Making the Navy a Career

Carl’s enlistment was up in Feb. 1933 and he left the Navy to seek a civilian career. It was during the Depression and the few jobs Carl found paid the same or less than the military (and didn’t include room and board). In those days Navy policy allowed men to re-enlist without any loss of grade or seniority if they did it within 60 days of their release. On the 59^th day, Carl re-upped for a 2-year term. After 2 more years Carl was released again, but he had the same job-hunting experience; so Carl re-enlisted, this time for a mandatory 4 years. When that stint was over, he had 12 years and some rank, so he committed to a Navy career.

Carl was in the Saratoga squadron from 1930 to 1935 and was promoted to Chief Yeoman when he transferred to the battleship Pennsylvania in June 1938.

When Carl was on the Pennsylvania in the South Pacific, he had an eerie experience. He was alone on morning watch, scanning the horizon for ship or aircraft sightings. This was before radar, so watchmen were the most reliable early warning system the Navy had. It was during one of these lonely watches that Carl spotted something bright on the horizon flying toward him… FAST! It approached very quickly and flew overhead at tremendous speed. This was before long before jets were developed and the craft made little or no sound. Carl didn’t know what to make of the sighting and didn’t report it. It was probably a meteorite, but years later Carl wondered if it was a UFO.

As a young sailor, Carl did some amateur boxing, which was a popular sport aboard ship. But unlike most of his shipmates, Carl didn’t like to hang out in bars when he went ashore. Instead, Carl’s liked to go to the beach or drive around and explore. Perhaps his favorite activity was dancing.

Carl liked to dress up in civilian clothes and go to dances. When he was in Long Beach, he would go to the Cinderella Ballroom on the Pike. The Majestic Dance Hall nearby attracted a lot of the sailors, so Carl avoided that. If you wore your uniform to the Cinderella, you couldn’t even get a girl to dance with you!

It was at one of these Cinderella dances that Carl met Maxine Sayer in 1933. The 18-year-old Maxine lived in Paramount with her parents. She and Carl hit it off immediately. After several months of dating, Carl proposed to her. Maxine’s parents wanted her to graduate junior college before she got married; so the marriage was postponed for a year. While they were dating, the parents often let Carl sleep on the couch when he was visiting (very trusting parents!). They finally married in 1934 at the Sayer’s house at 1212 Jackson St in Paramount.

Because he was newly married, Carl requested shore duty. He soon got orders to report to Newport, RI. It took about a week for Carl & Maxine to drive his 1934 V8 Ford back East. While working in Newport, Carl really honed the organizational skills he would need for future promotions.

It turned out that Maxine was more interested in other men than being married. Events culminated dramatically when she wrecked Carl’s car while out with another man. By the summer of 1937, Maxine requested a divorce, which Carl didn’t contest. After the divorce, Carl worked another year in Newport. He met some new women; the most memorable was Margaret Gordon of Greenwich, CT. Carl enjoyed driving his 1936 Plymouth up to Connecticut to see her.

In 1937, Roosevelt had selected Admiral Claude C Block (from Newport) to command the US Fleet aboard the Pennsylvania in Long Beach. Block selected Lt Thomas J Ryan as his flag secretary and Ryan summoned Carl for duty in the office of the Flag of the Commander in Chief, US Fleet (and that time the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets were combined).

When Carl reported to Ryan, his first order was: “Pritchard, these files are a mess, I need you to straighten them out”. Carl quickly organized the files and made a favorable impression. Initially Carl was 3rd class rank but he soon got promoted to 1^st class. Carl was the senior enlisted man in an office about 15 guys, so a lot of duties fell to Carl.

In June 1938, Carl was transferred to the Pennsylvania. Because Carl was now assigned aboard a ship, he didn’t need a car, so he turned his Plymouth in to the Ford dealership for credit. Among the ports-of-call were San Francisco, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Long Beach. Some of Carl’s duties were working for the ship’s chaplain and assisting in the library.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The Japanese, engaged in a war it had waged against China since 1937, badly needed oil and other raw materials. Commercial access to these materials was curtailed by the West, but the Japanese conquests continued. President Roosevelt needed to send a stronger message.

