The Ships of the Father
By Patrick McCormick
June 2008

We wargamers get many different kinds of enjoyment out of our paper and cardboard battles and campaigns. We gain insight into history, match wits against opponents (and often against ourselves) and have the great pleasure of figuratively blowing the hell out of little bits of paper without actually shedding any blood. Sometimes a game or game series can provide a little extra by giving us a connection to our own past, family or personal.

I’ve experienced this in selected Civil War games. Union general Phil Sheridan is a relative — a “shirttail” relative as my father called him, just barely clinging to the branches of the family tree — and over my thirty-plus years of wargaming I’ve commanded Little Phil’s minions in many a contest; and sometimes even Phil himself when represented by his own individual counter. In a recent multi-player E-mail game I even had the chance to issue orders and “converse” with other “leaders” while occupying the role of Philip Sheridan at Stones River.

But Sheridan is over a hundred years, and several family iterations, removed from me. 119694_avalanche Press’s Second World War at Sea games, specifically Leyte Gulf and Bismarck, connect in an ephemeral yet very real way to my own long-deceased father.

I come by my interest in history, and thus in wargaming, honestly. Dad was a history buff (he was actually a voracious student of a wide and eclectic variety of subjects, of which history was a major one). Thus, when my interests began to develop in these directions, they had a ready-made audience. And in fact my father was my earliest wargaming opponent.

	An F8F “Bearcat” lands on USS Tarawa in 1948.

He was also a veteran of the Navy, having just missed active combat duty at the end of the Second World War. It’s a shame SWWAS wasn’t around when Dad was, because the series contains beautiful one-inch counters that approximately represent the four aircraft carriers he flew off of in his Navy career. I say “approximately” because only one of the four ships is actually depicted, and that in an earlier configuration. The other three are not specifically included in the series, but have sisters in Leyte Gulf. In particular, I think he would have loved Leyte.

Frank P. McCormick joined the Navy in summer 1943, at age 17. He went into the pilot training program, but by this time there was a plentiful supply of recruits and no need to rush them, and it was not until early 1946 that he had accumulated the necessary flight hours to begin aircraft carrier qualification. Fortunately, we still have his 1946 Esquire date book, with calendar entries from late 1945 to early 1947 that cover his sojourns aboard the ships in question.

In June 1946, flying the F6F-5 Hellcat out of Pensacola, he made six landings aboard the Ranger (CV-4), the first ship in U.S. history designed as a carrier from the keel up. This game piece is part of the “neutral” United States arsenal in Bismarck. The counter is not an exact fit, because later in the war she was refitted with 24 (6x4) 40mm and 52 (52x1) 20mm anti-aircraft guns. My guess is the counter for Ranger ’44 would be identical to that of the early-war version, save for an AA increase to perhaps 5 or 6. Nonetheless the Bismarck unit depicts the same hull my father first landed upon.

In San Diego at the end of the following month, Dad made seven traps on the Essex-class carrier Tarawa (CV-40). She does not appear in the series, not having reached the Pacific in time for combat. But she has plenty of sisters in Leyte. Closest to her in number is Shangri-La (CV-38), which has the added bonus of being a ship that Ensign McCormick almost shipped out on. He was assigned to her in late August 1946 but his orders were changed a week later.

Frank McCormick, second from left in the front row, with other trainees at NAS San Diego, circa 1945.

After spending time at various land bases (including a stint in a ferry squadron), in early January 1947 Dad flew a few “hops” aboard another Essex carrier, Boxer (CV-21.) He described one of these landings as “hot as a fox and too fast in groove” but the next day’s as “better.” In game terms, Boxer is identical to, and one hull number removed from, Bennington (CV-20).

Finally, for a little over a month from mid-February to mid-March 1947, my father embarked on Bairoko (CVE-115) for a cruise to Hawaii and back. After experiencing the majestic Essex boats, tiny Bairoko must have seemed a disappointing berth to Dad, because he characterized the vessel as “Strictly a _____.” (I don’t know what the precise meaning of the dash was, but it can’t have been good!) Still, he seems to have enjoyed his five or so weeks aboard. Bairoko has two sisters in Leyte Gulf, Block Island (CVE-106) and Gilbert Islands (CVE-107.)

Dad’s been gone for over 28 years now, but he lives on in memories, stories, photographs — and now in SWWAS ship counters. You can download Tarawa, Bairoko and Boxer here.

Click here to order Leyte Gulf now.