Leo Helmboldt's WWII diary - 1944/1945

	A personal diary
Date	Handwritten entry	"editorial" comments
3/8/44	S.S. Lurline at San Francisco	Matson luxury liner converted to a troopship during WWII by the US.
3/16/44	Crossed equator & initiation day	a shellback
3/18/44	Crossed International Date Line	a "golden" shellback?
3/19/44	never happened because of time change at Int Date Line
3/25/44	Milne Bay, New Guinea (Gama do do)
3/30/44	assigned to USS Bache DD-470	He was a master tool and die maker, but the repair ship to which he was assigned had just left port, so the Navy, in it's mysterious way, converted him to an Electrician's Mate, and assigned him to a destroyer instead.
4/4/44	Our Anniversary (target practice outside Milne Bay)
4/10/44	Bombarded Hansa Bay
4/21/44	Admiralty Island
4/22/44	Bombarded Hollandia at Humboldt Bay invasion, Aitape, xxxx(?)
5/11/44	First mail from my wife and folks back home
5/12/44	Bombarded Wewak, saw first enemy fire
5/14/44	Mother's Day church services on USS Boise at Admiralty Islands	USS Boise, CL-47
5/16/44	Hollandia to anchor - so soon!
5/17/44	Buna alongside USS Dobbin
6/4/44	First sea battle off Biak Island
7/1/44	Wewak bombardment (several times and laid mines)
7/2/44	Invasion of Morimfoor (?)
8/8/44	Left Admiralty Islands for Australia
8/10/44	Milne Bay, New Guinea
8/13/44	Sidney, Australia
8/16/44	Leave Sidney after recreation
9/15/44	Bombard Halmahara and land troops on Moratah
9/15/44	Saw first volcano on Halmahara
9/18/44	Biak Island after bombardment and invasion
10/5/44	Admiralty Island in drydock in prep for Philipines
10/13 (Friday)/44	Hollandia, New Guinea (Birthday)	his 25th birthday
10/13/44	Left Hollandia in convoy for invasion of Philipine Islands
10/20/44	Invasion at Leyte Island (four US cruisers damaged)	Landing monument Actually damaged were: USS Honolulu, CL-48, by aerial torpedo, HMAS Australia, kamikaze on the bridge, USS Sangamon, CVE-26, by 500 lb. bomb, 3 destroyers, an ARS, and an LST.
10/21/44	Anchored in harbor of invasion (shot down 1 "Betty"). Town on beach north about 1 mile - Tacloban, Leyte, population about 9,000. Three miles from Samari, about 30,000 population.	Mitsubishi GM4 "Betty"
10/25/44	Night sea battle in Surigao Straits out of Leyte Gulf.	Map and notes (LOTS more on the web on this battle!)
10/29/44	Word passed on leaving for States.
10/29/44	Left Leyte Gulf, Philipines, for the U.S. (convoy duty)
10/31/44	Passed Palau Island and dropped convoy.
11/1/44	Ulithi Island.
11/5/44	Left Ulithi Island for Hawaii (convoy duty)
11/12/44	Crossed Int'nl date line - spent 11/12/44 Sunday twice
11/16/44	Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
11/18/44	Left Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
11/26/44	Puget Sound, Washington, & Vancouver, Canada
11/26/44	Seattle, Washington (telegram to Dodie)	his wife, Kathryn Dode Helmboldt
11/27/44	Frisco, Calif (20 day leave Dec 21 - Jan 10)
1/17/45	Left Frisco for Diego
1/19/45	Arrived Diego - had liberty
1/23/45	Left Diego for Hawaii (convoy duty)
1/27/45	Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
2/11/45	Left Hawaii (convoy duty)
2/16/45	Crossed Int. Date Line.
2/20/45	Eniwetok
2/21/45	Left Eniwetok
2/25/45	Arrived and left Saipan
2/28/45	Arrived at Iwo Jima (wife's birthday)	her 22nd birthday
3/1/45	Iwo Jima - fired star shells all night
3/2/45	Iwo Jima - Bombarded and received return fire.
3/3/45	Iwo Jima - Bombarded and received return fire.
3/6/45	Left Iwo Jima for Guam (convoy duty)
3/9/45	Arrived Saipan with convoy (mail)
3/10/45	Left Saipan for Guam
3/11/45	Arrived Guam with convoy -
3/12/45	Left Guam for Ulithi
3/13/45	Arrived Ulithi with USS Hudson	DD-475
3/15/45	Arrived at Leyte Harbor - P.I. (3 liberties)
3/27/45	Left Samar P.I. for Okinawa (convoy)
4/1/45	Easter Sunday - arrived and bombarded Okinawa Invaded Okinawa in three places.
4/5/45	Left Okinawa for Guam (speed run) our relief at Okinawa was sunk 5 hours later.
4/8/45	Arrived at Guam no mail
4/11/45	Left Guam in convoy to Okinawa. Word passed that 73 ships were damaged there by suicide planes.
4/22/45	Arrived Okinawa - air raid & shot down 49 planes. Left to patrol at station # 14 and went within 200 miles of Shanghai. no mail.
4/30/45	Left Kerama Retto, Okinawa, after patrolling at picket station # 14.
5/1/45	Okinawa for supplies & back out to patrol on station # 9 - no mail.
5/3&4/45	Shot down two planes, received slight damage from one suicide plane. Picked up 69 survivors off two sunken ships. DD Little & LSM 195.	"DD Little" was the USS Little, DD-803
5/4/45	Arrived at Okinawa & transferred survivors. 1 dead.
5/13/45	Took suicide plane amidships and was towed into Wise Man's Cove to tie up alongside of USS Nestor for repairs. 74 casualties - 41 missing and dead 33 wounded.
5/14/45	Received May 1st letter from my honey.
5/15/45	Funeral services held at Wise Man's Cove, Okinawa, for Bache personnel.
5/27/45	Left Okinawa for Saipan convoy
6/2/45	Arrived Saipan & left same day for Guam
6/3/45	Arrived Guam.
6/9/45	Left Guam bound for Pearl Harbor and ??
6/12/45	Arrived at Eniwetok, fueled & left.
6/14/45	Crossed Int. date line.