7 Tie Coast Defense Journal Page # 28" Coast Artillery Battalion and the Defense of Saint Lucia and Ascension Islands William C. Gaines ‘Near the end of January 1942, the War Department constituted the 50* Coast Antillery Regiment, a new mobile tractor-drawn unit armed with 155 mm M1918M1 GPF guns. Troops for the new regi- ment, mostly recent draftees, were drawn from harbor defenses along the Atlantic seaboard and basic training depots. As initially constituted and organized, the 50 CA did not remain intact long enough to fully organize its various elements; its newly organized Battery A was deployed to the Pacific in mid- March 1942. At that time, the regiment consisted of Batteries A, B, and two platoons of Battery G, the regimental searchlight battery.(1) Approximately five officers and 160 enlisted men from the 2" Bn, 9* CA (HD) Regiment, were transferred from the HD of Boston to Camp Pendleton, VA, on February 2, 1942. Upon arrival, the detachment was used 10 organize Battery B, 50* CA Regiment. Battery G, 50* CA, was made up of men from the 10 and 243 CA Regiments at Fort Adams in the HD of Narragansett Bay, the 241* CA from the HD of Boston, and the 245 CA in the HD of Sandy Hook. When Battery A departed for the Pacific, Battery B was the best-trained battery remaining in che regiment.(2) A few days after the departure of Battery A, 50* CA, the 28 Coast Artillery Bartalion was consti- tured and activated at Camp Pendleton. Battery A, 28* CA Bn, was organized from casuals in the 50* CA, while Battery B, 50% CA, was redesignated Battery B, 28* CA Bn. Bartery B was commanded by Capt. Bruce H. Johnson, with four ochor officers, 1* Lt. Frank L. Talbot and 2™ Lts. Howard R. Perkins, Alden E. Fox, and Donald W. Goodchild, along with 138 enlisted men and NCOs. Battery C was organized as a two-platoon searchlight battery. From March 20 to April 23, 1942, the 28 CA Bn was attached to the 50® CA while being outfitted with “clothing, emergency food, guns, fire control equipment, etc.” ‘The battalion was called upon for so many guard and other details around Camp Pendleton that the three batteries were able accomplish little training. On April 23, the 28% was released from the 50* CA to Composite Force 8012 for ad- The Greenslade Board traveled aboard the newly commissioned light cruiser USS St. Louis to select sites for West- cern Hemisphere bases in 1940. USN.Psu "2006 ‘Dhe Coast Defense Journat Tage 5 Unite sTaTES Prcawuoa SECRET Caribbean Sea. U.S. Amy. ministration, supply, and training. At this time, the major emphasis shifted to training, which began in eamest May 1, 1942. A radio and telephone school was established; map problems and regular condi- tioning hikes were scheduled; gun and range sections were organized; and a 155 mm battery position and plotting room at Fort Story were made available for training and target practice. ‘The 28 CA Bn was slated for overseas service in the Caribbean Defense Command. It would not, however, function as an intact battalion; its two firing batteries would be stationed some 3,000 miles apart. Battery A, with 1* Platoon, Battery C, would be assigned to the Santa Lucia Base Command in the Lesser Antilles, while Battery B and the 2 Platoon of Battery C would serve on Ascension Island in the South Adantic.(3) Saint Lucia ‘While Composite Force 8012 was rushing to complete its organization and training, German submarine activity in the South Atlantic and the Caribbean was rapidly becoming a major threat toVolume 20, Tse 3 st Defense Journal Page 6 tant : Lucia} Pigeen tiled Pg > ave Gre take farowtne / } sft Mamniies < fey | 5 Fatensare | Castriesy wen Carthbean | Sea i | 88m) i FOO ecnaioee Mt Te: staboue i Weus Totty caw sah a Cape soude a chaque Je MAPRUES TCO aviw nw s0sw. od St. Lucia. Mapquest.com. ( the Allied war effort. Most Caribbean harbors were ill protected against bombardment, with pitifully small garrisons, if any. Measures had already been taken to plice strong forces on Trinidad and Puerto Rico, bur the smaller island ports that could serve as harbors of refuges from U-boats had inadequate defenses. Consequently, the War Department moved to organize troops for the defense of these islands in the Caribbean Defense Command. One such harbor was Castries Harbor on St. Lucia, its selection no doubt influenced by its demonstrated vulnerability to German U-boats.(4) ‘Almond-shaped St. Lucia Island is approximately 1,300 miles southeast of Florida, in the Lesser Antilles. It is 27 miles long and 14 miles wide, with an area of 238 square miles, much of it moun- tainous. The ewo largest peaks are Petit Piton rising 2,438 feet above the sea and Gros Piton with an elevation of 2,618 feet ‘Once inhabited by the Carib Indians, $t. Lucia is believed to have been discovered by Columbus's navigator, Juan de Cosa, around 1500. However, a European presence was not established on the is- land until the 1550s, when the buccaneer Francois “Peg Leg” le Clerc developed a base of operations at Pigeon Bay at the north end of the island to support his descents on the treasure-laden Spanish galleons plying the Spanish Main. In the early 1600s the Dutch established Vieux Fort on the island’s south end. St. Lucia passed between the Netherlands, France, and Spain throughout much of the 18% century. During the wars of the French Revolution, the island capitulated to Great Britain in 1797 and was ceded to that country by the 1802 Treaty of Amiens. St. Lucia became part of the British Empire in 1814 as part of the Windward Islands Colony. This arrangement lasted until 1889, when it was united with Trinidad. ‘The