Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [85]
I caught a bus the rest of the way; finally, I was home.
~~Twenty-Four~~
Brooks Outland
USS Missouri – BB-63
U.S. Navy
As a teenager, fresh out of Garfield High School—Akron, Ohio—I joined the U.S. Navy on the 21st of May, 1950—my seventeenth birthday.
As my training at the Naval Recruit Training Center (RTC), in Great Lakes, Illinois was nearing its end; military action in Korea was heating up. A message was sent to the Chief of Naval Personnel (BuPers) in Washington D.C., requesting additional crew-members for the battleship USS Missouri. BuPers than transmitted an order to the RTC, which directed that the next graduating class be sent to Norfolk, Virginia to be put aboard the Missouri.
The RTC combined Recruit Company’s 106 and 107 into one company; a total of one-hundred and twenty men. They informed us that all post-graduate orders and personnel leave were canceled. Then we received our new orders—report to duty aboard the Missouri.
We traveled by troop train to Norfolk and upon our arrival, we were taken by trucks to NOB (Naval Operating Base). Here we were assigned to a large Quonset hut, for a one night stay and given a Cinderella Liberty; meaning we had the run of the base until midnight. Most of the men of Company 107 got noisily inebriated that evening. Needless to say, the next morning we woke to the smell of vomit.
Having showered, shaved, and our seabags packed, we marched less than a half-a-mile to Pier 7. As I stood there in ranks, this teenage boy was startled at the sight of the battleship moored in front of him. She was a sight to behold, and I still recall that moment quite vividly.
We were informed that the first thirty-five-to-forty men to step aboard would be assigned to Deck Divisions. I was among the second group of twelve who were assigned to the FA Division. Asking what FA Division did, I was told it involved fire control. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy to learn that I would be putting out the ships fires.
However, I was happy to learn that the FA Division didn’t put out fires, but was responsible for the ships armament. The Division was comprised of Firecontrolman (FC) and Firecontrol Technician (FT) ratings. There were three main turrets, two turrets forward of the superstructure and one aft, with three 16 inch guns (we called them rifles) to each turret. She was also equipped with ten 5” .38 caliber anti-aircraft mounts, twenty Quad 40mm anti-aircraft mounts, and forty-nine Twin 20mm guns. The U.S. Marine Corps Detachment aboard was responsible for the 20mm guns.
Our “skipper” was Captain Irving T. Duke, and the Executive Officer (XO) was Commander Pierre Charbonnet. The XO was someone to be feared, but also respected. When he walked through the ship, you stepped aside and stood at attention!
General MacArthur had drawn up a plan to land ground troops at Inchon, behind the North Korean Army in the hope of catching them between the forces that were breaking out of the Pusan Perimeter. In order for the Inchon Invasion to be successful, he needed Naval firepower; thus, the hurried need for the Missouri.
On Saturday the 19th of August 1950, the Missouri cleared Hampton Roads—headed for open sea. Suddenly, the Captain’s voice blared-out over the speakers that the Missouri was steaming, with haste, to Korea. The crew voiced their approval with a thundering roar.
Due to her urgent need in Korea, the Missouri went to sea in threatening weather. En route to the Panama Canal, we encountered a hurricane off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. During this time we were having daily anti-aircraft live-fire drills, and the smell of burned gunpowder filled the air; the odor was almost unbearable. The weather was “unreal” and many of the crew became sick. To escape the stench, I made my way up the superstructure to the 0-11 level. The air there was fresh, but you could feel the swaying back and forth a lot more. I can recall the bow of the ship disappearing under the huge waves, and when