Scuttlebutt Autumn 2015

Autumn 2015 [email protected] PAge 1

messAge from the ChAirDear Friends Members,

Let me start by saying how very thankful the Friends of the Battleship North Carolina are for all of our members and supporters. Throughout the year, your generosity has helped to support so many projects that have allowed us to enhance the experience for our visitors and to continue to support the ship in carrying out the legacy of this national treasure.

This coming year, the Friends are going to continue to build on a very successful 2015. We recently added a self-service kiosk in the ship’s lobby allowing visitors to easily and securely join the Friends or renew their memberships. We will also be updating and improving our website. Among the many improvements will be an online section devoted to our volunteer efforts and a calendar of all Friends and ship events. Please check upcoming editions of the Scuttlebutt for more information.

Speaking of volunteers, many of you may have noticed our new Friends Ambassadors out and about on the ship. You can spot them in the blue Friends vests. They are trained to help answer visitor questions about the Showboat, guide visitors as they tour the ship and enhance the overall visitor experience. Our ambassador program is just one of the new programs the Friends are developing for 2016. Beginning

this spring, the Friends will be offering regularly scheduled paid tours to visitors. Initially we will offer two different versions; a full 2 hour tour and a 45 minute second deck tour. Tour fees go to help support restoration projects and education programs. Be sure to check our website and future editions of Scuttlebutt for updates. As always, the Friends can provide private paid tours for groups and businesses. Tours can be arranged by calling the Programs Department c/o Danielle Wallace, Programs Director at 910-251-5797 x3024 or email at [email protected].

In closing I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Friends of the Battleship Board of Directors. I am privileged to work with a very dedicated group of individuals who volunteer their time to serve on the board as well as giving many hours of volunteer support to the ship. A lot is asked of them and it never ceases to amaze me how dedicated they are to our mission. I would also like to thank the staff of the Battleship North Carolina for all the support they give to the Friends throughout the year. Captain Terry Bragg and his staff provide untold behind-the-scenes support to the Friends without which our efforts would not be nearly as successful.

On behalf of the Friends board of directors I would like to wish all of you a very safe and joyous holiday season and a wonderful New Year. We look forward to seeing you again and again in 2016.

Warmest regards,

Frank GlosslFrank Glossl, ChairmanFriends of the Battleship North [email protected] x3045

Autumn 2015 Scuttlebutt PAge 2

BAttleshiP north CArolinA Joins sPlAshPlAy’s groundBreAking

fundrAising ProgrAm

Wilmington, NC – SplashPlay, Inc. announced today that Friends of the Battleship North Carolina, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, whose support helps promote and perpetuate activities relating to the Battleship North Carolina, is the newest member of SplashPlay’s growing fundraising partnerships. The USS North Carolina Battleship serves as the State’s Memorial to the over 11,000 North Carolinians who served and died during World War II. The battleship is a powerful symbol of our gratitude and pride for those who served in World War II and for all who serve in our nation’s armed forces and their families.

“It is our mission to transform social media and mobile engagement to empower social causes like the Battleship North Carolina by generously sharing our industry’s prosperity creating the most powerful fundraising vehicle in America.” said Thomas Banks, Co-Founder of SplashPlay, Inc. “We believe the power of social media and mobile technology can be turned to positively benefit social causes rather than exploiting prurient interests,” added Banks.

“Since the founding 29 years ago, Friends of the Battleship North Carolina have been committed to educating the public on the accomplishments and sacrifices of American patriots, and to engage our guests in unique and exciting ways that bring the ship to life by connecting the past with the future,” said Heather Loftin, Promotions Director for the Battleship North Carolina.

“We see over three hundred thousand visitors per year visiting Battleship North Carolina who appreciate the role she played in shaping U.S. and world history,” said Loftin. “We believe our new partnership with SplashPlay will assist us in educating the public in an innovative and entertaining way. Additionally, the funding that will be received from SplashPlay game play will go towards the preservation efforts of the ship.

