JAMES FRED BELL, JR.

U.S. NAVY

Interview by Johnnie Faye Taylor

Fred is the son of James Fred Bell, Jr. and Kathleen Murchison Bell. He was born and raised in Laurens County, Georgia. He attended schools in Dublin.

When Fred was 16 years old and a high school student, the United States entered World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Fred continued his education and graduated from high school in 1943.

After graduation, Fred worked for his father at B & W Laundry and Dry Cleaners in Dublin. He continued working for his father until March 1944.

Fred was drafted into the U.S. Navy on March 10, 1944. He reported for Boot Camp at Bainbridge, Maryland. He was there for 3 weeks and 3 days. Fred was given 10 days leave in April 1944.

When Fred's leave was over, he returned to Maryland. On April 30, 1944, he boarded a troop transport and supply ship, USS Crux. The USS Crux sailed on May 1, with Fred on board. They went to New York for one day where they received their orders. Then they sailed south to Guantanomo Bay, Cuba where they spent 2 days in port before sailing on to the Panama Canal. Fred remembers the Canal as being a beautiful and amazing sight.

Transiting the Canal brought a welcome change to the men on board. Since leaving New York they had showered daily with salt water. They now had fresh water for their baths.

After the Canal transit, the ship docked at Balboa, Panama for 4 or 5 days. The men were given liberty while there.

They sailed on to the South Pacific. Two supply ships traveling together with no escort. After 15 days they reached the New Hebrides Islands. The men disembarked at the Naval Receiving Station on one of the islands. The ship was in port for 1 week.

Next stop on their journey was at PT Base 17 located at Finchaven, New Guinea. Monsoon season was upon the island at the time of their arrival. Fred remembers the mud and clay. Walking from one location to another turned into wading in the mud everywhere he needed to go. The men were on this island for 1 week.

Finally a small transport ship was made available to take the men on to PT Base 21 at Papua, New Guinea. Fred was assigned as a Base Cook. He became 1 of the 60 cooks assigned to provide meals for the approximately 5000 men stationed there. The men served in about 20 squadrons and made up the crews for 244 PT Boats. PT Boats are not very big. They are about 80 feet long.

Cooking for this many people required working two 12-hour shifts daily. The cooks were assisted by about a dozen helpers.

The food was shipped in to the Naval Supply Base at the other end of the island. Fred was happy to at last have fresh potatoes, fruit and meat.

Refrigerated Ships called "Reefers" arrived at the Supply Base about every 4 weeks from California. They brought in all kinds of fresh food including meat, potatoes and eggs. When a "Reefers" came in, everybody including the cooks was sent to unload the cargo. It was usually unloaded and the ship was sailing again within 24 hours.

When the meat arrived on the "Reefer" ships, it was frozen and in large pieces. The beef was cut into roasts and steaks. It was very time consuming to cut all the steaks it took to feed such a large group. To cook the steaks, two methods were used. The steaks were first grilled until brown on both sides and then they were placed in containers with a small amount of water and baked in the oven for about 1 hour.

The grills used by the cooks were made of sheet metal. Fuel oil provided the fire underneath the grills. Before the heat went out the chimney, it heated the cooking surface. The grills were about 24 inches square. A total of 24 grills were used. Pancakes were also cooked on these grills.

The eggs were fried in small frying pans that were just large enough for 1 egg. Several people manned the many frying pans it took to prepare eggs for the men. Runners took the eggs from the stoves and put them on the serving line for the cooks.

At first, Fred and the other cooks had no potato peeler. The potatoes had to be peeled by hand. About 300-400 lbs. of potatoes were used every week on the island. Finally a potato locker came in and that helped considerable with the potato peeling.

The kitchen was set up with a bakery shop, meat shop, vegetable shop, etc. with different people working in each area. The bakery shop had dessert made for each meal. Pies were cooked in 9 inch pans. It took about 1000 pies to have the sufficient amount of pie slices for each meal. Cakes served more people so not so many cakes had to be baked for the group.

Cold cuts were served every Sunday night. Typical foods served were cold cuts of meat, boiled eggs, potato salad and sliced beef tongue. Fred didn't like Sunday night mealtimes very much. The cooks had to put out the food but the men wouldn't come to get it. Most of them had rather do without dinner than to eat the cold cuts meal.

The Naval Base was built by the Seabees on the mostly coral and sand island. All the natives had been moved to other islands. During the war years, U.S. Navy Personnel were the only inhabitants. The Commanding Officer of Fred's base looked out for the enlisted men. Sometimes it seemed to Fred as if the enlisted men were treated better than the officers. The men were appreciative of the water, showers and fresh food available to them.

Fred considered the living conditions good. The men lived in tents with 4 men per tent. They enjoyed movies nearly every night. On Sundays, church services were held at the Naval Supply Base on the other end of the island. No transportation was available so the men walked from Fred's Base to the service. It was about 1 mile.

It was a healthy environment. There was basically no sickness at the base. Since the location was near the equator, it was summer weather all year long. With cool night breezes off the ocean, sleeping was good. Early during Fred's time on the island, mosquito netting was used. It was later discarded.

Natives came by boat to trade. They brought small, tasty bananas to trade for bread and hand grenades. The natives wanted the hand grenades to kill fish. They would pull the pin and toss it into the water in a school of fish. Many fish were killed in that way. Because the natives were careless with the grenades and several were killed or maimed, the commanding officer finally decided the hand grenades could no longer be traded to the natives.