defenses of Sc. Lucia consisted of Citadelle du Morne Forcune begun by che French in 1764 at Castries, the island's capitol. The fort was finally completed after some 20 years, during which time the island had changed hands several times. When the British 27 Regiment of Foor (Royal Inniskillingfugust 2006 Page? Ft. Rodney at Pigeon Point at the north end of St. Lucia. Author. Fusiliers) wrested the Citadelle from the French in 1796, it was renamed Fort Charlotte. The British built a second defensive work on Pigeon Point ar the north end of the island, named for Admiral George Brydges Rodney, RN, who had served with some distinction in the West Indies during the 18 century. Both of these works had fallen into disrepair by the mid-19* century. Soon after war broke out in Europe in September 1939, Great Britain agreed to allow America lim- ited use of base facilities in St. Lucia and elsewhere in the Caribbean. By September 1940, agreements had been reached for an expansion of American bases in the Western Hemisphere, principally in the Caribbean, in exchange for 50 overage American destroyers. A board chaired by Rear Admiral John W. ‘Greenslade was to select the locations for the bases. On October 18, 1940, the Greenslade Board arrived in Castries Harbor, St. Lucia, aboard the USS St Louis (CL-49). After consulting with the governor of the Windward Islands, St. Lucia’s administrator, and a representative of the Royal Navy, Admiral Greenslade selected potential sites for an airfield ar the south end of the island near Vieux Fort, on land owned by the Barbados Setdement Co. The governors of British West Indian and Atlantic possessions ‘on which American bases were to be located were concerned that colonial authority could be disturbed by the arrival of well-paid and well-clothed American Negro troops, and St. Lucia wanted neither Negro nor Puerto Rican troops, so the decision was made to send white troops to St. Lucia. Another site near Black Bay at the north end of the island was selected for a small army cantonment. ‘The collapse of France in 1940 seriously threatened American interests in the Caribbean. The is- Jand of Martinique, at the near center of the Lesser Antilles, was only 21 miles north of St. Lucia. The Vichy French government on the island, along with various French naval elements and a considerable German and Italian presence, was the focus of Allied interest in the early months of the war. Luftwaffe aviators posing as German commercial pilots based on Martinique were rumored to be planning bomb- ing missions against the Panama Canal. The French aircraft carrier Bearn, along with the cruiser JeanneVolume 20, Tae 3 The Const Defense Journal Page® Castries Harbor, St. Lucia, in 1940, after the installation of an antisubmarine net. Emergency airstrip isin the center of the phato. U.S. Army. D'Arc, the light cruiser Emiel Bertin, and various other supporting vessels of the French squadron at Martinique posed a threat to the Allies in the Caribbean, and St. Lucia became an important link in terms of intelligence regarding nearby Martinique. Contingency planning for an invasion was instituted in 1942, after America entered World War IL.(5) While construction of an airfield and port facilities ae Vicux Fort began soon thereafter, the pace of construction was painfully slow, hampered by an inadequate labor force, rough terrain, and inclement weather. Roads were poor and generally inadequate; there were no docking facilities or rail system; all building materials other than stone and sand had to be imported. In spite of these hindrances, progress by the contractor, the Minder Corp. of Chicago, on St. Lucia’s two 5,000-foot runways advanced more rapidly than at other Caribbean sites, and che first test landing on che temporary runway at Vieux Fort was on June 12, 1941. The first runway was completely finished in February 1942 and the second in April of that year. By early July, the base was operational, with a 10,000-gallon aviation fuel tank and a radio station. On October 27, 1941, the first official flag-raising ceremony at che base at Vieux Fort took place. The airfield was officially named Beane Field to honor 1 Lt. James Dudley Beane of the Army Air Service, who was killed during World War I after shooting down six enemy planes. Meanwhile, a 630-acre army encampment was begun at the north end of the island at Black Bay.(6) On the night of March 9, 1942, while the American coast artillery garrison for St. Lucia was still being organized and trained, the German submarine U-161 commanded by Kapitanleutnant Albrecht Achilles entered Castries Harbor and torpedoed the SS Lady Nelson, an 8,000-ton Canadian liner, and SS Umtata, av. 8,200-ton British cargo-passenger ship. Although the St. Lucia Volunteer Force fired on the U-boat with Lewis guns as the submarine ran for the harbor entrance, it escaped with little damage.[eager 2006 “The Coast Defense Journal Page ] Convoy escort U.S.S, Omaha (CL-4). ‘The two vessels on the floor of the harbor severely impeded supply for the base construction force, since materials could not be landed as long as the ewo ships blocked the small harbor’s wharf. This incident indicated the need for heavier armament in the Caribbean Theater and the War Department selected part of the 28¢ CA to protect St. Lucia. By May 4, 1942, an antisubmarine net was completed and in operation from dusk until dawn every day.(7) Once organized and prepared for deployment, Battery A, 28% CA, was composed of cight officers and 183 enlisted men. First Platoon, Battery C, two officers and 32 enlisted men commanded by I* Lt. Mack G. Walters, was attached to Bartery A.