Susannah at Seabees93.net had several questions for David Friederich of the USS Cassiopaeia.  His ship delivered supplies to the Green Islands, in at least one case directly to Bob Conner's "dump."  Bob's ship, the USS Perida, was anchored just outside Noumea at the time of the Nov. 1, 1943 explosion. 

From: "David Friederich" <friederich@charter.net>

Susannah,  I have started reading the diary from the beginning. Living it day by day. We were very close several times already. At Hayward, Ca., Noumea, New Caledonia, dropping anchor off Henderson Field at Guadalcanal on 11/11/43. The Russels were just 80 miles past Guadalcanal. We did unload at the Russels several times. I am with them at Green Island today........... 

We took supplies to Green Island several times while your father was there. I did not see any reference to the hole in the Coral Reef at Green Island. It was blasted out of the reef and barely wide and deep enough for our 57 ft wide X  28 ft.draft, 10,000 ton Liberty ship to pass through. While unloading there we had to pass through it going in and coming out, morning and evening. The Japanese were still running submarines at night to help keep Bougainville supplied so we had to keep zig zagging all night outside the reef, with our escorting Destroyers around us. (9 on our first trip). 

Our ship was chosen for the job because our captain was known for his skill in guiding the liberty ship.........."Like an Indian guiding his Canoe".  I was allowed to go ashore with a group on one occasion. We saw a SOW with young PIGS in a clearing and decided to catch them. Made a large circle taking in the whole area and when we came together found that she was standing at the edge of the clearing at a distance, so we gave up on that. I did not see the PT Boat base or the CB base there. The PT boats would come alongside to get many supplies directly from us. Torpedoes was one item I recall. Unloading was by groups from our ship and probably CB work parties into shallow draft 50 ft. landing craft.

 DUMPS were areas where supplies were stored....Ammo dumps...Canned food dumps...spare parts etc. usually poles were put up and some kind of a roof was put over it.  Often Palms, Canvas tarps. A wood slat floor to stack the stuff on. Rain did a lot of damage to these arrangements...But there had to be an area that you could know where you could get a case of Green Beans etc 

Later when a more permanent storage was needed, Quonset huts were put up. Beach areas like "Blue" were usually landing areas were different groups in a landing party were to land and be based before moving inland. Supplies were initially landed with them and the area kept supplied according to what was needed at each area. Blue, green yellow etc. There were special Engineering battalions who managed these beach areas. One of my uncles was killed at Wadke Island off New Guinea while landing troops, he was in an army engineering battalion.

Mobile Hospitals were in tents on a wooden platform and sometimes a Quonset hut..I had my appendix removed in a tent operating room on Espereto Santo, New Heberdies.

On some of the islands the Japanese had imported a variety of land CRAB to raise for food. They became so numerous that the roads were said to be covered with squashed Crabs. Guam was one such place. Tinian was another. I recall my brother saying that as he stood guard at night at an airfield on Tinian these Crabs would move  in the weeds. It was a very scary situation. Many of the guards would open fire into  the weeds to make sure it was not a japanese sneaking up on them.

We were almost always in a great hurry to deliver our supplies. We were never allowed to go ashore just to look around. Many supplies went to PT Boat bases, to fighting ships. Torpedoes,  Crated aircraft, bombs, 130 Octane Gasoline in 55 gallon drums. 5 and 8 inch shells and powder cases for destroyers and Cruisers. Canned goods, shoes, clothing, peanuts.  We often went to several bases to supply them on a trip north before coming back to reload. We loaded at Noumea, New Caledonia 14 times in 2 years.. I have had e mail several times that commented "We were always glad to see your cargo shop, it meant we would be eating better for a while".

We could not just take our supplies from the cargo but had to draw supplies from the various dumps on islands we visited. We would put a boat in the water, with a working party of several men, go to the beach, find the beach officer in charge.  They would assign a truck to take us to the various areas to get our supplies. Paperwork was kept on all of it. We would sign for it. We were not allowed in areas we had no business in. That's why I did not see much of what your dad wrote about. I did often pass marine camps while on working parties to get supplies, where you could see what I have commented on that they were either knee deep in dust or mud, their skin was a weird yellow from taking Atabrin to keep from getting Malaria. I was always glad to get back to the ship where we had a dry place to sleep.

This is from notes kept by one of my shipmates.http://www.friederich.net/Place.html.

 It doesn't always match my story. But my 600 page diary had to be destroyed before I could leave the ship in San Francisco in August 1945. Some events we had been involved in were still classified as military secrets until 1947.

I did not try to recall the events until 1985. I did so for my children and grandchildren, locked it away until 1995 when I let my wife and children read it and was then convinced it had some value to others and to put it up on the internet.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read your father's diary. I will comment further when I have read more of it. I will not skip ahead in it. I see it through your fathers eyes day by day, because I was there, and will keep on that track.

I have  received some new pictures today from a friend in Noumea, New Caledonia. He has a new Pamarama camera. The photo "VDTir" shows the Nickel Docks were we would always load. That piece of land jutting out with the  Nickel Mine smokestacks still there. Its called "Doniambo", in the Tir area of Noumea..The people of this french island still love and respect us for what we done in WWII to save them from the Japanese, a rare thing in the world today.http://photos.yahoo.com/panoramanoumea

My wife and I are both not in very good health, but are still making it on our own, with the help of our children.

  With kindest regards, Dave        David A Friederich   www.friederich.net

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