Alaska My Home

     At the Commissioning ceremony on October 29th 1946, when the watch was set, I was posted to guard the garbage depository on the dock. I remained on watch without relief throughout the day until the garbage detail from the mess hall came out with garbage cans after the evening meal. I asked them to inform the Officer of the Deck that I had been on watch since morning without relief. I was one tired and hungry sailor after standing all day. The only relief I had was that I could walk around from time to time. Thus began my four year tour of duty aboard the Manchester.

      During the next two months the remainder of the crew was assembled, stores, ammunition and fuel loaded and the Ship readied for Sea trials and system checks. Then on January 6th 1947 we were underway for Cuba and the Caribbean, arriving at Guantanamo Bay on the 10th of January. The day before, January 9th we experienced our first General Quarters at 0545 in the morning. My battle station was first loader on the port side 40mm gun mount. Aside from regular duty station topside I was also assigned as bow hook on the Admiral's Barge.

       Many hours of training, frequent General Quarters, firing main batteries at Culebra Island and AA batteries at drones with "turn to" work details in between filled the days and hours of our shakedown cruise. Near the end our shakedown in early March, it was turn to for all hands to prepare for our final inspection. Preparation of Div. area topside included chipping paint ,cleaning and painting bulkheads, polishing all brass and holy stoning the wooden decks (backbreaking work). The crew of the Manchester arose to the occasion and received an" excellent" rating for the Military Inspection and Battle Problem, with a "good" rating for shore bombardment of Culebra Island. We were a US Navy fighting ship.

        With shakedown over we returned to Boston for refitting and then were on our way to the Mediterranean Sea. On arrival the Manchester became the Flag ship of Cruiser Div. 6. During three cruises to the" Med" over the next two years, implementing the Truman Doctrine, we visited many ports,(Historic Places of the World), Gibraltar, Cannes & Marseilles in France, Athens, the Island of Crete, Istanbul, Tangier, Sardinia, Port Said Egypt (a side tour to Cairo), Casablanca, Tripoli, Venice, Salonica,Greece, Treiste, and others that have slipped my memory.

         On the first cruise to the Med. there was posted a request for transfers to the engineering department. I applied and was accepted and assigned to M Div.where began a whole new career. I started my snipe career standing pump watches on the lower level of the engine room with a work station of cleaning machinery and bilge's. During the cruise I advanced to standing throttle watches.

         On arrival back in Boston November 31, 1947 I was sent to Machinist Mate School at Great Lakes, Illinois, where I graduated 2nd in a class of 63. In the meantime the Manchester had departed for the Med. I journeyed to Norfolk for FFT aboard USS Lioba AF36 arriving in Athens where I reported back aboard Manchester, reassigned to B Div. where I was to spend the rest of my enlistment.

         On  our return to the States our home port was changed to Philadelphia where we entered the Navy yard for overhaul. November 1948 found us on our way to Guantanamo for a refresher cruise after overhaul. On our return voyage to Philadelphia we hit a storm off Cape Hatteras where we encountered 20 to 30 ft waves with our bow dipping into the waves up to number one turret. When the storm was over, life line stanchions on the bow were bent over from the force of plowing into the waves.

         After another shortened cruise to the Med. we arrived back in Philadelphia on March 4th ,1949. A short two weeks replenishing supplies and we were underway on the 18th, reassigned to Cruiser  Div 1, destination the Pacific theatre, via the Panama Canal. Our home port on the West coast was Long Beach, California. We arrived there on April 3rd ,1949. I was now 3000 miles away from the Love of my Life whom I had met a year earlier while on Liberty with a buddy who came from Norristown, Pa. "Peggy" lived in a small Steel mill town close to Norristown, named Conshohocken.
 ( Following my discharge I went back and married her. We celebrated our 47th Anniversary Sept.23,1997).

          My last cruise aboard the Manchester was to the Far East, commencing April 22,1949, with stops at Pearl Harbor, Tsingtao,China, Okinawa, Korea, Philippine Islands, Hong Kong and just about every port in Japan. Of interest was our stop at Nagasaki where we observed the destruction from the atom bomb. Our cruise ended on Nov.28, 1949 when we arrived at Long Beach. We moved up the coast for a sea exercise with Line Officers from the School at Monterey and then went into dry-dock at San Francisco for  a complete overhaul.

          I said goodby to the Manchester on July 12,1950 on my way to Treasure  Island for separation from the Navy. I started processing out on the 17th and at 1100 hrs word came down that all enlistment's had been frozen for all personnel that had not started processing. The Korean war had started. I suppose I could have stopped processing and reenlisted but I had been looking forward to marrying  a little German -Irish lass back in Conshohcken, Pa. and no War was going to disrupt those plans.

           The Manchester and it's crew went on to distinguish itself during the Korean Campaign and earned 9 Battle Stars. It is sad to think that she has been scrapped after only ten years of service. However I am sure, those who served aboard the USS Manchester, whether in Peace or War have fond memories of the hard work, the great liberty ports of call, the experiences of a lifetime and the friendship of shipmates that made the Manchester A Fighting Ship, Our Ship, and she will not be forgotten until the last of us have passed on into eternity.