Log of World War Ii: a Pacific Naval Diary: As Recorded by Vincent Evo Decook Yeoman Second Class U.S.S. Minneapolis

By Kenneth W. Huck

Although World War II has long been a part of a well-documented history, old events told from a different point of view can still give us a different perspective. Author Kenneth W. Huck shares such an account in Log of World War II: A Pacific Naval Diary.

Log of the War: A Pacific Naval Diary brings new information written by a yeoman second class serving on the USS Minneapolis. Vincent E. DeCooks eyewitness account begins December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, continuing through the fall of 1942. There are no comparable diaries that include these events: Pearl Harbor, Battle of the Coral Sea including the sinking of the Lexington, Battle of Guadalcanal, and others.

Learn what they knew and when they knew it. Names, dates, locations, vessels its all here. Through Log of World War II: A Pacific Naval Diary, one can feel the danger, the frustrations, and the fears of serving on a ship during a war, and realize the commitment to duty our servicemen exhibited.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 30, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453577585

Kenneth W. Huck

Kenneth Willis Huck was born and raised in the small Iowa town of Waverly. After attending elementary and parochial schools and graduating high school there, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University. Later, he received a Masters of Business Administration degree from Arizona State University. He and his wife Julie currently make their home in Buford, Georgia. They have three children: Kathryn Suzanne, Kyle Vincent, (yes, named after his grandfather), and Michael Thomas. Michael is currently serving as a corporal in the U.S. Marines. Kenneth is currently employed at the corporate headquarters for AGCO Corporation, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of farm equipment and machinery, located in Duluth, Georgia.

Book preview

Copyright © 2010 by Kenneth W. Huck.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2010916810

ISBN: Hardcover    978-1-4535-7757-8

ISBN: Softcover      978-1-4535-7756-1

ISBN: Ebook          978-1-4535-7758-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

86457

This book is dedicated to:

Thee DeCook and her three children,

Joe, Tim, and Julie

In honor of her husband’s

and their father’s service

to the United States of America

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Foreword

Log of the War

December 7

December 8

December 9 (1410)

December 10 (1600)

December 12

December 13

December 14

December 15

December 16

December 17

December 18

December 19

December 21

December 22

December 23

December 24

December 25

December 26

December 27

December 28

December 29

December 30

December 31

January 1, 1942

January 2

January 3

January 4

January 5

January 6

January 7

January 8

January 9

January 10

January 11

January 12

January 13

January 23

February 3

February 14

February 20

February 25

March 3

March 9

March 13

March 15

March 21

April 21

April 27

April 29

May 1

May 2

May 4

May 5

May 7

May 9

May 10

May 14

May 15

May 16

May 17

May 20

May 27

May 30

May 31

June 2

June 3

June 5

June 6

June 8

June 11

June 13

June 19

July 14

August 4

August 7: Morning

August 8

August 12

August 20

August 22

August 25

August 26

September 5

September 9

September 13: (Sixty-eighth day out of Pearl)

September 15

September 19

September 21

September 25

September 30

Epilog

Appendix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I want to thank Thee DeCook, Vince’s wife, for preserving the diary and making me aware of it. Second, I give appreciation to my wife, Julie, for all of the help with the book and support she has given me in all of the endeavors I decide to do, (well, most of them anyway). I couldn’t ask for a better half.

Thanks also go to Jane Huck for providing huge atlases from the mid-20th century to locate many of the places named in the diary. Finally, I want to thank Dr. Terrence Lindell, professor of history at Wartburg College, for encouraging me to publish this book.

Kenneth W. Huck

Foreword

I first met Vince DeCook in 1977 when I was dating his daughter, Julie. After I married her, it was a while before I found out Vince was in World War II and near Pearl Harbor on the day of December 7, 1941. It was difficult for him to talk about his war experiences and rarely did so. It wasn’t until after his death in December 1997 that I became aware of the diary he had kept during the war.

Vincent Evo DeCook was born January 2, 1921, in Long Grove, Iowa. He passed away December 29, 1997, in Davenport, Iowa and was buried January 2, 1998, on his birthday. Throughout his life, he was known as Bud, probably because he was a buddy to everyone. He didn’t have an enemy, as he was the most easygoing person I have known.

There are several other diary books available that are similar in content as this book. However, because of the dates when they were written, they do not cover the important events of the Pearl Harbor attack, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, and others of significance that this book does.

