Bremerton (CA 130) - Naval Cruise Book

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SGMEWHERE oFF KOREA i7AuGusl ln lhe middle ol an Augusl allernoon I slood my walch and lhoughl how slowly lhe lime moved. Around me slood men who worked melhodically or simply looked oul across lhe walerloward lhe Korean hills a lew miles away. I knew how slowly lhe lime moved lor lhem loop il was on lheir laces. Now il was a iob almosl like any olher iobg like lhe milkman on his long daily roule, lhe clerk selling lhe lenlh pair ol shoes, lhe piece worker pulling slill anolher shall lo his lalhe. Like any iob lhal lakes lime and you are lamil- iar wilh. The guns lired and lired wilh a rhylhm ol lheir own, monolonous and conslanl. The beep beep beep ol lhe signal buzzer beloreilhe guns boomed was no more irrilaling or unusual lhan alarm clocks. Oul lhere lhe Korean coasl was as lamiliar as lhe rolling hills ol Michigan and lhe rugged mounlain range beyond like lhose ol Nevada and Colorado. Suwon Dan Lighlhouse al lhe norlh end ol lhe bombline mighl have been a slop lighl on a home lown slreel. Bul ol course il was nol always lhis way. ln lhe early days we were exciled and, as a ship, unlried.VEven lor velerans ol many Navy campaigns il was new. The lirsl day on lhe bombline il was, l suspecl, lor everyone a sudden and swill surprise when lhe huge eighl-inch guns wheeled oul and senl a whislling concenlralion ol dealh inlo lhe air. Perhaps lhal feeling ol awe in lhe lace ol deslruclion is always discovered and' rediscovered by men who enler war. For mosl ol us il was complelely new lo be lhere, lo be away lrom home, school, work, lamily and lriends, lhousands ol miles inlo lhe Pacilic, lacing lhe mounlains and bending every lacully loward deslruclion. When we shelled close lo shore and saw lhe resulls ol lhe blasling guns lhere on lhe clills, lhe plumes ol smoke rise up, brown and while, il was a surprise. We learned new names: Koio, Songiin, l-lungnam, Chongiin,.and we said lhem unlil lhey were lamiliar as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago. We learned whal a slrike was, lhal swill run along lhe coasl lo shell lowns, rail- roads, and lo supporl planes on bombing missions. Then al nighl on walch when lhe beaches became carnivals ol lighl lrom lhe morlar and machine gun llashes, we knew we'd come lo lhe cenler ol lhe slage.