Wonderful Memories

Mr. Dooley,

What a great site, and service you have provided.  I was on the Billy Mitchell from around February 1959 thru around March of 1961. When I first boarded her, she was in Seattle, later we moved to Oakland. I was an Aerographers Mate, doing weather work on her.  Great to see these pictures, can not believe I found your site.  Wonderful memories.

Best Wishes
George Scudder

Howard Averbach

My name is Howard Averbach; I'm from Pittsburgh, PA.

 

My father, Louis I. Averbach, who is now 95 years old, was an administrative officer in the Army Air Corps, stationed at Boca Raton Air Field in 1942 & 43, then in 1944 & 1945 served in India.

 

I'm writing a history of my father's service, after finding his Army 201 file and combining that original documentation with the information and stories he has been telling me.

 

I'm writing to you because I found your website in my search for the USS Gen. Wm. Mitchell, which is the ship my father sailed on when he left the US from VA in August 1944 and arrived in Bombay India, October 1944.

 

I have the original schematic diagram of the ship, bunking orders, etc.

 

Only a page or two of my work focuses on the trip from VA to Bombay, including why it took so long and some of his experiences aboard; however, if YOU are writing the history of the USS Gen Mitchell, my documents may be of great interest to you.

 

Howard Averbach

 

Another one heard from

I stumbled across you website by accident. 

I served on the Mitchell in the early 50’s, about 1950-1952.  I can give you the name of one of our commanding officers at the time, CAPT J. V. Query.  He was a WWII submariner and a very good skipper.

The Mitchell was one of the first ships to bring reinforcements into Korea after the start of hostilities.  We loaded up at Fort Mason , CA and unloaded in Pusan when the defense perimeter was just miles outside of Pusan .  We later participated in the evacuation at Hungnam after the Chinese bought into the war.  Our first trip out was with much of the 1^st Cavalry Division and its ROK attachment, I think we had somewhere around 8,000 troops aboard with the ROKs sleeping on the weather decks.  The second trip was harder, we loaded most of what was left of the Marines who were trapped at Chosen and fought their way back to the port.  We brought LCVP and LCVP of litter cases out and hoisted them aboard.  The Marines came aboard with their weapons locked and loaded and left them behind.  On our passage through the Strait of Moji we were busy dumping GI cans of weapons and ammunition over the fantail.  We spent Christmas Eve that year anchored out in Yokohama Harbor cleaning troop compartments.

I left the Mitch in 1952 to transfer to the USNS General Simon Bolivar Buckner.

Interesting sidelight.  When first assigned to the Mitchell I was assigned to D2 Division where I worked for what must have been one of the very first black BM’s in the Navy, BM2 Vincent Rudolph Bates.  The guy was something else – 6’ or thereabouts, strong as two bulls, one of the best small boat handlers I’ve ever seen and a great leader and motivator.  Raised in strictly segregated Texas it was an eye opener for me but I quickly grew to admire and trust Bates.  When the division went on liberty together anyplace which wouldn’t serve Bates served none of us and we might well leave some wreckage behind when we exited.

Kenn Smith

Another Shipmate Heard From

Got an email from a Bill Call who was aboard the Mitchell in the early 50's. He is going to send along some old photos, will put them up when I get them ......