EL PALACIO

vol.107 NO.2
US$ NEW MEXICO
May 2002

U$$ lllew Mexico: 0ueen of the Pacific

BY CIIARI.T$ ETNtIITII

lnterim Director
Palace of the Governors

Nov. 18, 1944: "At Se,az Nad, cl^au to- B watclu ?e44.ed" cl..o5eto-Trul<r."
N0v.20,1944: "At Sen . foda,y wo got pa{da, I le,nt w vnbn4/ o{dp,t to Ire,net
?Wed'ca,,/da a,nd.,lD* $5... "
Nov. 25, 1944: " A r. r iN edt ?h,ilipp tnp* Lw vna-r mi,vt4<, .. "
Nov.27,1944: '?atrolt dnty ALr De.{e,wrcz 14 planw*, 5 thrt d,or^)t4r. j- h,{tthp/
St Lotli*..."
Dec. 28, 1944: "ArrireA., Leyta...'
April 15, 1945: "AU/ attq{l</. TLwyw bo'frord* lcc.e4 cntwLvt4<"
*Left
May 28, 1945: OWno,nwfot, quana Brg tu{o qtta.d<, o-'ru ou.,r wa,y ottt.
I nenor u)a,y w s.c ,,.ed/ fuv a.lL ywy Lifu. Got one: w{en ya,rdt
ililaa/ {-rovnt u,y."

?he diar) of sailor Robert Thomas Drinan. a recenl dona- name recommended for the ship was "USS Calit'ornia";how-

II
rion ro rhe Palace ol rhe Covernors Fray Angelico Chavez ever, the name was "USS New Mexico" eighteen months later
I Hrstory Library, records his time aboard the USS New when the battleship as iong as rwo footbali fields plunged
Mexico-from near boredom, at first, to sheer terror, espe- down the ways at the Brookiyn Nar,y Yard on April 23, fgIT .

clally during the tumultuous times between November 1, Miss Margaret C de Baca, daughter of New Mexrco Governor

1944, and September 23, 1945. Those eleven monrhs were Ezequiel C de Baca, who had died only a monrh before, offi-

pivotal for both the couniry Drinan served and the battleshlp
he served aboard. The war in Europe formally ended on May
8, 7945, with the proclamarion of V-E Day, but only after
Alliedsuccesses ln the Pacific (followlng the decisive U.S.
naval victory at Guadalcanal ln November 1943) continued
"up the ladder" of islands leading ro Japan: the Solomons,
the Gilberts, and the Marshalls, the Marianas, and the Bonin
Islands.
Drinan was 27 went he served the Unrted States aboard
the USS New Mexico, the preeminenr ship of her day She,
too, was 27.
She was conceived by an Act of Congress on June 30,
1914, authorizing the construction of the as-yet-unnamed
battleship, referred ro only as "Battleship 40," that com-
menced in October 1915. The records show that the first
cially chrrstened the firsr U.S. Nary ship named New Mexico
with a bottle containing champagne from France and water
Irom tne K10 Grande.
The new ship was a departure from the previous battle-
ships of the era. Instead of the outward curving bow typical
of U.S. battleships slnce 1889, the USS New Mexico had a
sharply backward,swepr bow giving the ship a forward-lean-
ing appearance. But its fast looks weren't the only innova-
tion: the battleship was rhe first turbo-electric-driven battle,
ship, powered by four mammoth General Electnc motors
driving four propellers and enabling the ship to cruise ar an
accredited speed of twenty-one knots (an attribute measured
according to naval and nautical engineering standards).
Commissioned on May 20, 1918, and wtth Captain Ashley
H. Robertson in command, she hit rhe high seas displacing
33,400 tons. measuring 624 feet by 106 feet 3 inches, and

