Return to the USS Boyd DD-544 Document Archive
Reference: William Robbins, "A Mysterious Irritant Forced Evacuation of Island in Pacific,"
New York Times, 4 July 1969.
WAKE ISLAND (US)
There is evidence of Japanese CW stocks on Wake Island during World War II. This came to light in July of 1969 when 'Japanese WWII' canisters that reportedly contained chloropicrin began leaking gas from the reefs off Peale Island, to the north of Wake Island.(1) Several members of the US Coast Guard station there were sickened by the gas and the area was evacuated. It is also possible that the US had stocks of CW on Wake Island during World War II, although no records appear to support this.
29 September BOYD departed with Fast Carrier Task Group to hit Wake Island.
Joined the fast carriers as a screening vessel for the Wake Island raid (5-6 October).
Strikes on the group were conducted October 5th and 6th. "D" Day was on October 5th and we let them have it all that day and the next and then headed back home. Those leathernecks that fought so bravely trying to defend Wake would have loved the way that joint looked when we left it.
From the ship's log of the USS YORKTOWN (CV-10): "Early on the morning of 5 October, she began two days of air strikes on Japanese installations on Wake Island. After retiring to the east for the night, she resumed those air raids early on the morning of the 6th and continued them through most of the day. That evening, the task group began its retirement to Hawaii."
10/05 Tue. Task force including 6 carriers, 7 cruisers and 24 destroyers (Rear Adm. A. E. Montgomery) bombs and bombards Wake Island; attack is repeated on 6 October. United States naval vessel sunk: LST 448, from damage received on 1 October, Solomon Islands area, 08 d. 03' S., 156 d. 43' E.
Task Group returned to Pearl Harbor arriving on 11 October. Training exercises were conducted with new carriers and destroyers until 2 November.
When we got back to Pearl we had a few more days of chasing sleds and sniping at sleeves again and then we hauled in to the Navy Yard to get our bottom scraped and a few things tightened up.
From the ship's log of the USS YORKTOWN (CV-10): "Yorktown arrived at Oahu on 11 October and, for the next month, conducted air training operations out of Pearl Harbor."
JAPAN'S WARSHIPS RUSHING TO RABAUL
The New York Times, Saturday, November 6, 1943
By The Associated Press.
Convoys With Cruisers and Destroyers on Way From Truk--One Attacked.
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC, Saturday, Nov.6--Presaging
heavy naval and air battles to come, Japan is rushing both heavy and light
cruisers and destroyers down from Truk to Rabaul in a frantic effort to halt
the Allied drive up the Solomons, headquarters disclosed today.
It appeared likely that at least five such convoys now are south-bound
over the 800 miles from Truk toward Kavieng, New Ireland, and Rabaul, New Britain.
The largest convoy spotted by Allied reconnaissance planes included five
heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, five destroyers, two corvettes, a whaling
ship and three freighters, of which one probably is a transport.
War News Summarized
The New York Times, Saturday, November 6, 1943
BOYD entered Pearl Harbor Navy Yard remaining there until the 10th.
10 November she departed with Task Group 50.2 for Gilbert Island operation.
On November 10th, we steamed out of Pearl, and although destination was unknown, scuttlebutt had it that we were going out on one of the first big offensives of the Pacific War and later, when it was announced that we were headed for the Gilbert Islands with an occupation force, we began to get hepped up with prospects of some real action. Our Task Group was part of Task Force 50, headed by Admiral Spruance, and was the biggest chunk of fighting ships ever to be assembled at that time. It was great stuff to look about us and see ships to the right and left of us as far as the eye could reach.
Joined the fast carriers as a screening vessel for the Gilbert Islands landings (19 November-8 December).
First strikes were conducted against Makin Island on 19 and 20 November.
Our first air strikes were launched against Makin Island in the Gilberts, on the 19th, and we figured our arrival and the calling cards we dropped would bring out the Jap planes like mad hornets, but they didn't come that night, nor the next, but ...
11/20 Sat. Naval, Marine, and Army force land on
Tarawa and Makin, Gilbert Islands. The operation is under the
overall command of Commander Central Pacific Force (Vice Adm. R. A.
Spruance). Bitter resistance is encountered on Tarawa. [The Gilbert
Islands are in east longitude, but since west longitude dates are
used in most of the operational reports, they have likewise been
used in these entries concerning the Gilbert Islands.] United
States naval vessels damaged, Gilbert Islands: Battleship
MISSISSIPPI (BB-41), by accidental explosion, 03 d. 10' N., 172 d.
