The beginning of World War II, marked a very depressing time in the life of Royal Wallace Healy. Despite his age, he felt he could re-enter the U.S. Navy, and serve his country once more. He resigned his position with the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and made application with both the military and the merchant marine. Due his age, his offers to serve were respectfully declined, and he was left sitting at home like a "bump on a log", during a crucial period of his country's history.
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From the beginning of world war 2 up to the end of April 1942 I was on the
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, S.S. "Surveyor" working in Juan De Fuca
Strait, running lines of soundings preliminary to laying cables for artillery
control between the American Batteries on the Washington side of the Strait
and the Canadian Batteries on Vancouver Island.
As the 27 seasons I had spent fighting the fogs, thick and heavy weather
in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Ids, were having a bad effect on my
eye-sight I thought it would be a good chance to get into the sun-shine of the
tropics, have a chance to see some action and possibly see Australia and the
Philippines again (at that time the Japs hadn't bombed Dutch Harbor and I never
expected then to ever make more than a "smart aleck" raid on Alaska).
So I took my retirement, although it meant smaller retirement pay than if I
had stayed on, went down to San Francisco and saw Commander Stevens, the
Naval Reserve Enrollment Officer, in the Tower Building. During the opening
conversation we found a former ship-mate, in common, George Wilcox, a
Chief Engineer.
In looking over my experience papers Commander Stevens was very much interested
in a 128 day passage, between ports, that I had made in the full-rigged
(sailing) ship " Saint David" in 1900 from Port Townsend, Washington around
the Horn and the Cape of Good Hope to Lourenco Marques, Portugese East Africa
with a cargo of lumber, then, in ballast from Lourenco Marques to New Castle,
Australia but finally he said that he was very sorry to have to tell me that
he couldn't enroll me as I was over age.
I wandered out on Market Street in a daze as I had expected no difficulty in
enrollment in tines as serious as I considered those to be and as I had stressed
my years of service in the Philippines, Chinese and Japanese coastal waters
and in Alaska.
I then started the rounds of the shipping offices but it was always the same,
their organizations were full up and also they had to take care of all the
young men the Maritime Training Service was turning out.
Practically all the men doing the hiring were young and I may have seemed very
old to them but I didn't feel old and I knew that knowledge of the sea can
only be gained by experience of the sea and weather, knowing what the combination
of the two can do, knowing what to expect under existing conditions and what to
do in nursing a vessel so she will take the least punishment.
It was costing me so much to live in San Francisco and I was getting no where
so I finally returned home feeling very depressed, bitter and ashamed to see
any one, as I had started out so certain of a chance for some active service,
and full of pep.
My retirement came through as of August 1 st. 1942 it was an annuity on which I
had paid from 2 1/2 to 5% of my salary and subsistence.
I mailed out applications to the most likely ship operators but nothing came of
it.
Hoping that the Naval Reserve might have changed its policy
I sent an application for sea duty to, Office of Naval Officer
Procurement, 117 Marion Street, Seattle, Wash. but the reply was the same I had
from the San Francisco Office of the Naval Reserve, over age.
_________________________________________________________________________
( Copy of the reply I received from the Naval Reserve Office, in Seattle)
Office of
Naval Officer Procurement
117 Marion Street
Seattle, Washington
August 11 , 1942
Mr. R.W.Healy
1209 Korth 45 th. Street
Seattle,Washington
Dear Sir:
Reference is made to the data which you have submitted
concerning your qualifications for appointment to the U.S. Naval
Reserve.
It is regretted that you are over age for the Commissioned branch
for which you appear to be otherwise qualified.
Your patriotism in offering to make yourself available for Naval
service at this time is most commendable and it is to be regretted
that favorable consideration can not be given.
Very truly yours
( signed) 0. Laird McKenna
Lieut. L -V (S),USNR
_____________________________________________________________________
In reply to my application to the American Hawaiian Steamship Company,
Portland Oregon office, mailed August 17, 1942 , tendering my services
as Master, 1 st., 2 nd. or 3 rd. Mate, for duration of the war
Mr. F.N.Mills, District Manager: replied in his letter dated August 19,
1942 , as follows,
Captain R.W. Healy 1209 North 45 th. Street, Seattle, Wash.
This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of August 17th, 1942
but since the employment of all licensed personnel is handled by the
Companys Operation Manager in San Francisco, we are taking the liberty
of passing your letter on to Mr. A.E.Stow, Operating Manager.
_______________________________________________________________________
In reply to my application to the Standard Oil Company of California,
San Francisco Office, Mr. J.H. Mc Eachern, Manager, Marine Department
said in his letter of September 25 th. 1942.
"We wish to acknowledge your letter of September 2 nd, 1942 and thank
you for tendering your services as Master, 1st., 2 nd. or 3 rd. Mate for
the duration of the war.