(8)Volume 20, Isne The Const Defence Journal Page 10 By July 1942, Battery A with its four 155 mm M1918M1 GPF guns and 1" Platoon, Battery C, with its six 60-inch portable Sperry-type searchlights was preparing for deployment to St. Lucia. The troops departed Camp Pendleton for Charleston, SC, where they staged for deployment. The St. Lucia- bound half of the 28 CA Bn became part of a 370-man force commanded by Col. Ronald L. Ring, Inf. The Sc. Lucia force was made up of Co. A, 434 Inf; Battery A, 28 CA Bn, with four 155 mm GPF M1918M1 guns; a small detachment of the 25! FA Bn armed with 75 mm guns; and a 22-man detachment of the 22" Signal Service Company. Ring's command, which would be designated the St. Lucia Base Command, boarded USAT Thomas H. Barry for passage to St. Lucia, On August 7, 1942, USS Cincinnati in 1942. USN, Escorting destroyer USS Winslow (DD-359). USM.st Defense Journal Page 11 ugust 2006 he C it arrived to join the small Air Corps detachment operating the airfield ac Vieux Fort. The cransport Barry anchored off Vieux Fort and the troops and their equipment were lightered ashore, as there were still no docking facilites at Vieux Fort. From there the army personnel were transported the north end of the island to the newly established camp at Black Bay. The 28* CA Bn was posted at Castries Harbor, with a detachment at Vieux Fort on the island's southern-most point. In conjunction with the small British detachment, the 28 CA established gun defenses for the harbors of Castries and Vieux Fort, adjusting the location of searchlights to improve those defenses. The 28 manned two 155 mm guns emplaced at Castries and a few 3-inch and 4-inch guns at Fort Charlotte overlooking Castries Harbor. The 28* also manned another pair of 155 mm guns at the main army base at Vieux Fort. The coast artillery contingent was che largest single element of the U.S. Army's St. Lucia Base Com- mand, only 27 officers and 493 enlisted personnel in the summer of 1942, increasing during the course of the war to more than 700 officers and men. Many of the new personnel, however, were Army Air Forces personnel assigned to Beane Field. The augmented Battery A, 28* CA, numbered eight officers and 216 enlisted men.(9) The 28* CA Bn was finally withdrawn from St. Lucia in early 1944, transferred to Camp Hood, TX, and inactivated. The personnel were reassigned to Army Ground Forces as individual replace ments.(10) Ascension Island ‘Ascension Island is a British Crown Colony in the South Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Brazil and Africa. This small island, code named AGATE with a population of only 1,200 persons, was a rocky peak of volcanic origin, the last major volcanic eruption having taken place some 600 years before. Basalt lava flows and cinder cones covered much of the 35-square-mile island. Green Mountain, the highest point in the uplands at 2,817 feet, is covered with lush rain forest vegetation that spread across the island with each rainy season.(11) Ascension Island was discovered in 1501 by the Portuguese seafarer Joao da Nova Castelia and again ‘two years later on Ascension Day by Alphonse d’Albuquerque, who gave the island its name. Dry and barren, it was of little use to the East Indies fleets and remained uninhabited until Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena in 1815. Two brigs of war, HMS Zenobia and HMS Peruvian visited Ascension Island on October 22, 1815, and took possession in the name of King George III. The next day, ship's carpenters started erecting wood and canvas shelters that would become Georgetown, the original settlement. A small British naval garrison was stationed on Ascension to deny French access in the event of an attempt to rescue Napoleon from St. Helena, The island's naval designation was HMS Ascension, a “Stone sloop of war of the smaller class.” By Napoleon's death in 1821, Ascension had become a victualling station and sanatorium for Royal Navy vessels suppressing the sive trade along Africa's west coast. The island remained under the supervision of the British Admiralty until 1922, when it was turned cover to the Colonial Office and made a dependency of St. Helena. From 1922 through World War II, the Eastern Telegraph Company (renamed British Cable and Wireless in 1934) managed the island. The company’s station, offices, pier, warchouse, and employce homes were located at Georgetown. The uplands, known as Green Mountain, was inhabited by farmers and their servants (natives of St. Helena), who performed all the manual labor required, growing vegetables and fruits for the British Cable and Wireless employees. In 1823 the Royal Marines established a garrison on the island. Fort Thornton was erected in 1817 at Georgetown, the administrative capital and port. In 1830, it was enlarged and renamed Fort Cock-‘The Coast Defense Journal Page 12 Ascension Island. Ascension Island Govemment Office. burn. In the early 1830s, Fort Hayes was built on Goat Hill. In 1849 24-pounders were emplaced at Forts Hayes and Fort Bedford, which was constructed on Cross Hill overlooking Georgetown. Later in the 19 cemtury, Fort Bedford was armed with at least two 7-inch Mk I rifled muzdleloaders (RML). ‘The 7-inch Mk I RML was adopted in 1865 and when the MK IT and Mk III succeeded it between 1866 and 1868, at least two Mk I RML were mounted ashore at Ascension Island, as well as at other colonial locations. Using che original Armstrong shrunken-coil construction, these guns fired a 112- pound studded shell at 1,500 fps to a range of 4000 yards. Between 1903 and 1906, new emplacements were constructed on Cross Hill for two 6-inch breechloading guns, which replaced the RMLs. The 6-inchers were emplaced before World War I, but all the forts were deactivated following that war and their guns were removed.