I've seen several references to a letter posted on the board of a US transport ship with this text:

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A MESSAGE OF THANKS

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FROM: MARINES ABOARD THE USS REPULSIVE

TO OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE USS REPULSIVE 1

. IT GIVES US ENJOYMENT TO EXTEND OUR THANKS TO MEMBERS OF THE CREW FOR THEIR KIND AND CONSIDERATE TREATMENT DURING THIS CRUISE.

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2. WE NON-COMBATANTS REALIZE THAT THE BRAVE AND STALWART MEMBERS OF THE CREW ARE WINNING THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC. YOU NAVY PEOPLE EVEN GO WITHIN TEN MILES OF A JAPANESE ISLAND, THEREBY RISKING YOUR PRECIOUS LIVES. HOW COURAGEOUS YOU ARE! HOW OUR PILES BLEED FOR YOU.

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3. BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS DURING THIS VOYAGE IT IS OUR HEARTFELT WISH THAT: A. YOU RECEIVE A JAP TORPEDO AFTER DEBARKATION OF ALL MARINES. B. THE CREW OF THE USS REPUGNANT ARE STRANDED ON THE BEACH WHERE WE MAY REPAY IN SOME MEASURE THE GOOD FELLOWSHIP EXTENDED BY YOU DURING THE VOYAGE

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4. IN CONCLUSION WE MARINES WISH TO SAY TO ALL YOU DEAR, DEAR BOYS IN THE NAVY: "UP YOURS!"

Now-i'm assuming that the USS Repulsive mentioned here, wasn't the actual ship name, and was rather an insulting reference to the ACTUAL ship name. Whoever, while i can find several references to the letter itself, i can't find anything about what ship the letter was actually posted on. It seems that the letter was posted on a transport bound for Peleliu-i've tried coming up with a list of transports involved, but so far haven't found any actual lists anywhere.

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Mainly, what i'm interested in are the circumstances leading to the letter-what did the sailors do? Was behavior like that common? What, if any, reactions did it receive, and what changes arose from those?