- THE PACI~IC STORY

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USS ANCON • SHIP'S JIISTORY
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THE PACI~IC STORY
When the war ended in Europe, the ANCON returned to
Charleston, S. C, fOl' conversion to Pacific duty. In a journal­
istic flight of fancy, a newspaperman had referred to her as
the "Liberator of Two Continents." Most of the crew gl'inned
at that, but they couldn't help feeling a little proud. After all,
wasn't the "Mighty A" the only amphibious flagship in the
ETO for two years? Wasn't she the only AGC out there?
And didn't s he engineel' the invasions of North Africa,
Sicily, Salerno and Normandy? Maybe the fiight of fancy
did appear a little starry at fU'st, but when you come right
down to it, the "Mighty A" h'ad done just what t hey said.
And now she was being groomed for the Pacific.
Boilers were cleaned, minor I'epairs Wel'e made in the
engine and fire l'oom, additional radio and radar equipment
was installed, new director and range-finding devices made
their 1irst appearance and the ANCON was re-camouflaged,
re-paillted, dressed and cleaned. Then, with a pat on the
head, they sen t her off to another war.
On the day after Christmas, '44, she lef t Charleston, S, C.,
bound south for the canal. She spent New Year's Eve in
Panama. pushed through tIle locks and made her way up the
coast to San Diego. F rom there she nosed out to the
Pacific-Pearl Harbor bound.
Three weeks at Pea}'} Harbor were enough f or the crew,
It gave everyone a chance to go swhnming at Waikiki, drink
pineapple juk e and be tal.en for his paycheck by t he mer­
chant s of the town. Arms and chests which had once been
virginal, now bore rakish hula girls in iJlu ~ and pink tatoos.
Everyone had time enough to step into a Honolulu clip shop
and be photographed with a gen uine Hawaiian princess in a
grass skirt. Three weeks at Pearl were enough for everyone.
The "Mighty A" pushed out into the broad Pacific swell
again, dropped down to Eniwetok in the Marshalls, where
she r efueled. From there she set a northwest cour se to
Saipan,
tJss
ANCON • Sl111"S WSTORY
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She spent about a month and a half at Saipan. Then, as
the flagship of Real' Admiral Jerauld Wright, Commander
Fifth Amphibious Group, and carrying Major General Wat son,
Commanding OfTicer of t lte Second Marine Division, th e
ANCON set hel' course for an island called Okinawa. A
report made its way through the ship that Tokyo Rose had
announced that the ANCON was in tile Pacific; that the
gentlemen of Japan would undertake to finish the job that
the Gentlemen of Germany failed to do. Once again, it ap­
peared, the ANCON was a marked ship. Well, thought the
Cl'ew, at least it's no thing new.
Love Day was the first of April-Easte}' Sunday, The
world at large expected the initial landings t o be bloody and
hard-fough t, The operation at Iwo Jiroa was scarcely over;
the shock of its terrible cost still gripped mens' minds.
Olanawa was largel', more heavily fortified, of better de­
fensive terrain, Okinawa was expected to become a second
Iwo, only, perhaps, worse, ·_'
What actually happened on t hat Easter Sunday morning
was that Ameri can land ing forces went ashore against com­
paratively lit tle opposition. It was a walkaway-a pushover.
The news-hungry cOrl'esponoents who were prepar ed t o wri te
the story of t he yea}', put their typewliters away and s tood
around looking sad. Okinawn had let them down; there
would be no chance of a Pulitzer Prize this yeal'.
The initial landings were easy, and the reason behind this
fact could be expressed in one word-ANCON. The nature of
the role she played cannot yet: be told, but it was vital
enough to detem1ine the entire (:oUl'se of the Love day landing,
During the early morning hours of Love Day, the crew of
the ANCON had their first intimation of what th e remainder
of the Okinawa campaig'n was going to be like. Three suicide
planes dropped down on the force, knocking out the USS
HINSDALE, the LST 884 and barely missed a second LST,
Later, the ANCON picked up Mnrine survivors from the
HINSDALE. The LST burned into the dawn and wallowed
sickeningly in the swells.
This was the beginning of OJdllawa,
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USS ANCON - sru!"S IIlSl'OR Y
For a time the ANCON stood out to sea. Then she put
back toward Saipan and arrived there on April 14th.
On the 7th of May, as the Flagship of Vice Admiral
Harry Hill, Commander Fifth Amphibious Force, in charge
of ihe air and sea defenses of Okinawa Gun to, the ANCON
left Saipan for Okinawa. For three weeks she anchored off
the western beaches, close enough for the crew to watch the
ground fighting and entmnce of the troops into the capitol
city of Naha.
These were the three weeks of nightJy aerial attacks.
The three weel{s of continual GQ's, little sleep, nerves that
grew more taut daily. '1'ho three weeks when "Make Smoke !"
seemed to be the order of the day; when eyes grew tired and
shained from watching sky sectors and the glassy watel'S
of ihe anchorage for Jap swimmers and suicide boats.
