Tracey talked with my dad about his service.
Stephen Herrick (grandson) found this to supplement the audio:
Likely Battle Witnessed by USS Vesuvius (AE-15), April 1945
In mid-April 1945, during the Okinawa campaign in World War II, USS Vesuvius (AE-15) had just arrived off Okinawa on April 10 to resupply U.S. fleet ships with ammunition. While operating in the area, your grandfather likely witnessed a dramatic antisubmarine action.
Two U.S. destroyers, USS Monssen (DD-798) and USS Mertz (DD-691), detected a Japanese submarine—probably RO-56—and carried out a series of depth-charge attacks. The attacks destroyed the submarine, which was lost with all hands. Sailors on nearby ships, like Vesuvius, would have felt the explosions through the water, seen the destroyers maneuver aggressively, and experienced the intensity of the action up close.
While destroyers, not battleships, made the kill, the noise, tremors, and close proximity made the action feel immediate and dramatic. Your grandfather’s memory of being “right over a submarine” and seeing a ship lifted by the blast matches how nearby sailors often experienced antisubmarine attacks during the Okinawa campaign.
In short: Vesuvius’s crew witnessed a fleet destroyer hunt and destroy a Japanese submarine (likely RO-56) in mid-April 1945, providing a rare, close-up view of naval combat during one of the largest battles of the Pacific War.