Bremerton (CA 130) - Naval Cruise Book

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PusAN, KoREA I-liked To The Top oT a mounTain overlooking Pusan, Korea, Today IZ6 lvlayl. The ciTy is almosT circled by high ridges and nearly all oT Them are compleTely covered wiTh Ter- raged gardens, VegeTables, barley and rice are The only Things grown on These paTches, and They grow luxurianTly. They are all TerTilized wiTh nighT soil lhuman dung and urinel combined wiTh cow manure. This The naTives dump in large piTs l0xl0x4 TT. deep lrock lined Tanksl, sTir wiTh a long pole, leT dry and Then spread on The gardens. Small sTreams and springs Trickle in The ravines and are diverTed Tor irrigaTion oT The Terraced areas. They produce good crops, using all hand labor: and I presume rice is scyThed and Threshed by hand as machines could noT TuncTion on The sTeep inclines, Tor I saw many winnowing baskeTs in The quainT naTive shops as I passed. The rice is green, 4-5 TT. high now and in good head, and should be ready To harvesT in 4-5 weeks. IT we aTe Their IeaTy vegeTable crops we would have To cook Them well TirsT as They would all carry The germs oT dysenTery wiTh which human e.xcremenT here is Thoroughly innoculaxTed. , ' The Tish markeT aT The harbor edge was also in The iTinerary. They were cleaning, selling and salTing shark, snapper, halibuT, horse mackeral, Tuna, baby squid, clams and oTher shell Tish, seaweed, and many oTher marine gleanings whose names I did noT know. IT was all quiTe TragranT buT inTeresTing and enjoyable. Curiously shaped iunks wiTh large, square- rigged sails oT plaiTed maTs were skimming silenTly abouT The harbor. . OuTwardly The people appear healThy, muscular and very hardy, Though I had no chance during a Three-hour soiourn To geT any ideas on disease prevalence. The women and girls are unaTTracTive, buT I always geT an inner Thrill waTching The lined Taces oT The very old, weaThered and wrinkled, Tending small children, baking over Tiny charcoal ovens in The sTreeT, babbling in Their naTive Tongues. From Their inguisiTive glances and my reTinue oT waiTs, 'Twas plain To see ThaT I was by Tar The greaTer curiosiTy. - The Town iTselT is more like one oT our TronTier Towns, Though They do have a Trolley line and small overcrowded buses. AT The sTaTion was a small boy oT 8 or 9 playTully kick- ing a Tin can wiTh his good leg-The oTher leg was cuT oTT above The knee. .A Tew old rickeTy cars chug and snorT over The dusTy, rocky, narrow roads, blowing Their wheezy horns inTerminably. STrangely enough, Though, I saw no one run over. Along The ThoroughTares green scum clings Tenaciously along The open diTches, bub- bling wiTh Thick slime-These are The Tly-inTesTed open sewers carrying human Teces and urine and oTher sewage and garbage Trom The crowded shacks To wider Trenches. These in Turn enTer large sTorm drains 40 TT. wide and 20 TT. deep which Tlow inTo and poluTe The harbor waTer. These huge moaTs have sTeep walls oT rock wiTh mud boTToms, and These carry The collecTed sewage and aT Times The Tloods oT heavy rains. On The paTches oT dried mud -surrounded by slush and ooze Torming The Tloors oT These wide sewers is agmosaic oT Tiny shacks less Than one Third The size oT our one-car glxalnage. They are builT oT Tlimsy scrap packing boxes wiTh unTolded paper boxes Tor rooTs .ole Tamilies live in Them., cooking ouT-oT-doors. God knows where They go when The spring TorrenTs sweep The Tlimsy shelTers inTo The sea. hThey musT be Ted and cloThed and shelTered, given The baresT essenTials oT bread and a c ance-IusT a TighT1ng chance To beTTer Themselves so ThaT They can help each oTher. lvlulTiply These Tew by 800 million oT The diverse populaTions OT The world and iT will Telge nO+E.insTyein To TaThom ThaT The harvesT is greaT and The laborers Tew Nourish an sus ain T ese we musT do To survive. Else we will succumb To sinisTer Torces in The world Today. X

