VJ Day Artifact Series (Part 4): Journal from a USS Bennington (CV 20) Sailor

 To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, we asked our colleagues at our sister museums for some interesting artifacts that highlight unique aspects of the Navy during the war. To close out this series, we have an artifact from our sister museum, the National Museum of the American Sailor in Great Lakes, Illinois. 

USS Bennington (CV 20), with camouflage paint, preparing to go to war. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

By Jennifer Steinhardt and Samantha Belles
Archivist and Collection Manager at National Museum of the American Sailor

It is difficult to select only one item from an artifact collection that captures so many important historical stories about the Navy’s enlisted Sailor. One such item from the National Museum of the American Sailor’s collection is Fireman 1/c (EM) Nicholas Saroukos’ journal. Born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1920, Saroukos enlisted into the United States Navy in 1942. As the Navy forbade American service members to keep personal journals during World War II, Saroukos’ account as an electrician aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bennington (CV 20) from January-April 1945 provides a rare contemporaneous firsthand account of what it was like to be a Navy Sailor during World War II.

A page from Saroukos' journal. Of note is the reference to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death, as well as to kamikaze attacks (off of Okinawa). (National Museum of the American Sailor)

A sailor keeps an eye on a control board below deck aboard USS Bennington in 1945. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

In his journal, Saroukos first recounts the USS Bennington (CV 20) tying up to the USS Utah (BB 31) “Had my first glimpse of the historic port of Pearl Harbor. We tied up to the______ of the U.S.S. Utah which is lying on the bottom of the harbor.” Throughout his journal, he continues to detail his life aboard the ship. One notable part of the journal is when Saroukos discusses the disadvantages of having a below deck battle-station. He states, “that nothing can be done when a plane is diving at us but lie on the deck face down…”

The wreck of USS Utah (BB 31) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1944 during salvage operations. The battleship was one of those sunk during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

This personal and important story is one of many in our collection. By keeping a journal, Nicholas Saroukos provides a glimpse into the daily life of enlisted sailors, something the National Museum of the American Sailor strives to preserve and make available to everyone each and every day.

Local Sailors Engaged at the Battle of Vera Cruz, 1914

As the diplomatic crisis with Mexican military government continued to deteriorate, President Woodrow Wilson decided to act. Each of the battleships off of Vera Cruz was to assemble a landing team of armed Sailors and Marine detachments. Reinforced by land-based Marines, the force landed with orders to seize the city's custom house and secure the city. The landing itself went on without much issue. But shortly after the landing, local Mexican forces opened fire on the Americans. Here are some of the images we have of sailors from locally-based ships preparing for action or already in the middle of it.

You can see other images in our collection of the Vera Cruz intervention here,  here, and here. For an excellent political and military overview of the expedition, we encourage you to read naval historian Jack Sweetman's Naval History magazine article or his book The Landing at Veracruz: 1914.

Sailors from USS Michigan's (BB-27) Fifth Division make final preparations to go ashore at Vera Cruz.  While most sailors went into combat wearing either their summer whites or winter blues, Michigan's sailors felt their uniform needed to be more suitable for possible urban combat.  They decided on a khaki-colored uniform.  As this was not standard issue, the sailors soaked their uniforms in the battleship's large coffee vats and boiled them in hot coffee.  During anti-sniper sweeps, one Michigan sailor was credited with taking out an enemy sniper from 100 yards away at night with one shot from his Colt revolver.   

Signalmen from the USS Florida (BB-30) detachment prepare to go ashore.  During the fighting, these men exposed themselves to enemy fire to keep American flag officers informed on the progress of the battle. 

USS Louisiana's (BB-19) company of Sailors and Marines prepare to land at a moment's notice (note that the ship is underway).  While Michigan's and Louisiana's companies arrived too late for the April 21-22 street fight, American flag officers welcomed their arrival and used them to help secure the city and the outlying areas.

USS Utah (BB-31) sailors in action during the heavy fighting with Mexican forces on April 21.  The Mexican forces consisted of Mexican Federal soldiers, local militiamen, and Mexican Naval cadets.

Sailors and Marines, possibly from Florida's company, take up anti-sniper positions.  Once the heavy fighting stopped on April 22, Mexican soldiers constantly harassed American forces with snipers. 

