Link to an account of the USN Scouts and Raiders by Matt Kaye The circling was endless, always the exercise was the same. We circled clockwise and counter-clockwise, for hours on end, both days and nights. The coxswain, at least, was kept busy piloting the boat. The rest of us were simply bored passengers except for the few minutes when we would make our dash to the beach. The LCVP's (landing craft vehicle personnel, 36' long) lined abreast in an effort to arrive simultaneously. If the surf hit the boat dead astern, we had a reasonable chance to raise the ramp and retreat to sea without being broached. In these last few minutes, the rest of the crew was kept busy. Then it was back to the boredom of circling, repeating the process over and over again.Weeks later, after a weekend pass, we left Little Creek, Virginia. We left by train for USNATB, Fort Pierce, Florida. Finally, we would end the monotony of the endless circling. Wrong! More of the same except we had a vertical wall and a cargo net to tie to for a few minutes. Then, it was the circle, the dash to the beach, back to the mock up, the circle and so on. One day, after another full day of the same, we paused to study the new bulletin board. Only one small notice caught our eyes. ‘WANTED, VOLUNTEERS FOR EXTRA HAZARDOUS DUTY.’ We wondered what it was all about and four of our boat crew signed our names. Next morning, we marched down the road to its very end. There, in front of the old casino, we were welcomed into the Scouts and Raiders by Ensign Bell and introduced to Ensign Tripson, Ensign Herick, Shorty Buchanon, Ponds and Kaylor, all members of the Ships Company. US Navy Scouts & Raiders in WW-II by Matt Kaye - Page-1
