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Published Monday, September 01, 2008 in Local

Milton, USS Mobile saw plenty of action during WWII in Pacific

By Jeff Bishop

The Times-Herald

Ed Milton, now a resident of Georgian Place in Newnan, was working at the U.S. Post Office in Atlanta on Dec. 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese.

"It's one of the most vivid memories I have," he said.

Every Sunday evening at 6 p.m., he and his wife, Helen, would listen to Walter Winchell on WSB Radio.

"He always started his broadcast with, 'Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America, and all the ships at sea,'" Milton remembers.

When Winchell delivered the news that Pearl Harbor had been attacked, "I don't think I have ever had such an unsettled feeling," Milton said. He said it was "an outrageous feeling of being deliberately stabbed in the back," a feeling of "patriotic assault."

"We were being intentionally involved in World War II," Milton said. "We knew it would be a long time before times would be reversed to normalcy again."

Milton joined the U.S. Navy and reported for duty in Atlanta. He was trained to become a signalman and was assigned to the USS Mobile CL63, a light cruiser of the Cleveland class.

"She was 610 feet long and 65-and-a-half feet wide, and displaced 10,000 tons," said Milton.

The ship was commissioned on March 24, 1943 and sent on a test run in the Atlantic.

"We tested various components of the new ship and gave orientation training to the new crew," said Milton. "Don't kid yourself. It required a good bit to familiarize ones self with the intricacies of such a maze of passageways and decks."

The food also took some getting used to.

"It was eatable," he said. "My worst memory is Boston baked beans for breakfast on Saturday mornings."

The Mobile cut across the Panama Canal on June 20 and joined the Pacific fleet. Mobile was assigned to Cruiser Division 13, which also included the cruisers Birmingham and Santa Fe.

"Most of the crew was composed of kids, really, ages 17 to 19," said Milton. "I was married and in my 20s, so they called me 'Pop.'"

The USS Mobile headed for a planned air strike on Tarawa Island. The Mobile crossed the equator for the first time, which called for a traditional ceremony, Milton said.

"It was called the Crossing of the Line," said Milton. The crew member with the earliest crossing to his credit served as the "Ruler of the Raging Deep," Neptunus Rex. "Shellbacks" were crew members who had previously been initiated. "And they were eager to initiate the lowly pollywog neophytes," said Milton.

Royal policemen issued "trumped-up charges" against all pollywogs and then herded crew members and officers alike before the King of the Royal Court for sentencing.

"Pollywogs were required to kiss the belly of the fat man," Milton said. "Their heads were shaven, their faces were painted, and their dignity was certainly sagging."

Next came the "Tunnel of Love."

"A long sleeve was towed from an aircraft for target practice, and it made a good tunnel," said Milton. "Each pollywog had to crawl through the tunnel, which was filled with food garbage from the past several meals.

"As they crawled through that slippery mess, they were struck by shellbacks, using all sorts of whips."

Next came a cleansing bath in a specially-constructed vat.

"What a royal bath," Milton said. "And in salt water, too."

Shellbacks pushed the pollywogs under the water until they could come up for air and yell "shellback" three times.

"Then he would become a true shellback and could call himself a member of the Order of the Ancient Deep," said Milton.

One of the Mobile's early objectives was Wakje Island.

"Mobile was straddled by persistent fire from enemy shore batteries, which made us a wee bit nervous," said Milton.

But it wasn't until Nov. 8, 1943 that Cruiser Division 13, as Milton describes it, was "baptized by fire."

"We were with four destroyers, and we were assigned to patrol duty and we reinforced landings on Bougainville in the Solomons," he said.

"The group was under almost constant air attack through the night," said Milton. "We saw as many as eight Japanese planes burning on the water at the same time."

When the Mobile gunners shot down a plane, "the crew would cheer as they might after a touchdown at a football game," he said. "We were just kids."

It was later learned that the planes were with the famous Japanese air squadron that sank the ships British Repulse and Princes of Wales.

It was a Nov. 20 operation with Task Force 53 that "really brought the war close to home for us," said Milton.

"As we maneuvered around Gilbert Island, giving fire support, there were dozens of Marines floating in the bay. Thus made us realize how serious war was."

The primary lesson that came out of the Gilbert Island invasion was that "it would take much more than a few hours of bombardment to soften up enemy resistance for a landing by our forces," said Milton.

In December the Mobile's target was the Marshall Islands, "which at that time was Japan's most formidable air base in the Pacific," said Milton.

On Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, air strikes were launched against Kwajalein and Watje atolls.

"The enemy mounted major air attacks against our groups," said Milton. "Dusk, dawn and night air attacks were frequent, and the anti-aircraft crews really had a workout."

Japanese "Betty" torpedo planes "were very busy," he said, as they would "come in low, just above the water. It was difficult for the radar to pick them up."

