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Norman Lindenberg

Norman Lindenberg ETC Communications & Electronics 1944-1946 - - Submitted 4/28/06

I guess there is just so much that can be done with the ship itself, though I see from the pictures that there were a lot of changes in the original radar. We had an SG-1 surface search radar on the forward, starboard kingpost and another on the center patform, along with an SK, bedspring, air search radar, and a height finder antenna on the aft, starboard kingpost. I climbed all of them many times. Our SK air search radar went down the night before we went into Iwo Jima and I spent all night getting it back up. Fortunately everything was operational when we closed on the island that morning..

Something else that you may already have considered. The Estes is mentioned in a number of books about WW II. One that comes to mind is "Iwo Jima" by Richard Newcomb. They are just brief references but should be of interest to anyone who was there.

If you can find a description of the action when the frogmen went in to clear the underwater obstructions off the landing beaches and the shore batteries opened up on them, it would make interesting reading. The Navy lost sailors there. The Estes took casualties aboard and the corridor outside the hospital area literally ran red with blood. There were stretchers in the passageways of officers' country with bodies waiting for burial at sea.

Oddly enough, after the war, I discovered that a fellow college student was one of those frogmen who survived.

The same book describes the night the Bismark Sea went down. We could see one glow on the horizon, where she was burning, and another glow where the Saratoga was burning. The Saratoga had planes up with nowhere to land but eventually got her fires under control and sent out a spine chilling message that the Saratoga was ready to land her aircraft. In spite of the fact that it made her a target for any Jap planes that were still in the area, the Saratoga lit up and landed her aircraft. There were a a number of pilots up there who breathed easier when they realized that they would not have to ditch in the sea after all.

These incidents did not involve the Estes directly but everyone was in the soup together and there was a lot of shared empathy at the time.

Norm

Norman Lindenberg ETC Communications & Electronics 1944-1946 - - Submitted 4/27/06

Refering to the 2 photos:

The Shop - 1945

ET Shop - 1966

Two Photos - Same corner - 21 years apart

It probably was the same "ET Shop". At that time, the ET rating was relatively new to the Navy. Most of the ET's aboard were involved with maintaining the radio transmitters, receivers, teletype, multiplexing and other communications equipment of the ship. Bruce Lawrence and I were responsible for maintaining all the radar equipment, except for the fire control radar that was maintained by the gunnery department. However, administratively, all the ET's were in the same department. I may be misremembering but all I recall it being called among the ET's was "the shop". I quess other crew members thought of it as the ET (or radio) shop.

As I remember, there were doors on the opposite ends of the shop. As you entered one of these doors, to the right there was a small, closed off room in which the morely highly classified equipment was worked on.

Regards,
Norm

Norman Lindenberg ETC Communications & Electronics 1944-1946 - - Submitted 4/25/06

Norm is very proud of his service aboard the USS Estes during World War II.
He arrived at Todd Shipyard, as a member of the ship's pre-commisioning detail, a few months before its commisioning and became a, "plank owner" when it was commisioned in October of 1944. As a member of the ship's company, he participated in the operations of Iwo Jima and Okinowa, and during its post-war activities in the Philippines and Shanghai, China. He left the ship in Shanghai, for transport back to the ZI for discharge in April of 1946.

Thank you,

Norm

This photo is of the Commissioning Ceremony - 1944

Estes at Shanghai - 1945

The ship beside the Estes is the USS Rocky Mount (AGC-3),

On 2 November ESTES took leave of Manila and set course for Shanghai to become the flagship of ADM Thomas C. Kincaid, USN, Commander Seventh Fleet, breaking his flag 7 November. At the same time, RADM Davis transfered his staff to USS ROCKY MOUNT (AGC-3). On 19 November ADM Kincaid left the ship and VADM D.E. Barbey, USN, shifted his flag to ESTES.

Radio Tech Gang - May 26, 1945

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean

Radio Tech Gang Names - May 26,1945

Bruce "Larry" Lawrence *
Thomas "Red" Mc Cormack *
Albert H. Falk, Jr.
Robert C. Pierce
David G. Williams
Harry M. Wenner *
Roy S. Dimord
G.O. LeBrun
Louis Schweitzer *
Walace E. Nelson
Robert S. Naramore
Dave R. Lockhart *
D. R. Johnson "Bud"
M. K. Johnsen "Keith"
W. M. Timm
R. L. Norquist "Rod" *
Ed Simpson "Simp"
Wink Winkler *
R. E. Trobridge *
Mike Dudas *
Bill Wise *
J. K. Nielsen *

* Denotes Commissioning Crew

First Anniversary Menu

October 9, 1944

First Anniversary Menu

October 9, 1944

Norman Lindenberg ETC Communications & Electronics 1944-1946 - - Submitted 5/22/06

Looking for items for your history pages, I did a little web surfing to see what Estes related items I would come up with.

"The Truman Year - My Life in the U. S. Navy, 1948 - 1953"
http://wwclyde.com/trumanyear/html/uss_estes_agc-12_-_ephemera.html
"Korean War project - "
http://www.koreanwar.org/html/units/navy/uss_estes.htm
"USS Estes (AGC-12) - One of the 17 sister ships of the Rocky Mount lies at anchor alongside the Rock near the light cruiser USS Nashville in Shanghai harbor after the war."
http://web.nmsu.edu/~pauberve/sailjpgs/WangPo02.jpg
"In 1953 Skagit participated in another re-supply mission to Point Barrow, Alaska along with the USS Estes, and the USS Electra. At the time the Estes published a booklet on the operation. I have a copy I received from Captain Mark Gallaway, 1952-1953, but it was not suitable for scanning and putting on our web site. Well as luck would have it, the guys at the USS Electra web site transcribed it and put it on their site."
http://www.geocities.com/uss_skagit/Memoribilia.html
"The flagship, USS Estes, with Rear Admiral Frederic S. Withington, Commander Amphibious Group Three and Task Force Nine, embarked, left San Diego on July 6th for Kodiak, Alaska, arriving July 13th, seven days after the non-stop voyage began."
http://www.ravey.net/electra/ptbarrow.html
"Robert E. Ames * The story of "U.S.S. Estes - Flag Ship, Amphibious Group 1, Iwo Jima, February 16 to March 4, 1945" with photographs. Received 5/7/01 * World War II memoir, "U.S.S. Estes-Flag Ship, Amphibious Group 1, Germany - Iwo Jima - Philippines, February 16th to March 4th, 1945, World War II, War and International News, Robert E. Ames" Received 5/17/01"
http://www.marshallfoundation.org/library/memories_2001.html
"USS Estes - LCC 12"
http://unitpages.military.com/unitpages/unit.do?id=200273
"As the French fought desperately to retain a foothold in North Vietnam, this operation was conducted by U.S. Navy Task Force 90 (TF 90) under Adm. Lorenzo S. Sabin from his flagship USS Estes (AGC-12). TF 90 evacuated refugees from Haiphon, North Vietnam, to Saigon, South Vietnam, Aug. 18, 1954, to May 20, 1955."
http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=8307

Norman Lindenberg ETC Communications & Electronics 1944-1946 - - Submitted 5/23/06

Immediately after the war ended, we were sent to the Philippine island of Panay where among other things the ship sent a detail to take part in a Japanese surrender ceremony. The Japanese squads marched in out of the woods. They were a pretty sorry looking lot but somehow, despite their condition, those that could walk carried themselves with dignity . They turned in their weapons and were put on trucks (and in some cases ambulances) to be taken to repatriation camps. I was a member of that detail and have some documents and pictures taken that day.

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