58' E. Light carrier INDEPENDENCE (CVL-22), by aircraft torpedo, 01
d. 30' N., 172 d. 40' E. Destroyer RINGGOLD (DD-500), by coastal
batteries on Tarawa, O1 d. 24' N., 172 d. 58' E. Destroyer DASHIELL
(DD-659), by grounding, 01 d. 00' N., 173 d. 00' E.
11/21 Sun. Marine reconnaissance company lands on Abemama, Gilbert Islands,
from submarine NAUTILUS (SS-168).
11/23 Tue. Betio, Tarawa Atoll, and Makin in the Gilbert Islands, are declared secured.
SUCCESS IN PACIFIC
The New York Times, Wednesday, November 24, 1943
By GEORGE F. HORNE.
By Telephone to THE NEW YORK TIMES.
War News Summarized
The New York Times, Wednesday, November 24, 1943
The Pacific end of Hitler's Axis also suffered severe blows.
Makin atoll in the Gilberts was captured by American troops and neighboring Tarawa was about to fall to the
marines, who had herded the Japanese into the eastern end of Betio Island. In the South Pacific,
Allied planes heavily bombarded Gasmata on New Britain for the third consecutive day.
Admiral Nimitz told reporters at Pearl Harbor that the Gilberts were securely in our hands
but that the final defeat of Japan would come from China. Sooner or later the enemy fleet
must join battle with us, he said. In Washington, Navy Secretary Knox said the attack on
the Gilberts was the beginning of a new campaign "on a much more direct route to Japan."
War News Summarized
The New York Times, Thursday, December 2, 1943
The Navy announced that our losses on Tarawa were 1,026 killed and 2,557 wounded; on Makin and Abemama sixty-six killed, 123 wounded.
War News Summarized
The New York Times, Thursday, December 4, 1943
Answering critics of heavy marine losses at Tarawa, Secretary of Navy Knox told a press conference the island was struck by 2,900 tons of bombs and shells before the landing--more than fell on Berlin in the heaviest air attack.
On the 25th enemy planes attacked the formation, dropping flares but inflicting no damage.
All of a sudden one night they did come-big groups of them, dropping their flares, trying to single us out of the dark. It was an eerie feeling, watching those flares parachute down among us, lighting up the area to the brightness of day, but luckily, they couldn't find their target.
Enemy torpedo planes again attacked. BOYD fired on one group of 10-12 planes. Again no ships were damaged. An hour after the attack had concluded BOYD made surface radar contact and closed target. On approach, radar pip disappeared from screen and sound search was conducted. Two depth charge patterns were dropped. Fifteen minutes after second drop, a loud underwater explosion was heard and the following morning planes from ENTERPRISE reported large oil slick in the vicinity. BOYD returned to formation.
The next night they came out again, dropping their flares and searching for us in the dark, and some of them found us and sneaked in over our formation. But our AA batteries were ready for them and let them have it. We got our first chance to fire that night, our gunners blazed away at a group of about 12 planes that came nearby. Finally, the combined fire of our ships broke up the attack which we found out later was the biggest Jap air raid up to that time on our fleet. We saw about a dozed "meat balls" flame into the sea and all in all it was good hunting.
We were scared out of our sacks later that night by the General Alarm which had been sounded because of a surface contact dead ahead. As we closed the target, some of the guys claimed they could make out the silhouette of a submarine, just a short distance away. It was kind of foggy and visibility wasn't very good, and when we crept in for the "kill", it crashed dived and we immediately let go with a pattern of depth charges that shook the hinges off us. We let go a few more after that and a few minutes later heard a loud underwater explosion that went off near our fantail which could have meant, either they threw a fish (torpedo) at us, or the Japs could scratch one submarine. The next morning some patrol planes reported a large oil slick near the spot where we dropped the ash cans and though it wasn't positive enough to chalk up, we figured we had left a lot of Jap submariners with worse than a headache.
Supporting operations continued until 6 December when Task Group 50.8 was formed consisting of six new battleships, MONTEREY, BUNKER HILL, and 12 destroyers. Rear Admiral W. A. Lee in WASHINGTON was Task Group Commander. The Task Group departed from the central Gilbert Islands for the South Pacific Area with an aerial and shore bombardment of Nauru scheduled enroute.
From the ship's log of the USS BUNKER HILL (CV-17): "Reporting to the Pacific in the fall of 1943 Bunker Hill (CV-17) participated in carrier operations during the Rabaul strike (11 November 1943); Gilbert Islands operation, including support of the landings on Tarawa (13 November-8 December)"
12/06 Mon. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, USA, is named commander of Allied Expeditionary Force for invasion of Europe.
Return to the USS Boyd DD-544 Document Archive
Email downbythesea@snet.net