“SplashPlay’s mobile social gaming model represents a genuine Sea change in crowdfunding. Very simply, SplashPlay donates 40% of our revenue to worthy causes establishing a new standard for corporate responsibility,” said Banks. “We invite all fundraising organizations, from charities to schools, to become SplashPlay fundraisers by visiting www.splashplay.com. Our program is completely Free of Charge to fundraisers and game players alike and is committed to providing significant and transformative funding through a new and entertaining manner,” added Banks.

To play the Battleship North Carolina game, visit www.splashtrivia.com/a203. h

did you know?

the CorreCt wAy to Print A shiP's nAme ACCording to the nAvy.

u.s. nAvy style guideSubmitted by Floy Hamilton

Navy editors and writers should follow the most recent edition of the Associated Press Stylebook except as noted in this U.S. Navy Style Guide.

Italics - For All Hands Magazine and other print

publications, italicize names of ships, aircraft, weapons systems, manuals, magazines, newspapers and book titles, except the Bible.

Put quotation marks around names of magazine articles, song titles, brochures and pamphlets but do not italicize.

Ship names - For first reference always include USS, the ship's

name and the hull number: USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

Exceptions:Do not use "USS" for ships before 1909; or

if she is not yet in commission; or she has been decommissioned and you are referring to the ship in her present state.

There is no hyphen in the hull number.

In All Hands text, the ship name is in italics. On second reference, use only the ship's name. Do not use "the" in front of a ship's name: "USS San Jose," not "the USS San Jose."

Ships may be referred to as "she" or "her."

Ships' nicknames are placed inside quotation marks on first reference only. USS LaSalle (AGF 3), the "Great White Ghost," sailed into San Diego.

Ship names are not in all caps. Use USS Seattle, not USS SEATTLE.

Sailor - “Sailor” is to be capitalized in all references except those

who belong to foreign navies.

World War I, World War II - Do not abbreviate. Use World War I or World War II in

all references. h


this sPud’s for youby dan lewiS

tHere waS probably a better title For tHiS one but iF So, I couldn’t come up wIth It.

Submitted by Volunteer Kirk Binning, who shared this amazing story. Enjoy!

The warship pictured above was the USS O’Bannon, which served in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War. The destroyer’s armament was impressive by any measure -- depth charges for submarines, seventeen anti-aircraft guns, torpedo tubes for ships and subs alike, and five 5”/38 caliber gunsfor surface targets. There were few threats that the O’Bannon and other ships in its class didn’t have an answer for.

But in April of 1943, while in the Pacific, the O’Bannon’s crew was faced with one of those exceptions. It detected the Ro-34, a Japanese submarine, which for some reason had surfaced. The O’Bannon’s officers decided to ram the Ro-34, which would have almost certainly sunk the sub while doing little damage to the destroyer, but before the O’Bannon made contact, its leadership realized that the plan had a flaw. The Ro-34, the officers feared, may have been laying mines in the water -- a reasonable conclusion given that it had come to the surface -- and therefore, getting the O’Bannon too close could be a fatal error. The O’Bannon turned hard, avoiding the intended collision, and ended up cruising right next to the submarine (which, it turned out, wasn’t laying mines). The Japanese went to their surface gun, intending to fire on the O’Bannon.

As it turned out, the Japanese had the Americans exactly where they wanted them. The O’Bannon, despite its weaponry, had no way of defending itself, as none of its weapons were designed for close combat. Those 5”/38 caliber guns, for example, could hit targets ten or twenty

football fields away, sure, but ten or twenty meters? Not a chance. To make matters worse, the crewmen aboard the O’Bannon weren’t expected to be in close combat, so they weren’t carrying guns. Even though they could have pretty easily shot the Japanese submariners, they simply weren’t armed to do so. At a loss for what to do next, the sailors looked for a readily-available projectile to hurl at their enemies. And there was a plentiful one nearby: potatoes.

In most cases, that wouldn’t be a very good plan -- while airborne tubers could hurt, they’re no match for a submarine-mounted gun. But the untold number of flying potatoes were, perhaps unexpectedly, effective. The Japanese crew didn’t think they were being bombarded with starchy vegetables; rather, they thought the Americans were throwing hand grenades. Fearing the onslaught of hand-thrown explosives, the Japanese took cover, leaving the gun on the deck unmanned as the ship retreated from the O’Bannon and began its descent beneath the surface.

