MEMORANDUM
3 May 5

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From: Commanding Officer.

 

Dear Phog:

Here is the letter I promised
uyou a few days ago,

I gave your last copy of Rebounds to
Lt. (jg) Neill Lysaught, a friend of
Raymond Wheeler's and a medic graduate a
couple of years ago at K.U.

Sincerely,

Please
(a) Furnish information requested.
(b) Submit full report.
(¢): Report completion not later than...

Lyle O. Armel

7743A—-M,I.N.Y. 5-10-44—-50M

 
 

 

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_A-MAY BASKET sh se: Meg ane

A MESSAGE FROM THE CAPTAIN

To The Loved Ones At Home

The Commander in Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean
Areas has indicated his desire that unduly restrictive censorship directives
be relaxed where it can be accomplished within the limitations of the current
needs for military security,

To that end Commanding Officers have been authorized to in-
auguarate a plan whereby, within the limits of Censorship Regulations, Naval
personnel may, within certain time limitations, tell where they have been,

| t am glad to announce to the officers and men of the TELFATR,

and through them to their families, that I accept the responsibility of this
Program on board this ship and will, from time to time authorize news releases,
with the definite stipulation THAT THEY ARE NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN PRINT IN
ANY FORM AT HOME. Read them, compare them with your favorite war correspondent
and file them away in your Memory Book.

J told the relatives and loved ones of the officers and men
present at the Commissioning Ceremony of this ship that we would do everything
humanly possible, consistent with war time operations to get the mail in and
out, with a minimum delay in "Sugar Reports", |

I also cautioned them not to: become impatient at mail delays,
nor disappointed at a lack of factual news, pointing out to them that censor:
ship provided safety for men on the fighting fronts because "Careless words in
the’ past have sunk ships" and killed some one's loved ones. In my nearly four
years at sea in World War II, the mail service to this ship has bem the best I
have experienced, That is due to the heroic efforts of our Navy Fleet Post Of-
fices and the direction of our high commands who realize the relatimship of
"MATL TO MORALE",

Then too, there has been a minimum of inquiries from families to
the Captain regarding men under his command relative to mail. This is a wholesome
sign and indicates that the folks at home realize the situstion and are not nag-
ging, knowing that their "MEN OF TEE SEA" will write when they can,

‘I believe I can allay the fears of wives and sweethearts over
that old chestnut of "A GIRL IN EVERY PORT", ‘There just couldn't be even if
the sailormen were so inclined in the ports we have visited, and as a guess
into the future ~ - — those we may later visit.

y Now the news you ere going to receive, naturally can't be all
Anclusive, It shouldn't be because that would rob your "MEN OF THE SEA" of
the opportunity of putting the rosy embellishment on their tales when told
to families and friends about the old family fire places in the years to come,

« 1 «

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

 
The stories we used to hear from the old Indian War and Civil War
heroes, about how they "fit" will pale into insignificance, to what your men,
when they are "grand pappies" will be able to tell. Some how time has a mellow

ing effect, memory tricks you and you have to compensate by adding a little touch
here and there,

But seriously your men are doing a grand’ job. You have every ©
reason to be proud of them, Representing as they do, 46 states and three ter-
ritories, they are truly a cross section of America. You can take pride in the
fact that they are a part of American Might who sailed away to meet the dawn to
bring light to a darkened world.

And so through the medium of TELFAIR TALES, news as available
will be sent you. It should help bridge the gap of distance, transcending both
space and time, and let you know that this Commanding Officer, as a representative
of the greatest Navy in the world, is interested in both his men and their loved

ones at home, both of whom are fighting:on their respective fronts, best express-
ed in the following home-made couplet:

"For both men and women must fight a war,
Each in a separate sphere.

The one at the front against the foe,

The other at home, protecting those dear."

