MAYO seen on her high speed trials in August 1944 after an extensive yard visit .

On 24 January, 1944, I was in the after crews quarters right next to the after engineroom bulkhead. There were four other men with me but I can't remember their names. We were about a foot from where the engine room crew was hit and was destroyed. Directly after the hit, I went up to the bridge and strung out emergency telephone lines from the bridge to the fantail. Everyone there knows we had contact with every station and control of the ship (Electrical Power) in about half an hour. Gerald Kelly , EM1/c, Damage Control Party.

Repairs and Modernization
Due to the explosion and resulting damage received at Anzio, MAYO was on her way to Naples , Italy for emergency repairs. This was the beginning of a 5000 mile tow across the Atlantic in the stormy and wintery months of early 1944 to enable her to receive permenant repairs at the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard. The ship reached Naples unmolested, some forty miles from the front lines, and remained in drydock for over a month. The survey of the damage revealed that the Mighty MAYO was badly damaged and was almost cut in two. Her keel was broken and she had a 12 foot high by 20 foot wide hole in her side. How she stayed afloat is a miracle. Italian laborers under the direction of a British shipwright patched up the long gash amidships and DD422 was underway behind the tug, USS HOPI.

Fifteen men were transferred to the USS LANSDALE DD426 before the departure only to see that ship sunk by a submarine shortly thereafter. Casablanca was the staging point for her long journey across the Atlantic and on the way MAYO passed USS Kearny DD432. Ironically, KEARNY had been torpedoed in the midship section over two years before off the coast of Iceland and the MAYO crew had seen her there. Now Kearny was headed for the forward area while MAYO was going home damaged amidships.

We pick up the adventure home from the USS MAYO WW2 cruise book:

"There was a great feeling of relief as we passed thru the straits of Gibraltor, even though the Atlantic was no sea to look forward to in March for a ship in our condition. Often water was bailed out of the patched after engine room with buckets. We changed tugs in Casablanca and were taken under tow by the ocean going tug, USS CHEROKEE, that had been sent all the way from Bermuda to bring us back. We started with a nine knot convoy, and as we kept up easily for the first three days hopes began to soar and spirits high."

MAYO in the Naples drydock with a temporary patch.

"It wouldn't be long now; thats what everyone thought, but the old ocean couldnt see it, and as we passed the Azores winds and heavy seas slowed us down. At this time, we parted our tow line for the first time. It wasn't too rough, however, and by a good deal of hurrying we managed to pick up the tow and rejoin the convoy again before dark. We soon dropped out of the convoy as it was impossible for us to maintain the speed and so with one, and later two, DE's as escort we limped across the Atlantic, parting the towline six times; one day we only made thrity-six miles in twenty-four hours; at times we rolled up to fifty-seven degrees, but somehow the Italian patch held, and the skipper of the CHEROKEE always managed to mend the towline; once sixty fathoms of anchor chain, a temporary tow, was lifted clear of the water as the two ships slid down the opposite sides of an enormous wave, but it never parted. USS WILHOITE spread gallons of fuel oil on the water to make life easier for us; and so we crossed the Atlantic and entered the steaming Gulf Stream; the weather cleared and we increased speed to ten knots."

It was two a.m. on the morning of the fifth of April, eighteen long days after leaving Casablanca that we sighted the telltale flash of the famous tall black and white lighted whistle bouy marking Point Zebra, the beginning of the swept channel to New York Harbor. This was actually it, even the worst snow storm that New York had had for years didn't dampen any one's spirits and as the ship passed under the Brooklyn Bridge many a man thanked God for letting him live to enjoy this one moment."

I've the finest ship and group of officers and men in the Navy. There aren't any heroes aboard this ship, just a bunch of guys doing a job the best they know how. Conduct of the Ship's company was in the fighting tradition of the US Navy. Reactions to emergencies were immediate, and the organization functioned without confusion and with a minimum of orders. Commander A. D. Kaplan, CO of USS Mayo at Anzio. Excerpts taken from Battle Report and Navy briefing after engagement.

Only about 70 of the original crew would remain with the ship through the extensive yard repairs due to the need of experienced men in new construction destroyers. While undergoing repairs to her battle damage, MAYO also obtained the latest upgrades and equipment which included an upgrade of her anti-aircraft battery, new radio , radar , and fire control systems. By 18 August 1944 and with the Brooklyn Navy Yard operating in twenty-four hour shifts to get MAYO and other ships back into the war, MAYO was ready to leave the yard and to test her new systems and crew. For the next two months, MAYO went on shakedown trials which included escort duty for new cruisers such as USS WILKES BARRE and old friend USS SAVANNAH in the Caribbean as well as high speed trials and exercises at Casco Bay, ME.

At the end of October 1944, Captain H.H. Connelley reported aboard as a convoy escort commander of a group of DE's whereas MAYO was to act as flagship on fast troopship runs to England and France. While MAYO was at the Navy Yard, the invasion of Europe had taken place and fresh troops were needed to build more pressure on the Germans on two fronts. Once again, DD422 operated as a convoy escort throughout the end of 1944 and into the beginning of 1945. However, things were about to change for the MAYO and her crew as she was about to head to a more active war zone.

We heard a German news broadcast that they had sunk two ships the previous evening. Actually, the two ships, MAYO and PLUNKETT, were only damaged." Henry "Hank" Eiseman, RM2/c

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