Death came to visit the Mobile in the form of a gun mount explosion. A memorial service was held at Pearl Harbor.

"Everyone was solemn and saddened," said Milton. It was another lesson about the hazards of war as the Mobile crew members prepared for another Marshall Island assault, on Jan. 29.

"Mobile and nine other ships were detached to bombard Wotje Atoll," said. "This was resented by the enemy, who opened up their shore batteries. The shells came so close we could hear their hiss when they hit the water."

The USS Mobile was involved in many actions "neutralizing enemy strongholds." By the time the Mobile celebrated her first anniversary in March of 1944 she and her crew had traveled more than 70,000 miles participating in 11 operations against the enemy.

The First Battle of the Phillipines was on June 19, beginning with "Japanese carrier and land-based aircraft attacks on the American fleet." Mobile continued her role as "guardian" of the carriers.

"Mobile's sea planes were often on rescue and anti-submarine missions while carrier planes inflicted irreparable damage to the Japanese fleet," Milton said. "By 10 a.m., the horizons were filled with planes in every direction."

Most enemy planes were shot down 50 to 60 miles away by American fighters, he said.

"But occasionally, some would slip through and give the ship's anti-aircraft crews a good workout," said Milton.

The day ended with about 400 enemy planes destroyed.

That night and most of the next day was spent "trying to close the distance between the two forces," Milton said.

At about 4:30 in the afternoon, a strike force of 216 American planes was launched.

"When the attack was over, the enemy had lost three more carriers, a heavy cruiser, and a battleship."

The American forces were then forced to "turn away from the enemy into the wind" to recover their aircraft.

"As night approached, the entire force turned on every available light to guide the planes home," said Milton. "We used searchlights, rockets and flares."

Nearly 80 planes were lost in water landings because of damage and fuel shortages. Mobile was involved in rescuing the pilots.

"Three days were spent searching the waters for pilots who ditched their planes or were shot down," he said.

It wasn't always enemy planes and ships the Mobile was battling. One of the fiercest "battles" would come against Mother Nature herself.

"One Dec. 17, fueling operations had to be discontinued due to an approaching typhoon," said Milton. The code name for the typhoon was "Cobra."

"It was as deadly as its name," said Milton.

For 30 hours, the Mobile and the rest of its task group struggled to keep their bows in the surging seas.

"The ocean looked like a series of mountain ranges -- deep valleys and hills of water higher and lower than the ship," said Milton.

"The scariest was when the ship rolled from side to side at angles that made it difficult to keep a footing while holding onto a stanchion."

Many times, Milton said, "it looked as if the ship would toll on over."

Two destroyers were lost "and I don't know what else," he said.

"In the final analysis, Mobile had won as great a battle as she had ever encountered."

The worst was still ahead, however, as the Mobile eventually headed for action at Okinawa.

"During our two months of duty at Okinawa, the Mobile suffered 12 major air attacks," he said, "and small-scale attacks occurred daily."

Once Mobile's anti-aircraft guns began firing at low-flying kamikazes even before General Quarters were sounded.

"My feet were like lead as I headed up top," he said.

By chance, the kamikazes targeted another ship anchored a short distance away.

"We were lucky in Cruiser Division 13," said Milton. "I've considered 13 my lucky number ever since."

When atomic bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Milton said, "We had no idea as to the extent of the destructive force of the bombs. It required several days for us to assimilate it."

It was with "anxiety and trepidation" that the USS Mobile approached Japan following its final suit for peace.

"The entrance to Nagasaki harbor reminded one of the fjords of Norway; the inlet was narrow with steep sides. There was certainly not enough room to maneuver the ship should there be trouble."

The ship was on full alert as it rumbled into harbor.

"It was difficult to absorb the extent of the damage," said Milton. "The area reminded one of a giant grinder chewing up the buildings."

One would only see wreckage, "a part of a stone wall," he said, "or a skeleton piece of steel sticking up out of the ground. It was total destruction."

The Mobile's mission was to process POWs and see to their health needs.

"They were mostly British who had worked in coal mines nearby," said Milton. "They had been treated as slaves, with poor food and less consideration of their lives. "They were the happiest people imaginable when they came to be in our care," he said. "And we treated them like royalty."

The ship finally docked in San Diego, California on Dec. 2, 1945. Everyone "received a hero's welcome," he said.

"This is what war was all about," said Milton. "Home sweet home, again."

The captain of the ship, T.L. Lewis, told his crew as they headed home after many years at sea:

"In looking over the battle record of the USS Mobile, any person who has not served on this ship through that glorious period must be struck with the envy of those who did. The many engagements through which the ship came unscathed, while inflicting mounting damage on the enemy, surely must have given to each... a deep-rooted pride that will last forever."