As you know our organization is built up of men who have been with us for
a long period of time and have been promoted from the ranks as vacancies have
occurred.
While there is a shortage of experienced sea farers in the United States
we have, at present, all the officers that are required for our operation.
________________________________________________________________________
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As I began to realize that older men were apparently not in much demand, I was sorry that I had taken my retirement but as my 22 year, 1 month and 15 day ( continuous)
job on the U.S.S. "Surveyor" was filled and the ships out on their working grounds,
I was ashamed to ask to be taken back as, while this time I had retired, in
1917 while in the U.S.S. Explorer, tied up in the south end of Lake Union,
in order to take a more active part in world war 1, (I resigned from the
Explorer
the middle of November 1917 and the next day joined the U.S. Shipping Board
S.S. " Chattahoochee", a former Hamburg American Line
freighter of 12320 tons, at Seattle, as Chief Mate and remained on her
until torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel the night of March 25"rd. 1918.
I returned from Liverpool on the S.S. St Paul and enrolled in
the U.S. Naval Reserve Force, as Lieutenant, and served as Executive Officer of
the U.S.S. "Nanshan" until ordered to inactive duty, at own request in
July 1919.)
I also found that in order to get a job ashore , if you had no social security
card they insisted that you must apply for one and as I was retired on a federal Civil
Service Annuity I was not eligible for a social security card, and the federal unions
wouldn't allow working for nothing.
When I went up to renew my license I found that they required a birth certificate.
My Great Grand father settled in Muscatine County Iowa in 1858 and my
Father was born at Wilton Junction, Muscatine County, Iowa , March 17 th. 1851,
My Mother was born at Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio, July 26 th. 1855
still at the time of my birth ,January 14, l878 no records of births were kept
in Iowa as the first Iowa Census was taken in 1880, however the Census Bureau
found that Roy Healy was a 2 year old son in the home of A. A. Healy and Isabel
Healy at Afton , Union County, Iowa according to the census of 1880.
This with photostat from my Fathers Bible and letters from my Sisters were
accepted.
Next I learned of a new ruling that all licensed deck officers were required to
know the Morse code and wig-wag, which took me very much aback.
Years ago, in the Philippines, I learned to send in the Morse code but never could
receive well and I was afraid my brain lobes were too set to learn it now,
It was very unfair, While it might be a fine thing for every one on a ship to be able to signal ?
In practice it is
In merchant ships, in peace time , the signaling is generally handled by the
Radio Operators, Junior Officers or the Quartermasters, while in war time
( When the wireless can not be used) merchant ships are usually assigned regular
Navy Signal-men, especially if in convoy. While the Navy and Naval Reserve
ships have all the signal-men they can use. I started in trying to memorize all the signals but by this time we had been in
the war over a year and I was in such a state of mind that I couldn't
think straight. I caught myself feeling bitter towards all the young men who could get into it
with no sea experience while I had spent the most of my life at sea. It rankled so that I guess I must have let it get me down for I began to feel
that I was being unfairly treated.
( For all of which I was wrong, but it all seemed very real to me at the time)
(Signed RoyWHealy)
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During my years in the Philippines I had worked in the greater part of the
Philippine area.
As it turned out I had taken part in the Survey of Tacloban, Leyte and the
adjoining coast in the U.S.S," Pathfinder" in 1902 (the coast where General
Mc Arthur landed on his return to the Philippines )
With one of the Pathfinder's launches I developed channels and picked out
natural object-ranges through the Guian Reefs , off of Guiuan , Samar , a
short distance east of Tacloban and escorted the U.S.Army Transport ,
"Kansas City " with the burial corps to pick up the 49 bodies of a detachment of Company C of the 9th. Infantry , victims of the Balangiga
Massacre, Balangiga, Samar , a short distance from Tacloban. With our launch I towed the boats with the bodies , from
inside the mouth of the river at Balangiga out to the "Kansas City". We then proceeded 12 miles beyond Balagiga and picked up 10 bodies of
Major Wallers Marines.
The only time I touched bottom with a ship in the Philippines was in 1912 ,
in Ragay Gulf , where I touched a clump of branching coral, with the U.S.S. "Marinduque" we didn't hang up and there was no damage but I
felt so bad about it that I resigned and returned to the States.
During my 27 seasons in the Coast Survey in Alaska, I stood long night watches,
also through intricate channels and during fog, thick, or heavy weather,
During that time I was fortunate in that I only touched bottom once when
in 1923 , in the U,S.S. "Surveyor" I just brushed a rock in Sandy Bay,
Baranof Id, ( at the time an unsurveyed bay) we didn't hang up and no damage
was done , only my record busted . I tendered my resignation but it was refused.
AND now with this Korean business and what may follow I will , no doubt
again have to go through all the hell of sitting around on the side lines, like
a bump on a log.
(signed RoyWHealy)