This, to say the least, was a mistake. Had the Japanese simply ignored the flying potatoes (or stored them for later eating), the submarine would have likely inflicted heavy damage to the destroyer. Of course, that’s not what happened. By fleeing, the Japanese not only gave up the upper hand, but also put themselves in harm’s way. The O’Bannon now had enough distance between itself and the Ro-34 to fire its weapons and launch it depth charges -- which it did with great success. With help from another U.S. destroyer, the O’Bannon sunk the Ro-34. All 66 crewmen and officers aboard the Japanese ship were lost, and the 300 or so Americans survived to see another day. h

P P P P P P P P P P P

The Battleship has launched the first digital initiative to share the extensive collections online. The ship has been cataloging the collections into a database for more than 15 years, therefore the database represents years of work by staff, volunteers and college interns.

Through dedication, perseverance and funding by the Friends of the Battleship, the free online catalog gives the Internet community an insider’s look at rare artifacts.

http://www.battleshipnc.com/friends

Autumn 2015 Scuttlebutt PAge4

friend’s ProJeCts

Here are some before, during and after pictures of projects the Friends funded for the bridge …

The Nabvigator’s Seat and the Quartermaster’s Desk are looking great.

Thanks to Gary and Rob Stidd who have done some amazing work on the bridge that the Friends are funding … And more projects are in the works!


Perhaps the least known of all the enlisted ratings that served on BB55 in its fairly brief active service was the Aerographer’s Mate. The word itself in unfamiliar to most and conjures up vague images of something to do with aviation or possibly offset printing. In fact Aerographer’s Mates were the enlisted arm of naval meteorology and oceanography or snidely referred to as “Weather Guessers” by all hands on land or at sea.

Like so much that was technologically advanced and new on the North Carolina so too was the process of gathering weather data in the atmosphere, on the surface and beneath the sea. Some primitive instruments had existed since the mid nineteenth century for gathering and analyzing data from observation posts in remote places by the Navy and the U.S. Weather Service. The demands of global war in the twentieth century elevated weather study to an essential and critically important science. Radar and other applied technologies quickly followed.

In 1925, the U.S. Navy graduated its first seven man Aerographers (AG) class. These technicians’ duties were to make visual and instrument observations from land stations, small boats and the aircraft carriers including the Lexington (CV-2) and Saratoga (CV-3) then under construction. The most common means for meteorological data gathering was from weather balloons, barometers and anemometers. Results were wired and later radioed to naval air command centers at Pensacola, San Diego, Norfolk, Lakehurst and ultimately to the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. as well as the U.S. Weather Service. The value of accurate weather prediction to the Navy would seem obvious but many sailors had an instinct for weather prediction from cloud formations, their size and shape as well as the temperature and color of the waves or the flight of sea birds. Some old salts were reluctant to ignore their senses in favor of fragile and not wholly reliable instruments. The increasingly accurate prediction of tropical storms in the Western Pacific and the West Indies converted many while others had to admit that their weather instincts were of little value to airships and airplanes flying above the clouds or at night.

Small classes of Aerographer’s Mate trainees graduated each year through the 1930s and were invariably assigned to the increasing fleet of carriers and land stations at Panama, the Philippines and Pearl Harbor. When war came these classes were vastly expanded and a warrant

officers specialty rank was created and the WAVES were included in the courses. Aerographer’s Mates were attached to the expanded fleet of aircraft carriers and some capital ships (such as battlewagons and heavy cruisers) to provide additional weather observations to Task Forces for flight operations and expeditionary forces in the island hoping campaign in the South and Western Pacific.

As the tides of war closed in on the Japanese Home Islands and the long range, high altitude strategic bombing campaign of them from captured atolls and volcanic islands began it was essential that there was an accurate prediction of weather originating on the Asian landmass that affected the Western Pacific. This was accomplished by Naval Weather Service meteorologist and Aerography Mates sent to isolated stations in Mongolia and elsewhere in the interior of China in collaboration with the Nationalist Chinese Weather Service. In the European Theater the Royal Navy Weather Service and the U.K. Met (Meteorology) Office as well as the U.S. Navy provided forecasting.

