On July 6, 1943 I was transported to San Diego as an Apprentice Seaman and started what I recall as 10 weeks of Boot Camp training. Even to this day, 56 years later, I remember how we were lined up on the grinder (Parade Grounds) doing calisthenics morning and evening. I recall that period because of the agony during the first week of Boot Camp with arms and shoulders so sore from the shots we were all given, and the Drill Instructor would yell "get those damned arms way up over your heads".

Those of you that went through training camps should recall doing the 'side straddle hop'and the other physical training we were given. After Boot, I was sent to the Amphibious School there in San Diego. I had my 15th birthday while in school. In December I was assigned to the USS LCI (G) 450 which was birthed in San Diego. This ship was designed to carry infantryman into beaches. We were converted to a gunboat by changing the 20mm gun on the bow to a 40mm and adding a second one in the well deck. We also installed 5 - Rocket Launchers on the port and starboard ramps. Each launcher would hold 6 - 5" rockets so when the control decided to fire, 60 - 5 inch shells plus the 40's, 20's and the 50 cal machines guns would be whistling towards the target. The launchers were reloaded as soon as they were depleted.

I had started writing my parents and letters were being exchanged. January 6, 1944 - We sailed in convoy to Pearl Harbor, and we arrived after 13 days at sea. FYI, LCI's top speeds are about 9 knots and don't forget the zigzag formations that convoys traveled in to confuse submarines. After reaching Pearl, the '450' was involved in several days of maneuvers off of Hilo, Hawaii. We were then formed into a convoy heading towards the enemy held Marshall Islands.
Early in the morning of January 31, 1944, we were laying to in the dark while the Battleships, Cruisers and Destroyers were sending volleys of large shells over our flotilla that was laying off shore waiting for the barrage to cease. I can still remember the sight of the cherry red projectiles seemingly in slow motion passing over us making a whooshing sound on their way to their objective. At this time there was no enemy fire from the islands.
When it was time for our first assault, we went in with our 40 and 20mm guns blazing, sending in the first massive rocket attack from such a small ship. We then received word to proceed to our second objective. As we were moving in at flank speed, the water turned shallow and we grounded the ship on a coral reef.

I believe there's a New York Times article that is part of this site that explains what happened to us after the screeching and grinding came to a stop. There were some enemy shells sent our way but I believe that gun site was taken out before it got our range.

SPECIAL DISPATCH TO NEW YORK TIMES ' CUSSED ' LCI SAVES FIFTY FROM DROWNING BY ROBERT TRUMBULL ( COPYRIGHT BY NEW YORK TIMES ) ABOARD AN LCI, KWAJALEIN SOUTH PACIFIC FEBRUARY 4, 1944(LCI (G)450)

Navy men on the big sleek warships refer to an LCI ( Landing Craft Infantry) as " A Barge With A House On It ." These ugly ducklings of the navy are seldom noticed except to be cussed or good naturedly derided, and they do a ticklish job under fire with scant credit. This one happened to have saved 50 men from drowning in the furious white water that pounded the sharp coral ledge around Ennubirr island, during the marine landings there January 31, 1944. These wide-beamed 110-foot craft are designed to snub against a beach and debark assault troops down a ramp. Sometimes, instead of bringing in troops, they are gunboats who knock out enemy positions on the beach.

That's what this one was doing that morning, when a strong current pushed her onto the reef. A battleship was bombarding the island, the shells whistling above the LCI. In the roar of the gunfire Lt. (jg) Thomas F. Kennedy, jr., Bryn Mawr, Penn., who has been Captain of this humble ship since she was commissioned at Barber, N.J., couldn't hear the racket of his vessel going aground.

The situation was humiliating, Kennedy thought, but he didn't have time to worry about it then, for four Alligators (troop-carrying amphibious tractors) were capsizing on the reefs 500 yards astern.

MEN EXHAUSTED-

The men struggling in the water were near exhaustion, and some had been struck by the Alligators in the wave behind them. Dr. R. B. Hardy, marine surgeon, once was pinned under an Alligators, but he was a powerful man--a former All American football player at Harvard-- and managed to break free. Lt. D. N. Boydston was near drowning, later he said that as he was battered under the waves, he seemed to see a picture of his wife. The LCI threw a line to Dr. Hardy, P. S. Layser, J. R. Boltuc and A. J. Tiedway, the four strongest swimmers among the overturned marines--in fact, the only ones who were not too beaten by the waves to swim. The line was hurled from the LCI's fantail, and the four marines fought with it through the surf to a reef buoy, where they tied the end after losing the line several times on the way.

Now it developed that the wash of the ship was strong enough to break the hold of the other castaways on the line, so Kennedy brought out two more stout ropes, which Layser and Tiedway held in their powerful hands so as to form a square around the outside of the viciously tugging current. By this route all of the stranded men were brought aboard, three of them so exhausted that they had to be carried by Boltuc.

INSTALLS HOSPITAL-

Meanwhile Hardy remained aboard the LCI and set up a hospital in the radio room, with Pharmacist's Mate 1/c Sydney Baumber of Boston. All of the marines were aboard by 1 P.M. After a continuous two hour battle with the sea, two of them were dead. Kennedy was about to order his lines hauled in for he needed them, when two more Alligators commanded by a Lieutenant Montgomery also capsized on the reef. Three men drowned immediately, and Ensign O. J. Banasik had taken so much salt water aboard that he had to be worked over for three hours before he revived. In all, 50 men were saved.