The diary that Vince kept started December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor and ends nondescriptly on September 30, 1942, in Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. This book is based on that diary, and other than minor editing, the words are his. Therefore, the accuracy is also based on his knowledge at the time. During this period, he saw action at Pearl Harbor, Battle of the Coral Sea, Battle of Midway, the landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi, and landings at Funafuti.

At the start of this diary, Vince was a Yeoman Second Class on the USS Minneapolis heavy cruiser CA-36. With his position and duties, Vince was privy to information that most other sailors on the ship were not. Besides his diary (personal diaries were officially forbidden at the time), he collected radio reports and bulletin postings labeled THIS PRESS IS FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MUST IT FALL INTO UNAUTHORIZED HANDS. PLEASE DESTROY BY BURNING WHEN ITS PURPOSE HAS BEEN SERVED. Because these were not destroyed, it allows us insight into when the Navy knew certain things before the general public was notified. Some of these are included in this book.

After Vince died and the diary was uncovered, I decided to publish this as a tribute to him and the people he served with. This book, on a portion of World War II, is perhaps unique in that it gives a firsthand account of the feelings, fears, and frustrations of the average sailor during the Pacific conflict. It enlightens us to see what these brave men and women did when traveling into the unknown of war. It highlights the courageous duties that these people unquestionably knew had to be done: fighting to protect the United States of America.

There are some handwritten words and abbreviations in Vince’s diary that I and others have been unable to decipher, and certain items that I have not been able to verify. These are marked by a "?" in parenthesis, sometimes with a guess or comment. Texts in italics are my insertions for clarification. Most locations he mentions have been provided with the latitude and longitude coordinates to help locate them, as some of their names have been changed since the war. I have also provided most ship designations, but again, there are a few that I have been unable to verify.

Kenneth W. Huck

Vincent E. DeCook

Y 2/c—Minneapolis

Log of World War II

Personal Observance and Opinion

Started December 7, 1941

Note: Contained herein and views expressed are those of the writer and have no influence on events, outcomes, or battles in World War II.

RESTRICTED

CONFIDENTIAL

SECRET

CLASSIFIED as Personal Property

In the event of the destruction of Minneapolis, please destroy these papers (they would never get through the mails).

Log of the War

December 7

I went on watch at 0700. We were operating about twenty miles southeast of Oahu directly opposite Pearl Harbor (21.2° N latitude, 157.6° W longitude) and Hickam Field. I noticed two fires (one white smoke, one black smoke)—seemed as though they might have been cane fires. The white smoke was from some distance inland and the black smoke was nearer the shore. The black smoke might have been a field burning with oil or a plane wreck.

Sometime near 0800, the sky over Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field began filling with bursts of AA (antiaircraft) fire. Shells could be seen dropping and exploding near shore, making huge geysers of water. It looked strange. We had never seen any drill of that character before. Shortly after that, we read a message that we were in hostilities with Japan. We broke out the live ammunition, tin hats (helmets), and went to GQ (General Quarters).

I saw many planes in the sky over the land—mere specks. We were the only cruiser near the island and we had two four-stack tin cans (destroyers) as escort. Everyone was confused. At 1420 it was officially announced that Japan had declared war on the US and Great Britain. We stayed at GQ until about 1100, went in Condition II then. During the morning we had no casualties. We challenged all aircraft that approached. At about 1220, I lay below to eat chow.

At 1240 GQ went. I have never seen such action before. Instead of walking or moving in quiet steps to battle stations, everyone ran at top speed, left mess trays sitting, went over tops of mess-tables and over steam tables. There were two-way passages on all ladders and it didn’t take more than two minutes before all stations were manned. Ships had been sighted, about twenty of our own, a light cruiser, a DD (destroyer), and a DMS (destroyer minesweeper). We formed a fighting organization and proceeded due west in battle formation. At about 1330, we catapulted our four planes with a full load of gas for scouting. They will return to Pearl Harbor.

Everyone is keyed up to high tension. War is no longer a joke, no laughing matter, but one of serious consideration and thought. Some fellows joke about it but their faces show a different expression.

KGU and KGUB, (Honolulu, Hawaii radio stations), sent out broadcasts all morning about people staying off the streets, getting cars off the streets, not using telephones or keeping radios turned up loudly. All morning long calls went out for truck drivers, chauffeurs, taxi drivers, etc., to report for ambulance duty. All nurses and hospital attendants were recalled to the hospital. On Kauai (22.0°