Onboard BB55 ten Aerographer’s Mates served briefly. In the 1945 Organization and Regulations Chief Aerographer’s Mates were assigned to the Aviation Branch and the Navigation Department. In the prewar era they would have reported to a Quartermaster. What their battle stations might have been and where they bunked, where their gear was stowed or just where onboard they made their observations and launched their balloons is lost to history. What we know for sure is that all the Aerographer’s Mates were paid by the Supply Division like everyone else in an efficient and timely manner.

In the post war era the Aerographer’s Mate rating continued with even more intense training particularly with the advent of satellite technology and digital refinements that increasingly take the guesswork out for the “Weather Guessers.”

Sources: Proceeding of the U.S. Naval Institute 1914-17, 1941-

44, History Of The Aerographer’s Rating by CDR Don Cruise USN RET, Naval Weather Service Association, Blue Jackets Manual 1944, www.history.navy.mil. h

aerograpHer’S mate on bb55 by mike HoSick

summer 2015 Scuttlebutt PAge 6

continued on Page 7

A Journal of Navy Medical History and Culture

Hospital Ship Controversy

Issue 42, 2015

The next seven pages of this issue of Scuttlebutt are devoted to reprinting a story from THE GROG, A Journal of Navy Medical History and Culture.

We hope you enjoy the fascinating story!Copyrights apply.

Submitted by Floy Hamilton

10 Issue 42, 2015

RESTORING HISTORY: The Sickbay of USS North CarolinaBy Charlie Jones

The 1MC clicks to life. The sound of the Boatswain’s pipe calls “All Hands.” The bugle

plays. The Boatswain’s mate of the watch announces, “Now hear this: sick call.” Ah, sick call, that magical time when medical professionals try to weed out the goldbricks from those in real need. It happens every day on board ship. However, there is a ship that sick call only happens 3-4 times a year. No, it is not that there’s a miracle cure or super healthy sailors. It all part of the “Battleship Alive” program con-ducted four times a year by the USS North Carolina Living History Crew on board the Battleship North Caro-lina Memorial in Wilmington, N.C. The USS North Carolina (BB-55) was

commissioned on April 9, 1941. It was the first new battleship the U.S. Navy commissioned since 1922. This was a time when the might of a nation’s naval power was reflected in itsbattleships. For its time, this ship was state of the art. She was one of the most decorated ships of World War II, participating in every major naval offensive in the South Pacific, earning 15 battle stars. She was decommissioned in 1947. In the late 1950’s, the Navy began scrapping all of the decommissioned ships from WWII as they were never going to be used again because of ob-solescence and the need to reduce ex-cess assets and pier space. The citizens of North Carolina decided to save their namesake battleship as a memorial hon-oring the 10,000 North Carolinians of

all branches of service who gave their lives in World War II. A statewide fund-raising effort was successfully undertak-en that brought the ship to Wilmington in 1961. It was the first ship acquired as a memorial after the USS Texas was do-nated in 1948. The Living History Crew (LHC) be-gan in 1997 when then battleship cura-tor, Jeff Bockert, started a living history program aboard the ship. The members of the LHC are all volunteers and most have experience as reenactors and in living history programs. Some have pre-vious military experience, but not nec-essarily in the Navy. The purpose of the LHC is to present to the public a small slice of life of the Sailors who manned the battleship during WWII. It is one thing to see a restored space on the ship

THE GROG 11

One of the 1941 “as-built” photos of the pharmacy that shows the bottle racks and pharmaceutical bottles that have been missing from the display.All images courtesy of author