Japanese barges tried to deliver food to them. Patrolling PT Boats from Fred's base would strafe the barges until they finally sunk. Eventually the air raid warnings were over and peace settled upon the island.

A PX (Post Exchange) was available on the island. The men could purchase items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream and other needed items. In addition, pleasure items like peanuts and candy were available. Cigarettes were always in stock at the PX. They sold for 5 cents per pack or 50 cents per carton.

Mail was received about every 10 days. Air mail letters from the States would get there in about 10 days. There was no air strip on the island but there was an air strip on Biak Island. Biak was about 30 miles away. Boats would go to Biak to pick up mail and new orders that had been flown in.

Christmas was a big day for the cooks on base. They had all the supplies needed to prepare a traditional Christmas dinner of turkey, oyster dressing, sweet potato casserole, green beans, pies and cakes. Candy and a pack of cigarettes were given to each man also.

At promotion time, the ritual of throwing the newly promoted off the dock in deep water was performed. The dock was about 30-40 feet above the water. When Fred got a new stripe, he was thrown in even though he told them he couldn't swim very well. They just told him there was no problem, they would go in after him.

As time moved on, things were changing in the South Pacific. Most of the squadrons left the island and moved up to the Philippines. Only about 300 men were left on the island with Fred. The danger was lessened and some rules were relaxed. Lights could be on in the tents at night. This was a big help to the men.

Work loads were changed. The cooks now worked only 1 day out of 3. The idle men enjoyed baseball games, card games, fishing and swimming.

After most of the squadrons moved to the Philippines, there was plenty of ice cream available all day and everyday. One person manned the ice cream machine which was simular to the soft serve ice cream we have today.

Beer was rationed at the base. Two cans were allotted to each person every week or two. No hard liquor was available so drunkeness among the men was not a problem.

The Chaplain left the Naval Supply Base and went to the Philippines with the majority of themen. Religious services were still held however. Dr. Horton, who was the M.D. at the base, was a religious man and he started conducting the weekly services himself. He believed religion was important to the men.

Since the island was only about 35 miles from the Great Barrier Reef, fishing was an enjoyable activity. Everyday 1 or 2 boats would go out. They brought back fresh fish that was delicious to eat.

In September 1945, Fred and the remaining men on the island left to return to the States. About one half of the men including Fred flew to Manus Naval Base in Australia. They were hoping to fly back to the United States but that didn't happen. They waited 3 weeks in Australia to get a transport ship to California.

The ship reached San Francisco after the middle of November 1945. Thanksgiving Day was not held nationally on the same day then. They had arrived in San Franscisco on the day Californians celebrated Thanksgiving. Fred was given leave for 3 days. He then got his new orders and pay. He was given 30 days leave.

Fred left San Francisco via train for Atlanta. He arrived in Georgia when Georgians were celebrating Thanksgiving.

His leave ended on December 27, 1945. He reported in at the Naval Recruiting Office in Macon, Georgia. Fred was sent, by train, back to California. As the train left Macon, it had only 1 car. There were about 40 men on board. By the time the train arrived in New Orleans, several more cars had been added. It had become a long train carrying lots of troops when it arrived in California.

Fred spent 10 days at the Naval Receiving Station in San Francisco. His next assignment was on the USS Hyde as a cook. The USS Hyde was a transport and supply ship combination.

They sailed to Hawaii where they were in port for 3 or 4 days. Their next stop was Saipan in the South Pacific. They loaded up with troops and returned to Hawaii for 1 day before sailing on to San Francisco. After the troops disembarked in San Francisco, Fred was given liberty for 2 or 3 days.

Fred left San Francisco on the USS Hyde and traveled to Norfolk, Virginia to the Naval Supply Base. They were anchored in the Bay until May 1, 1946. Fred was then assigned as cook at the Naval Supply Base in Norfolk for 10 days.

On May 10, 1946, Fred was discharged in Charleston, South Carolina. He was awarded the South Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal and a Presidential Citation. Fred began his Naval Service as a Seaman 2nd Class. By discharge time, he had earned promotions up to Ship's Cook 2nd Class. Ship's Cook 2nd Class is equivalent to Staff Sgt. in the Army.

Upon his return to civilian life, Fred enrolled at Middle Georgia College in Cochran, Georgia. He earned credit for 4 quarters. The G.I. Bill paid for his college studies.

Fred started to work for the United States Postal Service in 1948. He was a rural mail carrier for many years. Fred retired from the Postal Service in 1985.

In June 1949, Fred married Mary Beall of Wilkinson County, Georgia. They had three children, 2 boys and 1 girl. One of their sons, James Patrick Bell, was killed in an auto accident in 1985. One son, Ronald K. Bell, lives in Meansville, Georgia and their daughter, Joyce Bell Hamilton, lives in Walterboro, South Carolina.

Fred and Mary are active members of the First Baptist Church in Dublin.

PT Boat Reunions are held every year on Labor Day. Fred has never gone to one however, he has had some contact with men who served with him in the Navy. Ralph Blankenship of Eastmans entered service at the same time as Fred. They served together until March 1945 when they were issued different orders.

Another one of the men now lives near Savannah. Fred located him through a computer search. They have visited together on the telephone.

Fred has also talked to one of the Base Officers on the telephone. This man is now a retired school teacher.