March, 1942 to August, 1942

1. A Few Months Reprieve from the anxiety of war! March, 1942 to August, 1942

2. Goodbye to the USS Helena Adrian developed strong ties to the men on the Helena. Many of the documents and memoirs mention how close the crew was. Several of his friends were killed or wounded when Pearl Harbor was attacked and though he left the Helena soon after, he had many friends that remained on board. In honor of those friends, a summary of what occurred to the Helena after Adrian left will follow. While Adrian was visiting family in Clarkston, the USS Helena was at Mare Island outside San Francisco getting repairs made from the attack at Pearl Harbor. Due to the damage to the equipment in the engine room, the Navy decided to replace the whole area along with upgrading other parts to make the Helena a completely modernized warship. Some of the changes included new gun mounts, replacement of the experimental radar with totally new equipment, and a rework of many of the electrical areas.

3. Department of the Navy notes about this picture: View of the starboard side amidships, taken at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 27 June 1942, following repair of combat damage and an overhaul.Note the ship's redesigned forward superstructure, including an open bridge and reduced lower bridge wings. Mark 34 main battery gun director, with antenna for an FC gunfire control radar, is immediately in front of the foremast. The other director, just behind the open bridge, is a Mark 33, with antenna for an FD radar mounted on its front.

4. On July 21, 1942, the Helena left California to return to Pacifc Fleet duty. Below is a very brief summary of the Helena’s actions. Thankfully, Adrian was not on board. October 11-12, 1942. Participated in the Battle of Cape Esperance and was credited with sinking or helping to sink 4 enemy ships. November 4, 1942. Bombarded Japanese forces on Guadalcanal. November 12, 1942. Repelled mass assault by Japanese torpedo planes, and shot down 4. November 12-13, 1942. Participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal and destroyed or helped destroy 5 enemy ships. Lead crippled San Francisco to safety. January 4, 1943. Bombarded Munda. Repelled dive bombing attack by Japanese planes.

5. January 23, 1943. Bombarded enemy installations in Kula Gulf area. Repelled enemy torpedo plane attack. May 13, 1943. Bombarded Kolombangara, Enogai Inlet, Bairoko Harbor. Repelled air attack. July 5, 1943. Convoyed troops to Rice Anchorage. Bombarded enemy installations in Kula Gulf and covered landing operations. July 6-7. 1943. Participated in Battle of Kula Gulf and was sunk by enemy torpedoes after destroying or helping to destroy 4 enemy ships. The men that survived the sinking and were pulled from the water were covered in oil. Thus ended the USS Helena CL 50.

6. Back to Adrian’s story Depart Arrive Part of Adrian’s log book After leaving the family gathering in Clarkston, Georgia on February 26, 1942, Adrian had to return to the USS Helena in California and Wanda returned to Brooklyn, New York. After arriving in Vallejo, California on March 1, he must have been told that the Helena would not be ready for a while. Many sailors had requested that their families join them in California. Why not have Wanda travel to California to join him? Thus begins the story of the travels of Adrian and Wanda between his time with the USS Helena and his next ship assignment.

7. In her cross country hop to be with Adrian in California, Wanda once again settled in for a long bus ride. Instead of going the southern route as she did when traveling to Los Angeles in 1941, this time it was toward the north. The photos she took show four places along the way in Ohio, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Utah.

8. Above left: Stopped to see Lake Erie somewhere in Ohio. Above right: Drove through Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On back of picture, Wanda wrote “taken from bus window.” Right: Downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming.

9. Wanda’s note about this picture says “Devil’s Slide – Freak Rock Formation 300 Feet High in Echo Canyon, Utah.” The rock formation is not actually in Echo Canyon but several miles west along the road the bus would have taken through Utah. On the right is Devil’s slide today – Weber Canyon near Croydon, Utah

10. Once Wanda arrived in San Francisco, they moved into 434 Leavenworth Street a few blocks from downtown. The apartment house was built in 1911 but the area hasn’t changed much in 70 years. Above left: Old photo from the internet showing a view down Leavenworth Street toward town. Above right: View today using Google Earth. Right: 434 Leavenworth Street today using Google Earth.

11. There are two copies of this picture. It appears that Wanda is sewing on one of Adrian’s jackets. On the back of the one kept by Wanda was written “434 Leavenworth St San Francisco Cal April 1942.” The back of the one kept by Adrian can be seen below.

12. The Cliff House and Seal Rocks – San Francisco, California The only “tourist” activity we have a record of was a visit to the Cliff House in San Francisco. Wanda took quite a few pictures of a rock formation just off shore called “Seal Rocks.” Tucked under the above picture was a very old leaf she evidently picked while visiting there in 1942. It must have been a plant that impressed her!

13. This postcard photo from the internet was taken a few years before Wanda and Adrian visited but shows how big the place was. It is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

14. Though they did not take any pictures of the Cliff House itself, Adrian took this picture of Wanda while there. On the back, Wanda wrote “San Francisco Cal 1942 Cliff House.”

15. As can be seen on the April 30, 1942 report of changes for personnel, Adrian officially left the USS Helena. (Note: Adrian’s data appears on line 6 at the top and bottom.) With the complexity of the new fire control systems, the Navy quickly began to provide more training. Due to advances in technology, shooting at the enemy from a ship was requiring more understanding of trigonometry and early data processing machines (early computers). The Helena reported that he was transferred, as of April 27, 1942 to the Navy yard in Washington, D.C. for advanced fire control school course of instruction (at the Washington, D.C. Naval Ordnance School) authorized by the Commander of Cruisers, Pacific Fleet.

