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In the Aerology Office aboard the USS Cumberland Sound AV-17, 1944. Left to right: McGehee, Brown, Cannady

A party in "Hot Dope Hall", USS Cumberland Sound, AV-17. Martin, Red Wolfe, McCarthy, Harris, Ragus, Ebba, McCoy

At the wheel of the USS Cumberland Sound AV-17. Quartermaster Raymond Benjamin Robertson of Granite City, Illinois.

Cucumber, aboard the USS Cumberland Sound AV-17. 1945. Cucumber, the dog, belonged to Art Dietz MoM 2/c. He obtained it (?) in Tacoma before AV-17 Commissioning. Someone told Art to bite the tip of the tail because it was bent. Cuke had the run of the ship for 4 or 5 weeks but she began to avoid everyone besides Art; she got sick from so many sailors feeding her ice cream and candy bars. She was still on board in Hawaii. I don’t remember when I last saw her.
Paul “J” Dunn, former ETM 1/c
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Credit line for photographs should read “Photo by William Clay McGehee”.
Nice job Steve. I like the pic of your Dad sporting the mustache.
Mike
What’s the story on the puppy, “Cucumber”?
Cucumber was the ship’s mascot, but that’s about all I know on that one. I’d love to find out more though – a while back, I started collecting the names of the farm dogs that my father had growing up. That just seems to add a lot to personalizing history.
I noticed that in the “Crew’s News” issues there was a cartoon called “Li’l Cucumber” that is about the dog’s exploits. So much behavior is allowed on naval ships today that would not have been possible back then, but I bet a pooch on board would be verboten now!
My dad was on the USS Cumberland and I was hoping to find a photo of him…didn’t find anything, but just wondering whether anyone remembers a Willard Burrell Carmichael on board.
Thanks for checking in, Sharon. I hope we can find someone who knew him or locate a photo. In the mean time, I have added his name to the ship’s roster here on the site.
Thank you for adding Dads name to the roster. I have a photo of him in uniform I would like to send…how would I do that?
Your time and dedication to the site is very special and the descendants of those who served on the Cumberland Sound appreciate you. I have additional information about Dads training and deployment if it would be okay to include it when I send the photo.
Sharon
I’ve sent you an email that should get things going. The personal stories of the men who served on the Cumberland Sound is really what this site is all about. Thank you!
The single photo beneath CAPT Grant is the Executive Officer CDR Thorne
Thank you, sir. I’ve updated the description on CDR Thorne’s photo.
“Cucumber”, the dog, belonged to Art Dietz MoM 2/c. He obtained it (?) in Tacoma before AV-17 Commissioning. Someone told Art to bite the tip of the tail because it was bent. Cuke had the run of the ship for 4 or 5 weeks but she began to avoid everyone besides Art; she got sick from so many sailors feeding her ice cream and candy bars. She was still on board in Hawaii. I don’t remember when I last saw her.
Thank you, sir. I’ve updated the description on “Cucumber’s” photo. It’s stories like that that I really like to include here. History books do OK in telling the basics of “what” happened, but these are the every-day stories that help folks understand daily life aboard ship at that time. Without a place like this, those stories will be lost forever.
Someone commented about the AV-17 being involved in the Able/Baker atomic tests performed at the Bikini Atoll. She was not a “target” but played an important role in collecting data from the various tests because, unlike most ships, her seaplane deck was made of wood, not steel. Five years after leaving the Cuke, I joined the civilian staff of the U.S.Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. One of the aims of the tests was to collect data closer to the tests than humans could manage. Test equipment was secured to the wooden deck by bolts. Live data was collected and telemetered to scientists stationed at a safer distance from the explosions. Later, the ship and equipment was “washed down” to remove excess radiation.
I have added a page under “Ship & Operations” for the atomic bomb testing that the Cumberland Sound participated in. I’ll try to gather whatever information I can find and post it on that page.
The guy “at the wheel” steering the ship is my Dad, Quartermaster Raymond Benjamin Robertson of Granite City, Illinois
Thank you, sir. I’ve added his name to the caption on the photo.
I believe my dad served on the USS Cumberland Sound. (Lyle Nick Fries) Wisconsin I have been trying to research his history. He passed away in 1959. (VA Hospital in Iron Mountain Michigan) I looked at the photos and I can not identify him. Recently I found some of the ships newspapers in my mothers papers. As a child, I remember a certificate that he was the owner or honorary owner of a plank of the ship. (If I have it correct) I don’t know what happened to that. If there are any websites or places I can research this, I would appreciate knowing it. Thank you for your time.
Hello, Carole. I just finished looking through my father’s notes, but I couldn’t find his name listed. I hope to get the complete crew list at some point and publish it here, but I just haven’t gotten to it yet, so please keep checking back.
My father, Roscoe Murphy, Jr. served on this ship. I haven’t found any pics of him but the info you have here is really neat. Thank you for this wealth of knowledge.
Thank you, Virginia. I have added your father’s name to the ship’s roster. If you ever come across any information about his time on the ship that you’d like to share, please be sure to let me know.
My father was on the Cumberland Sound in the war. He said 2 weeks after the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, they went ashore and walked all through the ruins. He was Martin Lyal Hall, he said he cleaned the guns on the ship. He passed away in 2001.
I can back up the story about being a tourist through the atomic ruins. My father also told of doing the same thing, only he and a couple others took a jeep rather than walking.
I’ve been going through some video that I took of him talking about his time on the Cumberland Sound, and I hope to get around to posting that video here on the site.
Hi we are trying to find any pictures & even my father’s name on the crew list of the USS Cumberland Sound . His name is Eugene “ Gene “ Polanski . He was under age when he joined the Navy . He passed away on December 7, 1974. Please let me know if anyone has any pictures . Thank you … his Son Karl Polanski