Subject:  USS GRASP + LSTS in WWII |
Author:
OSD
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Date Posted: 06/30/09 18:19:47
The USS Grasp in WWII
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After observing the Chiristmas holiday, Grasp and tug Chowanoc (ATF-100) pulled LSM-9 off the beach on 29 December. The two small craft did the same the following day for attack transport President Adams (APA-19), which had grounded on a reef in Seeadler Harbor. Those two salvage tasks were only a warm-up task for her more critical tasks of supporting the to prepare for her role upcoming Luzon operations in the Philippines. As part of Task Force 77.1, Grasp sailed with the landing force on 1 January 1945, arrived in Lingayen Gulf on the 9th and immediately set to work.
The salvage ship first aided transport War Hawk, damaged by a suicide boat that evening, helping to keep the damaged transport afloat. Then, after cargo ship Otis Skinner was hit by a kamikaze on 12 January, Grasp again provided fire-fighting and battle-repair services. Over the next week, the salvage ship pulled landing craft LCI-335 and LST-608 off the beaches and cleared the fouled propellers of LCI-333.
Grasp sailed on 18 January to Tacloban Harbor, Philippines, with damaged Brooks (APD-10) in tow. From there, she joined TG 77.8 and supported the initial landings at Zambales, Luzon, on the 25th. After pulling LST-991, LST-609, LST-777 and LST-714 from the beach, and recovering the anchor and cable for LST-609, Grasp sailed to Nasugbu Bay, Luzon, to retract LST-269 from the beach and recover the anchor and cable for LST-701. With those tasks complete, the salvage ship sailed to Manila Harbor, arriving there to a scene of utter devastation on 3 March.
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