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Account of the USS Canopus written by Capt. E. L. Sackett

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  • wcu_ww2-1023.jp2
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  • Th© Canopus w&s seaworthy again in a few days, although much ammunition had keen lost by flooding the magazines, and several store rooms were badly messed up by the explosion* This ©loud, however, had a silver lining for our Supply Officer, Meutenan* "Ous* Johnson, who found his o fie© wreeked and his accounts burned, giving him a h©aven»s©K* ehane© to put an end to all his laborious a counting system for th© duration* Frem that time on, our supply System was beautifully simple* Hhat w© had, w© ©ould us© without th© usual red tap©, and if samsth ng was lacking, nothing ©ould b© don© about it ©xo©p% to improvise a substitute or do without* There was nothing for th© men to spend their mon«y on, so there were no more pay days !©• osmb, tad ptgor canteen supplies were fre© as long as they lasted* All clothing becars© ©uamunity property, to be doled out to whatever' unfortunate should appear in th© most nearly naleed condition. This Utopian stat© inevitably led to much ©loser relations among th© crew and officers* and 'welded us all into a great family, wcrking and fighting in a Gasman cause, with only one atwto do' our da ©dost to lick th© Japs* Curiously enough, the boys who had been th© worst troublemakers in tl e of peace became our most shining lights in wartime* Perhaps they hod just too much restless energy for their own. good when things wimp© normal, but this smm© quality <%atbl«A them to perform prodigies when th© ships were down* Ordinary methods of discipline of course failed, sine© th© men got no lib©rty ©r pay anyhow, and what normally would b©> extra duty was how only as th© spirit of th© community would telera e no shirkers, and "th®, men themselves saw to it that no on© was ©relict in his duty* Ihen t he last of the submaines, carrying "th© Commodcr© arid his staff to a new Southern has©, ©M bulled out j st before th© K©w Year opened, w© wer© left with something of the f»©ling of a mother when the lasi of her child*' ren has grown up and loft th© has© fires, to battle the world alone* Nothing would see more usueless than a submarine tender with no submarines to look out for, but we w©r© soon to find that thore -were ©rpahas aplenty to b© adopted, There w©r© many small*8avy ships which were also stra/.ded by th© tide of war ebbing toward the south* Th©s« ne«d«d o nstarift repairs as well as additional ©quipraent for th© task ahead of them The work also got around to all Army and Air Force Units, of th© well equipped shops which ©ould and did accomplish miracles of improvisation, and these groups were not slow in making full use of ell facilities* Again th® mem of the Canopus c-uld and did accomplish miracles of Improvisation, and these gr ups were not slow in making full use of ail"fa©iliti©s» Again th© men of th© Caopus ©ould 'feel jsfcat they had a ^ajor share 3m th© 'new ®issien»to hold Bataan* . f ojo*s war birds, however, still wanted to have something to say as to . whether the Canopus would stay -im service. Our. first bombing'tott mad© it apparent that the ship was not exactly a safe spot to while away the daylight hours, so th® policy was* doptod to scattering as many of the crew as possible ashor©, to sleep as best they could during the day, and return on board for work all night* Volunteers were called for to man the anti-aircraft guns during th© danger period, with such repsonss that practically no changes resulted in th© regular gun crews* With the Suunery Officer, Lieutenant "Red*Otter in
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