10 il Palario
 UsS NEW Ni EXICO

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packrng heat in lour turrets in the form of twelve l4-inch, 2,200 tons of oil, and the investment of $21 million to build
5O-caliber "rifles" (the technrcal term for the large guns most and equip the USS New Melico.
larzmen refer rn ..-
.../...-.. es lnno ."..^..
. - j lalLlloll> )I. Th.r m.i afmamenl
lllal lllaln A beauty of a battleship, the USS New Mexico was the
could send a ton-of-shell wal1op as far as 15.000 )ards away eTeale<r iear oili ( nar':i ccience at thar rime and also the
(almost 20 miles off). model for those that followed. Other ships constructed with
'Lr^ L^L-- --'^^
^-r
Llll)
^ltu
uau) wa> not to be breached: l4-inch-thrck similar features were considered to be in the USS New Mexico
armor nrole.ted the shin. hrrll rhe rrnner decL had o inch- , la.' of hatrle.hinr and 'L
\'- r
rrf \4\y) ldlBq>l diru' rl*rost efteclire
es and the lower deck had 4 inches of armor, the gun turrets of harrleshins until a new class was introduced in 1941.
and connins tower had 18 inches of steel armor. Al1 that The naming of a battleship for New Mexico was such a

armor protected the ships crer,v of 1,323 men, a fuel load of disi rnct honor that the state senate passed An Act proriding

il Palacio ll
US$ NEW MEXICO
Above
Silver tobacco humidor and cigar lighters,
all with the New lVexico State Seal,
made by Tiffany & Co., 1918.
In the background is Tiffany & Co.'s
working desrgn of the humidor.
Pa ace of the Governors,
Museum of New Mexrco.
0pposite page
USS New Mexicollying a four-star
admiral's f lag, c. 1920.
l2 tl Palario
for the gift of a Silver Service for ihe UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP NEW MEXICO, and
appropriating Moneys therefore, and appointing a commission to have charge of the pur-
chase and presentation there ofl .l'Subsequent[;. CovernorWashington E. Lrndsey did so
by issuing an Executive Order, on March 12, 1917, appointing Mrs. Mary C. Prince (for-
mer first lady of New Mexico). Miguel Chavez. and Bronson M. Cutting to the commis-
sion. The commission made several rrips Lo Tiffany & Co.. New York. to work with artists
on the design of the silver service.
This fifty-six-prece sterling silver service. among New Mexicos most cherished pos-
sessions is heins nreserved in the collections vaults of the Palace of the Governors. ltems
oi rhe srlver inclrrdins rhe rr.tentv-forrr desserl' r'*---'
nlates each ., b -'.' with a differenL
---" ensraved
scene from New Mexico history, are put on exhibit from iime to time; the tobacco humi-
dor in rhe form of a nrreblo house block and a select ion oithe desserl nlares were reecnr-
ly returned to coliections after having been on exhiblt in the Palace for more than ten
--"- Ti rT^^' c-
' ' Lurr)ru(l>
ygdl>. I llldrl/ u LU. ^onsiders the lrurrrruur to
tlrc humidor LU be of lt)
one vl
uc ullc its uuL)tatr..---b
outstandinp nieces.
r.----. and
- ..
it prominently in the book MagniJicent TiJt'any 5ilve r. by Tiffany & Co.
recently featured
Design DirectorJohn Loring rHarr; N Abrams 200I"). In 1988 Tiffany & Co. donated
the original workshop design drawings for the silver service to the Palace of the
Governors after beins cont:r'red hv a memher of Lhe Palace curatorial staff.
The USS New Mexico was ready for active warlime duty too late for World War 1, and
so spenl several peace trme years praclicing on the Pacific. outmaneuvering other ships.
and occasionally escorting the most important of dlgnitaries. OnJanuary 15, 1919, for
example. it deparred New York for Brest. France. accompan) ing the transport ship George
Washington, carr)'1ng President Woodrow Wilson to the Versailles Peace Conference. Later
i6,ct teqr ir rrres named thc firct ''*6'"'v
ll:sqhrn nf the newlv oraanized, Pacific l-leet wirh San
Pedro, California, as its base. During the years between the world's wars, the New Mexico
continued with routine operations. making trips to Hawair. Panama. Chile. the
Caribbean, New York, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, New South Wales, and other
porrs-of-call. and with regular maneu\ers. or combat competrtion wjth other ships in
nrcnlr2tion
Pl(PdlaUUll fnr
lul thc LrlilE.- r'lt "wa> uulIilB
rcrl 'l-:'-
ilI( I(dl l -: - - )ulrr
- '^h rrwdl
rr nrrrrirc
Pl4ltlLc thrt
tll4r rhe
{llE USS Ngrn Mexico
picked up the nlckname "The Queen" in tribute to honors won. In 1920-2I,1927-28,

