Year Date Entry

1944 07/03 Left for Boot Camp.

09/21 Broke Boot Camp at 0700 and left for home on leave.

09/28 Leave over, left for Sampson, NY.

09/29 At Sampson worked in Mess Hall.

10/03 In Hospital with "Cat" fever with a temperature of 103 degrees.

10/10 Finally over the fever, and out of the hospital.

10/12 Left Sampson for Radar school at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The trip took two days and covered about 1500 miles.

10/31 Left Ft. Lauderdale for Miami. From there we will be go to Newport, RI for assignment on the Trego.

11/01-05 Had liberty in Miami.

11/06 Left for Newport, RI.

11/08 Arrived in Providence, RI then went to Newport, RI.

11/09-13 Had alternating duty and liberty days.

11/14 Joined the Trego with the following Radar crew.

[Sam Baxt, J.E Barkley, Don E. Allen, Harry. H Leddbetter, Harold W. Anderson, Raymond C Howick, S, Uresky, E. Thacker, M, Passer, Simmione, and Edward Seibert]

11/15 Duty.

11/16 Liberty.

11/17 Liberty.

11/18-19 Had weekend and went home.

11/20-26 Same as the week before.

11/27 Went out for a week cruise on Dauphine. Got sick.

12/03 Back in Newport. Had duty.

12/09-10 Weekend home.

12-19 Left Newport for Armed Guard center in NY, NY. Had Liberty and saw the sights of New York.

12/22 The Trego is now commissioned and we are living aboard.

12/22-26 Had alternating duty and liberty.

12/27 Trego went on a small cruise in Oyster Bay. Stayed overnight. Towards morning of 12/28 Radar crew noticed we were drifting towards shore at a 4-knot rate. The officer of the deck did not believe us. I think he distrusted radar. However, at dawn he saw we were approaching land and by mistake signaled full speed ahead rather than astern. A lady on the beach was walking her dog when she saw the ship approaching her at a fast rate of speed. I think she almost had a heart attack.

12/29 Stayed grounded at beach

12/30 Trego pulled off the beach by two tugs and was taken to the Hoboken shipyard for repair. The damage was 22 bent plates and a broken screw. The ship was in dry dock until 01/25/45. During that time we had alternating duty and liberty days.

1945 01/25 Trego left Hoboken for Norfolk, VA.

01/27 Ship tied up at Hampton Roads. (Rhodes?)

02/01 Went on a 6-day shakedown cruise up Chesapeake Bay.

02/06 Arrived back at Portsmouth, VA. Radar operators, [Uretsky, Baxt, Barkley, Moore, Leddbetter, Anderson, Howick, Klopatick, Allen, Brown, Seibert, Shaw (Bob) and myself], left for a three days of training at the Virginia Beach hotel. That was really hard duty. We lived like kings.

02/15-16 Trego at Portsmouth.

02/17 Trego left for the Panama Canal.

02/21 Arrived at Panama at 07:40. Trip took 4 days and covered about 1700 nautical miles.

02/23 Left Panama for Pearl Harbor. Trip took 10 days and covered about 2400 nautical miles.

03/05 Arrived Pearl Harbor and discharged our cargo, which was mostly canned beer. A lot of it had disappeared. There probably was a line of empties from Panama to Pearl Harbor.

03/06-23 At Pearl Harbor.

03/24 Trego went on a six-day cruise.

03/30 Arrived back in Pearl Harbor.

03/31 Left Pearl harbor for San Francisco.

04/06 Arrived in San Francisco.

04/07 Had overnight liberty on 04/07, 04/09 and 04/11.

04/12 Left San Francisco for Hilo Hawaii with a cargo of Coca-Cola, Nestle crunch bars and cans of fruit cocktail. Another "good" cargo. Heard Franklin Roosevelt had died and flags were to be flown at half-mast.

04/18 Arrived at Hilo Hawaii, and began to discharge cargo.

04/19 Went on trip to volcano house, visited volcano crater and the Thurston lava tubes. Made Seaman first class rating.

04/21 Went swimming off of Treasure Island, Hilo Hawaii.

0424 Trego left Hilo for Honolulu.

04/25 Arrived Honolulu and then the ship went out on maneuvers for four days.

04/29 Arrived back at Honolulu and began taking on cargo.

