USS Cascade (AD-16) - Christmas 1945 USS Cascade at Wakeyama, Japan

Christmas 1945 USS Cascade At Wakeyama, Japan

The following brief history of the USS Cascade from her commissioning until the end of the war was included in the Christmas 1945 menu. At the time the Commanding officer was Captain Louis T. Young, USN and the Executive Officer was Comdr. T.W. Hardisty, USN.

Captain Young's Christmas message was as follows: "To all Officers and the Crew: It is my pleasure and privilege to wish you all, individually and collectively, the best of Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years. May the following ones be even better."

Lt-Comdr. Hardisty's Christmas message was as follows: "The Christmas season is one when our thoughts are drawn to happy memories of the past and of happier things to come. It is my sincere wish for you all that this Christmas season be a very happy one and that the New Year will be filled with many blessings."

The Christmas menu included: Cream of Tomato Soup, Ripe Olives, Sweet Pickles, Roast Tom Turkey, Giblet Gravy, Sage Dressing, Cranberry Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, Buttered Peas, Parker House Rolls, Fruit Cake, Mince Pie, Ice Cream, Cigars, Cigarettes, Coffee.

USS CASCADE A destroyer tender is a "mother hen" for a vast brood of destroyers, and is a "mother hen" especially equipped and provided with ships capable of undertaking and completing repairs and overhaul of practically all the equipment on a destroyer from the common place typewriter to the powerful engines which drive them at high speeds in carrying out their mission. In addition the "mother hen" is provided with large and sundry rooms and refrigeration spaces from which the destroyers are provisioned, clothed, and provided with the necessary spare parts for their maintenance. In addition, and like all good mothers the "mother hen" takes care of many of the destroyers personnel in administering to their pains, ills, and injuries. With World War II over, and the task of "tending" the Navy's "tin-cans" being minimized, the USS Cascade, like many of the other "mother-hens" has every reason in the world to crow — shout, if you wish, about all the good deeds which have been accomplished by the vessel in helping destroyers and other craft on the road to victory. As a destroyer tender, the USS Cascade's role in the war has been that of repairing, overhauling and supplying combatant destroyers of the Third, Fifth and Seventh fleets. Up until the time the Philippine Islands were secured, every fleet turn around found the USS Cascade busily engaged in preparing her assigned quota of ships for operations against the Japanese. Although designed primarily to handle destroyers and destroyer type vessels, the USS Cascade in nearly three years of duty in the Pacific has serviced more than a thousand ships. The majority of destroyers and destroyer escorts which numbered nearly half that number were serviced as many as four times each. In addition, the ship has tended 175 landing craft (LST, LCI, LCM, LSD, and LCS), almost 100 sub-chasers, 60 transports, 32 cargo ships, 56 tankers, 37 mine sweepers, 10 cruisers, 7 aircraft carriers, and a miscellaneous group of other types neighboring around one hundred in number. Due to the long supply line which commenced to make itself felt in November 1943, the USS Cascade was dovetailed into another assignment in addition to her original assignment. While machine shops hummed the new job added to the increasing tempo of the ship's activity. During the two years of this duty, ten thousand tons of fresh and dry provisions were received and issued. Five hundred and fifty one tons of clothing were issued and an equal number of tons of ship's store stock was sold by the ship. The combined value of these issues amounted to more than five million dollars. A 15,000 ton destroyer tender the USS Cascade was built by the Western Pipe and Steel Company of South San Francisco, California. Originally designed as a passenger-freighter, the keel for the Cascade was laid 6 July 1942. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Charles W. Crosse, wife of Rear Admiral Charles W. Crosse, USN. It was turned over to the Matson Navigation Company of San Francisco, California for outfitting in October 1942. Joslyn & Ryan, Naval Architects of that city, assisted in the completion of the ship. On 12 March 1943 the USS Cascade was placed in commission with Captain S. B. Ogden, as Commanding Officer. There were at that time thirty (30) officers, forty-five (45) Chief Petty Officers and six hundred twenty six (626) enlisted men in the crew. After thirty days at Mare Island Navy Yard where some necessary alterations were made the ship sailed for San Diego and engaged in training operations for a short period. At the conclusion of training; orders were received to report for duty to Commander Destroyers Pacific Fleet, in connection with tending and repairing destroyers, and in accordance with these orders the ship sailed from the United States on 12 June 1943, arriving at Pearl Harbor 18 June 1943. As the activities of the ship increased it became necessary the latter part of 1943 to increase personnel of the ship to forty nine officers, eight Chief Petty Officers and one thousand fifty enlisted men. During the two years and seven months that the USS Cascade has been in commission the Commanding Officers have been, Captain Samuel B. Ogden, US Navy, Paramount Apartments 565 Geary Street, San Francisco, California; Captain Herbert K. Gates, US Navy, 919 North McLellan Street, Bay City, Michigan; and the present Captain, Louis T. Young, US Navy, 1816 North Louise Street, Glendale 7, California. It has sailed a distance of over fifteen thousand (15,000) miles, which for a ship of the Navy, is not an impressive figure, but nearly all of it was steamed in the forward operating areas as the war in the Pacific moved westward. In order to remain as close as possible to the operating areas of the Pacific Fleet, the USS Cascade was stationed at the following islands and atolls during the periods as indicated:

• Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, June — November 1943
• Funafuti, Ellice Islands, November 1943 — February 1944
• Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, March — May 1944
• Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands, July — October 1944
• Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands, October 1944-May 1945
• Kerama Retto, Okinawa, June 1945
• Buckner Bay, Okinawa, July–September 1945
• Wakayama, Japan, September 1945

Of these the most interesting, yet most hazardous location that the ship operated was at Kerama Retto, Okinawa during the month of June 1945. The main island of Okinawa had not as yet been secured and Kamikaze raids took place almost nightly. A few such raids were conducted during the daylight hours also. Kerama Retto served as a refuge for destroyers and smaller ships damaged by the Japanese fliers. Here these ships which the USS Cascade and her sister tenders repaired were made ready once again for battle. Others which were more seriously damaged were made seaworthy for their long voyages to the Navy Yards of the United States. Among these ships who achieved nationwide publicity by their ability to sustain damage and still knock Japanese planes out of the air were the following vessels: USS Laffey, USS Evans, USS Cassin Young, USS Leutze, USS Braine, USS Stormes, USS Aaron Ward, and the USS Shannon. The ship is currently winding up a Pacific tour of duty while tending US Navy ships off Wakayama, Japan. The next assignment to the Reserve Fleet, Atlantic, will return the USS Cascade to water and land the vessel has not seen in three years.