The Newport News-built and locally based USS Montana (ACR-13) gets underway for New York City, carrying twenty-two American Sailors and Marines killed in the fighting.  The fallen were given a public funeral in New York City. 

Battleship Squadron Leaves For Mexico, 1914

A newspaper photograph of Atlantic Fleet battleships deploying from Hampton Roads to Mexico,
April 15, 1914.  It should be noted that the newspaper's caption have the wrong ship names.

One hundred years ago yesterday, acting on instructions from President Woodrow Wilson, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels ordered the Hampton Roads-based ships of the Atlantic Fleet to mobilize and head to the east coast of Mexico. The first squadron to deploy included the new battleships USS Arkansas (BB-33), USS Utah (BB-31), and Florida (BB-30); the older battleships USS New Jersey (BB-16) and USS New Hampshire (BB-25); and the dispatch boat/armed yacht USS Yankton. Daniels had specifically ordered the squadron to Tampico and Vera Cruz. Daniels deployed the squadron of heavy ships to reinforce a smaller squadron already on the scene.

The deployment of American battleships came from a culmination of a series of international incidents. A few days before, Mexican authorities had arrested several American sailors in Tampico, and later a Marine who got lost while trying to deliver official mail. These arrests occurred during the latest civil war in Mexico. There was also an American belief that European powers were attempting to intervene in the war. Thus, tensions between Mexico and the United States were high.

Mexican authorities agreed to release the American servicemen, but some senior U.S. Naval officers, and later President Wilson himself, beleived American honor had been insulted. They demanded official apology and a 21-gun salute to the American flag by the Mexican government. When the Mexican reply to the American demands was not forthcoming quickly enough, Wilson put the Navy's ships on alert.

While Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Roosevelt commented to the press that the Navy was prepared for anything, there is evidence that the mobilization order caught the Atlantic Fleet somewhat off guard. Several of the ships were not prepared for an extended deployment. New Hampshire's sailors, for example, worked through the night and early morning of April 15 loading 1,600 tons of coal on board. The Navy quickly called up all sailors stationed at St. Helena Naval Training Station and on board the local receiving ships Franklin and Richmond, regardless of rate, sea experience, or enlistment status, to fill in personnel gaps. Many other ships in the Atlantic Fleet were not ready, including the battleships Texas (BB-35) and Delaware (BB-28) and several repair vessels and coal colliers.

Even though the initial operation was only a partial mobilization of the Atlantic Fleet, the five battleships' deployment raised American jingoism to a fever pitch. Most Americans fully supported the deployment and even offered to help in their own special way. The Governor of Texas, for example, offered to invade Mexico on behalf of the United States. The President politely declined.

1913 Live Fire Exercises in the Chesapeake Bay: Chicken Farmers Not Pleased...Again

Atlantic Fleet battleships steaming from Hampton Roads towards the
"Southern Drill Grounds" in the Chesapeake Bay, 1913

We have previously posted about Maryland poultry farmers accusing the Navy of killing over 70,000 chickens during live fire exercise off Tangier Island in 1911. The farmers claimed that the big battleship guns caused such a concussion shock on shore that the poor chickens keeled over and died. The Navy denied having anything to do with the alleged chicken massacre. Two years later, the Navy was back with more ships and bigger guns.

The Atlantic Fleet at the Southern Drill Grounds as seen
from the cage mast of USS Kansas (BB-21)

The operation was one of the largest Naval exercises to date.  Navy planners plotted out a series of static target gun shoots and war games between ships in an area they designated as the "Southern Drill Grounds" in the Chesapeake Bay.  Planners preferred the Chesapeake Bay due to the fact that it provided favorable weather conditions. They wanted the water to be somewhat rough to give gunners the chance to practice in choppy water, but not so rough as to cancel the exercise.   


USS Kansas unloads her 12-inch guns at a stationary target

In late March 1913, the Atlantic Fleet arrived near Tangier Island in full force. Rear Admiral Charles Johnson Badger led a force that consisted of the new dreadnought-type battleships USS Wyoming (BB-32), Utah (BB-31), Delaware (BB-28), and South Carolina (BB-26), along with the pre-dreadnought-type battleships USS Kansas (BB-21), Minnesota(BB-22), Georgia (BB-15), New Jersey (BB-16), and Nebraska (BB-12). In addition to the battleships, two divisions of torpedo boat and torpedo boat destroyers joined the battle force, along with several support ships such as coal tenders and store ships. 

