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RAYMOND L. WYANT : 1944 - 1946 ORIGINAL HANDWRITTEN INTRICATELY DETAILED AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN WW2 LOGBOOK OF THE HEAD ENGINEER OF THE DECORATED LCI(L) 322, ON DUTY IN THE PACIFIC THEATER DURING AND AFTER THE LAST YEARS OF WORLD WAR 2

Folio - over 12" - 15" tall. On offer is a log book and journal from the ship LCI(L) 322, an amphibious assault ships of the Second World War. The book is signed on the front cover, “R. L. WYANT” (short for Ensign Raymond L. Wyant) the Engineering Officer of the ship and a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. The first dozen pages are mostly blank, with two very small entries, one on gem polishing (read in Popular Mechanics) and another about the reference book “Islands of the Pacific” by G.P. Putnam. The first page of dedicated writing is an comprehensive list of all the stops that the LCI(L) 322 made during the last part of Wyant’s tenure with the ship. The list begins in October, 1944 with the ship in dry dock and repair in Jacksonville. The repairs are for damages sustained during the ship’s landings during D-Day and the month after. The ship is at various ports in the Southeast and then in San Diego until April 26, then it departs for the South Pacific, cycling through Eniwetok, Guam, Saigon, and other cities in the Pacific during and after the ending of the War, and ending with the ship in Pearl Harbor on December 12, 1945. The log entries begin the next page dated on Sunday May 20, 1945, a month after the surrender of Nazi Germany and less than three months before the surrender of Japan. As the diary opens up the ship is in Eniwetok and his last entry is on January 11th, 1946 while in the port of San Diego. Wyant is an excellent writer, often poetic and descriptive of his life and surroundings. “May 20th, Took LC Vehicle Personal (our mail boat) into Eniwetok. Spent afternoon at Jr. officers club. Had 3 beers; spent rest of time diving for shells. Stayed in water 3 hrs. Found 4 diff. sea urchins...Head is sunburned but not too much. Eniwetok is only about ¾ mile long, 400’ wide. Bare of vegetation altho once had a few coconut trees.”; “May 30th, Left at 1500 for Saipan, duties unknown...Saw Agana, the capital city. The natives lived in palm thatched shacks. Now all is changed as the concrete structures have been ruined by shell fire and new dwellings for the natives built, all the same plan, 1 x 12 walls, thatched roof, different colored paint, and not in rows. All kinds of native trees, flame trees, bread fruit, papayas, and plants of red and green and orange and red hued leaves similar to those in Golden Gate hot house. Also some small pools with water lilies. The gardeners were 3 old natives who spoke Spanish and a little English. One told me the Japs were not bad bosses but the pay was poor.”; “June 6th. The canon (canyon) was full of Jap caves, all of which had been given flame thrower treatment. Collected a bunch of Jap teeth. The weather was fine. Cool in shade, hot in sun, with a breeze on the hill tops. Found a little corrugated shack on a hill top, hidden by trees. Had obviously been Jap occupied. Found fresh garbage and a knapsack with a freshly cut bread fruit in it.” On one entry, he even writes the whole thing fully in rhyme: “23 May. You’ve heard of the cars & APA’s / & you’ve read of Cruisers too / And you’ve heard of the fast PT’s / and some of the things they do. / But brother if you’re a minute to spare / and feel in the mood for a cry / then sit right down & my tale I’ll share / of the terrible LCI...” The rest of the poem is quite humorous and displays a keen sense of humour and irony on the part of Wyant. Wyant continues to make observations and record his days faithfully. He doesn’t write every day, but most of his entries are consecutive and refer to where he has been since the last entry. On August 9 near the end of the war, Wyant writes, “Yesterday the radio claimed we had an ‘Atomic Bomb’ - 10 lbs of which would have the same effect as 2,000 B-29’s. Furthermore this bomb would make the area uninhabitable for 70 years. Could kill everyone in Japan in 2 days. I believe this to be largely propaganda. Certainly hope so.” That same day the U.S. dropped the Bomb on Hiroshima and then three days later on Nagasaki. As the war ends, the ship heads back to Guam (assigned to Commander, Service Division 102, for inter-island ferry service) and Wyant writes much more about his free time, especially as he goes fishing and discovers new fish and species. “December 14th, Well I’m sitting topside looking at Oahu. We are leaving slowing, waiting for the rest of our group. I am facing Oahu and Honolulu is right in front of me. Diamond Head, a bare harsh looking hill is on the right then comes Honolulu. Then Pearl Harbor. Honolulu is on the sea and ranges back up into the foothills. There are fairly high mountains in back of Honolulu. These mountains are jagged and irregular in outline, very queer. To the left of Pearl, the mountains gently decrease in height and roughness and form a flat saddle of 4 or 5 miles length, after which more rough irregular mountains arise over to my left.” The last entries are written on in San Pedro Harbor in Los Angeles. “Had the duty today...How murky fog is over the harbor. Quite an uproar at midnight as all the ships in the harbor are blowing their fog horns, whistles, bells, sirens, etc. and some are firing red, white and green pyrotechnics. The fog horns of about 25 freighters, 3 or 4 battleships, 20 or so destroyers and a hundred landing craft all going at once is a sound which must be heard to be appreciated.” The book also contains a few drawings, mostly small sketches of fish and flowers seen in the Pacific and a larger drawings of the “profile of section of Saipan thru center looking north” and a very detailed drawing of the “Palau Islands” There is also a satirical clipping out of the U.S. Coast Guard Magazine from September 1945 that contain comical guides to the customs of Americans for the Japanese when they invade the U.S. There is also a telegram from Wyant to the engineer of LCI(L) 89. This is also comical in nature, a “request for aid” on “objects known as eggs,” “a quantity of yellow irregularly shaped objects labeled ‘dehydrated carrots,” and “fog oil.” On the second to last page of writing, “A Map and Bus Guide to Honolulu” is stapled into the book in a way as it can be easily opened up. Finally, a “Domain of the Golden Dragon’ award is included, with Raymond Wyant’s name and the date May 12, 1945 typed on it. The Domain of the Golden Dragon is an unofficial United States Navy award and is given to crew members of ships which cross the International Date Line. It proclaims Wyant to be a “Ruler of the 180th Meridian.” A picture of the LCI(L) 322 is also included, though this was probably not put in the book by Wyant himself. There are a total of 33 pages of writing (out of a total 144 page book) and the diary is in a large ledger style journal which measures 8 1/4” x 14”. There are many words per page and over 13,000 words in the diary itself. (Background - The Coast Guard-manned USS LCI(L)-322 was built by the Brown Shipbuilding Corporation at Houston, Texas, and was placed in commission on February 15, 1943 under the command of LT Grant C. Kidston, USCG. After shakedown exercises at Galveston the 322 proceeded to Norfolk, Virginia, for amphibious training at Solomons Island, Maryland (...) November 3, 1943 she was assigned to LCI(L) Flotilla 10, engaging in extensive beaching operations in Southern England during the next seven months in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. On June 5, 1944, she departed Salcombe, England for France, unloading troops on Utah Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944, and making subsequent trips across the channel until July 12, 1944. She was decommissioned on March 26, 1946. The LCI(L)-322 earned four battle stars for her service in World War II. All LCI(L) s of Flotilla 10 were retroactively awarded the Coast Guard Unit Commendation for their service in the invasion of Normandy.). Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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