and 1929-30, the ship won top scores rn gunnery, engineer-
ing -"" hatrle efficiencv After all rhar onprrtino and mqnett-
'''b. and
vering, the USS New Mexico was ordered to the Philadelphia
Nar'y Yard for a complete overhaul. Over the course of the
.....,/..,'
nexl several vears lhe once stale-ol-lhe-art shin was mod-
ernizeA
rrIr-(u. rr ilh ltrs
wrrll nerrr !|lBLrrLLllllBattu
anoinparino i-ro.."l
"-,.1 trrLLtll4t ptOteCtIOn-
^'
boj lers. a tower bridge to enhance visibiliry for navigating
and in combat, and additional defenses against submarine
and air attack. The other rwo batrleships of her class, the USS
Mississippi and the USS ldaho, also were revamped ar rhls
time.
After shakedown cruises in Cuban and Haltian waters
and a presidential review off New York in May 1934, the USS
New Mexico was ordered back to San Pedro for a time and
then made cruises in 1936 and 1937 to Hawaii. In 1940,
after the Nazi rnvasion of Poland and the subsequenr decla-
ration of war on Germany by Great Britain and France (and
the proclamation of neutrality by the United Stares), the USS
New Mexico was ordered to participare in a series of neutral-
ilv natrols in the norrh Atlantic.
Then after lwpnl\/-[i\/e rre:rc nf nrrerieino tn he ncrfeer
the call came to prepare for whar would become war.
Following
'' -"'-'b the atrack on Pearl Harbor that desr roved or
effectlvely disabled one-third of the U.S. Nary, the USS New
Mexico was brought ro rhe peak of fighting condirion by
workers at Hampton Roads (Va.), San Francisco, and San
Pedro Nar,y Yards. It then was ordered back to San
Francisco for final fine-tuning, even as carrier battles in the
Coral Sea and Midway were taking place. Flnally primed for
battle and loaded for much more than bear, the New Mexico
made serrcrrl trinc tn Sen .Pcdrn
-_.-. nartirinaterl
r-,-.-.r*". _ tn Jolnl exer_
cises off Hawaii, and then headed on orders to the "forward
area," Nar,y patois for the battle zone. That was on
December 7,1942, one year after rhe date which would live
in infamy. Three harrowing years would pass belore the ship
was rested.
The USS New Mexico arrived in the Fuli islands in mid-
Decemhet and helned with the final consolidation of the
Solomons In lantrarv I Q43 rhe shin nrnvided srrnnnrr in
.,.'-.,,y
the action at Guadalcanal. In response to Japanese seizure of
three of the Aleutian Islands, the batrleship was dispatched
next to Adak Island in May 1943, and, over the course of rhe
next three months. played an imporrant role in driving rhe
Japanese lrom the AIeut ians. Alter putring in ro Puget Sound
Nar,y Yard for repairs, the USS New Mexico was at Pearl
Harhor hv the end oi Ocrober I94J.
U$S NEW MEXICO
Two atolls on the equator 2,500 miles away were rhe
next desrinarion for rhe baLtleship. which parricipared in
"Operation Galvanlc," the U.S. push to seize rhe Gilberr
.,,. Ijapanese sea_
Isl:nds th:l renrrired thp desrrrrer inn nf rha
plane base on Makin Atoll. On November 20,1943, the USS
New Mexico and other shrps began full-scale bombardment
new
of militarv ohiecrives Once the Gilberts were secured the
New Mexico was ordered back to Pearl Harbor, where it
arrived in December 1943.
The next thrust was directed to the Marshall Islands, a
string of islands extending over 600 miles and providing
screening protecrion for Tiuk Island, the "Pearl Harbor" of
the Japanese Nav1. and a key U.S. militar; oblective. The
New Mexico left the real Pearl Harbor inJanuary L944,pro-
ceeding to Ebeye and Kwqalein lslands, which were effec-
tively shelled. During this action a USS New Mexico
crewmember was killed, the first actual casualty of war for
the battleship, when one of rhe ships two seaplanes was hit
by enemy fire while scouting over Kwa.lalein lsland. The
pilot, Lt. Forney D. Fuqua was killed, but Radioman Second
Class Harrison D. Miller was able to make an emergency
landing and was rescued by a U.S minesweeper.
The New Mexico conrinued to shell rargets on various
islands making up the Marshalls. Next were objectrves in the
Mariana lslands. Stationed off Tinian, June t4 and 15, 1944,
the New Mexico. bombarded the island in support of a U.S.
Marine landing on nearby Salpan. The New Mexico also was
credited with the desrrucrion of Japanese airflelds on Guam
onJune L6,1944, and for rhe successful protecrion of other
U.S. Naly vessels in the area. That accomplished, the next
phase of the invasion of the Mariana Islands was to retake
Cuam. and the Neu Mexico.;oined orher barrleships and
destroyers to hit shore defenses. After an intensive shelling,
the Marines were landed. That same nlght rhe USS New
tl Palacio 13
USs NEW MEXICO
Mexico was requested to fire star shells to illuminate the
beachhead so that the Marines could prepare for Japanese
counter attacks. It drd, and the next day a ranking officer
contacted the New Mexico, stailng that the battleship had
