Frank Morrill  CM/2c in the Pacific

Pacific Service
I was in the US Navy during WW2.....New Guinea, Australia, Admiralties to Seeadler Harbor off Manus. Then Guam and home. All my Navy time was overseas, 21 months...very little state side duty.

MIlne Bay
It was a Naval receiving station across the bay from Alotau, which is the administration area for Milne Bay. The receiving station was nothing but a mud hole. Had to stand in line for mess with a Poncho at all times. If clothing got wet, they stay wet. Two meals a day. It is still there, but an email from one of the locals spell it...Gamadodeau...or something like that. I was only there for two weeks, left there on the AKA USS CRUX bound for Brisbane Australia, and ports furthur south. New Guinea was something else with the mosquito netting on the bunks. Funny...I cant remember what we did for movies and recreation........I dont think we had any. First big fuzzy wuzzy I ever saw with the top of his head of hair bleached yellow...driving a 6 by.....5 miles per hour a big, big man.

Australia
Had duty in Sydney area for the next 9 months. Not exactly in Sydney...but at Merrylands....Base Hospital #10....about 20 miles inland from Sydney. But we used to catch the train there for liberty in Sydney.......awful tough duty. I was a carpenters mate striker, eventually getting my 3rd class crow.

Manus Duties
I had an uneventful tour of duty at the Ship repair Unit at Lombrum Point All work, movies in the rain at night. I worked on some of the smaller docks....mostly wooden Mine Sweepers. I took out a plank one day with a sword fish bill stuck right thru it! The upper class boys took it, cut it out and made a monument of it, the plank and all! imagine how fast that fish must have been going? Those planks were at least two inches thick.

V-J Day on Manus
VJ DAY was a sight to behold. All the amphibs in the bay shooting up in the air 20mm's 40mm's and flares....the whole shooting match. The next day...we all stood in a long line for two cans of beer.....what a celebration. I have pictures of this...the lines...that is.

As soon as the war was over, we loaded up a whole bunch of LCM's and other landing craft and took them out away. We took off the hatch covers and sunk the whole mess. About ten of them went down to Davey Jones Locker. (Present day photo by Jeff Huchingson, 2003)

Korean War
The in 1947 i joined an Organizes marine Engineer Company. When Korea broke out...we were the first unit in the country to be activated. Alot of the guys went over, but my orders were changed. I stayed at camp Lejeune and little Creek Virginia.

Today
Salem is a real nice town....down town is real nice to walk around....all the shops and eateries...Pickering Wharf....Boat rides..........The four master The Friend ship...now docked at derby Dock.....cost 5 dollars to go aboard....one of these days I will.