After my father died, I said I’d write more about him. My Uncle Lindley unearthed a letter Dad wrote to me in 1992, describing the ship he was assigned to at the end of World War II, when he was a sailor in the US Navy.
Here are some excerpts from Dad’s letter:
The Bolster, an Auxiliary Repair Ship (ARS-38) was built in early 1945 at Napa, California. It was then taken to Mare Island (Vallejo) for outfitting prior to commissioning. I was a member of the commissioning crew and hence, a “plank owner.” After assignment to the Bolster I was sent to the Navy Fire Fighting School at Wilmington, California. One of the ship’s tasks was to fight fires aboard the capital ships (which were bound to be hit) during the invasion of Japan. At that time I held the rate of coxswain—that rate has been abolished and is now known as a boatswain’s mate 3rd class. The Bolster is a seagoing tug. It measured 220’ stem to stern, carried a crew of about 120, had twin screws, outfitted with one quad 40mm Bofors cannon and four 20mm cannons (I was a 20mm gunner as an additional duty), had a complete machine shop, carried a crew of 6 or 8 divers (compression chamber and all that), as well as several professional firefighters.
The initial shakedown cruise was from Vallejo to San Diego. At our first docking at San Diego, the skipper smashed into a pier, severely damaging the pier—no damage to the ship except for some chipped paint. As part of the shakedown exercise we were to recover a lost anchor from the bottom of the bay. As I was helping a diver come aboard, my wrist watch fell into about 40 feet of water. The diver immediately went back down to rescue my watch—he found it too but the watch was never the same after it’s immersion in salt water.
From San Diego we went to Eureka, California. I just loved Eureka and vowed that I’d go back there some day, but of course I never did. At Eureka we picked up a floating dry-dock which had just been constructed. We took the dry-dock in tow and took it someplace—it was either Pearl Harbor or Kwajalein (I forget which). We were at Pearl Harbor when the war ended. From Kwajalein we went to Ulithi Atoll where the fleet was assembled for the invasion of Japan. Then on to Okinawa, and then to Yokasuka, Japan. At Yokasuka our task was to raise scuttled Japanese ships from the bay and then tow them out to sea and re-sink them (which we did with 40mm cannon fire). While I was with the ship we raised 3 vessels (destroyers) and then recovered gold and silver ingots which the Japanese had ditched in the bay.
In 1963 (my last visit to Hawaii) the Bolster was based at Pearl. I didn’t have time to visit the ship. Ships of the line get de-commissioned between wars but specialty ships like the bolster seem to stay forever. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Bolster is still under commission. Who knows, it still might be based at Pearl.
I think you ought to call the harbor master and find out if the Bolster still exists and whether it is still at Pearl. If so, you ought to make arrangements to visit the ship. The fact that you are a high -ranking officer and that I am a plank owner ought to be all the entree you need.
During the war the Bolster was on distribution for magazines, books, newspapers, etc. which went directly to the officer’s ward room—none were routed to the enlisted men. At nights while I was on watch I stole reading material from the ward room and took it to the enlisted quarters. The officers didn’t seem to miss the reading matter for there was never a “Captain Queeg” investigation.
I may be wrong but I believe the Bolster had 4 or 5 sister ships. The only one I know for sure is the ARS-39, the USS Conserver.
31 March, 1992: On the 30th of March, 1992 Paul checked with the Naval authorities and learned that the USS Bolster is now based at Long Beach, California. The USS Conserver, the Bolster’s sister ship is based at Pearl Harbor. Paul went down to see it—it had a nuclear submarine in tow when he saw it. I hope that he males arrangements to go aboard the Conserver some day.
When Dad wrote this letter, I was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base, which adjoins Pearl Harbor. The Ford Canal was less than a block from my house, and I was able to watch ARS-39, the Conserver, tow a decommissioned nuclear sub out to sea, steaming for a naval base in Washington where the sub was to be broken up.
The Bolster, which I sadly never got to see, was decommissioned in 1994. Dad was there in Long Beach for the decommissioning ceremony. I wish I could have been there too.