"saved the day" by lighting the night.
Thirteen days and 6,500 shells later, the Marianas were
rn U.S. control, and the USS New Mexico returned to Puget
Sound for repairs and new guns. After several months in the
shipyard, the battleship was back in Pearl Harbor, ready
agarn for duty. On November 21 and 22 rhe New Mexico, a the crew was ordered to General Quarters eighty-two times
light cruiser, and four destroyers provided support during
the battles for Leyte and Samar, in the Phihppine
Archipelago, and then the same battle team of ships screened
and supported the December l5 landings on Mindoro. The
final operation of consequence in rhe Southwest Pacific was
the invasion of Luzon, the largest and most-prized of the
Philippine Islands, and the USS New Mexico was there, too.
The USS New Mexico arrived on the scene at Luzon on
January 6, Ig+5, and began a systematlc bombardment of
the island. Japanese resistance was fierce, with repeated arr
attacks on the battleship formation by the newly formed
Special Attack Corps of the Imperial Alr Force. In its debut
the Special Attack Corps sent every available plane-except
for a few held back to evacuate the senior staff-on a suicide
mission against the battle group of ships.
USS New Mexico seamen, including Robert Drinan,
fought off the sulcide planes while continuing the bombard-
ment of targets on shore.
Jan. 6, 1945: "V)ou)e're/hittod'"a,y W s4^ir;"det
pl"a,^p,: What a/ wLe*v.. A l,ot of gnnyv I k^oil)
u)e)'aWf,k'dr."
At noon a suicide plane with a 500-pound bomb
smashed into the navrgation bridge, blew up, kr11ed thrrty,
including the commanding officer who was a British lieu-
tenant general serving as liaison, and a TIME Magazine cor-
respondent, and wounded eighty-seven more men. Even
with two of the ships iarge guns knocked out by the suicide
plane, the seamen managed to continue sending salvos
against Japanese positions on Luzon. Among the many tar-
gets the New Mexico was directed to fire on were [wo bridges
that were seven miles inland and only 16 feet across. Though
a direct hit was impossible, the ships gunnery crew came
close enough to render both targets unusable before the ship
had to reiurn again to Pearl Harbor for battle-damage repair'
Then it was on to play a part in the capture of Okinawa,
the most difficult operation in the Paclfic Theater to date,
14 tl Palacir
rnvoiving more than 1,200 ships, 600 carrier-based atrcraft,
and 500,000 ground lroops. The USS New Mexico was the
flagshrp of the Fifth Fleet and its 3ob was to provlde support
for underwater demolition teams and minesweeping opera-
tions, as well as shell targets on the island, and silence every
enemy coastal battery in the sector assigned to the battle-
shrp. The job was made tougher by suicide planes sent in
earnesf, begrnning on April 6,1945, and continuing.
During the sixty-four days the ship spent at Oklnawa,
and to Arr Defense eighty-stx times. New Mexico gunners
aboard were credited with downing eight enemy aircraft,
brlnging their total of aircraft shot down to twenty-one,
including four suicide planes downed wlthin a sixteen-
minute period on April 12, L945. The crew also averted a
torpedo attack at Lhe same rtme.
A month later, an enemy plane dlving for the ship was
taken out by a direct hit irom anti-aircrafl fire and narrowly
missed the ship, but a second plane hit the ship, crashing on
the gun deck and tearing into the funnel, leaving a 3O-foot
wide hole in the side. Then the plane's bombs exploded.
ai'r attar*'. tso14,41ry. Ju,rt
Aprif 12, 1945: "tsLg<
,ni464n" u'y Ro&oA/ thip. Te'wvw*e*t l+it' 5
pla'n e*, 7 l>ad' N e'w Mw(no- hit."
Steel armor was peeled back, shrapnel sprayed the deck,
aviation gas in the tanks exploded sending flames 200 feet
high and converting the stack into a blowtorch, and ammu-
nition from below decks began exploding. Meanwhrle, as the
inlured were being removed from deck, the ship was sLill
under attack and all gunners were sti11 fighting off other
enemy planes. Damage control parties put out all fires with-
in fifteen minutes. Casualties were 177 men, including fift;--
five dead and three missing. By the next day, the New
Mexico's anti-aircraft batteries were ready for action again.
April 13, 1945: "Sta'rt ttuwba'ra,Lrtg, ag'o"ixu
AUr attatk"
The U.S. invasion of Okinawa was the last great
amphibious engagement rn the Pacific in WWTI and the
costliest campaign tn terms of men and ships. On the U S.
side: 12,500 ki11ed; 36,000 wounded; eighty-eight naval
craft destroyed or disabled through darnage. The Japanese
lost 103,000 o[ a total populatron of 125,000 on the is]and
sltuated between Formosa and Japan.
For rts part in the invasion, the USS New Mexico had
expended more rounds, both in weight and in number, than
at any previous engagement: 2I ,876 rounds for a total of
 US$ NEW MEXICO

