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Recollections of Henry V. Oheim, Lt. (J.G.), USNR
of the Wartime Experiences of the U.S.S. PATHFINDER
FORWARD
The following account was written as an official report to the Director
of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey by Henry V. Oheim, who
in 1946 was a draftsman in the Baltimore Engineering Field Office of
the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Mr. Oheim had been a Naval Reserve Officer
assigned to the PATHFINDER in November, 1943, and remained attached
to the ship for the duration of the war. As such, he accompanied the
ship on its second wartime cruise and provided information concerning
its work in the latter stages of WWII and post-war work.
NARRATIVE
CRUISES OF THE SURVEY SHIP PATHFINDER
November 7, 1943 to December 24, 1945
by Lieutenant (j.g.) H. V. Oheim, USNR
FIRST CRUISE OF THE U.S.S. PATHFINDER
November 7, 1943 to October 21, 1944
"Bascom H. Thomas,
Capt., USNR, Commanding
"Walter J. Chovan, Lieutenant Commander, U.S.C.& G.S.,
Executive Officer
"On November 7,
1943, the PATHFINDER was engaged in surveying the waters of Rendova
Island, one of the islands of the New Georgia Group. The survey of
Rendova consisted of triangulation, hydrography, wire drag, beacon
building and setting buoys. While engaged in this survey, an advance
party left the ship for the Bougainville invasion to make a survey
of Empress Augusta Bay. This party was under the direction of Lieutenant
E. E. Anderson, U.S.N.R. and Lieutenant (j.g.) Lorin Woodcock, U.S.C.&
G.S. The survey of Rendova was finished in the latter part of November,
1943 and the ship got underway for the Russell Islands where she was
to chart the waters of Sunlight Channel, Renard Sound, and various
other bays of this group of islands. During this survey, a second
advance party left the ship bound for the Treasury Islands to survey
Blanche Harbor. The party was under the direction of Lieutenant Commander
Junius T. Jarman, U.S.C.& G.S., Lieutenant C.W. Pinkham, USNR,
and Ensign H.V. Oheim, U.S.N.R. This survey was run by an APC and
an LCVP. The PATHFINDER remained in the Russell Islands until after
Christmas of 1943 and then got underway for Noumea, New Caledonia.
During January, 1944, the ship widened the wire drag area through
the eastern portion of Havanna Passage that was originally done by
the OCEANOGRAPHER. At this time a third advance party left the ship
bound for the Green Islands under the direction of Lieutenant Commander
Junius T. Jarman, U.S.C.& G.S., Lieutenant (j.g.) Lorin Woodcock,
U.S.C.&G.S., and Lieutenant (j.g.) William B. Sears, U.S.N.R.
Lieutenant Commander Jarman received the Bronze Star medal for his
participation in this Survey. After finishing the wire drag of Havanna
Passage, the ship received orders to proceed to Sydney, Australia,
for ten days recreation.
"After the recreation
in Sydney, the PATHFINDER returned to New Caledonia where she received
orders for another advance party, this one bound for Emirau in the
St. Mathias Islands. This party was under the direction of Lieutenant
Commander Walter J. Chovan, U.S.C.& G.S.; Lieutenant C.W. Pinkham,
USNR; Ensign C. W. Crawford, USNR; and Ensign Henry V. Oheim, USNR.
While this party was away from the ship, the PATHFINDER proceeded
to the Admiralty Islands to run a survey of Seeadler Harbor.
"Upon the completion
of the Emirau survey, and the Admiralty Island survey, the ship proceeded
to Purvis Bay, Tulagi, for minor repairs and then proceeded to Noumea,
New Caledonia. Once more survey operations were begun and parties
were sent out to survey Woodin Passage from Havanna Passage to Amedee
Lighthouse. Several other minor surveys were completed on the northwest
coast of New Caledonia. At this time, the ship heard rumors that its
days in the South Pacific were numbered. After the completion of the
New Caledonia surveys, the ship moved over into the Loyalty Islands
and surveyed the passage between Lifu Island and Uvea Atoll.
"The survey of
the Loyalty Islands was completed in September 1944, and the ship
moved up into the New Hebrides Islands and surveyed the passage between
Maewo and Pentecost Islands. It was here that the rumors heard at
New Caledonia became reality and the ship received orders to San Francisco
for repairs. The ship weighed anchor on October 1, 1944, for the United
States and finally arrived in San Francisco on October 21, 1944.
SECOND CRUISE OF THE U.S.S. PATHFINDER
December 18, 1944 to December 24, 1945
"Bascom H. Thomas,
Captain, USNR, Commanding
"Junius T. Jarman, Commander, U. S. C. & G. S., Executive Officer
"The
PATHFINDER began its second cruise on December 18, 1944, when she
sailed from San Francisco Bay bound for Pearl Harbor, Oahu, T.H. After
a rough but uneventful trip, the PATHFINDER put into Pearl Harbor
on December 26, 1944, to await her next survey assignment. During
this time, the war had moved north of the Solomons and New Guinea
and west of the Caroline, Marshall, and Marianas Islands, so the PATHFINDER
knew that her next important operation would be in the Western Pacific.
