Blue Ghost Memoirs by Otto C. Romanelli

Author:Otto C. Romanelli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Published: 2013-03-18T16:00:00+00:00

Sample log entry for one four-hour watch.

As an OOD I had assisted the Navigator and Captain in this manner frequently and gained the confidence of the Captain because of my ability to conn the ship during flight operations. When a new Navigator came aboard, a full Commander, for some reason our Captain did not develop the same confidence in him.

On one occasion, preparing for flight operations, the new Navigator came on the bridge to relieve me. He ordered a change in course and speed but Captain Litch stuck his head around the wing of the bridge and counter-manded the new orders with a “Belay that!”, signifying he was taking the conn. Almost immediately after that he turned to me and said, “Rummy, take the conn.”

It was an unprecedented action. The poor Navigator was flabbergasted, crushed. I felt badly for him. But later I felt proud that the Captain had more confidence in me than in him.

To commemorate the incident, my JOOD, Ensign Kalina drew a cartoon entitled “Who’s Got The Conn?”.

The following year Captain Litch was, in normal rotation, succeeded by Captain Robbins. At the time, I never received any indication that Robbins shared Litch’s confidence in my ability. But many years later, reviewing the contents of my “jacket” (personnel file), I read Captain Robbin’s entry in my fitness report: “Qualified by experience to conn a capital ship during war time in the war zone.” To me that is the highest accolade a junior naval officer can receive. My proudest memory.

But there was another proud moment, experienced on the spot! Sometime in the fall of 1944 we were anchored in Ulithi Atoll, our forward base for repairs, replenishment and resting. I had the mid-watch (midnight to 0400) as OOD. Since we were at anchor, my station was at the quarterdeck on the port side of the hangar deck. When I took the conn at midnight, there were four boats tied to the stern, but there were only three boats at 03:45 when my relief showed up. The most likely scenario was that the line holding one of the motor whaleboats had loosened and the boat had drifted away.

Although the coxswain who had last used the boat had not secured the line properly, I was responsible for losing the boat because it had broken loose during my watch. I had a vision of being court-martialed and disgraced. I had to find that boat.

I went up to the chart room to check positions of other ships anchored in the atoll. I checked the direction of the wind and tide and decided the boat would have drifted in a westerly direction. I then estimated how far the boat could have drifted in 2 to 3 hours and checked to see which ships were anchored to the west of us.

I rustled up a crew for the other motor whaleboat and set out at about 0400 in the pitch darkness. There were lights on the accommodation ladders of the ships anchored along the westerly direction I had estimated and I hailed the duty officer of each ship and asked if he had seen our boat.

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