Manchester (CL 83) - Naval Cruise Book

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YES, HONG KONG - - :•;• ' : ' : .

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An emergency order to expedite search for a crashed seaplane south of Formosa brought TF 72 out in a hurry. The Manchester departed so quickly that her boats and several men who had been on Shore Patrol were left behind. As we steamed further south on a search that later proved to be in vain, we encountered another typhoon, which we fondly remember by the name, Clara . 1 Clara and the Manchester tangle. G? Voice radio reports from the destroyers revealed that the small ships were taking a beating in the increasing swells and it was soon evident that TF 72 would have to put in at the nearest port in order to evade Clara ' s full force. The nearest usable port was Hong Kong . . .

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Hong Kong has always played an impor- tant part in world events. Less than 100 years ago its harbor was a home port for East Indies pirates, and after the Jap- anese took it over at the start of World War II it was used as a major stepping stone in their supply lines to the Malay Peninsula and South Pacific. Once again the city was preparing to step into world headlines, and once again wary foreigners — Americans and Europeans — were keeping close tabs on trans- Pacific flight schedules. Although Hong Kong was a long way from the actual fighting in Korea, British tommies had set up an armed barrier be- tween their New Territories and Com- munist China. But Hong Kong was still an open city. Communists and people of many other political attitudes shared its streets and alleys. When we went ashore during a six-day recreation period gi by the Seventh Fleet Commander, we saw bearded Indians mingling with the British, Chinese, Americans, White Rus- sians, and a sprinkling of nationalities from nearly every corner of the earth. Hong Kong to us meant the first big city we had seen since Honolulu, with its mod- ern stores and night clubs. There was little evidence of the Japs ' five-year occu- pation, but in the hills around the city we could see ruined mansions where Chinese freebooters had pillaged and stolen dur- ing the chaos just before the Japs took over. Our first welcomer: The (an nd her git her business in the typical Hong K and uniforms for each of her | A bri ht of her prospective client, in this case the silver staff.