In Memory: Leonard Eck, WWII veteran and USS Calvert crew member

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Condolences to the family of Lenoard “Len” Francis Eck. Leonard passed away on March 27th, 2013 at the age of 89. He served aboard the USS Calvert during 1945/46 while the Calvert was assigned to service near Shanghai, China. Prior to his time aboard the Calvert, Leonard served aboard the USS Freemont (APA-44) for most of the war.

From Leonard’s son, Glenn C. Eck, of Philadelphia PA: “My father, Leonard Francis Eck, passed away on March 27th, 2013 aged 89 years, in his hometown of York, PA.  He was able-bodied and healthy until the end.  A wonderful father and a wonderful man, he spoke often of his service aboard both the USS Fremont and the USS Calvert during WWII.  Although he was not online himself, he enjoyed the Calvert website very much when he had opportunities to view it.”

Here is Leonard’s online obituary at Legacy.com. You may contact Glenn directly via email.

Crossing the Line, Nov 15 1943 – Hand-drawn Chart

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This chart was hand-drawn by Walter “Fred” Cox on the day that the Calvert, part of the US Navy’s Gilbert Operation’s Northern Task Group, crossed the Equator and International Dateline. From Ronnie Cox: “My dad drew that diagram on that day to commemorate the occasion.  He couldn’t mail it home because the censors would have confiscated it  so he brought it back with him after the war.  Sadly Dad passed away in 1967 but I have the original document in my possession.”

The Calvert is listed near the center of the diagram (upper-right quadrant).

1943-11-15 - Northern Task Group Invasion Fleet crossing the line - by Fred Cox

Calvert’s Radarmen – WWII – 1944

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Ronnie Cox’s father, Walter “Fred” Cox (RdM), was a Radarman on the Calvert during WWII. Here is a picture of the Calvert’s radar men from Ronnie’s photograph collection. Annotations are based on the writing on the back of the photograph (also provided by Ronnie). The officer in the middle of the back row was not named. Notice the bright white “Dixie Cup” caps, compared to the grey/blue dyed caps in many of the other WWII-era crew photographs.

USSCalvert(APA-32)-Radarmen-1944 - Annotated

Standing rear: Barr | Robert E. Randle, RdM3c | Unknown Officer | Vernon R. Witthans, RdM2c(T) | Fred Cox RdM2c  

Kneeling front: Wendell R. Sharpe, RdM3c | Benjamin Sklar, RdM2c(T) | Curits W. Killion, RdM2c

Fred Cox is wearing a life vest around his waist, and it is likely that he was “on duty” on the bridge at the time the picture was taken. Fred served aboard the Calvert from its very first deployment all the way to early August of 1945 when he went on leave. While he was on leave the war ended, and though he had to go back to California to muster-out, he never returned to the Calvert. Fred died in 1967.

Calvert’s Departments and Divisions, Circa early-to-mid 1960s

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  •  Boat: Responsible for the operation and maintenance of all ship’s boats and boat equipment, and for providing boat crews trained in boat engineering and amphibious boat operations.
    • BC Division
    • BE Division
  • Deck: Responsible for the supervision of deck seamanship operations and evolutions; for the employment and maintenance of the armament and ordnance equipment of the ship; and for the supervision of loading, unloading, and stowage of cargo; and launching and hoisting of boats.
    • 1st Deck Division
    • 2nd Deck Division
    • 3rd Deck Division
    • 4th Deck Division
  • Engineering Department: Responsible for the operation, care and maintenance of the vessel’s main propulsion plant, auxiliary machinery, and piping systems; for the control of damage; for the operation and maintenance of electric power generators and distribution systems; for repairs to ship’s hull and for repairs to material and equipment of other departments which were beyond the capacity of other departments.
    • A Division: Fresh water, air conditioning, steering gear, repaired winches for the cargo booms, repaired and maintained the motors on all of the boats on board. A Divsion personnel were also on all the boats when they were operating, in landing operations, and on liberty and mail runs in port.
    • B Division: Boiler Room, steam generation and fuel oil for boilers
    • E Division: Electrical Equipment, lighting, electric motors
    • M Division: Ship’s propulsion and steam electrical generators
    • R Division: Damage Control, Welding and woodworking. pipe fitting and plumbing
  • Medical Department: Responsible for maintaining the health of the personnel of the command, making inspections incident thereto and advising the Commanding Officer with respect to hygiene and sanitation affecting the command. They also supervised the ship’s training program in health, and first aid, and during general quarter or other emergencies in care for the sick and injured
    • H Division
  • Navigation Department: Responsible for the safe navigation and piloting of the ship. They also planned and directed the training of deck watch officers and maintained all navigation equipment and the spaces where such equipment was located.
    • N Division
  • Operations Department: Responsible for the collection, evaluation, and dissemination of combat, tactical, and operational information. In addition they obtained clearances and operating area assignments incident to the movements and operations of the ship.
    • OS Division
    • OR Division
    • OI Division
    • X Division
  • Supply Department: Responsible for procuring, receiving, storing, issuing, shipping, transferring, selling, accounting for, and maintaining all stores and equipment of the command. They also administered the ship’s operating allotment and coordinated the preparation and subdivision of departmental operating budgets.
      • S Division
      • S-5 Division

 Sources: 1964 WEST PAC Cruise Book and Steve Straka