Midway (CVA 41) - Naval Cruise Book

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P-140840Z FM: COMSEVENTHFLT TO: USS MIDWAY COMCARDIV 5 CVG 2 YOUR PERFORMANCE TODAY WAS OUTSTANDING X YOU HAVE LIVED UP TO YOUR REPUTATION AS THE OLD PRO X I AM PROUD TO NUMBER MYSELF AMONG THE FORMER COMMANDING OFFICERS OF MIDWAY AND PROUD TO HAVE YOU ALL IN THE SEVENTH FLEET X A HEARTY WELL DONE TO ALL HANDS X VADM KIVETTE P-141502Z FM: COM7THFLT TO: USS MIDWAY INFO: COMCARDIV 5 COMCARAIRGRU 2 HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO PASS FOLLOWING MSG TO CAPT J T BLACKBURN COMMANDING OFFICER USS MIDWAY VIA VADM KIVETTE COMSEVENTHFLT FROM PRESIDENT CHIANG KAI SHEK X PLEASE ACCEPT MY SINCERE THANKS FOR THE GRACIOUS HOSPITALITY EXTENDED TO ME AND THE SENIOR OFFICERS OF THE CHINESE ARMED FORCES WHILE VISITING YOUR SHIP TODAY X THE MAGNIFICENT PERFORMANCE AND VIGOROUS SPIRIT WE WITNESSED FULLY REFLECTED YOUR STATE OF COMBAT READINESS X PLEASE ALSO CONVEY MY APPRECIATION TO ALL THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF YOUR SHIP P-150240Z FM : CINCPACFLT TO: CTF77 USS MIDWAY YESTERDAYS OPERATION WAS ONE OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE X YOUR HARD WORK AND INTENSIVE TRAINING TO MAINTAIN COMBAT EFFECTIVE- NESS IN THIS IMPORTANT AREA WAS AMPLY DEMONSTRATED IN THE IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE OF ALL HANDS X WELL DONE X ADMIRAL H.G. HOPWOOD P-150508Z FM : COM7THFLT TO: COMCARDIV 5 INFO: USS MIDWAY COMCARAIRGRU 2 FOR RADM CLARKE X COMTAIWANDEFCOM US 141110Z IS READDRESSED WITH PLEASURE TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE DEMONSTRATION FOR PRESIDENT CHIANG KAI SHEK X YOUR PERFORMANCE YESTERDAY AS DESCRIBED BY THE PRESIDENT NEEDS NO GILDING FROM ME X I CAN ONLY ADD MY SINCERE THANKS AND APPRECIATION FOR THE SUPERIOR EXAMPLE OF TEAM WORK X VADM KIVETTE P-151200Z FM : USS MIDWAY TO: COM7THFLT INFO : CTF 77 FOR VADM KIVETTE X YOUR MESSAGES RE ACADEMY OPERATION GREATLY APPRECIATED BY ALL HANDS X I SHARE YOUR PLEASURE AND PRIDE IN THE RESULTS PRODUCED BY THE HARD WORK AND FIGHTING SPIRIT OF THE OFFICERS AND MEN I HAVE THE HONOR TO COMMAND X J T BLACKBURN v :

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On January 12, the MIDWAY dropped her mighty anchor in Hong Kong Harbor, and for seven days, crew members had a chance to visit one of the most exotic, fascinating ports in the Orient. The fabulous Tiger Balm Gardens are a must for the tourist, and much newly-purchased camera equipment got a work out in the gaudy splendor of the statues, pagodas, and figurines. The famed tramway ascending Victoria ' s summit offered a magnificent view of the harbor, and each day, hundreds of shutterbugs made the trip to the top. Hong Kong is justly famous to Navy men for the bargains found in the scores of shops lining the narrow streets. Going broke saving money seemed to be the object for all, and British wools and tweeds got a heavy play. Souvenir hunters had a holiday buying their last minute gifts for their families and friends back home. The British Crown Colony is a city of vivid contrasts. The utter squalor and poverty of the multitudes forced from the land to junks and sampans stands in marked comparison to the wealth and luxury of the homes bordering Repulse Bay. It is a constant wonderment for those who have known only the American way of life to imagine life as seen in the foul smelling colony of water-borne homes at Aberdeen. It is said that many of these unfortunate Chinese are born and then die never leaving their floating homes. Their meager existencejs scraped from the sea and from what can be borrowed, begged, or stolen. Stomachs that have known little crave little, and a birth or a death causes as much concern as a kitten ' s. As the last stronghold of the the free world on the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong is an increasingly important seaport, and although it has already played a major part in the history of the world, it promises to add new chapters in the future.