BB-64 @ 75: Wisconsin at War, Part 4

Editor’s Note: As we observe the 75th anniversary of USS Wisconsin's commissioning this month, we remember the generations of former crew members who brought this iconic Norfolk landmark to life and sailed into harm's way through three different wars. In this post we continue with the reminiscences of those who fought during the Korean War aboard Wisconsin to writer Susan Dorsey Boland and former HRNM historian Gordon Calhoun.

Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Jim Hornshaw (right at front) is seen here in USS Wisconsin's First Class Mess during the Korean War.  Before warfare pins became commonplace, special qualifications such as diver, explosive ordnance disposal technician, or gun captain (a closeup of which is seen in the oval section within the image), were worn on the dress uniform as patches, or "distinguishing marks." Hornshaw would have worn his on the right sleeve, midway between the wrist piping and the elbow.  In the photo, Radarman 1st Class John Cummusk is sitting two deats  (Courtesy of Jim Hornshaw/ Hampton Roads Naval Museum File)

By Jim Hornshaw
former Boatswain's Mate 1st Class aboard USS Wisconsin (BB 64)
as told to Susan Dorsey Boland 
and Gordon Calhoun

When you first meet Jim Hornshaw, you automatically get the impression that he was in the Navy. He is a rough, no-nonsense person, who possesses a charming sense of humor. Like many of his shipmates aboard BB-64, Jim joined the Navy in World War II in the early stages of the conflict. He and his friends from Detroit, Michigan all went down to the recruiters together. “There were 12 of us,” he remembers, “but only two of us joined the Navy.”

He joined the Navy for one reason: to go to sea. “They wanted to send me to school, but I told them ‘I joined the Navy to go to sea.’” So, they made him a boatswain’s mate. He served on mostly small boats throughout the war including patrols onboard USS SC-698 during the Battle of the Atlantic.

At the end of the war, his ship pulled into San Francisco where he participated in a V-J Day parade. He had serious thoughts about leaving the service and was just about to until he ran into one of the officers from the brand new destroyer USS John W. Thomason (DD 760). “After a few drinks at a local bar, he convinced me to reenlist and join his ship.” 

USS John W. Thomason (DD-760) underway with her crew at quarters on March 10, 1958. (Naval History and Heritage Command image)

He came to Wisconsin in 1950. Once again he was just about to reenlist when he received orders to the battleship. “It was like dying and going to heaven,” he remembered when he received his orders to serve on a battleship. By this time, Jim was a 1st class boatswain’s mate. The Navy assigned him to the ship’s 7th Division, which was responsible for the maintenance of the starboard side of the ship around Turret Number 3. This included painting and the general maintenance of the superstructure. Sometimes he had to look high and low for his team.
“The admiral liked to watch cowboy and Indian movies. He was always having them brought on board. Well, one day I went looking for my group and there they are watching a movie with the admiral!”  

A rammerman at the breech of one of Wisconsin's 16-inch guns loads powder (also known as propellant) bags behind the shell before closing the breech block, or "mushroom," and firing. The towel around his left arm is used for keeping the mushroom clean. (Courtesy of Nauticus)

But this was only during relaxed times aboard the ship. During the General Quarters, the division manned one of the guns in Turret Number 3. A large portion of the crews manning the main guns were deck hands. Jim was made one of the supervisors in the turret. These supervisors were called gun captains and it was an honor that allowed Jim to wear a special patch and receive a slight increase in pay. “It was all team work. We were supposed to be able to load the gun and fire it twice a minute. One time, we loaded it in twenty-four seconds during exercises in the Caribbean. We got yelled at for violating safety regulations and never did that again,” he said with a smile.

Being inside the turret, Jim’s world was very small. His experience in combat is similar to that of many other sailors throughout maritime history. Jim and crew rarely knew where or for what reason the gun was being fired. For example, Jim was supervising his gun crew on March 15, 1952; the day the ship was hit. Like many of the crew, he did not know the ship got hit. All he heard was the order to retaliate.

USS Wisconsin (BB 64) lets loose with a nine-gun salvo sometime during the 1950s. (Dom Menta collection/ Courtesy of Nauticus)

“All I heard was an order for a nine gun salvo. I understand that the Old Man [the ship’s commanding officer, Captain Henry C. Bruton] was quite shook-up about it.”

One of Jim’s other jobs was to pipe dignitaries aboard the ship. Wisconsin had four boatswain’s mates on hand for these type of ceremonies. Among the people Jim piped aboard was the commander of Task Force 77, U.S. Senators, and even Syngman Rhee, president of South Korea during the war. But Jim didn’t seem to care. “He was just another body.”

During his official visit to USS Wisconsin (BB 64) on January 10, 1952, Syngman Rhee is escorted by Captain Thomas Burrowes, Wisconsin's commanding officer.  (Dom Menta collection/ Courtesy of Nauticus)

Another aspect that Jim did not seem to care about was the weather. Wisconsin arrived in South Korea, in the middle of winter. But being from Detroit, “I loved the cold weather.”

The coffee he drank must have helped a little. Jim swears that he must have drunk at least 25 to 50 cups of coffee a day to just keep up with his duties. Sleep? Who needs sleep? “I didn’t sleep until I got home.”

