Robert E. Thomlinson, USNR, who served on the staff of Rear Adm. Ralph A. Ofstie (see below), reflected, “which had been full of the usual Navy gripe up to that time, suddenly found itself…From that time on, the "Kitkun Bay" was in the thick of the fight and did her share…Of the ships I was on during the war, she was my favorite and always will be.”