Robert Hutchens sent email about his duty at Castle.
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999
Subject: USS Merapi Sailors
From: "Robert Hutchens" bobvi3233@earthlink.net
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
I went aboard the USS Merapi AF38 in August, 1952, at Mare Island Shipyards,
at Valeo, Calif. Shortly after we were under way for Japan with a load of
frozen and fresh food which eventually got to Korea. After 21 days at sea
we got to Sasebo, Japan and spent most of our time transferring cargo to
other ships. Once a month we went to Korea and fed the guys there. Nine
months there and then back to the U.S.
One of the most memorable times was to wake up to a different revellie one
December morning and going out on deck and seeing both the battleships
Missouri and the Iowa side by side.
Shortly after, we were in Sasebo Harbor and I had duty in after steering,
doing maintenance, when all hell broke loose and I thought our ship had been
hit. After I got on deck, I saw the USS Astabulla in flames. My friend had
just gotten a photo of the explosion and I still have a copy. His name is
Phil Gumm.
We returned to the States for about 20 days and then were off to the
Marshall Islands to Hawaii, Kwajalene, Eniwetok, Bikini, Wake, and back to
the States -- 45 days round trip. On about our third trip we got to see the
first H-bomb, March 24th. (Operation Castle, I believe.) We were unloading
at Perry and I had boat duty when we got word to get underway. We had a guy
aboard who was a scientist. He had to return to the USS Estes which was
also underway so we took him over and he boarded via a Jacob's ladder. That
was about 9 or 10 in the morning. As soon as we returned to the ship we
were already underway and they lifted us out and kept on cruising until in
the afternoon when we got word if we wanted we could go on deck and see the
blast. By the time I got on deck, all we could see was the clouds which
looked like a large thunder storm except the rest of the sky was clear.
The next time we were back was 45 days later and all that was left of the
Island was a round coral reef.
We only made a couple more trips and I got transferred to Guam with one
other person from the ship, Les Spier.
I have only had conact with two people, Phil Gumm from Washington State, and
Ron Fowler, from California. They were on the ship, but neither were aboard
to see the blast at Bikini. I would really like to make contact with some
of the others that saw the blast, if they are still around. I was
discharged in December, 1955.
Robert Hutchens
EN2CL
Email: bobvi3233@earthlink.net
[ Operation Castle ]