AARRE's TRIP HOME
-
- A recent article concerning the
restoration of a Liberty Ship,
- berthing her in Baltimore as a museum,
- stirred memories because I returned to the States
on a
- converted-to-carry-troops Liberty Ship
from Europe after WWII.
-
- It was November, 1945. Our Anti-aircraft outfit
at Camp Phillip Morris
- near Verdun was notified we would be boarding the
Queen Mary in LeHavre.
- That meant Eino Maki, Jr., also of Duluth, and I,
would be home for Christmas.
-
- Then new 82nd Airborne replacements arrived
from basic training stateside,
- and word came that our 82nd would parade down
Fifth Avenue on New Year's Day.
- It would be these never-saw-combat rookies who,
in our stead, were to return on the Queen.
-
- Many of the original 82nd had been killed and
others were in hospitals,
- so only a segment of the original would parade,
including 29 from the Duluth area.
-
- So it was a Liberty Ship that, on Dec. 15th, 550
of us boarded with the warning:
- NO stowaways, such as girls, children or animals;
our duffle and drawstring bags were searched by
- officers and tapped to "disturb"
anything inside.; nothing stirred, so apparently there
were no stowaways.
- Anchors aweigh; we were on the English
Channel heading for Southampton for refueling and
food supplies.
- After an hour, half a dozen dogs
appeared! Even Captain Johnson had his German
Shepherd.
- Leave it to soldiers to pull off a contraband
caper!
-
- Soon dogs and soldiers were seasick, except the
ship's little mascot mongrel, which had the run of the
ship,
- even climbing straight up bulkhead ladders. When
the Captain announced our ship was too small to cross the
North Atlantic in stormy December, that we were heading
south of the Azores then west for the States,
- everyone groaned and moaned, complaining we
would not be home for Christmas.
-
- One week out, we hadn't gained any distance
in the rough seas; food and fuel were running low;
the Captain's voice was grim as he said we would return
to Southampton if we had not covered sufficient distance
in 24 hours. More moans and groans led the Captain to
respond by asking if we wanted to head straight
across
- theNorth Atlantic...Severe winter
storms...risky...we'd be on our own..."It's up to
you."
- Everyone shouted, "Risk it!" and
we headed into the unbelievable; we were in a washtub
- in the hurricane-like winds, sleet, hail,
lightning, thunder.. . it was scary!
- Metal plates below buckled and rumbled;
- urinals and toilets all began flushing on their
own,
- sounding as if the sea was pouring in.
- Then orders came to don our life-jackets.
- Abandoning ship would have been certain
death in the 75- to 100-foot waves.
- A large, handsome Warrant Officer, who had gone
through the African Campaign, spoke with Eino and me.
- He was excited and anxious to get to New York to
his wife whom he hadn't seen for five years.
- He said he'll sit on the curb and tell all
passers-by how horsecrap the Army is!
- The ship's rolling and rocking made him lose his
balance;
- he tried to turn, but kept running backwards
about a 30 degree angle
- trying to regain his foothold, all the way from
portside to starboard
- and smashed into the water fountain,
- hitting the back of his head, knocking him
out.
- On regaining consciousness, he complained of a
severe headache.
- He joined other officers at mess,
- had a few bites and lost consciousness again;
- his eyes, open and glassy, showed no response to
our hand movements.
- Eino and I, with a spoon, put ice cream on his
lips to give him nourishment to prevent dehydration.
- Days passed; his wrists were becoming skin and
bones.
- A fast Navy ship was on way from Newfoundland to
take him to New York for brain surgery;
- early-morning it was on our starboard side, but
it had traveled so fast one motor had burned out.
- Nothing was to be gained by transferring the
injured officer to the Navy ship, so it returned to
port without him. After 22 days on rough waters we put
into Boston, quicker than the original destination of New
York.
- The patient was put on a plane to New York; he
died on the flight.
 |
Aarre
in 1943
|
- The Captain related that this had been his worst
storm;
- even one off Newfoundland in the late 30's
- that he'd never forget, when many ships sank.
- He twice entered in the days log that we
would not survive to see the next day;
- our ship had listed twice to 47 degrees!
- He had made 18 Atlantic crossings with this
banana-company-owned vessel;
- his first crossing with war supplies paid
for the ship in full.
-
- Six days into the New Year, we entered the
States...
- long past any hopes of being home for
Christmas.
- The 82nd had made their "Victory"
Parade; we were on the high seas a week
- when they set out on the Queen, but the storms
hadn't slowed her down any!
-
- During our ordeal many ships radio reports were
of Liberty and Victory ships sinking with all aboard lost
- forever to the depths of the Atlantic. I do not
believe any of this has been repored in the WW2 files to
the public.
- Our experienced Captain kept the power down
to a minimum, enough to steer the ship forward.
- The main shaft to the fantail was about 12
inches in diameter. As the ship pitched downward in
the huge waves, the fantail would rise tens of feet out
of the water making the prop spin fast, and as the bow
went up,
- the prop hit the water with such force, suddenly
slowing the shaft, at which time it could snap and break,
- and all control would be lost at which time
a huge wave from either side could capsize the ship.
- That is what had happened to the other Liberty
and Victory ships attempting to cross the North Atlantic
- in this huge storm. In 24 hours we should have
gained 75 miles; instead we were pushed back 25
miles.
-
- Amidships below decks, there were many long
chest-high tables
- where we ate standing up, about 20 men on
either side.
- The table legs were inserted into 12-inch
pipes that were welded to the deck to prevent
sliding or tipping.
- Along each side, lining the walls, were
bunks, five high, where soldiers lay waiting their turn
to eat.
- As the ship rolled and tossed, our food trays
went sliding, some right off onto the bunks making
a
- smelly mess and queasy stomachs. Men at
center table stabbed an occasional bite of food as the
trays slid by.
- Many soldiers during the entire crossing lay on a
huge wrestling mat, midship below,
- too seasick to join the others, losing weight,
unshaven, sporting a long beard.
- Occasionally they would come to get an apple or
some other fruit to minimize their hunger pains.
-
- Upon arrival into Boston, very little fuel
was left and food had dwindled to only a few
cartons
- of cream-filled cookies to eat with soup. For
years I could not eat cream-filled sandwich cookies!
- Before leaving England we were allowed to call
home to notify family of the name and
- departure date of our ship, so our
familes believed our ship had sunk
- because for 6 days there were news reports that
our ship was missing.
-
- Eino Maki and I were discharged from the Army
January 11, 1946 at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.
- We arrived in Duluth January 12th. Local
newspapers had a picture of the aircraft carrier
"Wasp"
- with its forward flight deck hanging down in the
water, damage suffered while crossing
- in the same storm we experienced, as had the
aircraft carrier "Enterprise".
-
- With Duluth and Superior having at least eight
shipyards,
- several hundred Liberty and Victory Ships were
built and launched here during WWII.
- For the record:
- 355 ships, 183 major ships,
- 13 plane re-arming boats,
- 4 sub-chasers, 150 barges and
- 8 Standard Oil tankers,
- totaling some 208 million dollars' worth.
- I did reseach at the Duluth Public Library to get
the above figgers
- and searched the old newspapers there
- to confirm the huge storm on the North Atlantic
which we were in.
-
- respectfully submitted, Aarre Suomela
- P.S:
- Yesterday, Aug. 6th 1943, 57 years ago,
duty called and this was a sad day for me.
- I was on a delay enroute to furlough at home
from Fort Snelling, Mn.
- I was inducted into the army on Sept. 16th of
1943,
- and now I was leaving home at the age when I
should begin enjoying life,
- and suddenly my life was uncertain.
