LST-847 Deck Log Summary

Selected Summary Transcriptions from the Deck Logs of the USS LST-847
(includes all ports of call)

15 Jan 45	Ship was commissioned at Algiers (Louisiana) Naval Station
25 Jan 45	Underway for St. Andrews Bay, FL (Panama City, FL)
26 Jan 45	Arrived in St. Andrews Bay; practiced loading/unloading
01 Feb 45	Assigned to 186th Division, 31st Flotilla of the Atlantic Fleet
08 Feb 45	Departed for New Orleans, LA
09 Feb 45	Arrived at Pendleton Shipyard in New Orleans; loaded Army DUKWs
20 Feb 45	Departed for Panama Canal
27 Feb 45	Arrived at the east entrance to Panama Canal
01 Mar 45	Transited Panama Canal and departed for San Pedro, CA
14 Mar 45	Arrived in San Pedro, CA; began loading LCVPs
17 Mar 45	Departed San Pedro, bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
27 Mar 45	Arrived in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; unloaded DUKWs
04 Apr 45	Loaded 5 LVTs, sailed for maneuvers near Maui Island, Hawaii
05 Apr 45	Participated in a mock invasion of Kahoolawe Island, Hawaii
07 Apr 45	Returned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
29 Apr 45	Maneuvers in waters off Hawaiian Islands
01 May 45	Practice invasion of Maui Island, Hawaii
05 May 45	Moored in Kanehoe Bay, Oahu Island, Hawaii
15 May 45	Underway to Hilo Bay, Hawaii
16 May 45	Arrived in Hilo Bay, Hawaii
17 May 45	Departed Hilo Bay for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
18 May 45	Arrived in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
20 May 45	Departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in a convoy bound for Eniwetok Atoll
26 May 45	Crossed International Date Line at 2215 hours on 26 May, avg. speed 10.5 knots
01 Jun 45	Anchored in Eniwetok Atoll at 1545 hours
04 Jun 45	Departed for Apra Harbor, Guam
09 Jun 45	Arrived off Guam; held offshore and at 1700 hours departed for Saipan Island
10 Jun 45	Arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands
01 Jul 45	Assigned to the 185th Division, USS LST Group 93, USS LST 31st Flotilla of the U.S. Pacific Fleet
08 Jul 45	Departed Saipan, bound for Okinawa in Convoy SOK-21
14 Jul 45	Arrived in Okinawa
19 Jul 45	Underway out to sea to ride out a typhoon per Typhoon Plan XRAY EAST
20 Jul 45	1200 hours: located off of Yanaha Shima Island at 26° 13’ N, 128° 42’ 38” E, winds 17 knots from 200°, seas/swells = 5/5 (0 to 9 scale)
21 Jul 45	Returned to Okinawa after successfully avoiding storm
22 Jul 45	Departed for Guam
29 Jul 45	Arrived in Guam
31 Jul 45	Departed for Saipan