but the addition of people actually working in the space gives it an added dimension. While dressed in origi-nal or reproduction WWII uniforms, we present interpretive programs in several areas throughout the ship that include: Combat Information Center (CIC), engine room, post office, ships store, tailor shop, ships office, signal bridge, sickbay and navigation. In ad-dition to interpreting the spaces, we present scenarios throughout the day to show a bit of the Sailors’ life. These scenarios include Captain’s Mast, pay call, mail call, CIC and engineering drills, General Quarters, and sick call. I became involved with the LHC shortly after their first event. At the same time the LHC began, I and sever-al other fellow reenactors in Maryland started the American Military Medi-cal Impression, Inc. (AMMI). AMMI is a 501c3 non-profit educational cor-poration that presents living history programs that focuses on the military medical profession of the 20th Cen-tury. While our main focus has been U.S. Army field hospitals of WWII, we cover other conflicts such as the Ko-rean War, and Vietnam War. When we heard about the living history program on the battleship, several of us who had interest in naval history signed up to cover the Medical Department, or H Division, and present our medical pro-gram on the ship. As with all of our medical impres-sions, our first step was research. We got our hands on all books, histories and documentation of the Navy’s and the ships medical department and built our program around what we could present to the public on the ship. We also used interviews with crew

members who were on the ship during WWII. Our sick call scenarios include dental problems, appendectomies, burns, and of course, the goldbricks. During WWII, the battleship’s com-plement was over 2,300 men. To see to the health and welfare of the crew, the battleship’s medical department com-plement was 39 which consisted of four doctors, three dentists, one warrant of-ficer, one Chief Petty Officer, 22 petty officers and eight hospital apprentices. The sickbay was as well-equipped as a land-based hospital with all the major modern equipment and supplies of the time. Like the ship, the sickbay was state of the art for 1941. In addition to providing medical care to its crew, they

also supplied medical care to the small-er ships that were a part of the fleet, such as destroyers, that did not have a hospital on board. As part of our tasks of putting on the living history program, the LHC also has undertaken many restoration projects in the spaces we man during our weekends. Our goal is to restore the areas to their war-time configura-tion. One of the good things about the North Carolina is that when she was saved as a memorial, a lot of the docu-ments such as original blueprints and correspondence, was still on board. Over the years, her former crewmem-bers have donated many artifacts and photographs of their time on board.

12 Issue 42, 2015

Since this was a brand new ship and the first of its class, the Navy took a se-ries of as-built photographs of many of the compartments throughout the ship. These pictures are available at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland and copies are maintained at the North Carolina Memorial archives. Although there were many changes to the ship both during and after the war, the photographs and blueprints are in-valuable in helping us research how the spaces are supposed to look and what we seek to replicate and restore. The sickbay area consisted of the main battle dressing station, dental of-fice, dark room, laboratory, pharmacy, doctor’s office, isolation ward, operat-ing room, scrub room, sterilizer room, sickbay, sickbay head, medical stores and VD treatment room. Our goal is not only the restoration of the space, but to stock the spaces with wartime ar-tifacts to make the spaces looked "lived "in and in use. All of the spaces except for the main battle dressing station and the sickbay are behind doors with clear windows so the public can see the spac-es. When the LHC is there, we open the doors and allow the public supervised access. The first step in restoring the medi-cal area was to inventory what was in place, what was missing, and what we could find in various storage areas on the ship. Then we had to determine which configuration we would restore the spaces to. There were several major and minor changes in sickbay through-out the ship’s life. We weren’t going to move major items that were welded into place so we concentrated on the parts that were missing. An overall cleaning and painting was our first step.

The first area we concentrated on was the Operating Room. This was pretty much intact so there were not a lot of changes necessary. We got the lights working and filled up the cabinets with period type supplies and laid out the space to look like it is ready for the first surgical case to come in. The one major item we are missing in this space is the portable X-ray machine. The next area was the doctor’s office. The desks and cabinets were in place but we needed it to look occupied. We scoured used book stores for pe-riod medical books, The Manual of the Medical Department, Manual for Naval Hygiene, The Hospital Corps Handbook, and Pharmacist’s Mate rate training

manuals. We lucked into copies of most the wartime issues of the United States Naval Medical Bulletins and issues of the Hospital Corps Quarterly. For pa-perwork, we obtained copies of many of the medical forms including the health record and made reproduction copies so that we can use them without de-stroying originals. One of our H(ospital) division mem-bers, Brian Barfield, took on the resto-ration of the sickbay head as his per-sonal task. It was previously used as a storage and work area so it was a real mess. In addition to the LHC living history weekends, he made many trips down from Richmond, Va., over several years to scrape, paint and clean the sick-

A 2014 photo after the newly manufactured pharmacy bottle racks were installed. The racks were made and donated by the Wilmington Grill Company. In accor-dance with the Navy supply catalog, the set would have had 105 bottles.

