Staff Pick: Edward Leahy’s Ride on the Army Transport
Published by Nanette Hardison
Edward P. Leahy was a Professor Emeritus of Political Geography from East Carolina University who served as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II. He was stationed in South Carolina, North Carolina, and California and saw military action in the Pacific from 1943 to 1945. He served in Company D, 20th Marines (Engineers), in the 4th Marine Division. Leahy was involved in the following military engagements: the Battle of the Marshall Islands, the Battle of Saipan, the Battle of Tinian, and the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Leahy wrote a memoir of his wartime experiences, available through the Manuscripts and Digital Curation Department as part of the East Carolina Manuscript Collection. Joyner Library also has a copy of the memoir in its general stacks, which can be checked out.
One of the experiences that Leahy describes in his memoir (pages 16-17) is his time aboard an army transport ship. Below is an excerpt of that experience:
“We were on a Victory ship transport called the “Sumter”, about 12, 000 tons. There were 2,000 Marines on board plus the crew of some 500 sailors. The ship was very crowded. During daylight hours, finding a place to sit on deck was difficult. We spent a lot of time standing in line waiting to be fed. It was sweltering hot in the mess where we ate standing up. They gave us hot tea or hot coffee to drink and sweat would run off us in rivers. It was like eating in a subway during the rush hour on a hot day in New York.
After dark blackout discipline was enforced on deck. The interior of the ship was dimly lit with red lights, and you had to pass through black-out curtains to go on deck. It was a court martial offense to smoke or show a light on deck after dark. It was also against orders to throw trash overboard lest we leave a trail of refuse behind us that could be detected by an aircraft. All garbage was collected and thrown overboard at dusk. “General Quarters” was regularly called at dawn and
dusk. An alarm bell would ring, and a metallic voice would come over the public address system, “All hands, man your battle stations,” and sailors would race through the ship, guns would be uncovered and search menacingly against the sky. “GQ” alerts were also called at odd hours of the day to keep the crew on their toes. The troops were herded below during “GQ” and I remember in my mind, “Is this just a drill or is a torpedo about to crash in through the side of the ship?””
Sources:
Edward P. Leahy Papers (#311), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. https://librarycatalog.ecu.edu/catalog/105494