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FCRMOSA. JUNE-When we pulled inTo The porT oT Keelung, Formosa, we passed Bri.Tish and Chinese ships which saluTed us wiTh Their guns and which we in Turn saIuTed wiTh. ours. ThaT presaged The ceremonies oT The nexT Tew days. The primary mission oT our visiT To Formosa was diplomaTic in naTure, as we carried The Commander oT The U.S. SevenTh FleeT, Vice Admiral Clark, who would meeT wiTh The poliTical and miliTary leaders oT The NaTionalisT Chinese GovernmenT. We docked ThaT clear warm morning in an aTmosphere oT curiosiTy. DigniTaries and soldiers sTood on The pier looking up aT us, The U.S. Navy, The power and deTender oT The PaciTic. We in Turn in our crisp dress uniTorms lined The rails, geTTing our TirsT glimpse oT The island which held The men and hope oT a Tree China. AdiacenT To The pier was a barracks converTed Trom warehouses and a hosT oT Chinese soldiers sTood There in olive green uniTorms, Tall and erecT and powerTully lean, holding auTomaTic weapons and riTIes. They looked agile as caTs and I imagine There were a Tew sailors who waTched Them in all Their physical hardness wiTh envy! Some, Chinese generals came aboard along wiTh oTher oTFicials and Tor a Time The ship was alive wiTh sTricT and impressive Naval ceremony. BuT Then came liberTy and The Chinese had pre- pared well Tor our coming. There were a round oT parTies and recepTions Tor boTh oTTicers and enlisTed men. I guess mosT oT us goT acguainTed wiTh The Chinese drinking ToasT, gam- beh, which is a sudden, swiTT, and I mighT say vicious Torm oT boTToms-upl We aTe-Tor beTTer or worse-TradiTionaI Chinese Tood. NoT chop suey or oTher dishes we in America are Tamiliar wiTh, buT shark Tin soup, pigeon eggs, and whole pigeons wrapped in loTus leaves. 1 . I Tor one was guiTe impressed by The excellenT English which some oT The Chinese hosTs spoke. Ivlany oT Them had been educaTed in America. I meT one who wanTed To Talk oT noThing buT baseball and asked eagerly how The Dodgers were doing. I Took a rickshaw ride Through The ciTy oT Keelung. Believe me, I was relucTanT aT TirsT, because The rickshaw boy was so scrawny I Tigured he should be siTTing and I should be pulling. The ciTy is large and Teeming wiTh people and cluTTered wiTh shops where any- Thing Trom bamboo shooTs To beauTiTuI silks can be purchased. IT is very diTlerenT Trom Japan: noT so WesTernized or modern. I saw only a Tew men, who were probably inTluen- Tial businessmen, wearing suiTs and Ties. There were a loT oT men in The olive drab uniTorms hawking wares in The shops and Tilling Tields ouTside The ciTy-men oT The Chinese Army who work aT civilian occupaTions during The Time They're noT undergoing inTensive Training. IT was hoT in Formosa, Tropical in conTrasT To The TemperaTe climaTes oT Japan and Korea, and sudden violenT rainTall Touched The rolling hills inTo brilIianT emerald green. ThaTched-rooTed houses oT liTTle villages were Tucked beTween heavily Toliaged hills and ouTsideIIrhe dusTy Towns were waves oT green rice Tields ThaT moved under The wind like sea swe s. IT was preTTy and Tresh and green counTry, buT iT was diTTiculT To realize, riding There Through crowded liTTle villages where oxen and men did The work oT machines, ThaT This was one oT The world's viTal spoTs, a poliTical volcano which mighT aT any Time erupT and hurTle The peoples oT The earTh inTo ToTal war. I i . . , I