(12) Because Ascension Island was strategically located approximately halfwvay between Aftica and South ‘America, it was selected early in World War II as a vital refueling spor for aircraft traveling between the United States and Africa, and on to the Middle East. In April 1940 the colonial government formed a small home guard, the Ascension Defense Force, and an officer and an NCO were sent from St. Hel- ena to assist in its training. However, as the island was subject to attack by Axis naval and air forces, it required protection greater than that which could be provided by the small Ascension Defense Force, augmented by small detachments from the Royal Navy and Marines. In 1941, a small contingent ofAugust 2006 ‘The Coast Defence Journal Royal Artillery arrived on Ascension with a pair of 5.5-inch naval gunfthat were emplaced at Fort Hayes and at Fort Bedford in the emplacements that had been armed wi inch guns during World War 1. ‘These 5.5-inch guns had been removed from the batclect HMS Hood during her 1935 refitting at Malta and stored there for several years. The two guns werd fitted with frew coast defense-type shields and shipped to Ascension Island with 95 rounds of amm in for each gun, to serve as the island’s primary armament. The Royal Artillery were quartered in the Governors Lodge on the slopes of Cross Hill below the fort. While some might consider Ascension Island to have been in the backwater of the war, from 1940 into 1943 the Axis threat was very real. When the war began, the island was defended by only a handful of rifles. Bombardment by a German sea raider such as the pocket battleship Graf Spee was not beyond the realm of possibility, and in fact, that warship had passed within a few cable lengths of St. Helena on her way to the Bactle of the River Plate. The British governor had ordered the few guns on the island not to fire, fearing “terrible retribution.” Prior to the arrival of American troops, the German submarine U-124 was operating in the waters of che South Adantic and suffering from contaminated lubricating oil. Kapitanlcurnant Jochen Mohr Wideawake Field, Ascension Island. Author's collection.Volume 20, Ts The Cast Defense Journal Page 14 and his crew managed to sink a then-neutral U.S. merchantman and soon thereafter discovered that surface ships of the Royal Navy were rapidly sinking the German supply ships thar supported the U- boat operations in the South Atlantic, while not rarrying to pick up the 400 survivors of the supply ships. Consequently, it was left to the U-boats to pick up the survivors and return them to German-oc- cupied France Mohs U-124 alone had 104 survivors on board, In an effurt to ease the passage of the survivor-laden U-boats back t0 France, Mohr undertook to convince the British rhat the U-boats were still active in the South Arlantic and decided ro make a demonstration against Ascension Island and in the process do some damage. On December 9, 1941, the British sported U-24 as the submarine approached the island and the 5.5-inch guns of Fort Bedford forced the U-124 to quickly submerge before it could bombard the cable station or cause any other mischief. The German survivors on the other U-boats, aided by the diversion, reached France safely.(13) Task Force 4612 was organized at Fort Jackson, SC, in the late spring of 1942 for the puxpose of establishing an aiifield on Ascension Island to facilitate the transfer of war material and personnel from the United States to Africa and the Middle East. The task force was composed of the 38% Eng Combat Regiment; Battery A, 426" CA (AA) Sep Bn; 175* Station Hospital; 692” Signal Corps Air Warning Detachment; ordnance, finance, quartermaster detachments; a postal section; and an Army Airways Communication ssction. The task force, commanded by Lt. Col. Robert E. Coughlin of the 38 Eng, numbered 63 officers and 1,432 enlisted men. ‘TF 4612 assembled at the Charleston Port of Embarkation in early March 1942, Transportation to Ascension was arranged on ewo vessels juise acquired by the War Department. The SS Coamo, a7,057- ton passenger ship built in 1925, had been operated by the New York & Porto Rico Steamship Co. until the army acquired it as a transport. The $8 Lewis L, Luchenback, a freighter of the Luchenback Steamship Co., had also been acquired by the army and was loaded with the engineer regiment's heavy equipment and construction supplies and material, On the morning of March 14, the task force de- parted, escorted by a pair of destroyers. The Coamo, the Luchenback, and their escorting destroyers had been sailing for 15 hours, when at approximately 2400, the destroyers dropped depth charges. After this incident they sailed for another three days, until on March 17 at approximately 0345 hours, another submarine scare resulted in more depth charges being dropped. On March 24 the Task Force crossed the equator. On March 26 they entered the Harbor of Recife, Brazil, where they spent the whole day taking on fuel and supplies. They departed on March 27 with a new naval escort consisting of the light cruisers Omaha and Cincinnai On March 30, 1942, the small convoy arrived off Georgetown and joined the freighter SS Pan Royal, a supply ship that had sailed earlier. The American forces established cheir headquarters in the old naval headquarters building in Georgetown. Colonel Coughlin’s staff had worked out in advance a plan co disembark personnel and equipment and establish a base of operations. The 1 Bn was to unload the ships, the Coamo before the Luchenback. Co. A was to transfer the cargo to the barges, while Co. B unloaded the Pan Royal and Co. C operated all motor launches, barges, and lighters. The 2" Bn was to operate the dock machinery, handling and disposing of the fre Atapproximarely 1700 hours on March 30, the 2" Bn started moving ashore, using motor lunches from che two light cruisers. The smaller diesel-powered launches cartied 10-20 men, the larger 20-30 men. The troops were transferred by approximacely 2100 hours.