John Q Roberts (APD 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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llllrl ll Illll Illlllll 'lllllll llllll Illulll 'I Il F IllllllllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIL.....II..II:::..IIIll..lllIl..:!!:..Il.....:!IIn..nIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII + IAPAN ' Before we had a chance to wonder where our next assignment would take us, we were once again on our way to Iapan. This time, as escort to thirty LST's and one LCFF, were bound for Otaru, Hokkaido, Iapan, a-distance of about 2500 miles. It was a long, slow, and tedious journey, with little to break the monotony except the fringes of a storm off Okinawa. During our passage through the Tsugaru Straits, which had been heavily mined by the Iapanese and our own B-29's, we sighted and destroyed by gun- fire our first mine. Gun No. 41 placed the telling shot. Before long another mine was sighted, and with very little time wasted, Gun No. 41 scored again! After twelve days at sea, we reached Otaru. From our anchorage, the city appeared to be a picturesque place. The quaint little dwellings, the intricate rice terraces, and the strange temples of their religion were a pretty sight. Much was added to the beauty of the place by the light snow that fell during our stay. However, we soon revised our opinion of Otaru. On our first liberty we discovered that the streets were paved with mud, the dwellings that looked so quaint from a distance were really miserable hovels, and about the whole place was a pungent odor which we later learned was characteristic of all Iapanese cities. Everywhere we were pursued by the local citizens, all of whom, it seemed, wanted to buy American Cigaretto. After a short stay in Otaru, we escorted a portion of the LST flotilla to Hok- odate, in the Tsugaro Straits. At Hokodate we found one of the best har- bors in the world, and one of the most modern of Iapanese cities. After com- pleting this mission, we returned to Otaru, and from there escorted the re- mainder of the LST flotilla to Tokyo Bay. From Tokyo Bay we were ordered to Nagoya for HECP duty. Upon our arrival in Nagoya early in November, we found that the natives in that area had ceased hostilities only a few days before. The city of Nagoya was the home of the well-known Mitsubishi airplane. In eliminating the aircraft fac- tory, our airmen had destroyed half of the city. We were among the first ships to enter the harbor, and so were able to obtain some interesting and valuable souvenirs from the ruins. It seemed ironic that we should find many

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I I l. I I I I I I I I I I I I II I I I I I I I I I I I I I QI l I I I I I 2 I ' I I I : I I I I I I I I 'I ,,,, It was at the termination of this epidemic that the first news- of the Iapa- nese Government's suit for peace arrived. Leyte Gulf saw -a tremendous and spectacular celebration that night the air was filled with whistles, sirens, bells, searchlights, and pyrotechnics of every kind and description. Two days after the celebration we started on a sea voyage as escort for several battle- ships and cruisers bound for Okinawa. Three days out of Leyte we were diverted- to Manila. As the fates' would have it we didn't make Manila either, for our -ordersrwere again changed directing us to proceed to Batangas Bay, about 50 miles south of Manila. As we steamed into Batangas Bay there were spread out before us some thirty large troop and cargo transports, later identified as Task Force 33, of which we became an integral part. We were very delighted to learn that we were to be one of the escorts for this mighty task force from ,Batangas Bay to Tokyo, Iapan. Task Force thirty- three was one of the first large occupation units to arrive in Iapan. I 'Once again our mission was not to be completed. After several days at sea we. received orders diverting us to Okinawa, where we were to load and transport to Tokyo the newly assigned Tokyo Port Director and his staff. This was afmemorable journey since we travelled at flank speed all the way. We arrived in Tokyo Bay on the afternoon of September lst, a day before the surrender, terms were signed. We steamed up the channel, mindful of mines and .anchored closer to f Tokyo than any other ship in the harbor. Not long afterwards it became 'necessary to have some repair work done on our boilers. We went alongside the repair ship, Delta, and for nine days scraped and painted, and had a general field day while the repairs were be- I ing completed. x .Not long after our availability was- up, we were assigned to Transport Squadron 24, as escort. This duty took us back to Port Apra, Guam. Before we reached Guam, however, one of the transports broke down and we took her in tow. I We arrived on September twenty-fourth, and departed the next day for our ihome port, San Pedro Bay, Leyte, now affectionately known as dysen- tery'stra1ts. . IOur'disappointment'on returning was not nearly so great when we had received aboard several weeks back mail.

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IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllfflllffllfflIEEEEEIIiiilfiiilIIIEEEEZIIIIfiililIiiiYfiHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Illllllllllllllll American made tools and instruments which had been -used to manufac- ture of our' enemy's most formidable machines of war. After a short rest in port we were sent out to our Harbor Entrance Con- trol Post. Our task was to patrol the entrance to Ise Wan, the approach to Nagoya Harbor. We were to pass charts and entrance instructions to all incoming ships, and send reports by radio to the Port Director on all ship movements. We made two such patrols at Nagoya, each of a week's dura- tion. After our second patrol, our commanding officer, Lieutenant Comman- der Bavier, was ordered back to the United States for separation from the naval service. On the seventeenth of November, Lieutenant Gross, then our executive officer, relieved Captain Bauier of his command, while Lieutenant O'Donnell succeeded Mr. Gross as executive officer. At this time the Roberts got underway again, this time for an insignificant place in southern Honshu called Hiro Wan, for more HECP duty. Ourrouting to Hiro Wan took us through Bungo' Suido, a narrow, con- gested passage between Shikoku and Kyushu. The passage is ninety miles long, and filled with small islands, rocks, reefs, and treacherous currents. It was not yet completely free of mines. The'islands of Bungo Suido were