| Extracts |
| from the wartime diary of |
| Charley Madison Plummer |
| USS Schley (DD-103 / APD-14) |
| The following entries are, for the most part, direct quotes from the personal wartime diary |
| of Chief Quartermaster Charley Madison Plummer, U. S. Navy. To facilitate understanding, |
| misspelled words have been corrected, and abbreviations have been spelled out. R.A.K. |
| (30 Jun 40) Received orders to report to Destroyer Base, San Diego, Calif., for active |
| duty -- not later than 10 July, 1940. Reported 9 July, 1940, and was assigned to the USS |
| Schley #103 for re-commissioning. The Schley was re-commissioned on 3 October, 1940, |
| Lieutenant Commander J. A. Ralph commanding. From the above date until 28 November was |
| spent touching up and trial runs off Point Loma. |
| (17 Dec 40) Arrived in the Hawaiian area. Our main duty was patrolling the defensive |
| sea area, with trips to Molokai, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai. In late November 1941, we went |
| into the yard for an overhaul; hence we were in berth #20 that Sunday morning at 0755 |
| Dec 7th 1941 when the Japanese without warning attacked Pearl Harbor with dive bombers, |
| high altitude bombers, torpedo planes, and midget sub's. Loss of life and damage was very |
| heavy. Ships sunk: Arizona, West Virginia, Oklahoma, California, Nevada, Utah, Downs, |
| Cassin, Ogalala. Ships damaged: Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Raliegh, Helena, |
| Shaw, Honolulu, Floating dock. We put to sea Dec 22nd 1941 to help clear the Hawaiian |
| area of Jap sub's and to do escort and patrol duties. |
| (13 Dec 42) Departed Hawaiian area for Bremerton to be converted to APD-14. |
| (11 Feb 43) Departed Bremerton for the South Pacific via Frisco, Pearl, Palmyra, Noumea, |
| (27 Mar 43) Arrived Espiritu Santo and spent about 30 days training 4th Raider Marines |
| in beach landings on the following islands: Ambrym, Malakula, and Epi. (Ambrym has an |
| active volcano that is quite a sight at night.) |
| (May 1943) The first week in May 1943 was spent escorting liberty ships to Guadalcanal |
| and patrolling off Henderson Field. |
| (8 May 43) We escorted the Cetus to Pago Pago thence to Auckland, New Zealand. |
| (12 Jun 43) Found us again at Guadalcanal undergoing several nuisance air raids. |
| (16 Jun 43) We had a real air raid today. 120 Jap planes took part. 77 were reported |
| shot down. We lost one liberty ship and one L.S.T. |
| (21 Jun 43) We are making preparations for the invasion of the New Georgia Group. |
| (24 Jun 43) Picked up coast watchers on Hele Island. Must be getting near "D" Day. |
| (30 Jun 43) This is "D" Day. We landed troops at Oliana Bay at 0300. We observed a lot |
| of our ships during the night -- all heading for New Georgia.. |
| (5 Jul 43) At 0030 in Kula Gulf unloading troops at Rice Anchorage. At 0045 Jap shore |
| guns open up. the lead is really flying around. At 0100, the Strong was hit by a torpedo |
| and sank in about 15 minutes. Those fish must be terrific, for it jarred us when she was |
| hit. (What a night.) The troops we landed will be used to flank Munda Air Field. |
| (23 Jul 43) Until now, we have carried troops, ammunition, etc., to Rice Anchorage, Segi |
| Point, Rendova, the Russells, and looked for enemy sub's. During the above operations, we |
| just ran the ship to death. |
| (1 Aug 43) We were ordered to the Mare Island Navy Yard for an overhaul. Arrived at |
| the yard on 19 Aug 43. |
| (30 Sep 43) I was detached for new construction, at my own request. |
| (13 Nov 43) Reported aboard USS Wake Island at Astoria, Oregon. |
|
Source: wartime diary of Chief Quartermaster Charley Madison Plummer (SN: 380 09 65) |
| United States Navy, Retired. (Born 1904 Los Angeles, CA / Died 1973 Medford, OR) |