Sincerely, :

ei ig GC é id AVAL Ss
a

LYLE ©. ARMEL, -

Commander, USNR, _
Commanding Officer,

THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER SPEAKS

We are fortunate in having on duty on board, It(jg) JOSEPH H.
KIRKPATRICK, USNR, formerly with the CHICAGO DATLY NEWS, Naturally we have
pressed his civilian experienced into service, in assembling an editorial board.

His first offering is a reverse English of the "Dear Buddy"
letters published in home papers for the boys in service, to a "DEAR FOLKS",
for the families at home. We hope you enjoy reading the letters. We think

they are good, \

Se am as ; fo }
ee Ay} OM ft AY fal ey

D.B. OAKLAND, =

Lieutenant, USNR,

Executive Officer.
THE LETTER HOME
Dear Folks:

You, like all the rest of the-families of the men aboard the ~
TELFAIR, having wondered "where" we've been, "when" we were there and "what"
we saw at the “when and where", It's a long sort of story and there are still
parts.of it that will have to be skipped due to security and censorship reg-
lations. Incidentally, this censorship business is as much for your benefit
as it is for mine - ~ - The enemy has profited on several occasions from in-
form.tion revealéd in letters and by "profit" I mean sink ships and kill men.
I want td come hore as much as you want me to be there ~ - - but anyway - - -.

“nom

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
After the U.S.S. TELFAIR sailed out of San Francisco's Golden
Gate the course of the ship was set for Pearl Harbor, T.H. (Territory of Hawaii).
One of our first adventures occured about three days later in mid-—Pacific, when.
we intercepted an S.0.S. from a merchent ship without a doctor who reported
& member of his Navy Armed Guard erew with acute appendicitis, We altered our
course, made a rendezvous with the ship and transferred the sick boy. The
doctors took one look and said, "operate", which they did and found a rup-
tured appendix. I'm glad we got the message because much more delay would
have been too late. As it-turned out, a few days after rdaching Pearl Harbor,
he walked down the gangway, a well man. Our Medical Department did a real job.

Then we sighted the famous Diamond Head and Aloha Tower, landmarks
of what lay before us, Pearl Harbur and Honolulu, a new adventure for a major-
ity of the crew. A good many of us probably expected to see 2 lot of beautiful
native women with grass skirts and leis (neckpieces made of flowers or tissue
paper) doing. about seven different versions of the hula right on the dock. Fact
of the matter is that Pearl Harbor is just like a lot of ports we've been in
along the West Coast. It's like being in New York, Chicago or San Francisco
during any rush hour with that rush hour extending throughout the day. Down-
town Honolulu is so similiar te any State's town of 25,000 in California, Arizona,
Georgia, Alabama or Florida that you could set it dow in anyone of those states
and hardly be able to distinguish it from the rest of the towns in the vicinity ,
except of course for the natives. They are short, dark and have coal black hair
and look like Mexicans,

Honolulu is filled with souvenir shops, jewelry stores and curbside
hamburger stands. It's a rat-race every minute you're there. A few of us took
Sightseeing trips around the island of OAHU and saw some beautiful Scenery, in =
the outlying districts of Honolulu there are many beautiful homes surrounded by
gardens filled with tropical plants and flowers, Inland, the island reminded
me of a few spots I've visited in Califomia. The island of Oahu, like most
of the islands in the Pacific, is of volcanic origin - - - that is at somtine
in the distant past volcanic action on the ocean floor erupted with the result
that there is now an island (or severs] as the case may be.).

a About half of the TELFAIR boat group were assigned tenporary shore
duty at Waimanola while we were in Pearl Harbor. The boys considered it good
duty for it gave them a chance to get used to being on land once more. The
camp was situated in one of those real beauty spots of the island.

: The weather, while we were in the islands was ideal. Temperatures
might get up to 80 or beyond during the day, but at night it would cool down
just like Spring at home. i

Then one afternoon about-1500 (3:00 P.M. to you) we headed west |
again and knew it would be several days before we saw land again, We settled
down to the routine of shipboard life for the next ten days and kept steaming
along.