BB-64 @ 75: Wisconsin at War, Part 3

Editor’s Note: As we observe the 75th anniversary of USS Wisconsin's commissioning this month, we remember the generations of former crew members who brought this iconic Norfolk landmark to life and sailed into harm's way through three different wars. In this post we begin with the reminiscences of those who fought during the Korean War aboard Wisconsin to writer Susan Dorsey Boland and former HRNM historian Gordon Calhoun.

A photograph taken by Wisconsin photographer Dom Menta during the 1950s shows Wisconsin's aft AN/SPS-8A search and height-finding radar overlooking the battleship's Number 3 16-inch turret. As a part of his duties, Radarman 1st Class John Cummisk (inset, right) would have monitored the radar system for approaching enemy "bogies." The Radarman rating symbol (top) adopted in the 1950s became the Operations Specialist (OS) rating badge in the 1970s.  (Dom Menta collection/ Courtesy of John Cummisk/ Martha Walker-Nauticus)

By John Cummisk
former Radarman 1st Class aboard USS Wisconsin (BB 64)
as told to Susan Dorsey Boland 
and Gordon Calhoun

John Cummisk was born in Willimantic, Connecticut on April 23, 1925. On July 30, 1943, after his graduation from high school, he was drafted into the Navy, but on the day he reported to the draft, he was written in as a volunteer. John had wanted to serve in the Navy as his father had served one year during World War I at Naval Air Station Bayshore, Long Island.

The Cavalier Hotel, seen here on June 21, 1931, was the place to be among rich and famous luminaries of the 1920s such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, but, like other prominent hotels in Hampton Roads, served a defense-related function during World War II. (Virginian-Pilot Collection/ The Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library)

John first reported to boot camp in Newport, Rhode Island and then proceeded to the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach, which at that time was being used as a Radarman School. The top of this graceful old hotel was rigged with numerous radar antennae. There were 100 men in John’s class, and the course took a total of three weeks.

A colorized view of one of USS Franklin's 5-inch batteries aflame after a devastating Kamikaze attack while conducting operations against Kyushu and Honshu, Japan, March 19, 1945. (Naval History and Heritage Command photograph)

John was on USS Franklin (CV 13) while she was in a task group invading the Philippines. On October 30, 1944, a kamikaze hit the Franklin, killing 54 men. After repairs in Bremerton, Washington. the Franklin returned to the Pacific. John recalls that two days into it, on March 19, 1945, while off Kyushu, the Japanese dropped two bombs on her, killing 724 of the 3,200 men onboard. John was in the water for two hours before USS Hunt (DD 674) picked him up out of the water.

 View of the flight deck of the USS Franklin (CV-13) looking forward, while the carrier was in New York Harbor around April 28, 1945. She had just returned from the Pacific for repair of battle damage received off Japan on March 19, 1945. Note damage to her flight deck, large U.S. ensign flying from her island, and the Manhattan skyline in the background. (National Archives and Records Administration via Naval History and Heritage Command)

He reenlisted in 1946 and was eventually ordered aboard Wisconsin in 1951. He had heard that battleships were different from other ships; there were a lot of inspections, uniforms had to be perfect, and a lot of “mickey mouse nitpicking” on board the dreadnought. But he has only fond memories of his days as a battleship sailor.

USS Wisconsin (BB-64) traverses the Panama Canal. (Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Dom Menta/ Courtesy of Nauticus)

He vividly remembers watching the smoke come out of the bumpers as she made her way – or rather squeezed her way – through the Panama Canal. With a twinkle in his eye, John will tell you about the time he was the radar air search and he spotted a bogey at 100 miles east and 270 degrees west. It was a real big bogey. He called it up to “the powers that be” only to be told “that bogey is Formosa.”

The Combat Information Center (CIC) aboard USS Wisconsin (BB 64) during the 1950s. (Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Dom Menta/ Courtesy of Nauticus)

The CIC aboard USS Wisconsin (BB 64) today. (M.C. Farrington)

He also remembers serving as the Royal Imp on the Neptune Court. For this role, he was entitled to carry a trident. However, the end of his trident had been rigged to give an electric shock. John struck his outfitted trident on about 20 pollywogs before someone spotted what he was doing, and his trident was taken away from him.

King Neptune oversees his minions as they torment pollywogs (Sailors who have never crossed the equator before) as they run the gauntlet during a line crossing ceremony aboard USS Wisconsin (BB 64).  (Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Dom Menta/ Courtesy of Nauticus)

John will tell you he is a natural traveler, and he loved it when he would receive liberty in the foreign ports. He avoided the crowded spots, and tried to see a bit more of the places his ship had taken him. For the most part, in his travels in Japan, Hong Kong, or Guam, he came across only friendly and courteous people. But one day as he rode his bike along a deserted road in Japan, a Japanese soldier came towards him, over onto his side of the road, and forced John into a ditch. The solider apologized profusely after the event, but John was certain it had been intentional. He now shrugs his shoulders at the mention of the incident, without any bad feelings at all.

A shopping district somewhere in Japan during the 1950s. (Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Dom Menta/ Courtesy of Nauticus)

John was also on board Wisconsin on the only day crew members were injured in combat. The ship was off the coast of North Korea when shore artillery hit the starboard side of the ship. Three men were wounded. The captain was outraged-not only about his men, but also on the damage done to his ship. The captain ordered all nine 16-inch guns to be fired in broadside at the perpetrators. They were obliterated. The injured Wisconsin crewmen, however, recovered from their wounds.

USS Wisconsin (BB 64) fires a 16-inch volley from its number three turret against a target in North Korea. (Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Dom Menta/ Courtesy of Nauticus)