Firsthand Accounts

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F i r s t h a n d A c c o u n t s

world map east

world map west

Map taken from the USS Nevada book

I boarded the U.S.S. Nevada in June 1943 at San Francisco. We then set sail for Norfolk, VA. via the Panama Canal. We left Norfolk and went to Boston. After that, we went to England. Then, back again to Boston. We made a couple trips back and forth to England, then to Scotland. Then we sailed to France for the invasion. After that we went to Cherbourg, then to southern France. Went to Algiers and Oran in Africa. After Africa, we sailed back to Norfolk. Then a few repairs in Norfolk we set sail for Long Beach, CA. via the canal again. Stopped at Pearl Harbor and headed off to Ulithi, then on to Iwo Jima for the invasion. After the invasion, we headed back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. We then went to the Marshall Islands to bomb Jalluit Atol then up to Okinawa. While in the Pacific we went to Gaum, Saipan, Tinian.The war was over, we set sail for the Phillipines. Back to Okinawa, then to Pearl Harbor, and then back to the states.

I was eligible for discharge! Got on a train and went cross-country to Baimbridge, MD. Then, on to Moundsville, WV., my home. That was the extent of my voyage on the U.S.S. Nevada.

Ralph (None) Potts.
I didn't have a middle name in the Navy. When I enlisted I didn't give them my middle name so they chose a middle name for me; None!

The Normandy invasion was really something. We were at battle stations when I could see the planes flying overhead. Some were so low, that their props hit the waves. The waters were very choppy and the waves were high. The water was so full of landing crafts that it looked like a black sea. As the V-Mail said, you could see the tracer bullets going to their targets. People asked me if I was afraid! I was not afraid right at the time because it was too exciting. After things settled it was then I realized how nervous I was. I tried to eat a cracker but I couldn’t swallow. Poor soldiers had a rough time. They were the ones who had to go to shore. That is my account of my first taste of the war. They said things would get better, but as time went on it got worse!

Below are excerpts from an email I wrote to my Grandson to answer his questions about my experiences in the war.

D-Day

I don’t know what the D in D-Day stands for. It could mean ‘decision’ but I am not sure.

We were getting shelled so close we had to be like soldiers in a foxhole. We were too far away to use our small guns. I was on the port side (left side) of the ship and I had to go over to the starboard side (right side) to keep from getting splashed because the shells were getting to close. We were at general quarters for 90 hours. We watched all the small boats that were carrying soldiers, some were blown up, and some made it to shore. You couldn’t see the sky, there were so many airplanes flying overhead. All in all it was exciting for a while. We kept bombing the Germans till all our boys were inland and then we kept bombing in front of them.

I had a piece of shrapnel when a bomb exploded too close to the ship. I picked it up when I was going to the other side of the ship, it was so hot I couldn't hold it.

After Normandy we went down to Cherbourg to bomb them.

Cherbourg

We were at Normandy 12 days when ordered to sail down to Cherbourg, France. The battle was not over but they didn't need us any more. The army was way into France, so we did our job. At Cherbourg, that was our closest call of being hit by shore battery. Shells were so close those men below decks thought we were hit but we came thru that all right. They told us, "ALL MISSIONS WERE SUCESSFUL". After that we went to Ireland to get supplies and more ammunition. We then went thru the Rock of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean Sea. All things were successful there. We were ordered to go after a French battleship called the Strasbourg. We hit her 15 times then we got word she was sinking. We went different places to bombard. After that we sailed to Algiers in Africa, then we sailed back home to Norfolk.

Operation in the South Pacific

After we left Norfolk we sailed thru the Panama Canal on to Long Beach, Ca. Left there and went to Ulithi, then on to Iwo Jima. We took on a Rear Admiral and became the flagship. (The Command ship) We fired the first shot at Iwo. We got so close to the beach that we could see the Japanese soldiers, we even fired our 40 mm at them. We also shot down a Japanese plane (Zeke). We stayed there 19 days firing at the island. An LCI (landing craft infantry) was shot up at the beach and we took the dead and wounded aboard ship. There were 5 dead and 22 wounded. After Iwo we went back to Ulithi and joined other ships for another operation. First we went to Mog Mog for some recreation. We sailed to Okinawa for the invasion. We were attacked by a lot of Japanese planes and they were shot down like flies. One plane headed for us. It was on fire and hit us on the main deck aft, killing 11 men and wounded 40. For the next 8 days we bombarded the island. Then suddenly the Japanese opened fire on us with their shore battery. They hit us 5 times at different parts of the ship. Two more men were killed, but we silenced them pretty quick. After repairs we departed for Pearl Harbor via Guam. We were at general quarters (battle stations) 60 odd times in 22 days.