_ I wonder if you know what an "Atoll" is? Well, we do because we
stopped at one, the island of Eniwetok in the Marshalls, I'm sure you remember
reading the accounts of the fight the Navy had to secure these islands, Eni-
wetok is an enlarged piece of coral set down in the Pacific about midway be-
tween Pearl Harbor and the Philippines. It might not look like much but it
meant a great deal to the Navy for many reasons I can't mention now.

One of the interesting events was the crossing of the International
Date Line when we jumped a day, and come to think of it, I guess we lost a days
pay. Anyway we all passed into the DOMAIN of the GOLDEN DRAGON, Ruler of the
180th Meridian. We 411 hold proper credentials addressed, "TO ALL SAILORS, wher-
ever ye may. be and to all mermaids, flying draggons, spirits of the deep, devil
chasers and all other living creatures of the seas, GREETINGS", We will later
get regular certificates which can be framed and hung over the fireplace at home,

(35
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
gee. We euAt Goed to push westward and found ourselves in Peleliu,

one of the Paulau Islands and the western most of the Caroline Islands, This —
is another island of coral formation. The history of these Islands dates back
to their discovery by the Portugese in 1527. In 1686 they were annexed by Spain
and renamed in honor of Charles II. In 1899 Germany purchased these Islands
from Spain and after World War I, they were placed under Japanese Mandate.

You have read the current history in the newspapers and know “hat is happening
to them,

MABOHAY ang FILIFINAS! In case you don't know, the meaning is
"Tong life to the Filipinos", I am sure you hear it over the radio from Gen-
eral Mac Arthur's broadcasting station, Yes we were in San Pedro Bay, leyte,
of the Philippines. The bay is between the islands of Samar and leyte, both
a part of the Philippines, During our stay in this area the crew, the sections,
had two liberty parties ashore. Of course there wasn't much opportunity to do
much sightseeing, but we did get a chance to see a bit of these famed islands
in the Philippines.

The islands are all mountainous and during the morning and early
evening are covered with fog banks and low hanging clouds. The weather was
hot and humid with very little rain during the time we were there.

A few of us did get into the province capitol of Leyte, Tacloban,
One of the Saturday Evening Post correspondents wrote three articles about
Leyte which appeared sometime during January and February. If you can, get
these back copies from the public library.

The natives of Leyte and Samar are very small in stature, dark |
skinned and most of them look underfed, which they probably are. We saw little
kids who couldn't have been more than four or five years of age, doing the fam-_
~ ily washing in one of the fresh water streams that run from the mountains into
the ocean.

Tacloban, capitol of the province of Leyte, was fantastic. There
were two main streets in the town which were at right angles to each other and
met in the center of town, When we were there, that "State and Madison", "Times
Square" or "Market and Fifth Street" crossroads of Tacloban was an ankle deep
mudhole, The houses were mostly two stories and looked like they were built to
last about two weeks, The province capitol building was a huge structure, modeled
after one of the periods of Greek Architecture and surrounded by massive pillars.
Closeup inspection revealed that the plaster was scaling off, the interior was
the worse for wear due to the peculiarities of modern warfare and in general it
looked like many of our real estate developements at home did after that "era
of wonderful nonsense" which was climaxed in 1929.

With this we close Vol, I, No. 1, of TELFAIR TALES with the promice
that in due time and within the limits of existing regulations, other chapters

will be sent you. And SO + - - with Oceans of Love, I remain your nautical
correspondent,

JACK TAR; Editor.
Sis

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
Miers tale thie cll, R80 ene i he

Comdr, eet ca ams

U. S. S. TELFAIR (APA-210)

c/o FLEET POST OFFICE
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

‘ 2OPRQOUALZRUSINERSX

‘Dr. Forrest C. Allen,
University of Kansas,
Lawrence,

Kansase