THE GROG 13

bay head from the overhead to the deck. We are still missing a couple of sinks, but we are constantly on the lookout for the proper ones. We can’t let all of Brian’s work go to waste so the plans are to either put a window in the door or a Plexiglas wall panel just inside the door so the public can see the entire space. We also emptied the dark room (for processing X-ray films) of all the spare parts that were being stored there and cleaned and reassembled all of the equipment to make it look usable. We put a window in the door in order for it to be seen. With only two known pictures of the laboratory, which is not much bigger than a closet, we added all of the equip-ment to make it a functioning lab. We are still missing the sink and the wall-mounted lab equipment cabinet but it is 95% done. The dental office was a little bit more of challenge. As built, the dental office consisted of three bays; the one for-ward and the one aft contained dental stations and the middle one was an ad-ministrative desk. Sometime after 1944, the administration desk was moved and replaced by a third dental station. When we got there, only the first two bays had dental stations and the third one was missing the chair and the workstation but the X-ray machine was there. There were many other items missing, the ma-jor item being the dental cabinets. After searching the ship, we found no chair or cabinets but found parts of sev-eral dental workstations, but we were not sure if we could build a complete workstation out of them. Eventually, through eBay and Craigslist, we found a dental chair in Alabama, the correct dental lights in New Jersey and Georgia,

a dental air compressor in Kentucky, and dental cabinets in Florida and Pennsyl-vania. Plus, with the help of Dr. Michael Zalob, a retired and former Navy dentist from New York who recently moved to Wilmington, we got a complete dental station from the Battleship Memorial USS Massachusetts in Fall River, Mass. These items are pretty large and heavy and difficult to ship, so our we took a

road trip with rental trucks and trailers to pick these items up, sometimes cov-ering over 1,000 miles in a weekend. Dr. Zalob joined H Division and completed a lot of the recent work including paint-ing of the dental office equipment to help complete this space. The latest major task was just com-pleted last year. In the pharmacy area, we were missing several major items to

The USS North Carolina LHC H Division’s simulated appendectomy for the Battleship Alive program. As you can see, the public comes in for a close-up view of our surgery. We have to make our surgical simulators as realistic as possible to stand up to the close scrutiny.

14 Issue 42, 2015

complete this space. The biggest items we were missing were the pharmacy bottle racks. The pharmacist’s mate that had pharmacy training had to mix or compound many of the medicines that were needed. While some pre-mixed/pre-packaged medicines were available, if they ran out while at sea, they still had to have the means to make what was needed. We searched the ship from bow to stern but the racks were not to be found. It became our holy grail since it is the most prominent item in the space.1 Because of their status, the mu-seum ships around the country have the opportunity to visit the Navy’s inac-tive ships to scrounge for parts before they get sent to the scrapyard. Since modern ships don’t use these kinds of pharmacy racks, we could not find any in the inactive ships visits. However, a couple of years ago, we were able to secure one rack from the old cruiser USS Des Moines before she went to the scrap yard. But we had to wrestle with the scrounging team from the Massa-chusetts for it. With one in hand, we searched for someone to make four more for us to give us a complete set. We were not having much luck. In the summer of 2014, Mr. Rob Stidd came aboard looking to volunteer his time at the memorial. Rob was a ma-chinist and draftsman and he said his

father worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard when the North Carolina was be-ing built. We immediately showed him the one bottle rack we had and asked if he could help us get some made. He promptly drew up the plans for the oth-er four racks. Two of the racks had four shelves and three of them had three shelves. Once the plans were complete, Robb contacted the Wilmington Grill Company and they volunteered to make the racks and donate them to the ship. The racks were installed in Sep-tember 2014. Most of the items we have found and installed in sickbay have been paid for out of H Division personnel’s pockets. This is a labor of love. Most of the H Division personnel live in Maryland or Virginia and make the up to seven

hour one-way trip, four or more times a year to present the program or to work on the spaces. While AMMI does not have any official role with the LHC, I and a couple of other members belong to both groups. I personally do not have a medical background, but I was a U.S. Naval officer from 1979-85. I got promoted from H Division to depart-ment head, then to commanding of-ficer, but recently stepped down from that role back to H Division. But we do have medical experience in H Division. Over the years, we have had a doctor, a dentist (former Navy), EMTs, para-medics and first responders as part of our personnel. And we have some, like me, who do not have medical back-grounds. We provide the training nec-essary to play the roles of hospital ap-prentices and pharmacist’s mates to put on a good show for the public.•