While at Pearl Harbor, Captain Bascom H. Thomas was relieved of command
by Lieutenant Commander Francis L. DuBois, USNR. On January 20, 1945,
the ship got underway for Guam via Eniwetok. After a brief stay at
Guam, during which Commander Junius T. Jarman, U.S.C.& G.S., was
relieved as Executive Officer by Lieutenant Lacon H. Carlock, USNR,
we received orders to find and locate a shoal that lay somewhere northwest
of Saipan. After several days of searching, the Soundman reported
that he had made contact with the shoal on the sonar equipment. Within
a few minutes, bottom was sighted and the fathometer recorded a depth
of forty-five feet in mid-ocean. Engines were stopped and the anchor
was let go. While the ship rode at anchor that night, the shoal was
accurately located by celestial and Loran fixes. The next morning
launches were put over and soundings were taken, thereby locating
and establishing the depth of water over "PATHFINDER REEF".
"When
the ship returned to Guam, she received orders to report to the Command
at Ulithi in the Caroline Islands for further assignment. It was finally
learned that the next job was to be Casiguran Bay and Sound on the
northeast coast of Luzon in the Philippines. This area was still in
the hands of the Japanese. The PATHFINDER sailed from Ulithi to Casiguran
Bay via Leyte, accompanied by an escort vessel and two submarine chasers.
On March 13, 1945, a landing party was put ashore to scout the beaches.
They had the element of surprise and the Japs went back into the hills
leaving behind their machine guns and ammunition. The next day, survey
operations were started and the triangulation signals were erected.
The concrete monuments that were set up by the U.S.C.& G.S. on
Motiong and Dilalongan Points in 1929 were found and served as a base
line for the triangulation scheme. After the control had been established,
hydrography and wire drag was started. It was during the wire drag
operations that the submarine chasers were put into use for dragging
the large area of the Sound.
"The
survey of Casiguran Bay went very smoothly and such conditions made
working a pleasure. One afternoon, one of the officers in charge of
triangulation reported seeing a Japanese twin-engine bomber, know
as a "Betty", at the lower end of the Sound. That night, the ship
was attacked by two Japanese dive bombers. The first of the planes
made a bombing run, dropping two bombs about thirty yards off the
port bow. The second plane came in from the bow to make a strafing
run, but by this time the ship was at general quarters and the guns
were manned. The starboard three-inch gun opened fire on the plane
placing two bursts under the belly of the Jap causing him to pull
out of his dive smoking, and he took off over the mountains. About
three nights after the bombing incident, the ship was fired on from
the beach by machine guns but the fire was not returned and the ship
moved anchorage under the cover of darkness. The survey was completed
by the first of April and the chart was printed by the fifth, so the
ship got underway for Leyte and then to Ulithi.
"After
a three weeks rest, the PATHFINDER received orders to Okinawa to made
a survey of the western side of the island. The trip from Ulithi to
Okinawa was very uneventful and it was one of the few times that the
PATHFINDER was ever escorted. The ship anchored in Hagushi anchorage
on May 1st and on May 4th moved up into Nago Wan to begin a survey
of Toguchi. On May 6th as the ship was coming to anchor in the lee
of Sesoko Island, two Kamikaze planes roared out of the sky. The first
plane crashed in the port side of the 20 mm. gun platform causing
little damage to the ship but killing one man. The ship immediately
went to general quarters and the three inch battery drove off the
second plane which went over Ie Shima and crashed an LST. For the
next thirty days, the gunnery activity of the PATHFINDER at night
far exceeded the survey activity during the day and the ship went
to general quarters nearly one hundred times during this period. It
was soon decided that the ship would be safer under the protection
of the anti-aircraft batteries of Hagushi anchorage so a party was
established on the beach of Nago Wan to run the survey from there.
"After
several months of continuous survey, rumors were heard that Japan
was suing for peace. On August 10, 1945, this rumor became a reality,
ending the war in the Pacific. These orders were to proceed to Yokosuka
Naval Base in Tokyo Bay which was the last leg of a long journey in
the Pacific. The PATHFINDER sailed from Hagushi, Okinawa on October
11, 1945, and arrived at Yokosuka on October 14, 1945. After running
several minor surveys in the Tokyo Bay area, the last of which was
to sound the channel from Tokyo Bay to the docks of Tokyo proper,
the ship received orders to return to Seattle, Washington for decommissioning
and to be returned to the Coast and Geodetic Survey. On December 5,
1945, the PATHFINDER sailed from Tokyo Bay bound for Seattle, Washington,
to be honorably discharged from the United States Navy.
Respectfully
submitted:
April 4, 1946
________________________________
Henry
V. Oheim, Lieut.(j.g.)USNR
Engineering Draftsman, SP-6
Baltimore Field Office
Coast and Geodetic Survey
Respectfully forwarded to The Director - April 5, 1946
________________________________
Commander
Fred. L. Peacock, C&GS
Officer in Charge
Baltimore Field Office
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