4,708,5L7 pounds. Afterwards, she was ordered to Guam, ship was stricken from the U.S. Naval registry and sent to
then to Leyte where repairs were made from June 7 ro the auction block, where the USS New Mexico was sold to a
August 8, 1945. Following rhat aromic bombing of New York company for scrap on Ocrober 13, 1947. She
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the New Mexico was ordered first to was only 30.
Saipan, arriving on August 16, \9+5, then Okinawa, arriving Whether in pieces, like the ships bel1 (one is at the
on August 19. On August 26 the bauleship joined other Manuel Lujan Building in Santa Fe, another, on rhe

I er rnnhinn nt

the USS ,A/eu

Mexico, Brooklyn

Navy yard, New

York, April 23,

191i MNIV Neg

No. 87327

units of the Third Fleet at the mouth of Tokyo Bay. Afrer a
U.S. minesweeper cleared lhe harbor. l8q U.S ships. Lhe
USS New Mexico among them, entered the bay to be present
for the unconditionai surrender of the Japanese army on
September 2,1945.
After the ceremony and a flyover of U.S. Nar,y planes, on
September 6, \9+5, the New Mexico srarted home, with hun-
dreds of high-point, Pacific Theater vers on board. The New
Mexico stopped for five days at Pearl Harbor and then con-
tinued on, passing through the Panama Canal and arriving in
Boston on September 18, 1945.
A new command took over in mid-November, prepara-
tions were made for the well-deserved decommissioning of
the USS New Mexico, and, onJuly f 9, 1946, "The Queen"
was placed out of commission. On February 25,1947, the
University of New Mexico campus), or whole, as she can be
seen in photographs and paintings in the palace of the
Governors collection, the battle-scarred USS New Mexico is
remembered for decades of distinguished service. Hers is a
spectacular success story marked by six battle stars for out-
standing action 1n assaults on Luzon, Okinawa, the Grlbert
Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Mariana Islands, and the
Aleutian Islands. As namesakes go, the State New Mexico
could not be better represented. I
Author's note: Thepimary source maLerial t'or this article came Jrom the C. A.
Wancowizc Collectton (AC 335-p) and the Robert T. Drinan Diary (AC 319,p),
in co|\€ctions at the Fray Angelica Chdt,ez History Library, palace oJ the
Governors, Museum oJ New Mexico, Santa Fe , New Mextco. Sources tn the New
Mexico State Records Center and Archiyes also were used.

El Palacin 15