ABOUT THE AUTHORCharles B. Jones retired from the Fed-eral Aviation Administration after 24 years of service and six years as a U.S. Naval officer. He has been a WWII re-enactor since 1989 and a has been a medical Living Historian since 1997. He is the author of MTBSTC - The Mo-tor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center.

1. An interesting adventure on the bottle racks. Every time we sent out a search party around the ship to try and find the pharmacy bottle racks, they would bring us two small bottle racks that we didn’t know where they went. This seemed to go on for years and we kept moving them from one storage area to another to get them out of the way. It wasn’t until we really got into working on the spaces that we determined that one of those racks went into the lab and the other went into the pharmacy and was mounted above the (missing) pharmacy bottle racks. Our difficulty in identifying this rack was that it didn’t show up prominently in the photos that we have and the detail drawings for this space is not included in the ship’s drawings. And we continue to find items that we need to obtain after analyzing additional photos or plans. It shows what a long process the restoration really is.

For more information on the Bat-tleship North Carolina Memorial, visit their website at http://www.battleshipnc.com. For more info on the Living History Crew, visit our website at http://ussncliving-history.com. The Battleship Alive program runs in the spring (vary-ing dates as it coincides with the North Carolina’s Crew reunion), the last weekend in September, Fourth of July, and the first week-end in December.

THE GROG 15

Excerpted from The United States Navy Medical Department Historical Data Series, World War II: Volume I: Battleships prepared by the Admin-istrative History Section, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, 1946 (Unpub-lished). It is difficult to give a true picture of just how well the medical department func-tioned unless a careful report was written at the time the battle actually occurred. However, from the meager reports avail-able I would say that during the fifteen major engagements this vessel participat-ed in, the medical department was able to render adequate aid to all casualties. The ship was fortunate in that at no time did it ever have such a high percentage of casualties as to make it a physical impos-sibility for medical personnel to render adequate aid unassisted. This possibil-ity was always kept in mind however, so all hands were instructed in first aid and supplies and personnel were dispersed around the ship. On August 24, 1942, the North Carolina suffered her first casualty, The Japanese made a sustained air attack on the USS Enterprise and the North Carolina while they were making an air strike off the Solomon Islands. An aviation machinist mate received a penetrating wound of the abdomen while manning his anti-aircraft gun. He died that same afternoon and was buried at sea. The medical depart-ment functioned efficiently during this battle. On September 15, 1942, the North Carolina was struck by a torpedo on her port bow causing serious damage in frames 37 to 55 on the third deck. One deck hand was missing, apparently blown

overboard by the explosion. Three men were conducting an air test in a wing compartment near where the torpedo struck. These men were found dead from extreme multiple injuries. One man was shaving in his division washroom near where the torpedo struck and was also found dead from multiple extreme injuries. The bodies were trans-ferred to Tongatabu Island. The medical department functioned efficiently in this battle. On June 15, 1944, while supporting amphibious force landings on Saipan and Tinian, the North Carolina was un-der heavy air attack. One man received a laceration wound on his left thigh while manning a 20mm machine gun. He was returned to duty immediately after treat-ment. One man suffered a laceration wound on his left hand while manning a 20mm machine gun. He returned to duty immediately after treatment, a third man received a laceration on his right heel while manning a 20mm machine gun. He was returned to duty after five days in treatment. On January 21, 1945, an enemy sui-cide plane crashed into USS Ticonderoga. A destroyer brought the following cases to the North Carolina for treatment: 1.) wound, fragment, bomb 2.) hematoma, traumatic, left pleural cavity 3.) hema-toma, right pleural cavity. These patients were treated in the sick bay and recov-ered. One case of wound, perforated of abdomen, with prolapse of small and large intestines, died following intestinal resection and closure. The medical de-partment worked efficiently in this battle.On April 6, 1945, the North Carolina was engaged in bombardment of enemy shore

