Mount Vernon (AP 22) - Naval Cruise Book

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AdverTnsemenTs call The Hawaiian lslands The Paradise oT The Pacific, and The.crew waTched wiTh eagerness The dim gray blur on fhe horizon change mTo colorful mounTains oT Oahu. Famed Diamond Head exciTed commenTs. The sweep of Waikiki Beach, The Royal Hawaiian hoTel, The shops and The residences shiTTed inTo view as The ship moved on Toward Pearl Harbor. Already pasT The Punch Bowl, The ship suddenly received The word, Dock in Honolulu. The usual greeTing of Aloha was missing. There were no bands To play, no leis were oliiered Tor sale. The business secTion of The ciTy was aTTracTive. The buildings were a varied archiTecTural sTyle, buT all were planned To keep inTeriors cool. Leaving The immediaTe business secTion, The change To poverTy was so abrupT ThaT iT was shocking. The orienTal secTion was even more shabby. FarTher ouT Toward Diamond Head, Waikiki Beach, The mecca oT wealThy TourisTs, conTained more elaboraTe homes and shops. ln The TransiTion area There were shops caTering To sailors Tilled wiTh cheap souvenirs. They were packed wiTh crowds ThaT did noT purchase. DisgusTed, The owners barked Their wares as The crowds looked bored and walked on inTo The sTreeTs. AT Waikiki Beach, everyone was disappoinTed in whaT was one of The Tamous beaches in The world. To keep Trom cuTTing Their TeeT on The coral washed up on The beach iT was necessary Tor The swimmers To wear sandals. However, The men had Their picTures Taken There in order To have The background oT Diamond Head. ln The shops along The beach road and on The sTreeTs The women wore red or whiTe hibiscus behind Their ears and in Their hair. RaTion- ing was unheard oT in The islands--excep+ for whiskey. The Royal Hawaiian hoTel, having been Turned over To The Navy, was enioyed by The men. The Tropical seTTing of The gardens, badminTon and Tennis courTs made playing more enjoyable. Near The Y.M.C.A. busses were loaded Tor The Pali pass and The oTher side oT The island. Up a winding road pasT palaTial mansions, by The Hawaiian WaTer Reservoir, by The upside down waTer Tall, Through a iungle, The bus suddenly came To an opening aT The Top oT The knife- like ridge ThaT bisecTed The island. The earTh seemed To drop away. Several hundred TeeT below, The Tloor of The valley sTreTched ouT To accommodaTe cane Tields, papaya groves, and banana planTaTions. Hairpin curves Took The bus down Through The valley and To The beach. The Beach USO provided a recreaTion cenTer wiTh dressing room Tacili- Ties. The surf was ideal Tor all Types oT waTer sporTsg shoes were noT necessary. The beach Tloor was smooTh and level. - Pearl Harbor, a large bay wiTh many coves, was Tilled wiTh acTiviTy as ships were repaired, reTueled, TiTTed ouT, and counTless oTher Tasks were compleTed necessary Tor keeping The vessels aT sea. RemnanTs of The Jap aTTack were sTill visible. A

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Nafure hid fhe sfern mounfains of fhe FIJI ISLANDS under a Iush bIanIce+ of undergrowfh and iungIe. Surrounding 'rhe shore Iine were Iong freach. erous coral reefs requiring experf navigafion of incoming ships. Here, fhe crew of fhe Mounf Vernon found an Army bivouac, a Naval Supply Base, and a hospifal-buf no cify. A few nafive hufs were scaf- fered aboufg a few Army fenfs doffed fhe area: several sforehouses in- dicafed some form of acfivify. Taking of phofographs was permiffed. Suddenly, many cameras ap- peared fhaf had nof been seen before. Everyone fried fo gef his picfure sfanding wifh 'Ihe Fuzzy-Wuzzy policemen. Wearing dark shirfs and pure whife scaIIoped Iava Iavas, fhe barefoof police creafed a sensafion. Pafienfs evacuafed from fhe advance baffle areas 'ro fhe Fiji hospifal were fransferred aboard. A ic s 'im Uh Fug...-