16. Due to his transfer back to the east coast, it was time for Wanda to leave California too. In his Navy file was found a request by Adrian to have the Navy cover the cost of Wanda’s trip back east. Several things can be discerned from this document: 1. Wanda traveled on her own expense from May 6 until May 10, 1942. 2. The Navy would reimburse based on commercial first class rail accommodations. 3. Adrian’s new duty was to be over 5 months and considered permanent duty. (It really was for 12 weeks.)

17. There are no aerial pictures taken of the Navy Yard during the war, probably for security reasons. This one is interesting because it was taken in 1936 during a flood. Adrian was stationed there six years later. Navy Yard – Washington, D.C. By World War II, the Yard had become the world's largest  naval ordnance  plant. This facility housed the Naval Gun Factory, including Naval Ordnance Laboratory, Naval Radio Station, Marine Barracks and Receiving Station, Naval Ordnance Schools, and Diving School. As many as 25,000 naval personnel were using the facility at any given time.

18. This manual did not belong to Adrian but was purchased on E Bay and would have been the same as the one he used. Only the first of four volumes has been found. As you can see from the cover, this book was used for training sailors to qualify for the rank of Fire controlman second class. Below is the table of contents from the first manual.

19. Since it is interesting to see what and how the information was covered, some random pages from the manual have been added. Though the book started out chatty and low key, it quickly moved into complex information.

20. Part of a chapter about adjusting for wind.

21. Below is a copy of the information found in Adrian’s personnel records related to this firecontrol school session. What this says: Firecontrol School Washington, D.C. 12 weeks Completed course, Rangekeeper Mark 1 Completed Mark 33 director Mark 6 stable element A few definitions relative to World War 2 fire control are in order: A rangekeeper was an analog computer that provided data for tracking targets, predicting where the target would be next, and making gunfire corrections due to variables such as gun elevation, wind speed and direction, air resistance, gravity, latitude, gun/sight parallax, barrel wear, powder load, and projectile type. A gun director was the housing high on the ship’s superstructure containing the equipment necessary to make readings (including the rangekeeper). The stable element included a special type of gyroscope and computer components that would adjust the aim based on roll and pitch of the ship as well as the earth’s rotational speed.

22. During this 12 week course, Adrian covered all parts of the typical fire control system. (Note: Sable vertical is the same as stable element.) Adrian’s rating was FC (M) 2c. The M indicates that he was a qualified mechanic able to troubleshoot, disassemble, and repair the equipment. This was valuable information that would actually keep him off a “fighting ship.” The knowledge he acquired would become more important to keeping the fire control systems working rather than aiming the guns himself.

23. While attending firecontrol school, Adrian recieved an update to his tetanus in June of 1942 and was issued a new ID tag. He had blood type A.

24. Free time in Washington, D.C. There is no indication that Wanda ever lived in Washington, D.C. while Adrian was there. We do know from pictures taken at the capitol that she did visit with him at least once. According to Adrian’s Navy records (life insurance beneficiary documents), during this time, Wanda was living at 152 North 9th Street in Brooklyn, N.Y.

25. The couple evidently enjoyed visiting the area around the capitol, especially these fountains shown here. In the pictures, Wanda has on three different outfits but it is not known if she made multiple trips down to see Adrian or if the pictures are from one visit.

26. This picture was taken on the same day as the previous one. On the back, written years later, Adrian wrote “Adrian, Wanda, and friend.” It must have been a windy day since Adrian’s tie is being blown around in both pictures.

27. Wanda in front of the capitol. This picture has amazing clarity and required very little help. Though not taken at the same time as the previous pictures, the location with the fountains can be seen in the background.

28. Duet of pictures taken at the Washington Monument.

29. This record shows that Adrian reported to fire control school at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 1942 from the USS Helena. He was transferred from Washington, D.C. on August 17, 1942 to report to the receiving station in Norfolk, Virginia for assignment to a new ship. As can be seen from the description, Adrian’s new ship would be part of the Atlantic Fleet. At least this would be the same ocean that lapped the shores of Brooklyn, New York!

30. Before reporting to Norfolk for his new assignment, he was given five days leave as shown here. Looking at his log entries, Adrian went from Washington, D.C. to New York (to see Wanda) to Norfolk, Virginia and back to New York to meet up with his next ship.

31. Since his log indicates that he was in New York during his leave time, he would surely have been with the Werbicki family. Due to the fact that Wanda’s upbringing was Polish Catholic and Adrian’s was Southern Baptist, it probably took quite a while for the cultural differences to smooth out. Before marrying Adrian, Wanda’s mother (according to family stories) had already chosen a Polish butcher for Wanda to marry. Imagine her shock to find out she had a slow talking Southern Baptist son-in-law. Though they later learned to respect and love each other, it was probably a somewhat uncomfortable family gathering in the early years of their marriage. This picture was dated many years later as 1942. Bachie, Grandpa, Wanda, and her brother Felix are in the picture. Aunt Reggie probably took the picture while they were visiting either McCarren Park or Prospect Park. When Adrian joined his new ship in August of 1942, it would be several months before they would see each other again.