us on a troop ship with sick soldiers. Eventually we got to the States and were surprised to find they had called it "delay in routing." "We were sent to Brooklyn, New York and went to Long Island and got paid for travel time - 3 cents a mile," said Gerald. "I wanted to stay a few more days in New York. For a nickel we could go to the Naval office and get tickets to Rockefeller Center to go see Rockettes or a play. It didn't take us long to figure that subway out. It took a quarter to go to Times Square. You could get a hot dog for a nickel and all the Pepsi cola you wanted to drink at the Serviceman's Center." "Awestruck," was how Gerald described the city. "I remained there until I was discharged in May 1946. After the war points were awarded by months of service and for battles to determine who could be discharged, so some got fewer points. The one with the most points got discharged first. Some didn't have enough but I was discharged 16 May 1946. " Gerald was made an "award for meritorious conduct as a member of the Naval Service: Ribbon bar of the Navy Unit Commendation awarded the USS TENNESSEE for outstanding heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces during the period from 31 January 1944 to 21 June 1945." He got home around the end of May and came to A&M on GI bill-- "one of the greatest programs the government implemented to help those who could not have gone to college otherwise. Our family was dirt poor. The Trinity River flooded us out at least every three years and wiped out all our crops." "No way I could have gone otherwise. I had only enough points to put me through four years so I had to get through in four years because I didn't have any money. I majored in Agronomy over at the Riverside Campus 'Annex' which was way out and I had no car to get back and forth. It had been four years since I'd been in school and I wasn't used to 300 in a classroom but I graduated in 1950. Most of my classmates were ex-GI's going to school under the GI bill." I married Shirley Cappel in 1950 and moved to the high plains of Texas. I worked for the USDA (SCS) until I went into banking in Hereford, Texas. We were blessed to be given three wonderful children (Kathleen, Gerald Daniel and John David). We moved our family to Andrews, Texas in 1962 and remained there until we moved to College Station in 1990. The war and the Navy changed my life. "I joined the Navy because it seemed kind of glamorous to be on a ship in the Navy," said Gerald. "Everybody felt compelled to go because there was a war. I didn't want to go into the Army to be a foot soldier." One of his friends didn't pass the physical and sat down and cried. Gerald, too, felt sorry his friend didn't make it. "Nobody wanted to be 4F. One of the worst things were the self-thoughts - the guilt of not being able to serve. But it was not their fault they could not pass the physical." Of all my experiences aboard ship I most remember the suicide attacks at Okinawa and the number of shipmates that were lost that day. I guess the saddest time was the burial at sea of our pals. What would he have done had he not gone to war? "Probably would have stayed with Geophysical. Sure would not have farmed," says Gerald. "There was no money in farming. " "I told my kids that I hoped they never had to go serve but if they did I hope they would go and serve with honor. I cannot abide that anybody would not go serve with honor." Gerald McCaskill College Station, Texas Barbara Donalson Althaus July 20, 2005