Platte History

PLATTE ( AO-24 ) was built by the Bethlehem Steel Company, Baltimore, Maryland; launched on 8 July 1939; and commissioned at Norfolk on 1 December 1939, Commander P.L. Meadows in Command.

Platte was at San Diego when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, Platte put to sea with a convoy for Pearl Harbor and was underway on 11 January 1942, in company with the famed aircraft carrier Enterprise (CV-6), spending the next few months in the Coral Sea. On 28 May 1942, Platte fueled the Enterprise Task Force and the Yorktown Task Force just before the Battle of Midway. Platte then began her support of the Solomons operations. She was in the ocean approaches to the Solomons in the morning of 10 August. She subsequently fueled the Saratoga, Wasp and Enterprise carrier task groups. After a return to the west coast, she resumed her vital support to fleet units engaged in the bitter struggle for Guadalcanal and other Solomon Islands.

Platte departed departed San Pedro on 9 April 1943 to provide vital logistic support in the campaign to regain control of the western Aleutians from the Japanese. Platte was underway for the Marshall Islands the afternoon of 31 January 1944, fueling Pennsylvania and six destroyers. On 6 June, Platte cleared Majuro Atoll with Fast Carrier Task Forces for the Marianas. Platte loaded fuel and cargo at Eniwetok, then made passage to Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admirality Islands. This harbor was her base of logistic operations in support to combat ships in the forward area to the northeast of the Marianas Islands, Iwo Jima, and the supporting carrier strikes on Tokyo.

Platte stood out to sea on 13 March to commence support of Fast Carrier Task Forces in the conquest of Okinawa. On 15 August, word was received that President Truman had announced the agreement of japan to surrender. Platte entered Tokyo Bay on 10 September to act as station tanker in that port until 29 September when she got underway for a return to the United States.

She arrived at Yokohama, Japan to support the occupation forces on 4 February 1946. During the next twelve months, she constantly shuttled from the oil docks of Bahrein, Saudi Arabia, to support fleet operations at principal ports of Japan, Korea, and the Philippine Islands. In the following months, she gave logistic support to the fleet at ports in Japan, Bucker Bay, Okinawa; and Tisngatao, China
 

Fleet tactics off the coast of Southern California and up keep in Long Beach and Mare Island Navy Yards were followed by another cruise to the Far East. On 22 February 1951, Platte left the Hawaiian Islands astern and set her course by way of the Marshall Islands and Okinawa for Sasebo, Japan. She reached the last named port on 2 April and was off Sonjin, Korea, on 4 April to deliver fuel to crusier Saint Paul and five destroyers of the United Nations Escort and Blockade Force on the east coast of Korea. Platte commenced a second tour of service in support of warships on Formosa Patrol and those operating in combat areas off the coast of Korea on 3 January 1952, for return to Long Beach on 10 November. Platte stood out of San Diego Harbor on 17 March 1954 for Subic Bay. She return to Long Beach on 2 October and had completed six similar tours in support of the 7th Fleet operations in the Far East by 28 June 1960. A unit of Service Squadron 3 on each of these tours in the Far East, her operations in support of the 7th Fleet carried her to every principal port of Japan, the Philipines, Okinawa, Formosa, and Korea. Her operations on the west coast which intervened this service, were under Service Squadron One.

Platte made almost yearly deployments to the western Pacific from 1960 to 1968, including extensive operations in Vietnamese waters and refueling the Enterprise task group off Korea during the Pueblo crisis. Platte continued to served the 7th Fleet until early 1970's when she was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register. She was sold for scrap 14 May 1971 to the Levin Metals Corporation.

Platte earned 11 battle stars for World War II, 6 battle stars for Korea, and 5 battle stars for her Vietnam service.

USS PLATTE SHIP'S BELL

by Woody Rixey

For the crews of most retired Navy ships, the ship's bell is just one item of a traditional set of memorabilia removed from the ship upon her decommisioning. To the delight of USS Platte veterans, Platte's bell has been retrieved from storage at the Washington Navy Yard and delivered to Platte County for display in the county court house. That bell has a special meaning for men who served in "the fleet's first lady."

In our day, in all Navy ships, the bell was involved in nearly every ceremony that is a part of Navy life. It was electronically amplified to be heard through all compartments of the ship - even the engine room - during day and evening, and at night by the lookouts on deck. The bell and the bosun's pipe moved us through the ships routines, such as: arise, go to division muster, go to meals, go to work and, finally, "lights out. All hands not on watch turn in your bunks." When our ship was visited by a senior officer or other dignitary the ringing of the bell and the bosun's piping at the gangway were the honors rendered to the visitor. Through the day the bell tolled the beginning of each four hour "watch", by which our days were divided - and countless other traditional events. Even today, a ship's bell is one of the instruments of TRADITION that permeate Navy life. Every commissioned ship has one; it ranks with the commissioning pennant in traditional importance.

The ship's bell has another function that is perhaps more important than its traditional ones. The bell is large and loud and mounted on the open deck at the tip end of the ship's bow. It can be heard across hundreds of yards of water. Consider a ship at anchor in port on a dark night or on any occasion when visibility is low, even a foggy day. The ship's bell may be repeatedly rung to give notice of the location of the ship. This has two purposes: It may tell another ship entering or leaving harbor that our ship is in the way. It may also tell sailors in small boats the location of their own ships, since the bell is used, under these conditions, to toll the "Hull Number" of the ship. USS Platte's hull number was 24. On dark nights or foggy days at anchor the wide vicinity of our ship was treated to the sound of "ding ding (pause) ding ding ding ding."

For sailors in Platte, this function of our ship's bell cause it to be an especially respected and remembered piece of the ship's hardware. Platte carried various types of fuel and other explosive cargo to the attack forces. They ranged from propulsion fuel for the attack force ships to high test avaiation fuels, occasional deck loads of ammunition and ammunition for Platte's own guns. All these explosives meant that when Platte was loaded for deployment she was typically not allowed to moor alongside piers and often not even to anchor in an inner harbor.

Platte's home port (for the short periods when she was not in the Western Pacific) was Long Beach, California. The inner harbor was and is today, large and deep with many fine piers and places where sailors could have a great time without even leaving the waterfront. But Platte was almost never allowed in the inner harbor. The long seawall that marked the beginning of the outer harbor (aka Explosive Anchorage) was miles from land.

Long Beach harbor also had other challenging characteristics: smog and frequent heavy fog and high winds. We can no longer remember how many occasions of fog and dark nights we spent in liberty boats coming back from an evening in Long Beach or in ship's boats bringing a working party back from shore through dense daytime fog. Sometimes safety was a real issue, particularly if the winds were high. Usually it was only a matter of wasting working or leisure hours in an uncomfortable situation. On the other hand, there was sometimes the question of "where the heck are we?" There was a joke about it: "we're not really scared of wandering around out here in
the fog, but we don't want to get underway for Hawaii in a small boat."

The point of all this is that nearly all of us remember occasions when we wanted so badly to hear that bell ring - that special bell. We also remember cursing it at reveille time. It turns out to be the most venerated icon left to us from Old Lady Platte. Thanks to Platte County it is in a right place.

When a ship was De-Comissioned the wheel (Helm) is given to the Captian.

The Helm hangs on the wall of Rear Adm. Williams who was the Capt. at the time of de-comissioning.

He went on to become an Admiral.

THE USS PLATTE - 1971

photos by Lynn Todd

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