Mr. William (Bill) Martin LCI(L)-637 in World War II I learned of Mr. William Martin through his granddaughter, and called him on 22 March 2001. Bill Martin was a U.S. Naval officer who was the Executive Officer and then Commanding Officer of a Landing Craft Infantry Large, LCI(L)-637, in New Guinea and the Philippines during World War II. He served from July 1944 until November 1945. He told me that LCI(L)-637 was 157 feet long, 23 feet wide, and displaced 360 tons. He compared this to "one and one half times the three ships of Columbus." It had a flat bottom and no keel, which allowed it to run right up to a beach to offload troops down the two bow ramps. The crew consisted of 4 officers and 25 enlisted men, which included six motor machinist mates. The crew worked in shifts of 4 hours on and 8 hours off. Bill said, "We crossed the ocean on our own. We were not carried on another ship." The ship had four troop compartments and could carry an entire company of 203 enlisted soldiers and 9 officers. It carried 25,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 10,000 gallons of fresh water. It was powered by eight 225 horsepower diesel engines, with an arrangement of two engines on each side of two propeller shafts. Flank speed was 16.4 knots with all engines running. During normal cruise the ship ran on three engines per shaft, with one engine per shaft offline for maintenance. The ship had forward and reverse variable pitch propellers. It was armed with five 20 mm antiaircraft guns, with one at the bow, two in front of the conning tower, and two at the rear of the superstructure. Bill said, "One of the advantages of being an officer is that we knew a little about everything. We had enlisted specialists who ran the ship's systems, but we had to know enough to supervise them." Six U.S. shipyards built approximately 1000 LCIs during the war. LCI(L)-637 was an intermediate design. Unlike earlier models, its superstructure was built up all the way to the gunwales on each side. It had the dual bow ramp design of earlier models. Later models were equipped with bow doors. The ship had a silhouette much like that of a submarine. Some LCIs were converted to gun ships that carried rockets. These were known as LCI(R)s. They carried a lot of firepower and had a 3 inch gun at the bow. During an invasion, they would go in to launch their rockets before the troops landed. LCI(L)-637 was built and commissioned in New Jersey in July 1944. It was fitted out in New York, and then sailed to Norfolk, Virginia for its shakedown cruise. The next stop was Key West, where the ship took on fresh water and diesel fuel. The crew then sailed to Panama where they took on ammunition. After sailing through the Panama Canal, they sailed across the Pacific with stops at Bora Bora, Noumea in New Caledonia, and Manus in the Admiralty Islands, before arriving at Hollandia, New Guinea. While in Panama, the crew took on board a kitten which they named "Panama Hattie." Bill commented that the sunrises and susnsets were beautiful during the Pacific crossing. He also remembered the flying fish and said, "The flying fish that landed on deck became cat food." Three weeks out of Panama they arrived at Bora Bora, which he described as a beautiful coral island, green and mountainous. The cat stayed in Bora Bora, and they took on a dog which the crew named "Bora Bora Dora." She got off in New Caledonia. In Bora Bora, they also took on three soldiers who had elephantiasis. These patients thought that they were heading back to the States, but instead they went to New Caledonia. LCI(L)-637 stayed at Hollandia for three months. Bill said that he remembered New Guinea as having some of the most primitive people in the world. There were cannibals in the interior. He said, "I remember seeing "soldiers sloggin' around in the mud with the bugs, while we sat 500 yards offshore, free of the bugs and mud." He assumed command of the ship in November 1944, and sailed from New Guinea to an area between Leyte and Samar. During this journey, there were no Japanese attacks on the flotilla, but Bill remembers "Washing Machine Charlie" in Leyte Gulf. This was a twin engine Japanese bomber whose engines were usually out of sync, giving it a sound that reminded American troops of a washing machine. Washing Machine Charlie harrassed the Americans by flying over and dropping one bomb every night; during Christmas it was one bomb every hour. This caused every ship in the bay to go on full alert. Sometimes there was a hit. Bill remembers one Landing Ship Tank (LST) that was a total loss after a bomb went through three decks and exploded in a critical area, killing some sailors. He also remembers a direct hit on a transport that was underway. He said, "It killed the entire deck crew, and the ship sailed on out of control for a while. We watched as smoke poured from the ship." LCI(L)-637 stayed at Leyte for three months, and then sailed for Subic Bay, near Manila. During this time Bill described his ship's duty as that of a "seagoing train," carrying mail and people between Subic Bay and Manila. This was necessary because the roads and railroads were bombed. There were 3 LCIs that rotated this duty. Each ship made the Subic Bay to Manila run, followed by the return journey the next day. On the third day they rested. At Manila they sailed about one mile up the Pasig River, and tied up. They couldn't go further because of a bridge. They delivered the mail to the Manila Fleet Post Office. Chow aboard ship was good. The ship had a cook and a big walk-in refrigerator and freezer. Bill said, "We had steaks and butter, but no fresh produce. We ate powered milk and powdered eggs, and mixed powdered milk with cocoa to make hot chocolate." He said, "On our first trip to Manila there was a horrible smell in the air. I investigated and found an old walled city by the harbor. One of the buildings was a jail, and it's roof was gone. Inside were two large cells filled with decomposing bodies. Apparently the Japanese had locked these prisoners in the jail and left them to starve." "The British had an aircraft carrier in the area which transported liberated British POWs from the Japanese prison camps on Formosa to Manila. The carrier was too big to approach shore, so my boat transported some of the former POWs from the carrier to shore. They were walking skeletons. I saw some of them later who had gained weight after receiving a high-protein diet." Bill Martin departed the Pacific Theater on LCI(L)-637 in November 1945, and returned to the States via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor. During the return trip, the ship sailed through the edge of a typhoon. Bill said it was a rough time, with the ship rolling and pitching in the swells. They arrived at San Diego in December 1945, and intended to go back through the Panama Canal to the East Coast. A broken propeller shaft forced them to return to San Diego, where the ship was decommissioned and "mothballed." Regarding his service in World War II, Bill said, "It was interesting, but it was often boring and felt constricting. We had no social life and no chance for regular exercise. I am glad that I served, but I wouldn't want to do it again." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Bill Martin 721 Otten Court Aztec, NM 87410 Telephone: (505) 334-6291 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Telephone conversation between Mr. Bill Martin and Paul Webber on 22 March 2002. Transcribed by Paul M. Webber on 23 March 2002 Home Page: http://home.pcisys.net/~pwebber/31_id/rtw.htm