01 Aug 45	Underway from Guam, bound for Saipan; arrived and anchored at 0809 hours
12 Aug 45	Departed Saipan for Leyte, Philippine Islands
14 Aug 45	[Japan agrees to surrender - “VJ Day”]
18 Aug 45	Arrived in San Pedro Bay, Leyte, P.I.; moved to Guiuan, Samar Island, P.I.
28 Aug 45	Moved to San Pedro Bay, Leyte, P.I.
31 Aug 45	Moved to Guiuan, Samar Island, P.I.
04 Sep 45	Landed 170 enlisted men and 9 officers; departed for Tolosa, Leyte Island, P.I.; arrived late and anchored in San Pedro Bay
06 Sep 45	Departed for Okinawa (Hagushi Bay)
12 Sep 45	Arrived in Okinawa at Buckner Bay
14 Sep 45	Moved to Hagushi Bay, Okinawa Island
16 Sep 45	Headed out to sea to avoid approaching typhoon, destination Shanghai, China (Task Unit 74.5.1)
19 Sep 45	Anchored in the mouth of the Yangtze River
20 Sep 45	Moored at Old Ning Po wharf, Shanghai, China
24 Sep 45	Lt. Gustav A. Hoffman of White Plains, NY replaced Lt. Robert S. Marshall as commanding officer of the USS LST-847
08 Oct 45	Embarked Chief of Staff, 70^th Chinese Army, Major General Lu Yung Kuan and his staff
10 Oct 45	Departed Shanghai bound for the Yung River, China; anchored SE of Uansan Island
12 Oct 45	Moved into the mouth of the Yung River, dropped anchor; Major General and his staff departed using PC-1131
14 Oct 45	Embarked 500 troops of the 70^th Chinese Army
15 Oct 45	Departed Yung River for Kiirun Ko, Formosa, China (NE part of Formosa Island)
17 Oct 45	Arrived at Keeling Harbor, Kiirun Ko, Formosa, China; unloaded Chinese troops
29 Oct 45	Departed Formosa Island for Subic Bay, P.I.
02 Nov 45	Arrived in Subic Bay, Luzon, P.I.
07 Nov 45	Moved to Manila Bay, Luzon, P.I.
10 Nov 45	Departed Subic Bay for Haiphong, French Indo-China
15 Nov 45	Arrived at Haiphong and anchored SW of Hon Dau Island
19 Nov 45	Embarked 55 officers and 449 troops of the 62^nd Chinese Army
20 Nov 45	Departed for Takao, Formosa, China
25 Nov 45	Arrived in Takao, Formosa, China
27 Nov 45	Departed for Haiphong (b)
29 Nov 45	Diverted to Hong Kong to obtain medical treatment for S2/c Robert J. Hayes; departed for Haiphong (b)
02 Dec 45	Arrived in Haiphong
03 Dec 45	Loaded 47 Chinese Army trucks and drivers
05 Dec 45	Unloaded 47 Chinese Army trucks and drivers to the Liberty Ship “Nicholas J. Sinnott”; loaded and unloaded more troops and vehicles to the Liberty Ships “John B. Ashe” and “Nicholas J. Sinnott”
06 Dec 45	Loaded and unloaded troops and vehicles to the Liberty Ship “Ben A. Ruffin”
07 Dec 45	Loaded and unloaded more troops and vehicles to the Liberty Ship “Ben A. Ruffin”
08 Dec 45	Loaded and unloaded 668 troops of the Chinese Army HQ Unit to the Liberty Ship “Nicholas J. Sinnott”; departed Haiphong for Chinwangtao, China (Hulutao, Manchuria)
16 Dec 45	Lt. Hoffman was transferred to the flagship USS Conway (DD-507) for separation; he was replaced as commanding officer by Lt. (j.g.) Benjamin V. Wolf of Miami, FL
18 Dec 45	Encountered heavy weather at location 28° 39’ 45” N, 124° 55’ E; seas/swells = 6/8 (0 to 9 scale)
19 Dec 45	Sunk two floating mines by gunfire at location 30° 30’ N, 125° 40’ E
22 Dec 45	Arrived in Hulutao and unloaded vehicles
24 Dec 45	Departed for Tsingtao, China
26 Dec 45	Arrived in Tsingtao, China
06 Jan 46	Lt. (j.g.) Wolf is replaced by Lt. (j.g.) E.J. Olszewski as commanding officer
09 Jan 46	Ship is dry-docked for repairs in Tsingtao, China until 17 Jan 46
21 Jan 46	Loaded 6 US Marines and 1,020 Japanese repatriates, along with their gear
22 Jan 46	Departed for Sasebo, Kyushu Island, Japan
23 Jan 46	One of the Japanese repatriates, a 2 year old female infant, died of malnourishment and was buried at sea
25 Jan 46	Arrived in Sasebo, Japan and unloaded Japanese repatriates
27 Jan 46	Loaded 19 Chinese civilians (18 women and 1 man); departed for Tsingtao, China
30 Jan 46	Arrived in Tsingtao, China; unloaded civilians
02 Feb 46	Loaded Japanese troops
03 Feb 46	Departed for Sasebo, Japan
06 Feb 46	Arrived in Sasebo, Japan and unloaded Japanese troops
08 Feb 46	Departed for Tsingtao, China
11 Feb 46	Arrived in Tsingtao, China
14 Feb 46	Loaded 1,190 Japanese civilians
15 Feb 46	Departed for Sasebo, Japan
17 Feb 46	Two of the Japanese repatriates, a 2 year old female and a 2 year old boy, died of pneumonia and were buried at sea
18 Feb 46	Arrived in Sasebo, Japan and unloaded Japanese civilians
20 Feb 46	Departed for Tsingtao, China
23 Feb 46	Arrived in Tsingtao, China
25 Feb 46	Loaded 1,069 Japanese troops
26 Feb 46	Departed for Sasebo, Japan
27 Feb 46	A 31 year old Japanese soldier died and was buried at sea
01 Mar 46	Arrived in Sasebo, Japan and unloaded Japanese troops
04 Mar 46	Departed for Buckner Bay, Okinawa
06 Mar 46	Arrived in Buckner Bay, Okinawa
11 Mar 46	Loaded aviation supplies and torpedoes
16 Mar 46	Departed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
27 Mar 46	2000 hours location (-11 Time Zone): 20° 03’ N, 168° 45’ 15” E (about 200 miles NE of Wake Island); at 2245 hours, lookouts sighted an intense, luminous, yellow light in the sky at a bearing of 70° (ship’s course was 091°); all engines were stopped; source of light could not be identified.
30 Mar 46	Crossed International Date Line (180°) at 1800 hours (-12 to +12 Time Zone)
06 Apr 46	Arrived in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
08 Apr 46	Unloaded torpedoes
11 Apr 46	Robert C. Grobbel, Cox, USN, transferred to the USS Cleburne (APA-73)
13 Apr 46	Departed for San Francisco, CA
23 Apr 46	Arrived in San Francisco, CA
07 May 46	Departed for Balboa, Canal Zone, Panama, under the command of Ensign Samuel Kinsley (a)
22 May 46	Arrived in Balboa and transited the Panama Canal
31 May 46	Arrived in Charleston, SC
16 Jun 46	The USS LST-847 was decommissioned in Charleston, SC

U.S.S. LST-847 WW II Landing Ship, Tank
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