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Page 43 text:
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Qu vi '19 A Q l l l C V..- L.. .... .--,.,.. . . XN,. . . .. . . , V' a za My 1, 2, and 3. Local Transportation. 4. The Raffles Hotel 5 Old Steamshlp Landrng now Fleet Landing. 6. Waterfront A C305
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Page 42 text:
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CROSSROADS OF THE WORLD - Singapore - After three mon-ths at Samar, our Brisbane cargo was transferred to UNRRA, and we were directed to deliver it to Piraeus, Greece. Thus began the second half of our journey -, after a brief intermission. Singapore has long been known as an intriguing city of mystery and is said to be the crossroads of the world. The trip from Samar had given us a week's time to speculate on these possibilities and the crew of the Marquette was eager to go ashore to investigate this city of dark secrets. From the harbor, Singapore looked most inviting with its tall, modern buildings. A pale smoke was hanging over the metropolis, shrouding its existence in a gray veil on that lazy Sunday afternoon. The harbor looked quite calm and peaceful, and there were countless ships dotting the anchorages with listless streams of smoke trailing from the stacks of most of them. An occasional Chinese junk, its reflection mirrored by the calm water, enhanced the oriental atmosphere. The British transports, lo-aded with troops engaged in the task of occupation, were the only sign of activity. Almost as soon as we anchored, the gig departed from the ship to obtain, among other things, information on that item of universal interest, liberty. It soon returned with the disappointing announcement, No liberty , because of the recent polio epidemic. We had traveled half way around the world hoping, many of us much longer than just a few weeks, to see Singapore, and now the visit was impossible. The next morning quite a drop in the crew's spirit was clearly evident. The Captain tried once more to get liberty for us and this time was successful. In the brief time that remained before sailing, we had to see Singapore. To most people, two hours would be considered an absurdly short period for a tour of a strange, foreign city. A sailor always finds a way and we made the most of the two hours granted us. Everybody in the well deck , chanted the coxswain over and over again as the Mar- quette boys, clad in traditional Navy white, scampered down the gangway into the waiting VP. The 0.0.D.'s voice was heard: Make the landing, discharge the liberty party, and return to the ship immediately. Away from the ship sped the VP' with its happy, impatient, and Pacific-tanned cargo, in thr-ough the harbor of Singapore. The closer the boat came to this strange city, the louder became the voices, the more exuberant became its occupants. Finally, after a few minutes which seemed like hours, we reached the landing. This was Singapore. What did it hold for us - what mystery lay beyond. On to the pier swarmed the sailors, like a white flag unfurling itself with a snap into the avenues beyond. Off we went, in different directions with different ideas, all groups met by mobs of native merchants with the fixed intentions of selling something to the American Navy. . Mista, japanese money - one d-ollah , Mista, precious stones - fifty dollahn, Mista, rickshaw ride, - M1s.ta . What a way to be greeted! But this was Singapore, and indica- tlve of thelf Way Of life and most Of all, Wh0 Could Say what would happen if we hit the right man among this throng? Most of us hired a rickshavv, and mgst of Us also thought we out-bargained the rickshaw-boys., Thr-ough the narrow streets and boulevards Way and that, Seeing things that in the future will often be remembered. The cobbled streets were thickly lined on either side by people of all classes, creeds, and colors, all in we went, up one and down another, this C297
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Page 44 text:
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Lil 'i i ,, ,. .a ..,,- .,.,i...... 4.1 .M 3 Z pa 2 4. l ,. ig: l l l, l. ,lg ,, l 5 1 I . l if ft, l l 4 l s 2 + I I fl E ll 1 1 l li 3 li 4. l 1 l 2 i i f A . 3 M?- 1,3 ati' f, ,. Fi' ,M 5. hh lil. . , .t l, f it 2, ,' it ll' l if if if I 1 4 tl Eli 1 1 ' the process of their day's work. There were old men with white beards, long cloaks, and red turbans, strolling casually through a side street, its air filled with pungent odors. Women carried their children on their backs as they hobbled home after the day's market- ing. The tall Malayan policeman with his Van-Dyke beard and colorful array of high brown boots, purple turban, and pants with a yellow stripe, reminded us of characters out of the Arabian Nights. Some remember the shaven-headed Moro with powerful biceps enclosed by a steel band and wearing only a pair of flimsy shorts made of cheesecloth, perhaps a descendant of one of the Forty Tlziefves of Ali Baba? day. We saw an old crippled man in the streets asking for alms, and some threw him money as we hurried past. On and on we went, down into the bowels of Singapore, further into its slums. We skirted every area in the dregs of this city of mystery, the brothels, the bootlegging section, and the black market, each with its own distinctive sights, sounds, and odors. Interesting? Yes, Pleasant? For some, perhaps, others, no. Nevertheless we can say we saw many aspects of Singapore. As always in large cities, there existsuthat seemingly uncompromisable contrast between the new and the old, the clean, modern sections and the unspeakably filthy. Thus it was in Singapore, out of the darkness and poverty of the slums we turned, to find a part of Singapore with tall modern buildings and beautiful parks and temples. We saw spacious boulevards wigh smooth, green lawns dotted with inlaid stonesvused as walks. There, in Singapore, was the seat of the British Empire in Malaya. We saw the large, sometimes graceful, sometimes heavy and squat, white-marble government buildings. In a moment of illusion it reminded us of many a capital city in the states. Here and there, we saw a rich Malayan walking wigh his Servant, both clad luxuriously in the colorful comb-ination of clothes often found in this area. There were high Mosques that for many centuries have stood and seen people of all races and armies of all the world defuge their city. If they could only speak, what a kalaidescope of history they would reveal. We saw little in our allotted time of two hours. As a rememberance we could buy jewels, souvenir money, pictures, and the like. Yet there is more to Singapore than that, more than three hours liberty can divulge. We sensed it when we absorbed a little of the empire grandeur, the mixture of races, the rush of side- walk business, the strange sights of the East, and the beauty that were placed on a discon- certing background of dissipation and poverty that this city reveals to its visitors. With vivid memories and imagination fired, we turned our backs on Singapore and retraced our steps to the small boats for the trip back to the ship. Singapore was not the city of intrigue that we had learned of in books or movies. There were beautiful buildings and crowded back districts, but there was little mystery. A city held by the Japanese during the war can quickly lose its beauty and distinctive character. Not yet had there been time to complete the job of cleaning and reestablishing Singapore. Our Visit was not as we expected, but it was another unique experiemge which Cgmeg Once in a lifetime. - C31D
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