Extract
Navy's Hushed-Up Tragedy at West Loch
The day began as any other in wartime Hawaii with a gentle westerly breeze wafting across the sugar cane fields of the sunbasked Waipio Peninsula. Warmer than normal for mid-May, the usual parade of camouflaged warships steaming in and out of Waipio's teeming West Loch anchorage was absent on this quiet Sunday, 21 May 1944. Aboard the dozens of amphibious vessels crowded within this bustling anchorage, most soldiers, sailors and marines looked forward to a day of relaxation after a long week of endless drills, maneuvers and practice amphibious landings.
A busy staging area for the invasion fleets of the Pacific, West Loch was more than usually crowded as the Fleet prepared for one of the largest invasions yet - Operation Forager - the assault against Saipan in the distant Marianas. Jamming this isolated haven adjacent to Pearl Harbor was a virtual armada of amphibious vessels of every description, size and purpose. Nested beam-to-beam at piers off of Hanaloa and Intrepid Points opposite Lualualei (now known as Naval Magazine Pearl Harbor) were six compact rows of LSTs and APDs moored at "Tare" piers jutting into the adjoining waters of West Loch and Walker Bay. Normally the scene of a scurrying variety of supporting service craft, fuel barges, tugs, and utility boats, this especially serene Sunday saw only a few plodding...See the full content of this document
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