(14) ‘The 2" Bn established their bivousc area on the beach at Clarence Bay. About a mile from the pies, this became their temporary encampment while unloading the ships, until permanent facilities became available. After about 14 days the base camp, Camp Casey, was established on South West Plains, be- tween Horseshoe Crater and South West Bay, adjacent to the projected airfield site.(15)gust 2006 Page 15 5.5-inch gun atop WHI 6-inch emplacement, Fort Bedford, Ascension Island. Author's collection, ‘The 2" Bn and regimental headquarters personnel began working on the major projects while the 1 Bn continued to unload the ships. Roads were constructed so that supplies could be moved to proper locations. A campsite was set up, work on the airfield began, and aviation fuel tanks were erected as steel plates came ashore. Bartery A, 426" CA (AA) Bn (Separate), relieved the Royal Artillery manning the 5.5-inch guns at Fore Bedford and the British troops were withdrawn from the island. The 426% continued to man the two Hood guns until the arrival of the 28* CA Bn.(16) ‘Thiete was no organizational assignment with respect to the numerous casks to be carried out. From the outset, labor was pooled and various tasks were assigned to individual officers considered best fitted for the particular job. This proved a very wise decision. Cut-and-fill work involved blasting, excavating, and moving 380,000 cubic yards of cinders and rock. During nine weeks of blasting, 35 tons of TNT and 13,000 blasting caps were used. Since the wind blew constantly in one direction, only one runway was necessary, 6,000 feet long and 150 feet wide, with 50-foot shoulders. The field also included three taxi strips, splinterproof bunkers, and parking aprons. ‘The airfield was named Wideawake Field for the soory terns that nested in che vicinity, whose call sounded like the word “wideawake.” ‘The gasoline system consisted of eight 11,000-barrel canks for high-octane aviation gasoline and ten 25,000-gallon tanks for vehicular gasoline and diesel fuel, four miles of 8-inch welded pipe, 2,200 feet of submarine 8-inch pipe with the necessary pumps, as well as four miles of 4-inch pipe. The sub- marine pipeline was floated out and laid on the sea floor on June 3, using all available manpower on the island to lift and carry the line seaward. The 8-inch line leading from the beach to the tank farm was completed on July 10. The 11,000-barrel tanks were completed June 30 and the 25,000-gallon tanks on June 17. ‘Construction included a hospital, airfield support buildings, and various buildings scattered around the island. In all, approximately thirty 20 by 100-foot buildings were constructed, as well as a nose hanger. Tents were floored, boxed screen latrines were built, and a radar station erected. “The water system was. vital concern. The local population's fresh watcr, obtained from rainfall stored in cisterns, was barely sufficient for the few hundred civilians on the island. Consequently, all freshThe Coast Defense Journal Page 16 water for the military had to be distilling from seawater. By proper conservation, each man could have one quart of fresh water daily, exclusive of the water for the kitchen. Power for the camp and airfield came from a 55 kVA generator, with 5 kVA generators elsewhere on the island. Considerable roadwork was accomplished during the summer of 1942, mostly new construction. The drainage was no problem and there was usifally a good base to begin with. One soldier was awarded the Soldiers Medal for heroism while operating a bulldozer on the Green Mountain road. Camouflage was a necessity. Buildings were painted different colors to break up their outlines. The runway was naturally camouflaged, blending in with the surrounding lava beds. The tank farm was camouflaged by nets draped over the tanks down to the 25-foot firewalls that surrounded them. On the June 15, a Royal Navy swordfish seaplane made history as the first aircraft to land on the island, The plane from H.M.S. Archer was searching for survivors from the torpedoed S.S. Lyle Park, when the pilot, unaware of the American occupation, endeavored to drop a message for transmission to the Admiralty. The aircraft being unidentified, the 426" CA (AA) Bn fired machine guns at it, but ir landed without casualty, and returned to the Archer three hours later. The first American plane from Accra, carrying 10 inspecting officers, artived on July 10 and left che next day for Natal. The first 14 American planes arrived from Natal, Brazil, during the morning of the July 20, special arrangements having been made with the Admiralty co provide a homing-beam to assist landing. The British wire- less station in Ascension continued this service until the Americans placed their own radar station in operation.