05/03 Left Honolulu for Okinawa, with a full load of ammunition [ocean mines land mines all sorts of ammunition and high octane gasoline. Crew was a bit jittery, as we knew a 50-caliber bullet would go right through our deck plates. That would be bad, considering our cargo.

05/07 Arrived at Eniwetok Island and stayed there until 05/15 at 16:00.

05/15 Left Eniwetok at 16:00 for Ulithi Island.

05/19 Arrived Ulithi Island.

05/20 Left Ulithi for Okinawa in a convey of five ships. All quiet, last lap of journey.

06/02 Arrived Okinawa. No trouble as of yet.

06/03 Crew began unloading cargo. Two air raids tonight.

06/04 Two more air raids tonight.

06/05 No air raids tonight as it is raining.

06/06 Three air raids. A cruiser was hit 5 miles astern. A destroyer was damaged and an enemy plane was hit overhead.

06/07 There were air raids at 19:00, 21:00 and 23:00. {approximate times]

06/08 Raids continued from 01:00, 03:00, 05:00 and 07:00.

06/09 No raids today.

06/10 Still working in #4 hold. Six hours on, six hours off. One air raid today.

06/11-14 Same as 06/10. On the 14th I went ashore for four hours. Caves were bloody and I saw a red kimono in one of them.

06/15 Finished unloading by about 20:00 and Trego up anchored and we left for Hawaii.

06/17 We heard that the ship that took over our birth at Okinawa was hit with no survivors. We felt lucky, as we were not supposed to have left until this morning. We would have been the ones there.

06/20 Made Rdm 3/c.

06/22 Passed Eniwetok Island.

06/25 Crossed the International Date Line.

06/25 Arrived Pearl Harbor.

07/01 Received Rdm3/c rate.

07/18 Left Pearl Harbor for Guam.

07/22 Crossed International date line.

07/26 Arrived at Eniwetok, Marshal Islands.

07/27 Left Eniwetok for Guam.

07/30 Arrived at Apra Harbor Guam.

07/30 From 07/30 until we left on 08/09, I had liberty one day and lifeguard duty at the beach on the next day, while the ship was being unloaded.

08/09 We left Guam for Guadacanal. Russia declared war on Japan, and the first Atom bomb was dropped.

08/12 Passed 30 miles south of Enewitok.

08/14 Crossed Equator. Davey Jones came aboard. I had initiation and am now a shellback.

08/15 Secretary Forrestal announced the end of the war.

08/16 Arrived Guadacanal and began taking cargo aboard.

08/20 Left Guadacanal for Russell Island. Took on more cargo there.

08/22 Left Russell Island for Guam.

08/24 Crossed Equator.

08/28 Arrived Guam and crew began unloading cargo. Again I had liberty one day and lifeguard duty at the beach on the next day, while the ship was being unloaded.

09/09 Left Apra Harbor Guam for Leyte in the Philippines.

09/12 Arrived at Samar Island in the Philippines.

09/14 Went ashore to pick up Mr. Hoffman (our division officer). Saw a 400-year-old church. Later that day the Trego left Samar for Manila.

09/15 Arrived at Manila. Had liberty and went ashore to see city. City stunk. It was falling apart, the natives were dirty (as if they needed a bath) and the prices were high.

09/18 Left Manila for Subic Bay. We left LCM#5 there and then left at 17:00 for Lingayen Gulf.

09/19 Arrived at Lingayen Gulf at 09:00 and at 19:00 began to prepare for loading cargo. At 21:00 we knocked off work as soldiers (125) loaded themselves aboard. They and their gear were part of our cargo.

09/20 My 19th birthday. I had the day off.

09/12-24 Was on Watch from 08:00 to 12:00. Had the rest of the day off. Received mail from home (4 letters) on the 23rd.

09/25 Stood two Watches and saw a movie.

09/26 Had liberty and went ashore. Saw native villagers. Some were taking showers under the same pump, and washing clothes. Saw water buffalo, goats and chickens. I pulled myself across a river in a boat by means of pulling on a wire strung across the river. Finally, I went swimming.

09/27 Had breakfast then Quarters at 08:00, after which had to sweep and swab down the bridge area. Had noon chow and at 13:00 had an abandon ship drill. Stood watch from 16:00 to 20:00. At 21:00 hit the sack.