12-inch shell explosions during live fire drills

The fleet conducted several rounds of live fire shoots with their main guns in late March and early April. The torpedo boat divisions practiced torpedo attack runs on the battleships during the middle of the night. Several senior naval officers served as observers and kept score of hits and misses of the stationary targets and determined the success of the torpedo boats against the battleships. Witnessed by several U.S. Senators and Secretary of the Josephus Daniels, the exercises were by all accounts a success.

With their round of shooting done, officers on board Kansas
observe other battleships' firings. 

That is not how local Marylanders saw it. Like the 1911 operation, Maryland civilians who lived near Tangier Island claimed the battleship gun shoots were having a devastating affect on their town and their agribusiness. One newspaper reported that buildings in Chrisfield, Maryland had their shattered windows and cracked foundations. The newspaper even claimed some of their chimneys were knocked off. In addition, Chrisfield watermen claimed the concussion waves killed thousands of fish.  They were also afraid of getting hit by stray shells. Local poultry farmers claimed that eggs cracked and were hatching prematurely. The Navy had no comment on these allegations.

German Warships and President Taft in Hampton Roads, 1912

USS Idaho (BB-24) waiting for the German squadron east of Hampton Roads

Those who hold public office know that one must be careful when making a comment within earshot of the media.  In 1910, the battleship USS Minnesota (BB-22) made a port call in England. During an official reception, the mayor of London asked Minnesota's commanding officer, the always outspoken Captain William Simms, what the United States would do if England were attacked by a foreign power. Simms responded, "It is my opinion that you may count on every man, every dollar, every drop of blood of kindred from across the sea."


The German dreadnought SMS Molkte near Fort Monore

This statement infuriated Kaiser Wilhelm who naturally believed he was speaking of the German Empire. Relations between Germany and the United States were lukewarm at best in the early 20th century, particularly with Germany's increased involvement in the Western Hemisphere. Thus, President Howard Taft had to publicly reprimand Simms and apologize to the Kaiser in person.  But that was not good enough for German diplomats. The diplomats also noted in their official protest that the American Navy frequently visited France and Great Britain, but never Germany. 

The German Squadron from left to right-The cruisers SMS

Stettin and Bremen and the battleship Molkte.

The Germans demanded a public showing of goodwill between the United States and the Germans.  Taft agreed. In the Summer 1911, the Navy's Second Division of the Atlantic Fleet travelled to Kiel, Germany where the Kaiser and the entire German fleet greeted them.

In the Summer 1912, the German Navy reciprocated the visit with three ships, the cruisers SMS Stettin and Bremen and the brand new dreadnought-type battleship SMS Moltke. Realizing that Taft was in the middle of a reelection, the Kaiser wanted to send the ships as not to cause distraction to the American election season. Thus he sent them to Hampton Roads from Kiel in May 1912. The three ship squadron arrived off the Virginia Capes in late May, and were saluted by USS Idaho (BB-24) upon arrival. Two divisions of U.S. Battleships lined Hampton Roads to greet the Germans, including Utah (BB-31), Michigan (BB-27), Delaware (BB-28), and South Carolina (BB-26).

The Presidential yacth Mayflower entering Hampton Roads
and approaching the line of U.S. battleships on the left and
the German squadron on  the right.


Taft arrived in the Presidential yacht Mayflower and boarded Molkte. There, Vice Admiral Hubert von Rebeur-Paschwitz greeted the President and his entourage and personally gave him a tour of the ship. Taft remarked "Admiral, I'm glad to welcome you and to have an opportunity of visiting the Moltke, of the finest ships I have ever seen." Upon leaving the ship, Moltke's band struck up the "Star Spangled Banner." Once the Hampton Roads' festivities were over, the senior staff of the German ships proceed to Washington and New York City where they were wined and dined by America's leading politicians and business leaders.

The Washington, D.C. photo studio of Harris and Ewing followed the President to Hampton Roads and took these very vivid shots of the President, the U.S. Navy and the German squadron. Many more of the studio's collection can be found at the Library of Congress' website.

President Taft being given a tour of Moltke by German Vice Admiral Hubert von Rebuer-Pachswitch