Brush (DD 745) - Naval Cruise Book

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STORY OF THE CRUISE The BRUSH departed Long Beach, California, on July 29, 1961-d6S'iiI'18'fi0I1, WESTPAC. Her first stop was Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, our fiftieth state. Here the crew had the opportunity to see Waikiki, Diamond Head and other famous points of interest. One of the most interesting stops was the International Market Place where exotic imports from the corners of the world were displayed. Many evenings were spent at Don the Beachcomberis, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Hawaiian Village and other equally fascinating clubs. Aloha shirts were the uniform-of-the-day. Recreational activities included swimming, surf-boarding, golfing, and jeepney sightseeing. The crew enjoyed divisional competition in softball while the officers often channeled their greatest efforts toward uOgg', hunting. Needless to say, all hands had a wonderful time in the land of sugar and pineapple. ' BRUSH arrived next in Sasebo, Japan. A whole new world appeared to those on their first cruise. Sasebo, the westernmost city in Japan, lies on the north-western tip of Kyushu and is one of the two major U.S. naval bases in Japan. The climate is similar to that of the East coast of the United States. The customs are quite different. In Japan, shoes are removed before entering a home, chopsticks are used in place of conventional silverware, and the exchanging of presentos is a traditional way of life. A large variety of activities were available to the crew. Hunting, fish- ing, and attending Sumo wrestling matches-the forerunner of Judo, were very popular as was touring to Nagasaki, Unzen, and Arita -- the picture spots of Kyushu. All too soon, BRUSH put to sea and commenced her most memorable portion of the cruise, north to KUSHIRO. In Kushiro the crew had the opportunity to study a Japanese city untainted by numerous WEST- PAC cruises. The people of Kushiro were able to meet the BRUSH, a floating cross-section of the United States. The result was catalytic. During three days of general visiting over twenty-three thousand guests came aboard. Ashore, the men of the BRUSH saw beautiful Akan National Park and the interesting town of Kushiro, itself. The ship's teams played basketball, softball, golf, volleyball, ping-pong and had pistol matches with area schools and Kushiro city teams. Ass always, 'Tresentosi' were exchanged. The BRUSH left Kushiro hoping to return. Soon, BRUSH was steaming into Yokosuka, Japan's largest Naval port. Yokosuka, nearby To- kyo and Yokohama form one of J apan's major industrial complexes. Several tours were arranged,

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STCRY 0F THE CRUISE fContinuedj the most popular being a day's visit to Tokyo. lt is almost impossible to describe the impact of the sights, sounds and smells of this, the largest of cities, on the newcomer. After BRUSH'S short stay in Yokosuka BRUSH proceeded south to Okinawa, one of the Ryukyu Island chain. Here at the home of the HTea-House of the August Moon the members of the crew were able to go on a fishing trip, have a few swim calls, golf and bowl. Also, they participated in a tiny bit of beer drinking. Fewer BRUSH personnel were run down because, in Okinawa, cars drive on the right side of the road. With sore bodies from all the activities ashore, the men returned to the BRUSH and headed for the next port of call, the pearl of the Orient - Hong Kong. Hong Kong is an international city where goods from all over the world arrive by airliner and Chinese Junk. A city of contrasts where the very rich and the unbelievably poor rub elbows. The days flewby in a whirlwind of sightseeing, shopping and tasting of exotic dishes. Too soon the BRUSH was on her way to Subic Bay, Philippines. Even though the month was November the thermometer wavered between eighty and ninety degrees. With such fine weather it was inevitable that swimming, fishing, water skiing and skin diving were the favorite sports, not to mention that small group of beer drinkers. A few of the men were able to go up to Manila and tour the famous San Miguel Brewery. A few representatives of the beer drinkers club were present and after a few hours of sampling it was agreed that uBrew is Best. A brief stop at Sasebo and then on to Kobe for Christmas. As could be expected quite a few long faces were soon as Christmas approached, but in many cases these were quickly dispelled when the BRUSH brought aboard a large number of Japanese orphans. It was hard to maintain a long face in front of all those upturned smiles. Again, many tours were available for all hands. Kyoto, Osaka, and the famous Takarazuka Girls Theatre were only an hour away by modern Japanese trains. From Kobe the BRUSH spent at safe and sane New Year's at sea and then revisited Sasebo and Okinawa. It sounds as though the BRUSI-lwas on an pleasure cruise. Most of her time in WESTPAC, how- ever, was spent at sea, maintaining ,her icity, traditional to the Navy, as a ready and willing defender of the free world. - -. BRUSH is BEST! tr , fr' 5 V .