(17) In late July 1942, five officers and 198 enlisted men were selected to form the 898" Eng Aviation Co, (Sep) co remain on the island t improve and support these facilities, and one staff officer also remained behind to oversee the 100,000 gallons of gasoline and test the system, rejoining the 38 Eng by air later. Around the first of August, the 38* Eng began cleaning equipment, conducting inventories, and preparing for redeployment.(18) 5.S-inch guns, Fort Bedford. Ascension Island Govemment Office.Pair of 7-inch Mk I RML, Fort Bedford. Ascension Island Goverment Office. While the engineer force was establishing a camp and airfield on Ascension Island in che carly summer of 1942, Composite Force 8012 was organized under Col. Ross O. Baldwin to enhance the island’s defenses. Ir was composed of Battery B, and 2" Platoon, Battery C, 28" CA Bn; and HQ and HQ Co., 3 Bn, with Cos. K and M of the 91" Inf Regiment. Battery B continued training at Camp Pendleton until the reinforced battery and the rest of Com- posite Force 8012 entrained at the Camp Pendleton railhead and proceeded south to Charleston on the night of July 7, arriving in the late afternoon of July 8. The battery was transported to North Charleston and quartered in Staging Area No. 2 of the Charleston POE.(19) Staging Area No. 2 was a new camp in the middle of the woods and swamps which made it ex- tremely close. The buildings were all rwo-scory barracks designed to hold approximately 35 or 40 men [As space was limited it became necessary to put the entire battalion of 195 men in two barracks. Cots were packed in side by side and the men climbed over the ends of them to get into bed. The first day in the new camp the 28% CA was called upon to have 50 K.P. report the following morning at 0400. ‘Meals were served in a common messhall for the entire camp. Life at the staging area was dull as no passes were issued. The men were in excellent spirits and the majority of them had their heads shaved which did not add to the beautification of most concerned. The post exchange sold more beer in the two weeks the force was there than they had in the last several months previous to that. The demand was terrific and daily the post exchange was dry three houts after opening. On July 13, CF 8012 moved to Staging Area No. 3 at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island for three days. There the men enjoyed a brief period of recreation before embarking on USAT James Parker (AP-46), Battery B boarding at 10:00 p.m. on July 25 and sailing for Ascension Island the following afternoon, in company with two freighters bound for Iran, escorted by a pair of destroyers. As the civil- ian vessel had only been partially converted into a troop transport, the regular staterooms occupied byPage 18 the officers had not been remodeled. The accommodations for the enlisted men were the usual canvas “racks” stretched over iron pipe frames four and five high in the ship’s former ballroom. Quarters were close and fresh air was in short supply, so many of the men slept on deck. The transport James Parker made her way down the Atlantic coast as the U-boat war was at its peak, and the men kept their life preservers close at all rimes. The food aboard che James Parker was considered “outstanding in quality and quantity, but some of the men were so sick they could not enjoy it.” The high quality of the meals served twice a day may 2 be because most of the K.P. details came from the 28% CA. ‘The 20-day voyage to Ascension Island was generally uneventful. The troops had litcle to do except AAMG watch on either beam of the transport, K.P and police details, and lifeboat drills. As the small convoy reached the Lesser Antilles, the destroyers passed the escort over to the USS Cincinnati (CL-6) and the USS Winslow (DD-359). The passage over the equator was marked by ceremonies presided over by King Neptune, in which pollywogs became shellbacks after enduring “dental surgery,” rotten egg shampoos, and G.L. haircuts. Afier 14 days at sea, including several in the most dangerous waters in the world for enemy subma- rines, the coastline of Bravil was sighted. Afier a brief stop to resupply and refuel at Recife, the transport took a more easterly course for Ascension Island. USAT James Parker artived off Georgetown on the evening of August 14, 1942, and began to disembark by pontoon lighters, as there was no adequate wharfage at Georgetown. The entire 28 Bn landed without incident by 10:00 p.m. The battalion was crucked to the center of the island, a location known as the Parade Ground on the Donkey Plain. The first night on Ascension was unusually cold, the temperature reaching an all- time low, and the night was punctuated by the continuous braying of the donkeys. In the morning, the U.S. Army camp at Wideawake Field. Author's collection.[Augie 2006 ‘Te Coast Defense Journal Page 19 | men were fed a “breakfast of meat and beans, dog biscuits, soluble caffee, and candy.” C rations were classified as good for the “frst and only time,” according to the battalion historian. (20) Once the personnel and equipment were unloaded from the ships, the 38* Engineers and their equipment were loaded aboard the James Parker and on August 19, sailed for Pointenoire, West Africa, to continue building airfields and other installations. The regimenc later built another airfield at Lea- poldville, in the Belgian Congo.