The 370th Engineer Amphibious Assault Regiment had its home base at Fort Sherman, Panama Canal and it was the site of the Jungle warfare training center. I had been trained as a morse operator and I joined the unit in Panama during late January 1952 to receive small boat operations training.
After training we were sent to Fort Story Virginia and Little Creek Virginia for further training. Sometime in May 1952 we boarded the LSD 15 Shadwell at Hampton Roads Virginia, and were informed that we would be on temporary duty with the US Navy in regards to resupply operations in northern areas.
Our boats LCM's were to be used to ferry the needed supplies and equipment to shore from other merchant ships that would meet with us. The Shadwell was capable of harboring 18 LCM's within it's welldeck. The rear of the ship could be flooded to permit exit and entry for the LCM's and it was large enough to allow us to live within the confines of the ship while not on duty.
It took us around eight days to arrive at Narsarssuack Greenland. We remained in the harbor for another three days for reasons unknown to me. We eventually proceeded to the shores of Labrador in a very large convoy of ships whom soon left us departing for other areas. The facilities at Thule were being constructed at that time and it is safe to assume that there was a need for supplies at Thule. I was only an E3 at the time so I was not privy to very much information.
None of us really had any idea where we were at and we never had access to any maps of the area. We did enter a very large inlet about 800 meters wide, and about 1 Km in length, surrounded by mountains. We simply refered to the place as Cape Chidley. Thinking back, I would estimate that we arrived at the Cape Chidley location in early June 1952 and we were in position until late October or early November 1952 when it was apparent that ice would soon block the inlets entrance. So there we were - for approximately five months? You are, no doubt, wondering what took place during this period of time?
The area was free of any activity when we arrived. One could say that the area was "virgin" in appearance. There was no visible evidence of trails, roads or grading by construction. There were no supplies or equipment within the whole area, and it appeared that we were the first ones other than the Inuit to step ashore.
We anchored within the inlet close to it's SW shore, which comprised of a small sandy beach in between all the rocks on either side. To the left of the sandy spit there was a small Inuit village comprised of about 15 people. We were cautioned not to bother with them or have contact with them under any and all circumstances. I guess this was an ideal location for them. The inlet had several pods of whales that seemed to enjoy bumping into either side of our boats as we ferried back and forth. The inlet also had massive schools of cod and other fish which we found could be caught with just a simple hook and no bait.
The inlet was a very deep water type, being in excess in some places of 80 fathoms. We had one of our boats capsize due to improper loading of steel rods. For some reason these rods were held in with steel cables and turnbuckles. When it capsized it immediately sank in the area of the new shelf landing place and took with it one of our engine men whom became trapped within the engine room. The Navy pinged the depth at 80 fathoms and rescue was out of the question. Needless to say no other personnel sought the warm confines of the engine room after that.
The merchant ships arrived very soon after and we began ferrying 55 gallon drums of diesel oil to the beach where they were stacked up in pyramid fashion for about twenty feet in height. I don't recall how many barrels we deposited on that beach but it was massive. On the SSE side of the inlet down about 400 meters from the sandy beach, another landing site was being prepared by the UDT personnel of the ship. The shelf of rocks had to be blown out to permit our bringing the LCM's to it's edge. From there a road was constructed with one of our bulldozers leading up onto a bluff that had a flat surface. We deposited more diesel oil up there along with concrete, steel rods, lumber, and many large wooden crates of unknown contents.
This type of work continued on six days per week, 24 hours per day, with Sunday off for church services aboard the vessel, and then a walk on the SSE bluff.
I can make one claim - something that the crew that visited Chidley in October 1951 can not claim. I, and most of the others on board, did physically get to shore. We took turns working on the LCM's one day on shore assisting with off loading, then one day on the boats. I initially worked on the South end shore, by the Inuit family. This site was directly on the shore, and was quite crowded with diesel drums, stacked up for perhaps 15 to 20 feet, and sand bags piled up also about 15 feet. The Inuit family had to move to the extreme Western end to get away from our activities. The slope begining upwards to the mountain towards the South from the beach side was quite steep, with the beach site not being very wide in depth to support all the activity. The second site was established then, about 1/4 mile from the main beach, on the East side. It would have been a very difficult hike, perhaps impossible from the South beach to the East landing site, and was only negotiated via boat.
There was no way to determine where the eventual radar station was going to be located based on the way that the equipment and supplies which were offloaded were stored on the beach. The main interest was "speed" in getting as much of the materials and equipment off loaded from ship to shore in the fastest possible manner. Everything that came in on the East site was trucked up to the first landing, only a distance of about 200 meters or so. We had received several very large trucks with their drivers, and generator personnel to assist in bringing their loads up to the first slope. They were from some Port Company at Goose Bay. The generators were used for night time "lighting" as off loading continued on 24 hours per day.