09/28 The same as on 09/27.

09/29 Trego moved to typhoon anchorage. I stood 12-hour watch out of 16 hours.

09/30 Sent three packages home and then slept most of the rest of the day as we were on holiday routine.

10/01 Payday. Sent letter and money home. Wrote Aunt Aagot in Norway. Trego got underway at 15:00 for Wakayama.

10/02 Still underway. Ocean pretty rough. On watch from 08:00 to 12:00. Slept all afternoon. Had Ice cream and saw movie "Wake Island".

10/03 Had the 00:00 to 04:00 watch. Slept until 07:45, had chow then went to sick bay. Had noon chow and wrote home.

10/04-06 Same as on 10/03 except for the sick bay and writing home. Also I saw a movie and had ice cream on 10/05.

10/07 Pulled into Wakayama Honshu. In anchorage.

10/08 The whole ship had locker inspection to look for stolen goods. It lasted all day. All goods were recovered, except one item.

10/09 Moved to typhoon anchorage in Wakaikuru (Wakayama?) Wan as typhoon is expected to hit tomorrow.

10/10 Wrote home. Typhoon hit at 15:00 with winds of 25 knots. By 24:00 winds were 75 knots per hour.

10/11 At 03:00 winds were at 90 knots per hour.

10/12 Nothing out of the ordinary.

10/13 Saturday. Stood watches and saw movie.

10/14 Went ashore on liberty in the afternoon to Wakayama, Honshu. Bought Cigarettes, sugar and a few presents for Christmas. It is my opinion that the Japanese are being treated too easy. They walk along the street saying"Allo" and then laugh behind your back. Money is no good. Cigarettes, chewing gum and candy have a high value.

10/15 Was paid and bought a shirt.

10/16 Wrote a letter and sent package and $25 home.

10/17-25 Nothing out of the ordinary.

10/26 Left Wakayama Wan at 13:15. Ship underway all day.

10/27 Still underway. At 09:00 we had general quarters as we were passing through a minefield. At 13:32 we pulled into Ise Wan anchorage at Nagoya, Japan. Saw movies and wrote home.

10/29 Ship pulled into Nagoya docks and we began to unload cargo.

11/02 Finished unloading at 10:00. Left Nagoya for New Guinea.

11/02-10 Nothing of interest except we crossed the Equator on the 8th.

11/11 Pulled into gulf at southern most tip of New Guinea.

11/14 Had liberty at Milne Bay, New Guinea. Went ashore and looked over that part of the island.

11/16 Had liberty. Went ashore and climbed up through the jungle to a 100 foot high waterfall. Went swimming in the pool.

11/17 Nothing of interest through 12/05. Had liberty every other day and went swimming.

12/05 Left Milne Bay New Guinea at 06:00 for Manus in the Admiralty Islands.

12/07 Arrived Manus Island.

12/08 Left Manus Island for Batavia Java.

12/09/15 Underway.

12/15 Received orders at 18:00 to turn around and head to Hollandia, New Guinea.

12/15-25 Underway.

12/25 Christmas. Arrived in Hollandia. Had a big dinner and was on holiday routine.

12/27 Had liberty and went swimming.

12/28 Catholic Chaplain took me to an army base where I had a turkey dinner. Scenery was very good.

12/29 Had liberty and went swimming.

12/30 Wrote home.

12/31 Had liberty and took a boat ride out in the harbor. End of the year 1945. There was no party, but everyone raised merry hell. They went over the side, "borrowed" trucks and jeeps, and went riding. Four men were caught and given captain's masts.

1946 01/01 Stayed on board.

01/02 Had liberty and went to a lake outside Hollandia. The Seabees made it when they dammed a river. It is well over 25 square miles. Swimming was good.

01/03 Stayed on board. The ship received orders to proceed to Manus for further orders.

01/04 Got underway at 10:00 and headed for Manus in the Admiralty Group. Making a speed of 16 1/2 knots.

01/05 Went to Mass at 11:00. Ship underway for Guam, Marianas Islands.

01/06-07 Still underway. Nothing of interest. We are due to arrive at Guam at 08:00 on 01/08.