(21) ‘The 28" Bu was initially slated to occupy a camp adjacent to the engineer area. The mess hall at this camp was nothing more than a wooden-frame kitchen faced with beaverboard. The men ate in the open, using one hand to eat and the other to brush away the flies. This dusty area was unappealing, and within two weeks the battalion had moved closer to Georgetown. There a new and decidedly im- proved mess hall was built, eventually equipped with steam tables, drains, hot and cold running water, and even an amplification system co enable the men to enjoy music with their meals, Sill, the living conditions were extremely poor. Not surprisingly, few men escaped dysentery at one time or another. As the battalion historian noted, water was a problem:(22) The island has no natural water and the distillation equipment was not of sufficient capacity to provide all that was needed by the men. The ration was one canteen per day per man. This canteen...was to serve for drinking, washing and laundry. Around December 1942, there was a shortage of shoes and as a result the men were complaining of sore feet. In light of the potential danger to the island, the 28% CA Bn soon began installing a “seacoast defense, complere wich searchlights, fire control and communications.” Captain Bruce Johnson, com- manding the elements of the 28% Bn on Ascension, reconnoitered the island’s western shore, especially nce Bay, anda site at Catherine Point was selected for the four 155 mm as for che searchlights and primary and secondary fire control stations ns began, around Georgetown and Cl M1918M1 GPF guns. Posi at Cat Hill and Cross Hill were also selected. Then the hard work of establishing the posi nearly all done by hand; there was not even a truck ro haul sand bags. ‘The situation was further complicated by a scarcity of materials. It was necessary to level a few ‘unoccupied houses at English Bay at the north end of the island ro secure lumber for revetments, and several hundred rails were removed from an old mine tw provide some bomb proofing for the dug-in projectile and powder magazines serving the 155 mm guns. Because the “road” to English Bay was little more than a pig path, it was necessary to load the salvaged materials on a barge and tow it around to the Georgetown pier head, where it was unloaded and brought to the battery position. Several hillrops on Catherine Point were leveled to make space for the guns, and pits were dug to conceal the searchlights during daylight. On September 16, 1942, rhe 28% Bn had been on Ascension Island for just a month when it was placed on alert and ordered to prepare for action at 1800). There was concern that French Naval forces based at Martinique in the Lesser Antilles, hen under German influence if nat complete control, would strike at Allied bases in the South Adantic. The battery positions were unfinished and the GPFs were still in the hole of the supply ship Markham. The battalion personnel worked feverishly through the night to prepare a temporary emplacement on Catherine Point and to establish a plotting room in a tent. Searchlights were placed in temporary positions along the shore and before dawn on the 174, the 28 was ready for action. The threatened attack never materialized, however. Construction of “permanent” positions resumed after the mid-September alert. The battery plot- ting room, in a pit on Catherine Point, had a concrete floor and timber walls and roof further protected by a covering of earth. The battery commander's station, atop a short timber tower on a foundation of sand bags, was camouflaged by piling rocks around it. The first baseline proved tw he insulficient andPage 20 Catherine's Point, location of 155 mm guns. Author's collection. a second one of some 5,000 yards was established from Cross Hill co Pyramid Rock. The primary and secondary stations for the fire control system consisted of shallow pits revetted with sand bags. When enough lumber was found, frame structures with slit openings were constructed. A detachment of the 28% CA Bn commanded by Lt. Howard R. Perkins took over the 5.5-inch guns of Fort Bedford from the detachment of Bartery A, 426" CA (AA) Bn, on August 16, 1942, and the 5.5-inch guns were tied into che fire control system for che GPFs, using auxiliary fire control equipment. The searchlights of 2” Plaroon, Battery C, were positioned at intervals of about 2,000 yards along the west shore of the island. ‘While work was going on at the battery positions, a guard with machine guns prorected the tank farm gasoline storage. The 28* CA Bn performed this duty until March 1944, when the 91* Inf took over guarding the tank farm. With the bactery’s batcle positions in place, the guns were fired to settle them in and target practices were scheduled. Between December 1942 and March 1944, several target practices were fired. AAF planes from Wideawake Field dropped smoke pots and occasionally the guns were fired at pyramid targets Hoating offshore. Through these practices, valuable correction data was determined for each gun. Lieutenane Parker up on Cross Hill also fired practices with the British 5.5-inch naval guns. The battery's last target practice scored @ direct hit on the pyramid target at a range of over six miles. The 60-inch portable searchlights of Battery C were also exercised regularly. As the war wore on, the 600,000,000-candlepower searchlights were increasingly used as beacons for lost aircraft, as well as to illuminate ships and to search the occan off Ascension Island. ‘As the war entered its third year, the threat co che airfield at Ascensi¢nn and the other strategic opera- tions on the island declined and the force from the 28 CA Bn was downsized. Battery B was reduced to 80 men and 2" Platoon, Battery C, was set at 20 men. On March 16, 1944, one officer and 48 enlisted personnel were transferred to HQ Co., CF 8012. The reorganized Ascension detachment of the 28* CA Bn was under Capt. Donald W. Goodchild, of Battery B, assisted by the battalion executive, 1* Lt. William F. Carey. 