BIOGRAPHY OF THE USS
CASSIOPEIA AK 75
This is the biography of a ship; her history. To me such a biography
consists of a history of the men that run her, the ports she visits, the
seas she crosses and the storms she masters. The men come from all walks of
life, and the ports she visits are many and varied. There is so much of
interest that I find it difficult to be concise. As on all ships “the
Cassie” had good men and bad men, the strong and the weak, the riffraff and
the cultured, but they all learned to mix in work and play with little
conflict, there is no better place to learn yourself and how to mix than
aboard a ship on a long trip. One thing I’ve found in all good sailors, is
their ability to tell a story and to tell it well, it may be full of holes,
but it is guaranteed not to bore its listeners.
The U.S.S. Cassiopeia AK 75 spent her time during the war months,
carrying cargo among the islands in the South Pacific. She was one of the
many “Liberties” taken over completely by the Navy to serve during the
wartime emergency. The “Fighting Sixbits”, as she was so aptly dubbed by her
crew during the invasion of the Philippines, hauled supplies ranging from
bombs and hi-test gas to Australian hard candy and ping pong balls. She was
built at one of the large west coast shipyards, Richmond California and
commissioned on December 8, 1942. She left the states for a tour of duty
lasting 31 months, when the ship again returned to San Francisco Bay for
conversion and overhaul. She was a clumsy looking ship with her high
straight sides; slow moving, 10 knots; and dull gray in color. It was one of
the first “K” ships in the Pacific and out of her class of ten ships, one of
the few lucky enough to return unscathed. Of the other ten, two were sunk,
one damaged by bombs, and three damaged having to return to the states for
repairs.
The “Cassie” was at Guadalcanal and the Russels when the Japs were still
dropping bombs. She was the first large cargo ship to enter the Green
Islands directly after they were taken--this load consisted of bombs,
ammunition and hi-test gasoline.
She did a superb job on the Philippine Island invasion at Leyte in
October of 1944, crediting her record with seven Jap planes and many
assists. It was here that the ships doctor, Lt. M. J. O’Grady, MC received
the Bronze Star for the brave duties he performed tending the wounded men
while in an open boat under enemy fire. On this trip the 10,000 ton cargo
vessel moved in CB’s and their airfield equipment.
Other trips of supply took her to the Russels, Guadalcanal, Tulagi,
Bougainville. It was here that the crew saw the fine memorial service, given
by the Australians in honor of President Roosevelt. Then to New Zealand
where ten of her crew found themselves ten lovely brides and entire crew
found treatment deserving of the Crown Prince himself, also here she mourned
the death of the Navy’s able leader, Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, and
celebrated V-E Day. Other island included Emirau, Treasury, The New Georgia
group, and finally Honolulu, Hawaii where she picked up her last cargo,
carrying it back to the states. Once again she was in San Francisco Bay, this
time for overhaul and conversion, being here on V-J Day and when General
Wainwright returned from the Japanese Prison Camps.
The Skipper during the full 31 months length of the duty was commander
W.E Carlson of San Francisco, a former skipper of Swedish Schooners. He was
the type of man you felt proud to introduce to your closest relations as the
skipper of your ship; a handsome, blue eyed, powerfully built, seafaring man
with a booming voice you could hear all over the main deck. The Captain was
a leader, admired by his crew for his knowledge of men, his coolness in
times of stress, and his uncanny ability to handle the ship through any type
of weather--he handled the ship as ably as an Indian guides his canoe. Many
of the original officers were part of the merchant marine group that signed
over with the Navy when the war broke out and did a commendable job.
The Cassiopeia's last trip was under the guidance of an new skipper,
Commander Brooke of Atlanta, Georgia. He came to the ship from a destroyer
fleet in the Caribbean. On this trip the "Cassie" sailed with nearly a full
new crew, many of them green, just out of boot school. G.E.Turner BM1c, is
now the only plank member remaining aboard. On the way south, she eluded a
hurricane off the coast of Central America, she had to stop for two days in
Colon, Panama for minor engine repairs. then into the Caribbean and Atlantic
for her first trip on the East coast. On her second day out of Colon, she
set an engine speed record for herself, and went through her last maneuvers.
Then into Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Va. and up the James River where she was
decommissioned and turned over to the War Shipping Administration. Although
her duty was not heroic or romantic, and she wears her four ribbons and
three stars, she and her men performed with a faithful loyalty through all
the monotony and inconveniences deserving of a place of valor in the war's
destructive history, and though her name and her owner will change, the
sailors and the officers that worked on her will never forget the name
Cassiopeia. Their life aboard her all becomes a part of their history and
the history of the ship, one of the many that did their small part in a
great event. May she carry on with her fine tradition of load carrying in
her new position.
***FINIS***
Copy 23 Jan. 1998-by David A Friederich