01/08 Arrived in the outer harbor of Guam at 11:00. Set Special Sea Detail at 14:00, and anchored in Apra Harbor at 15:00. At 16:00 we received 12 sacks of mail and 30 sacks of parcel post. That was the all of the mail that had been lost by the postal department for the past three months. I received about fifty letters from home, but no packages except my watch. One letter was from my aunt Aagot and another from my cousin David.

01/09 No mail. Went on liberty in the afternoon.

01/10 received three letters from home. Went to Hoover Park in the afternoon as a lifeguard.

01/11 No mail. Went on liberty.

01/12 No mail. Had life guard duty in the afternoon.

01/13 Received five letters and an ID bracelet from home. Went on liberty in the afternoon.

01/14 Received one letter from home. Nothing else of interest, except movies. We have been having them every night.

01/15 Sold my other watch for $25 and sent $30 home. Had liberty.

01/16 Moved into the docks and started to load 2000 tons of Marine rolling stock aboard for cargo transportation to San Diego, CA. No mail.

01/17 Still taking on cargo. Received a letter from home. Went on liberty.

01/18 Had lifeguard duty. Cargo loading finished at 20:00. We took 300 Marine personnel and officers aboard as passengers.

01/19 Underway at 12:00 for San Diego. Course set at 072 degrees and at speed is at 15.5 knots. Passed one ship at 02:00.

01/20-24 Underway. Clocks were set ahead when required. Had movies and ice cream on the 21st, and the 24th. Had a Captains inspection of birthing compartments on the 23rd.

01/25 Crossed the International Date Line at 10:15. (osc 087 degrees) Ship speed 14.5 knots. A floating mine was sighted at 06:00. It was about 3000 yards off port side. We blew it up by shooting at it with the twin forties.

01/26 Nothing of interest.

01/27 Sunday. Still underway. Sea is pretty rough.

02/03 Nothing much has happened since 01/27.

02/04 Sighted the USA at 02:00 and pulled into San Diego at 08:30. The trip took 17 days and covered 5766 nautical miles. At 10:00 I went on an eighteen day leave. (About time).

02/21 Returned to the ship at 09:00. I was one hour late. At 13:00 Anderson, Seibert and I went out on a weekend. We stayed at the Stewart hotel in San Francisco. Had a pretty good time.

03/29 From 02/21 until now I have been too busy to write anything in this log. A brief summary will do. During this period I had three weekend passes (48-hour passes) and a 72-hour pass. On two of these I went to Frisco. On the third 48-hour pass and the 72-hour pass I went to Sacramento. It is quite a city. On March 27 I saw Harry James and his orchestra. It cost $2.40, but it was worth it. On March 21 the Trego moved to Frisco and on the 22nd it moved to Stockton. On the whole, I had a pretty good time. Today, 03/29 we left from Stockton at 08:00, passed under the Golden Gate Bridge and headed for Panama. The sea is quite rough and there is a wind of thirty to forty knots.

04/17 The Trego arrived at Norfolk, VA. The ship is to be decommissioned on May 21 and then mothballed.

05/28 I am honorably discharged from the service.

Listed below are the names and 1946 addresses of the Trego Radar crewmembers and their approximate ages if they have survived until now (2002).

Name Age Now 1946 Address 1945 Tel No.

Don E. Allen 80 No Address

Harold W. Anderson 76 24 Eastwood Ave., Waterbury, CT Waterbury 48365

John E. Barkley 90 65 Grogan Ave., W. Quincy, MA President 4105

Samuel Baxt 93 8720 23rd Ave., Brooklyn, NY Esplanade 2-3299

Raymond C. Howick 76 114 Stratsford Rd. Buffalo 16, NY

Henry L Leddbetter 84 Main St., East St. Louis

Donald W. Moore 77 214 Walcot Ave St Joseph MI 31156

Ralph Rhodes 77 804 N. Morrison Ave., Collinsville, IL

Edward G. Seibert 76 382 Berkshire Ave. Buffalo 16, NY Parkside 4902

Samuel Uretsky 77 1139 Commonwealth Ave., Allston, MA Stadium 759-J

Bob Shaw 77 No Address

Ens. Freelander 81 No Address

Ens Malone 81 No Address

I have no addresses for the members listed below and I also do not remember their first names. T

-- Klopatick

--Brown

*Loyd Baker (Lloyd?) 84-90? 221 Academy St., Laconia, NH. He is listed in my log, but I do not recall him at all.