The Pacific Fleet was Roosevelt’s “big stick” to keep Japanese aggression in check. En route to Hawaii, Carl’s fleet was ordered to stay indefinitely in Pearl Harbor to act as a warning to the Japanese.

When Carl arrived in Pearl Harbor in July 1940, he was assigned to the flag office of Admiral Kimmel (Commander In Chief, US Fleet) where he reported to the Flag Secretary, Commander Crosley. As Chief Yeoman, Carl’s duties included overseeing personnel and tracking ship movements. When he first got to the office, everybody was running around trying to figure out what to do. Carl knew the Navy had definite regulations regarding paperwork during wartime, so he suggested to Crosley that they decide it was “wartime” and break out the special regulations and get going.

After he got established, Carl had Lorraine sell the car and move out to Hawaii. She shipped over on the Navy vessel, Lurleen. Carl and Lorraine rented a little apartment on Beachwalk Drive in Waikiki Beach. They were a half-block from the beach and this was when Waikiki was quiet, undeveloped and romantic. Carl describes this as one of the most wonderful times in their marriage. They loved exploring the island by car; Lorraine was especially fond of visiting Diamond Head.

Their wedded bliss was shattered in Dec 1941 by the attack at Pearl Harbor. Carl was awakened that morning by neighbors talking outside their bedroom window. Carl heard one of them say, “I don’t think it’s a drill, because the ships and oil tank are on fire”. Carl jumped out of bed and looked out the window. Across the bay, he could see the Navy base in flames. He turned on the radio and heard that the base was under attack and all military personnel were to report for duty immediately.

Carl kissed Lorraine goodbye and rushed to the base. The traffic was so bad, that police were ordering people to park their cars and ride together. As Carl and his new passengers were heading to the base, Carl’s car hood was strafed by machine-gun fire from the Japanese Zeroes flying overhead. Fortunately Carl and his passengers were unhurt. This was the first that Carl was shot at directly by the enemy. When asked if he was scared, Carl says simply “I didn’t have time to be scared”.

When he arrived at the base, Carl was devastated by the destruction. Fires were raging, ships were sinking and the dead and wounded were everywhere. No one knew if the attack was over or if more planes were coming. Carl hurried to Fleet Headquarters, which was undamaged. His very first task was coordinating the incoming damage reports and outgoing orders for the Flag Office.

In the end, 2,403 men were killed in the attack and thousands more were wounded. 21 ships were sunk or damaged and 188 airplanes were destroyed. Of the 8 battleships that were docked in Pearl Harbor, only the Pennsylvania (Carl’s ship) survived the attack. It was in dry dock at the time and although it was struck by a bomb, it was not heavily damaged. Judged seaworthy, the Pennsylvania was immediately put to sea to act as the Flag Office. Carl moved the Flag Office on board and didn’t leave the ship for many days.

Carl’s duties after the attack were fatality and casualty lists, damage reports, unit transfers and research. One of Carl’s most important assignments was compiling the War Diary. Carl and his staff took the diaries from every ship and every command & combat unit on the base and compiled them into a Master Diary. Each minute was noted with everything that happened. The entries for 7:58am and 7:59am only had a paragraph or two. The entries for 8:00am and each minute thereafter had many pages of entries from all the attacked ships and combat units.

After the attack all military personnel were confined to the base; so once men reported for duty, they weren’t allowed to leave. Since all non-military communications were restricted, Carl was unable to call Lorraine for days after the attack. Lorraine was in agony, not knowing if Carl had survived the attack. After 3 or 4 days, Carl was finally able to call Lorraine and assure her that he was fine.

Carl remembers listening to Roosevelt’s stirring “Infamy Speech” on Dec 8. The president’s words gave much-needed encouragement to Americans, particularly those in uniform. Carl greatly admired Roosevelt and considered him one of our greatest presidents.