Hardy and Baumber stripped them all and had them lie on the LCI's broad fantail for examination. Some of them has serious cuts from the sharp coral, which they were unaware of, and the Doctor worked over these. Meanwhile the bombardment of the islands continued.

CREW SHARES-

Kennedy put the sickest cases, including Boydston and Banasik on cots in the mess hall. The LCI crew broke out all of the ships cigarettes and gave their guests dry clothes and ammunition for the weapons they had salvaged. Two days later Kennedy put the 50 men in small boats with a supply of food and landed them on Ennuebing.

Kennedy had time then to talk the matter over with his subordinate officers- Ensign Gerald Conners, of Toledo, Executive Officer; Lt. (jg) Robert Main, of Middletown, Oh. Engineer; and Ensign Wallace Brady of Bancroft, Wis. Young Kennedy was not at all impressed by the fact that he had saved 50 men to fight another day. Instead he was extremely downcast because going on the reef had prevented his fulfilling his mission of shooting up Ennubirr beach. "I hope," he said ruefully this morning in his tiny, spotless wardroom," that we get a chance to redeem ourselves."

(Note from Vaughn Hampton - we were towed back to Pearl behind the DD - USS Anderson, also disabled during the invasion, because we had chewed up our props and had cut gashes in our keel. We were repaired to fight again-)

After the action was over, we were pulled off the reef and then towed back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. Upon reaching Pearl, I was called into the wardroom and informed by the Executive Officer that my father had notified the Navy that I was only 15 years old, and illegally in the Navy and he requested that I be discharged. My objections carried no weight so on 4/7/44 I was transferred to Waipio Point Amphibious Base. They must have lost my records because 10 days later I was assigned to the USS Auriga (AK98) as a S/2c. Since I was a veteran of the Marshall invasion, I was made a Cox'n on a LCVP and we went on landing maneuvers.

My records must have resurfaced because on 5/2/44 I was sent back to the Amphib Base. In the Military, strange things happen. On 5/5/44 I was assigned to the USS Oak Hill (LSD-7). Now that was a ship. Here are the comparisons between it and a LCI. We had fresh water showers instead of salt, toilet stools instead of a trough, refrigerated water instead of drinking from a scuttlebutt and the chow, even though our 'ole cook Nick tried, he couldn't put out meals from his galley like those that came out of the Oak Hill's.
We went on maneuvers preparing for some operation (Turned out to be Guam)and upon returning, those blasted records caught up with me again. I was returned to the Amphibious Base and then placed on a ship heading to the Treasure Island Receiving Ship, San Francisco. On June 14, 1944, I was given a General Discharge under Honorable Conditions.

Civilian Life-

Upon returning to Denver there was a truce declared between my parents and me and in the fall, I returned to school. That didn't last long because there was a world of difference between the 15-year-old kids in school and my 15 years. I needed more excitement so in January 1945. I decided to go out on my own again and headed back to Los Angeles.

On March 10, 1945, I was able to get a Merchant Marine Coast Guard Certificate and sailed as an Ordinary Seaman on the SS Verena, a T-2 tanker carrying aviation fuel. We ended up at New Zealand and then returned back to San Pedro, California. I hadn't enjoyed being on the tanker with all that volatile gas so I made sure that my next ship was different.

In May 8, I shipped out on the SS George H. Powell, a liberty ship with our holds loaded and tanks, trucks and other material secured topside. We dropped of some material at Pearl, picked up other equipment and headed towards the south Pacific. I recall being at anchor for 30 hot days at Ulithi atoll and we sailed to several other places.

Our next voyage was to Buckner Bay, at Naha, Okinawa in June1945. Okinawa was secured for the most part but we were told that there were a few enemy stragglers roaming around. It seems that every day there were several kamikaze attacks against some of the larger ships. We were strafed about a dozen times by aircraft heading towards other targets but amazingly, we didn't suffer any casualties during the runs. I do remember hitting the deck the several times I was topside when it occurred to our ship. I was able to observe some of the strafing that occurred against other ships.
It seemed to be a wild and wooly anchorage when a lot of ships were trying to shoot down the kamikaze planes, we heard from our armed guard, that there was some casualties from friendly fire. When you're strafed, it's over before you have time to react. On August 15, 1945 the word came down that the war was over and it seemed that all the ships in Buckner Bay went wild by shooting their guns up in the air. When a shell is shot upwards, it has to come down and there were some unintended casualties from these rounds before the firing could be stopped.

After we finally off-loaded our cargo, we headed back to San Pedro, California to be discharged. My youthful odyssey had run it's course and I returned to civilian life again feeling older than my sixteen years. I joined the Army Air corps in April 1946 and during my 3-year hitch, acquired my high school GED certificate with no trouble passing the tests.

A final aside to this story. The Coast Guard effectively released all Merchant Mariners on August 15, 1945. That's the date that is on all Coast Guard discharge certificates for all Merchant Marine sailors, even though their ships might have arrived back in the states months later.