1" Lt. Rocco §, Battista commanded the 5.5-inch guns at Fort Bedford, while 1* Lt. David §. Martinez commanded 2" Platoon, Battery C. The reduced-strength elements of the 28 CA Bn were finally inactivated on Ascension Island on October 5, 1944, and all personnel were reassigned to other army units on the island. The last U.S.\ ugust 2006 The Coast Defense Journal Page 21 Tent camp of 28th CA Bn during initial weeks on Ascension Island. Author's collection. ‘Army personnel departed the island in May 1947.(23) 2 Footnotes U.S. War Department, Adjutant Generals Office Historical Data Sheet and Station List, 50" CA Regiment. Morning Reports, Battery A, 50” CA (Tractor Drawn) Regiment, 825" CA Battery (Separate), Battery A, 20" CA (Harbor Defense) Regiment, ORU, MPRS, NPRC, St. Louis, MO. Hereafter: ORU, MPRS, NPRC. The batteries of the 50" CA would be reorganized and deployed to distant locations well into 1942 when the regiment was finally assigned to the Eastern Defense Command and used along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Battery B, 28% CA Bn (2% Platoon, Battery C, 28% CA Bn attached), History of Organization, 31 March 1944, Entry 427, Records of the AGO, RG 407, NARA, College Park, MD. Hereafter: History 28° CA Bn. History 28 CA Bn, pp. 2-3, 10. Robert A. Johnson and James C. Sholtz, History of the Trinidad Sector and Base Command, Caribbean Defense Command, Port of Spain, 1945-1947, Vol. I, Pt. 2, pp. 63-72. Hereafter: Johnson and Sholtz, History of Trinidad Sector. Clay Blair, Hitlers U-Boat War: The Hunters, 1939-1942 (NY: Random House, 1996), p. 506. Gaylord T.M. Kelshall, The U-Boat War in the Caribbean (Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 1996), pp. 60-64. Johnson and Sholtz, History of Trinidad Sector, Vol. IL, Pt. 2, pp. 102, 90-215 passim. Stetson Conn and Byron Fairchild, The Framework of Hemispheric Defense, GPO, 1960, pp. 11, 51-55. Johnson and Sholtz, History of Trinidad Sector, pp. 105-116. Beane served with the U.S. Ambulance Service and the Lafayette Escadrille before transferring to the U.S. Air Service in February 1918. Wounded during a dogfight on June 30, 1918, he lost two fingers from his Left hand and was out of commission for six weeks. ‘On October 30, 1918, he was killed when his SPAD XILI was shot down. He was posthumously awarded the distinguished service cross for extraordinary heroism. Clay Blair, Hitlers U-Boat Wor, p. 506. Gaylord I.M. Kelshall, The U-Boat War in the Caribbean, pp. 60-64.Volume 20, Tsui 10. 1. 12, 13, 16. 15. 16. 7. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. of Defense Page 22 History 28° CA Bn, p. 2. The army acquired the SS Oriente, a combination passenger and cargo ship of the New York and Cuba Mail and Steamship Company's Ward Line, Launched May 15, 1930, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., she was renamed the USAT Thomas H. Barry upon being acquired in June 1941 for use as an army trans- port, remaining under army control throughout World War IL. Johnson and Sholtz, History of Trinidad Sector, Vol. Il, pp. 113-115, Vol. IL, pp. 84, 173. Caribbean Defense Command, Joint Defense Boards: A Historical Study (Quarry Heights, PCZ, 1947), p. 12. Shelby Stanton, Order of Battle, U.S. Army, World War IT (Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1984), p. 484. “History of 38° Engineer (General Service) Regiment,” pp. 1-5, unpublished history in authors collection, p. 4 The Ascension Island Government Office, Georgetown, Graham Avis, Introduction to the History of Ascension Island, Georgetown, Ascension Island, www.heritage.org.ac/avis10.htm (unpaged). Hereafter: Avis, History. History 28° CA Bn, pp. 10-12. Alvin H. Grobmeier, “Battery B, 28 Coast Artillery Battalion, on Ascension Island,” CDSG News, Vol. 5, No. 1 (February 1991), p. 35. Avis, History The 38" Engineer (General Service) Regiment had been activated at Fort Jackson, SC, May 28, 1941, and fol- owing the Carolina Maneuvers in the autumn of 1961. In February 1942 the 38" was selected for engineer- ‘ng duties and construction of a base and airfield on Ascension Island. “History of 38 Engineer Regiment,” pp. 1-5. While SS Coamo was classed as an army transport, it was not assigned an “AP “ designation and operated with a merchant marine crew until it was torpedoed by U-604 off Bermuda. The entire 133-man ‘crew plus 37 navy armed guards and 16 army personnel were lost, the greatest tragedy to befall a single U.S. merchant marine ship in WWII. The SS Lewis L. Luchenback, also acquired as a supply ship, remained in army service through the war. Clay Blair, Hitlers U-Boat War, p. 128. Wide-Awake News, Extracts in author's collection. Wide-Awake News was the wartime newspaper of Wide- awake Field, 1942-1943. History 28° CABn, p. 14. Wide-Awake News, 1942-1943, Extracts. “History of 38" Engineer Regiment,” pp. 4-6 History 28° CA Bn, pp. 6-7. Ibid., pp. 8-11, 15. The USAT James Parker was built in 1939 for the Panama Railroad and Steamship Co. at Bethlehem Steel's Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA, and christened the SS Panama, She was transferred to the army on June 13, 1941, and renamed the USAT James Parker in honor of Brig. Gen. James Parker. The transport was fitted with guns fore and aft and given a dull coat of gray paint. “History of 38" Engineer Regiment.” Wide-Awake News, 1942-1963, Extracts. History 28° CA Bn, pp. 15, 16. History 28° CA Bn, pp. 13, 15-16, 19-20. Avis, History. Shelby Stanton, Order of Battle U.S. Army, World War II, p. 486,