Quincy (CA 71) - Naval Cruise Book

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Th! ON Us l-1 The Quincy rndes at anchor at the foot of Fujl

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SURREND R Through the night blackened waters of the Pacific the carrier task group steamed on August 10 toward its fueling rendezvous. Out of enemy strike range, the night fighters had been recalled and the evening watch was passing un' eventfully. Aboard the Quincy the officer of the deck checked his bearings and cast a cautious eye along the still horizon. Suddenly WHOOPEE sprang from the T. B. S. and shattered the silence of the pilot house. That was at 2108g then all was quiet again. At 2130 the interfighter director radio in O.I.O. broadcast lusty cheers. Then a voice roared through the disturbance, JAPAN HAS SURRENDERED PROVIDING THE EMPEROR STAYS IN. An answering voice spoke up, HRUMOR CONFIRMED BY GUAM RADIO, GOOD DOPE. With thrice the speed of Mercury the news traveled through the ship. Up into the gun stations, through the living compartments, down into the engine rooms hearts were lightened and cares were forgotten with the magical words. Throughout the ship eager ears crowded the broad' cast receivers. Speculations and queries added color to the known facts of the surrender offer. All through the night newscasters framed and reframed the omnipotent words, Japan wants to quit. Japs offer surrender. The world may have peace! The sun arose next morning on a world full of more hope than it had known in 14 long years of war. Japan wanted peace. It could not come, however, with one curt radio message. Days of anguished uncertainty OF JA PA passed before the Japs and Allies were convinced they understood each other. Finally on August 15, 1945, the Quincy learned that Japan had actually accepted uncondif tional surrender and was even then preparing to disarm her troops. A But the habit of the kamikazi had been too strong to break so suddenly. Seven pilots of the Emperor crossed the sights of the combat air patrol or picketing destroyers and went to a flaming death on this same day that the flame of their battered Empire flickered and died. During this period of waiting, the three task groups of task force 38 assembled into a gigantic formation which stretched to the horizons. Overhead flew the thousands of carrier planes which only a few days previously had been raining death and destruction on the Japanese homeland. On each of the ships a new activity was launched. Sailors left their large guns and practiced with small arms. Naval landing forces might be used to secure some of the first beaches. Marines sparked each group of sailors with their training and discipline. The first attempt of the Allies to occupy Cherry Blosf som Land was foiled by a typhoon raging along the coast. But' on August 27 the attempt was made again. The Quincy, moving in the column of a mighty fleet, steamed carefully up to the very portals of Tokyo. General Quarf ters was set and guns were made ready but the Japs offered the fleet no excuse to use them. Above the Quincy two American flags waved triumphantly in the breeze and the ' Yanks welcome Yanks to Yokohama.

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band played Remember Pearl Harbor. Five miles in the lead of the formation were the super battleships Missouri and Iowag the British ships King George V and the Duke of York. In the center of the group steamed. modern cruisers. There were heavies like the Quincy, and lights such as the Amsterdam. Behind followed five old battlef ships, proud survivors of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Although the carriers were not in sight, they were well represented by their high flying planes. By noon of August 27 the Quincy had passed the Izu Islands group and was steaming into Sagami Wan which is flanked by the long tenuous arms of Myuri and Sagami peninsulas. Unce heavily fortified, the land defenses showed only small white flags silently marking the gun positions. A subtle tenseness pervaded the air as Sagami Wan accepted the task force's arrival in the inscrutable Japanese fashion. The scenery surrounding the ships was new and strange. Except for a few fleet moments, Mount Fujiyama remained cloaked in the secrecy of her clouds. Ahead the Tokyo plain spread like a verdant sea sailed by gaunt factory chimneys silently reaching skyward. Before the fleet entered the mine iields, a lone Jap destroyer came out to act as escort. The Jap was painted black and looked grotesque with its slanted bow and raked stack. With her guns depressed, her sailors sitting on the deck, she gave all the appearance of a beaten enemy. The Quincy maneuvered into position and at 1409 the anchor let go with a rumble. This was the first time the ship had stopped since she left Iseyte, 5 8 days, 6 hours, and 58 minutes ago. The mighty United States fleet was safely anchored in the home waters of Japan. Two days after the entry of the fleet into Sagami Wan the Iowa, Missouri, and South Dakota upped anchor and steamed through the minefswept channel into Tokyo Bay. The stage was being set for the formal surrender ceremony of September 2, 1945. Two days later the British ships Newfoundland and Gambia followed the American battlef ships into the Bay. ' Cn August 30, 1945 the actual landings on Japan began. The Quincy got underway at sunrise to lend fire support to the operation should the need arise. At 1111 Allied forces completed the occupation of the Yokosuka area and held a formal flag raising ceremony. All news received throughout the day indicated an orderly bloodless occupaf tion. There was no need for active fire support at any time. By sunset the Quincy was again at anchor in Sagami Wan. Although no one from' the went ashore in the Sagami Wan area, several persons made rangefinder and binocular liberties. Through their glasses they could see an occasional Japanese climbing about the beach. A few of the natives were dressed in bright red clothing, but most of them were clad in white or olive drab. Three buildings peaked with the traditional sloping roofs and a high curved bridge unmistakably identified the country. Occasionally a truck lumbered along a modern road, or an old Toonerf ville trolley rocked by. Snow-capped Fuji looks down on Tokyo Bay filled with American Ships. E641