One of our coxswains did take his boat around to the left of the inlet entrance. He had some Navy brass with him as well as some Army engineer types. They were headed NNW - I think up to Killinek. I did over hear when they came back that it was perhaps a better site, and that our site was simply too small to accord all the off loading.
It was actually becoming a problem in where to store things that were coming ashore. We only had one medium sized Caterpillar Track to accomplish the two simple roads. We also had two cranes - one small, and the other large. This was a draw back in applying speed to off loading - as in the case of the sand bags which all had to be off loaded by individual men. That for us turned into a nightmare. The Navy sent some of their men to assist us and this almost caused a rebellion after about a week. Nerves and stamina was at their ends, and some fist fights broke out. The Navy then pulled their people back to the ship.
Sometimes a merchant ship was delayed, and didn't arrive on time. In this case, our time was spent either on the Navy ship where we slept and messed, or at shores edge fishing or relaxing. There now wasn't enough room for a softball game, but we had a football which we passed around to each other. One became taxed in trying to find some way in which to amuse ones self.
I have drawn a sketch of the Eastern off loading site, which may give a better understanding or idea of that site. I am no artist.
My personal opinion of the whole affair is that whomever selected our unit, had made a gross mistake. Although having an Engineer title, we only had one small caterpillar track. Our sole existence was to ferry troops to a shore line. What was needed was an Engineer construction Battalion, or a Navy SeaBEE Battalion. I can imagin the red faces in Washington.
My impression as to what was going to take place was far from the construction of a radar site. I thought that the area was simply going to be used as a storage site - and a bad one at that. But when mention was made of blasting tunnels, that appeared to have some merit. For all we knew they could have been constructing another Disney Land.
It would have been in late September or early October when a civilian complement arrived at Cape Chidley. They immediately started to construct small buildings in which to begin their operations. Looking back, and having had the opportunity to read the detail on this web site, I would guess that this group was an advance party of the Fraser Brace Company. Fraser Brace had been contracted to physically construct the radar station at site N-30. This group did not appear to be very large in number and it comprised a couple of electricians and a number of carpenters. I did briefly talk with a demolitions man - who may have been a French speaking Canadian. He indicated that they were going to blast some tunnels (caves perhaps?) some of which would be used to store equipment. We had little contact with the civillian group as both of our groups had been instructed to stay away from each other. I have no idea what they used their hastily constructed buildings for. I do know that one was for a Mess Hall, as we could sample its aroma floating up to our site with the diesel drums. It is interesting to note that all activity on shore was easily visible from the ships in the inlet.
There was another hut built on the site where the Inuit family had been living since they had moved to the other end. This was on the main South beach where we first landed. It might have been for contract heads or supervisors. The civilian force appeared awfully small for the job ahead, in my estimation.
We didn't hear any gossip other than what I heard from the demolitions man. He was rather closed mouth and the whole affair gave an aura of secrecy, since every time we asked a Navy Type as to our location we would be given a different answer. My conversation with the demolitions man was cut short by a Navy radio man whom had a portable set at our location at the East site, and I was told to not have contact with the civilians.
A flying boat arrived one day with what I think was Morovian Missionary's. They were attired in grey monk robes likened to the ones worn by the Jesuits and were attempting to have the local Inuits moved from that location. We departed sometime in late October or early November 1952, and so did the Inuits.
To the best of my knowledge, when we left Cape Chidley, everything was left as described near the beaches. Perhaps things may have been moved by the civillian complement but I don't think that they could have accomplished this by themselves.
Our ship, the Shadwell, was now replaced with the LSD Lindenwald, and depositied us at Goose Bay Labrador where we errected a tent city, and began the same type of operations all over gain in re-supplying the Goose Bay Air Base.
I can think of a few reasons why there was a change in the location of site from Cape Chidley to Resolution Island. One was that there were problems with the tide. The tide could suddenly drop in excess of 200 meters in a very short period of time. Another reason may have been an environmental issue since the bay seemed to function like a sanctuary for the pods of whales. Another possible reason is that the winds from the north were indeed ferocious - to the extent that the Shadwell lost one of its anchors one night.
Additional Comments by Frank Kelson - 18 April 2002
I was informed sometime in 1974 about the site being moved - from the Cape Childley area to Resolution Island. This came from an old WWII ex Navy man that was a coxswain on one of our boats. We were both very remorseful about all the hard labor that went into establishing the beach at Cape Childey. All for naught. We both thought that perhaps it was moved, because of the tide at that inlet. It was very fast when it receded, and amounted to an appreciable distance which I cannot recall. I remember many of our boats getting caught, and being left high and dry until the tide came back in. It was a major problem. The wind was also a problem and it was ferocious to say the least. It was bad enough to make the anchor chain part on the Lindenwald lose it's anchor. It had to return back to St. Johns for repairs.
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