Pine Island (AV 12) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 88 text:

through,the'narrovv'alleys, followed by a hundred or so relatives and friends moaning a vveirdchant- ing tune. Thetomb is a large masonry structure -resembling the,Womb,- and- is 'popularly called Womb Tombs of which .there are 35,000 scattered around Okinawa. The families will go into .debt for many generations in order to have a scrumptuous resting place, presumably there is 'a superstition that they Will bettreated a little better in the' other World. The grandsons and great- grandsonsz are expected to pay off this debt, What alegacyto inheritlp 5 Well getting back to the procession..It groups - around the small courtyard in front of the tomb and here the body is removed. from the hearse,' While at group of 'men are busily lremoving the ,heavy marble slab sealing up the opening. Then the body is passed through the opening and set on a large stone pedestalin the middle' of the room, it will be placed in the exact same position as it came into this life at birth. Symbolizing a return to the other World exactly as he came into. this one. The opening is then' resealedand- the family and friends will have a feast, complete with music and food 'right out in front of the tomb.' Theyare celebrating his safe return to the other world. Seems funny to us doesn't it? After the body has been in the tomb for at least six months it is then the duty of the oldest 'unmarried daughter, and if there are no ' daughters then' it falls upon the I nearest -and oldest unmarried female relative, to enter the tomb and remqvie the remaining flesh from the bones and ,after cleaning the bones they are then placed in large urns and set on shelves around the interior of the tomb. 'What aplife these girls lead. Always Working in the fields and doing all the hard work 'while -.the men and 'boys play. Possibly this isthe reason why all the girls get married ,at the tender young age of twelve to escaepetbat chore in the tomb. ' s 1 V B. M. Stein, LIT3 'zeal' l

Page 87 text:

HEY! How would you like a weekend pass in Okinawa? Don't ask a doggie that, because to him Okinawa is just another ,spot on the map, and a mighty small one at thatg But to the men on the Pine Island, Okinawa was found to be a Post intriguing place, one with a definite mean- mg' 3 hiSf0fY in culture, customs and the Place where the US Fleet came to stay as the Japanese Kamikaze planes found out. From the first day, the men from the Pine Island had found their way around the island discovering all the necessary activities for. a successful liberty. It 'was found without too much effort that the US Army had set up many recreational facilities at all the major sites in Okinawa fordancing, Amovies, stage shows and excellent eating places with delicious food. The Stateside Club was immediately invaded by, the Chief Petty Officers of the good Ole Pine Apple Maru as their base of operations for wine, - - - - - - and song. Their greatest problem was in trying to find a nice quiet spot in order to have that nicet tall cool drink without being bothered by the many pretty and Vivacious young American girls that were working with the Administration Section of the Occupational Government, At all times, at any of the many clubs, an excellent band of Filippino musicians would be -holding forth with very good dance music. Then 3, 313. ,f .- ' 'f eip?-23321535 'f:'ff32FfE-'IE - '- ' - r H ' 2: . ' t'5:1:fg5:,4g:,-'f,2i::2231, , ada. , ' , , ff.. - - L--y:.f1f . . f 4 3:-H .g,..l4.i:.'-.y11:.:., ,g1,:,.f,,f:,. there were the' privileged few, who were always able to date some sweet young girl from back home and who were residing in Okinawa. Trav- elling a little further from the Rycom area you would arrive at the Castle Terrace Club affording a most wonderful view of a beautiful valley that a few years back was being savagely fought ,over by our gallant forces against the deeply dug-in Japs. Here, at this club one could secure all the comforts of any club in the States. Driving over to Naha, that is if you were fortunate to know some one with wheels, you would see a few of the Pine Islanders really celebrating at many of the Enlisted Men's Clubs. Here is Where a man could have a glorious time and not worry about the cares of the world. i Softball was the favorite pastime for the men of AV-12. We played many a hard-fought game on a small but good field and the many foul balls that were hitfailed to promote good feelings between the Americans and the native women busily cultivating the nice gardens adjacent to the ball field, for in retrieving the ball a few of the carefully grown plants would undoubtably take a beating. ' A peculiar custom of the native Okinawans was the ceremonial funeral processions carrying a deceased member of the village to his last resting place. The body was placed in a carved and gilded hearse carried on the shoulders of 'four men,

Page 89 text:

PESCADCRES I . The islands were used long ago by the pi- rates that infested the waters in the Forrnosan Straits, they operated large swift junks and would overtake the merchant ships and kill the passengers and crew and take the vessel and its cargo back to the Pescadores Islands. The gold and silver were melted down into block forms and stored 1n the many caves on the 1slands along w1th the bolts of silk and other valuable 1tems Later the Japanese forces occupied these 1slands and used these caves to store their supplies and also as air ra1d shelters to hide from the devas tating raids of our carrier planes during World War II The Japanese made many changes to the islands and the most prominent was in changing the physical features of the islands from hills and mountains to a table top plateau appearance. This was accomplished by employing many la- borers carrying dirt and rocks in baskets slung from their shoulders, to the lower areas of the island or to f1ll in behind the coral reefs The reason for this work was twofold First it would provide flat land for cultivation by the natives to supply food to the milltary personnel and also for export to Japan Secondly the military experts he lieved that the islands could more easily be de fended with the mobility of their forces over the ff ,QWM yy ,faww WWW ff, fff f M! fpyynf ,4 ff ,Jeff fa' fi! I, WWW My ef 'iyfwyf f X Mlkfly ft' ,af W M W may 2 ff is yama-1-M f ' fa ,wg 1 ,ffwi ' f 1 on ff lf yfffyff g Z! if ffff jf! 9' 7 W ff fl ff X ff 1 ' W f f 1 4 fifffrf Mfg! W f ff? f ff ff if fi ' 5 fffffff f f Q Y ew f a W f f , -V f if I fl ff f W ff X! A-' k if IW W1 1 ,9- fonjiqgf I J ffl! Wy ,wwf 1' iii av f WW f 4 99, gf! I ,aff 5, 426, ig AM, ,,2f 0a4 fx? W! Af ,MW nw ff M W ,aww f 1 f fyfwf af! f ww fy W 6 f XM, f f ,QAM www My f ,WWW , Q' f Aww 4 vf7,Wn,agff', M jvggaf f W if f fym if 7' X Y M A f av W AMA, if 3? Y-Z? if wif WW Y 'VW ja 'f X if W! WW My ff ,M W mf ! f f A a ima, WW 4' W if iwff 'Q rg, f-ff' by aff Z' 7 'V If sa X gy 1 ,W ay i vm 'W Q. ff QM is it it 'mm M '94, am f wg WW as W1 3 K 3' ,EL 'Q' 'W .www N. ,TX 4 NN M MW! if a W Wmwivfiffi V Q WW .....sa f MW , af f ,V 22' f SJW? Q7 Mm ff? 6.41 ff wwanuuovvdh J -Ar