installations and supporting fleet carrier units during the Okinawa Shima Occu-pation. Enemy planes attacked the task force and while the entire formation was engaged in anti-aircraft firing this ship sustained a 5-inch shell hit from another ship in the formation. The projectile ex-ploded ... and fragmented over the ad-jacent area. Forty-seven casualties, three of which were immediately fatal were incurred. The material condition which existed at that time was condition one, in the AA batteries, which allowed immedi-ate access to the sick bay area. Following emergency first aid “on the spot” all casu-alties were evacuated within a period of 30 minutes to the sick bay and they were quickly classified as to necessity for early treatment. The three fatalities were removed to the Warrant Officers Mess where identi-fication and fingerprinting procedures … were carried out. Final preparation and encasement was completed by evening and burial at sea was accomplished with-in the next 24 hours. It was noted that there was an acute shortage of stretcher bearers topside. The theory of utilization of bystanders for this duty does not work out in practice. In the first place all non-medical personnel seemingly had another job to do. Second-ly, the gun crew seemed untrained in the technic of lowering stretchers through narrow hatches without discomfort to the wounded. In this connection stretcher slings for all upper level stations had been ordered, but had not been completed. In subsequent drills these slings have greatly facilitated handling of patients where in-ner access is blocked. •

Medical Highlights of Activities of USS North Carolina (BB-55)


2016 CAlendAr of events

January 2016 programming aboard tHe battleSHip nortH carolina Hidden BattleshipJanuary 9 12:00 pm – 4:30 pm$50 per person. $45 for Friends members or active military.

For the explorer at heart, bring a friend and join us for a unique, behind-the-scenes tour of un-restored areas of the Battleship. The four-hour tour consists of small groups with guides. Guests explore the bow (officers’ country, boatswain locker, and descend to the bottom of the ship), third deck (Radio II, brig, after gyro, storage rooms, ammunition handling, Engineer’s office), Engine room #1, superstructure (Captain’s cabin, armored conning tower, maintenance shops), reefer, aft diesel, and climb inside the fire control tower to the top of the ship. The Azalea Coast Radio Club will be in Radio II to explain their work on the ship’s radio transmitters. It’s the tour that brings out the “Indiana Jones” in all of us, without the snakes!

The program is for adults only (ages 16 and up) and limited to 40 participants. It is not appropriate for those who have difficulty climbing narrow ladders or over knee-high hatches. Wear warm, comfortable, washable clothing, sturdy, rubber-soled shoes and bring a camera! Registration and payment are due Thursday before the event.

Sailor SaturdaysJanuary 16 11:00 am – 3:00 pmFREE with Battleship Admission.

Ahoy kids, parents, and youth leaders! Try on helmets, raise signal flags, “text” using semaphore flags, tap out your name using Morse code, type on vintage typewriters, and more! Friendly, knowledgeable volunteer staff from the ship from stem to stern to help you have a grand time onboard ship.

The full 2016 calendar will be posted on the website and in Scuttlebutt as soon as it is available.

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All articles & photos printed with permission. Copyrights may apply.

Scuttlebutt is the newsletter of The Friends of the Battleship North Carolina, PO Box 480,Wilmington, NC 28402 • battleshipnc.com/friendsEditor-in-Chief/Layout & Design: Nancie Giacalone Managing Editor: Ronnie Rhodes Contributing Editors: Mike Hosick and Richard JohnsonPlease send article suggestions, photos, address changes, or comments to:

[email protected]

BAttleshiP north CArolinA life long ProgrAms 2016come learn and explore witH uS

ALL PROGRAMS - Participants must be 16 or older and able to climb narrow ladders and over knee-high hatches. Wear comfortable, washable clothing, sturdy, rubber-soled shoes and bring a camera!

Registration and payment due the Thursday prior to the program. Call 910-251-5797 extension 3001 for reservations.All events take place on Saturday unless otherwise noted.

Be sure to check the Battleship website for complete details about all of these events.

Documents

Scuttlebutt Autumn 2015