1st Lt Sam Croom 1944. 2/21/22-9/10/12

Honor Flight DFW profiles and interviews

Theodore left home in Pennsylvania and arrived at the Naval Training Center at Sampson, New York on February 9, 1944. He was seventeen years old. At this young age Theodore was appointed leader of several hundred men stationed there.

During this time Theodore trained from morning until night in how to be a sailor in the US Navy. Once, he was participating in a training exercise simulation “abandoning ship.” As he was hitting the water off an eighty five foot tower into a swimming pool, he tilted his head slightly. All he remembers is waking up in a hospital. Later he was in the hospital with what was called “cat fever,” and to this day Theodore doesn’t really know what this ailment consisted of.

Theodore graduated from boot camp as a Seaman Second Class. He then was shipped overseas on the famous pre-war luxury liner the Queen Mary. The ship had been painted a sea going grey camouflage paint, hence her nickname “The Grey Ghost.” This ship was so fast that destroyer escorts were not needed. It was thought that German U-Boats could not catch her. Indeed she was never hit and now is a tourist attraction (and very haunted) in Long Beach California. Theodore remembers the trip across the Atlantic took seven days and that everyone got sick because of the very rough North Atlantic seas.

On the Queen Mary, he sailors had boat drill every day. During these drills, all the men had to stand topside by the ships railing. Looking up, the men could see the several hundred WACS who were staring down at the men from the top most deck of the ship. Unfortunately there was also barbed wire! The guys and gals waved at each other with the grim faced military police looking on.

The Queen Mary finally docked at Roseneath, Scotland where the sailors were billeted in Quonset huts to wait for their individual assignments.  Soon Theodore and another sailor were on a train to Portsmouth, England to meet their new ship and crew. There he discovered that he was to be assigned to an ocean going US Navy tug.     His jobs were numerous on board the tug. The worst job was “flaking the chain,” as the anchor was pulled up into the ship. It was dangerous work that involved being in a man hole size space and stowing the chain in neat rows as it came up. The fear was losing a hand or finger in the links in the dimly lit and cramped space. The sailors took turns doing this and luckily Theodore survived this with hands and fingers intact.

Being in England, he enjoyed many days (and nights) of shore leave. As was the case all over England, the British servicemen disliked Americans as they thought that they were “oversexed, overpaid, and over here!”  Theodore remembers brawls breaking out at dances where the Yanks on one side of the dance hall, and the Brits on the other would square off after the bands last note was played. They would then meet in the middle and the fight was on!

Theodore’s tug participated in many rescues of ships in the English Channel prior to and after June 6, 1944. Speaking of D-Day Theodore participated in that invasion. He was 18 years old and was a crewman on his tug, ATA-125. His ship was assigned to the area of Omaha beach which many historians consider the worst of all the beaches to land.

Theodore’s job on the morning of Operation Overlord was to be positioned on the port side to watch for mines, submarines or debris in the water. While patrolling the channel at Omaha Beach, he saw thousands of Allied planes flying towards France. It was an awe inspiring sight. There were also thousands of ships in the channel that day, every size and shape imaginable.

Theodore’s tug as assigned the task at one point of towing a huge barge that he described as being as big as a house. His crew put a big steel cable on it and towed it across the English Channel to Omaha Beach. This barge was loaded with ammunition, barbed wire and other supplies of war. Another smaller tug then took charge of the barge to take it onto the beach proper.

He had a prime spot on his tug to see everything that was happening on Omaha Beach. At one point he saw a soldier with no shirt on, but a bandoleer of ammo across his chest that was standing on the bow of a small boat. He believes this soldier was an Army Ranger, assigned to climb Point Du-Hoch on Omaha Beach.  

Theodore’s tug was ordered to advance to the beach to rescue a beached ship. They found the LST (Landing Ship-Tank) stuck on the beach and could not back off. They threw a heavy cable across to the LST and started towing. Just as they got off shore, the LST started to sink. The tugs Bosun got a fire ax and cut the cable. The cable sprang back and hit the side of the ship with a loud crack. This kept Theodore’s tug from going down along with the LST.

Theodore’s tug crossed the channel many times in the next couple of months towing giant artificial harbors called “Mulberry’s.” These were sunk off shore the beaches and became harbors for small boats to deliver supplies to the beaches. He was there on June 19^th and 20^th when the infamous gale swept through the English Channel. Many of the artificial harbors were destroyed because of this storm.

After the invasion of Normandy, Theodore’s tug was ordered to the South of France for the invasion of the “soft underbelly” of occupied Europe. His ship sailed down the coast of France to Portugal, Spain then North Africa. After a stop in Algeria, his ship arrived in the port of Naples Italy. The next stop was Toulon, France as part of the invasion forces. After taking the beaches the tug anchored off St.Tropez, France for a long time and enjoyed R&R on shore as well as swimming in the Mediterranean Sea.

Theodore eventually was stationed on shore at Marseille France. He became a “seaman guard” guarding warehouses full of military supplies. The French people attempted several times to break into the warehouses and fired on the guards on occasion. 

Later Theodore worked at the Naval Supply Detachment. One of his jobs was to pick up German prisoners in a truck and take them to their work detachments. Apparently the German’s liked working for the Navy and Theodore became friends with several, including one prisoner named Willie.

Theodore’s good duty lasted until the naval detachment was sent home after the end of the war. He was the youngest sailor in age with the least amount of time on the base. He had to stay longer than the rest of the sailors but he made the best of it. On December 1, 1945 he was promoted to Storekeeper Second class. His job was to turn over all buildings, vehicles and supplies to the French Navy. Finally it was time for Theodore to return to the states. He sailed on a Swedish troop transport for nineteen days in rough seas crossing the Atlantic. He spent most of the time in bed seasick, along with most of the other sailors.

He enjoyed a few weeks of leave then reported to the Navy’s receiving station at Pier 92 in New York City. Later he was assigned to the USS Ozbourne (DD 846) a new destroyer. The Ozbourne then sailed for Cuba. After this shakedown cruise for the new ship, they finally docked at Guantanamo Bay. Theodore got off the ship at this location for a minor operation. He never went back to the ship however and was transferred to Bainbridge, Maryland on June 6, 1946. He was honorably discharged two days later.

Another interesting fact! Theodore eventually reenlisted in the Army and retired as a “Bird” Colonel!