It was during t hese three weeks ihat a smoke generator
exploded one night on the fantail and a fire broke out. The
report had just come through from the Picket Line that Jap
planes were 20 miles off and coming in fast. The stern of the
ANCON was brig'ht with flames; she was t he most perfect
target in the harbor, but in two minut es t he fast-working
aftel' damage contl'Ol party had the flames under controJ, and
t he ANCON, no longer a tal'get, was lost in t he darkness
of the harbor.
It was during t hese three weeks that the men of t he
ANCON watched a Kamikaze plummet down on them one
dusk when t he sun had just rolled under the sea. The gun
crews of the ANCON let fly with everyth ing they had; the
decks trembled under the sustained, methodical pump of her
10's, but to everyone watching the diving plane, it looked as
t hough the lucky streak of the ANCON was finally up.
This was it and no fooling. And then, suddenly, t hey saw
t he plane roll out of the threading tracel' flre and head fo r
the huge battleship moored only a short distance away. They
watched t heir own guns and the BB'sguns follow it, overtake
it, blast it into t he sea. A moment laier, there was the harsh
whine of another diving plane and the men of the ANCON
watched another suicide plane crash into the Battleship di­
rectly behind her stack.
This was Okinawa at its busy season.
USS ANCON . SIlII"S mSTOH.Y
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It was during these weary, nerve wracking three weeks
ihat the crew of the ANCON once stood at General Quartel's
for fourteen out of eighteen h01l1's. They were subjected to
nineteen raids during that period.
It was dming these three weeks that the Japanese had
their chance to do what the German's failed to do-and
failed also.
The "Mighty A" left Okinawa and proceeded to Subic Bay
and Manila where she became the flagship of Vice Ad.mll'al
Daniel E. Bsrbey, USN, Commander Seventh Amphibious
Force. She served for two months in Philippine waters during
the planning stages for the next invasion, the last invasion
which was nevel' to come off.
On August 14th Japan offered to surrender. On August
16th t he officers and men of the ANCON celebrated with a
Victory Dinne!' which will go down in the ship's history as
the best ever prepared aboard her. Mterward, under the
command of Captain W. E. Lankenau, USN, and assigned
to the weigh ty job of a press release ship during the landing,
surrender and occupation operations at Tokyo, the ANCON
proceeded to Iwo Jima to t ake aboard a large group of war
correspondents and photographers.
The ANCON left lwo Jiroa on the last leg of her wartime
j ourney on August 20th. Two days later she l'endezvoused
with a task unit of t he powerful Thir d FJeet . For seven days
the Task Group cruised according to plan, in Japanese waters.
'l'hen on the 28th, f ar ahead on th e starboard bow, t he
dark conical shape of F ujiyama broke faintly through slanting
r ain clouds on the hOl'iwn , On t he morning of t he 29th, she
rode into Tokyo Bay on the heels of the fig~lting ships, She
was th e first AGC into To]tyo Bay. On September 2nd, the
men of the ANCON witnessed Japan's formnl surrender to the
Allied Supreme Commander, General Douglas MacAl·thur.
In company with th e lOW A and ancho1'ed between Admu'al
Halsey's MISSOURI ann Admiral Nimit z's SOUTH DAKOTA,
the ANCON sel'ved as a pre/;S release shi r during t he entire
sUl'l'endel' cer emonies in Tolcyo Bay. Some 90 WID' Corres­
pondents, P hotographers and Newsrcelmen representing t he
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- SlUr's HISTORY
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United States, China, England and Australia were aboard, In
addition, about 20 officers of Admiral Nimitz's Public Rela­
tions Staff, including censors, radio broadcasters and public
information officel's, made the ANCON their headquarters,
Captain Fitzhugh Lee, CincPar public iniol'tnation officer, was
in charge, All tho major netwOl'ks broadcast from the
ANCON to the States while lending pressmen of the United
Nations sent out their stories to the world.
The A~CON hag transported and has been inspected by
many distinguished persons. In addition to those mentioned
in the preceding paragraphs are the following: Ilis Maj esty,
King Georg'e VI, Admiral Bruce Fl'aser of the British Navy,
who signed f or England in the surrender of Japan, Admiral
Ramsey, Commander of t he British Pacific Fleet, Field Mar­
shall Montgomm'y, Lieutenant General Patton, and the late
Secretary of t he Navy, Fran k Knox.
This, then, is the end of t he ANCON'S road. It began
in North Africa. It has led through five invasions t o its
culmination h ere 011 the rocky headlands of Japan. Tol<yo
alld t he Empel'Ol"S Palace lie far down the bay on her star­
board side, Fuj iyama rises serenely from t he clouds behind
her. When t he ANCON sails again, it will be on a different
road-the one which leads to peace and home.
Tokyo Bay. September 2, 1945.