Commander Crosley knew that Carl was concerned about Lorraine, so about 2 weeks after the attack, he said to Carl, “We don’t have an atlas, I need you to go into town and buy one”. Carl didn’t need to be told twice. He took the boat to shore and stopped at several stores before he could find an atlas. When he finally found the book, he was free to see Lorraine for the afternoon. Carl remembers this emotional reunion fondly.

Many of Carl’s old classmates from Flight Training school were on the aircraft carriers stationed in Pearl Harbor and were killed in the attack. The few who survived were killed 6 months later in the Battle of Midway. After Midway, Carl found out (since he had access to personnel records) that he was the only man from the class still alive. Carl realized that being disqualified as a pilot 11 years before, as painful as it was, was the reason he was still alive.

Four days after the raid, on December 11, the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, arrived at Pearl Harbor for a personal inspection. On his return to Washington, Knox recommended to Roosevelt that Admiral Kimmel be relieved. Kimmel was temporarily replaced by the Battle Force commander, Vice Admiral William S. Pye.

Working for Adm Nimitz

When Roosevelt called the Navy’s Personnel Chief, Chester Nimitz, to ask for candidates to replace Kimmel, Nimitz said “I’m your man”. Roosevelt readily agreed and Nimitz arrived in Pearl Harbor on Christmas 1941 to relieve Kimmel. The meeting was confidential, but when it ended, Nimitz was the new Commander In Chief. Kimmel left the office, never to return. Crosley was transferred soon after. Carl then reported to Nimitz and he continued to advance in the Flag office.

The style of both leaders was very different. The entire time that Carl worked for Admiral Kimmel, he never actually met the man; but Carl worked closely with Admiral Nimitz. Carl shared a bond with his new boss, since they both worked in Personnel, and Nimitz was a much more fraternal leader.

Officials feared another Japanese attack on Hawaii. Lookouts and anti-aircraft guns were posted and barbed wire was strung along the beach. People living on the coast were moving inland. Lorraine moved in with her cousin Helen McDonnell (Lorraine’s roommate when she met Carl), who lived several miles from the beach.

Lorraine stayed about 4 more months in Hawaii and then was evacuated in April 1942. She moved back to Long Beach. Jim was born at St Mary’s Hospital on Oct 27, 1942. In April 1943, Carl finally got leave to see the family. It was the first time he saw his new baby Jim, who was 6 months old. The separation made him resolve to plan his career so he could spend as much time with his family as possible.

Carl’s old boss, Crosley, was transferred back to the Navy Dept. in Washington. Crosley was ordered to transform the antiquated Navy Post Office into a modern Postal Affairs office, capable of sending top secret orders quickly and confidentially. During wartime, there needed to be a coded system for forwarding mail to ships without revealing their position.

After Crosley arrived in DC, he was desperate for experienced officers. He called Carl and said “Whenever you can make yourself available to me, I can use you here at Navy Headquarters”. Crosley couldn’t pull any strings to get Carl transferred, because in wartime no officer could be transferred out of Fleet Command unless the Admiral in charge released him.

Carl wanted the assignment for two reasons: he wanted to be closer to his family and he knew that he would learn a lot working at HQ, so he decided to find someone to replace him. Carl ran into Frenchie Brussard, one of his old shipmates on the Saratoga, and Brussard expressed interest in Carl’s position. Carl orchestrated having him reassigned to the office. Carl spent a month training Brussard, got permission for reassignment and then got orders to report to Wash DC.

In December 1943, Carl took the ship to Long Beach and the train back to DC (very hectic travel during wartime) and reported for duty. One of the guys in the office helped Carl find an apartment (3916 Elbert Ave) and the family moved out soon thereafter.

Along with assisting in setting up the Postal Affairs office, one of Carl’s duties was to find candidates for Navy post offices around the world. He would visit the Bureau of Naval Personnel and go through their applications to find candidates. Initially Carl worked at the old Navy Dept headquarters, but after several months, he was among the first wave of workers to move into the newly-built Pentagon.