Bataan (CVL 29) - Naval Cruise Book

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a flip;ht ■as latr. Only a few hours after droppini[ the hook in Inchon Harbor, BATAAN set out again for Sasebo, the City by the Sea. On the 31st of July she left Buoy 18 in Sasebo with all boats on deck and all ehiclcs secured. Sasebo faded into distant specks that would not be seen again for a long time to come. Stateside liberty was not far away. A lot of room had been made for a company of combat Marines to come aboard. BATAAN was to take part in some kind of helicopter operation. But upon arrival again at Inchon on the 1st of August, she found that it had been cancelled. Past the L.SO and another landing is chalked up. The second day of August found BATAAN in the open sea again, this time bound for Kobe. She arrived in Kobe on 4 August, in the early evening. Two days of liberty in Kobe and then at 1200 on the 7th she left, completing another leg of her journey toward the states. Yokosuka was next. On the 8th of August at approxi- mately 0840, BATAAN anchored out in a rather stormy Yokosuka Bay. The storm subsided enough for her to tie up on the next day, which made liberty more pleasant. On 11 August .she left Yokosuka, watching Mt. Fujiyama disappear slowly into the sea. She sailed into sunny Pearl Harbor on 19 August and remained there for two days. Then BATAAN sailed away from the land of hula-hula toward the hub-bub, the land of confusion and beauty never to be equaled. She had completed another job, a great and important job, and even though tired, she sped homeward eagerly with the knowledge of another job well done. Yes, again she had proved herself. BATAAN, as her name- sake, stands monumental in her fight for a free world. Her record in World War II and during her tw o operations in Korea prove that. And she knows that as long as the world is on the verge of crisis she will stand alert, ready to answer her country ' s call to the front line again, doing her all to bring the world to a lasting peace. Two pilots from HMS Ocean describe their air adventures for some of our pilots. They were presented with famous C heck- erboard scarves.

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r The LSO signals ease starboard a bit. June, when she got undenvay once more for the operating area. On the 9th of June, Captain Kraus, USMC, was shot down over enemy territory and suffered bums about the face. He was picked up by helicopter. BATAAN was getting tired for she had worked hard. Her crew had worked endless hours. The Yellow Sea had be- come a familiar part of her travels and she knew the route by heart. Sasebo to Korea. Korea to Sasebo. But she never complained. On the 16th of June she had a chance to rest some more in Sasebo. BATAAN completed her third 1952 tour against Communism on the 3rd of July. Sasebo awaited. She ar- rived there on the 4th of July and moored to Buoy 18, Sasebo Harbor. She took on necessary provisions and on the 12th she again headed for the Yellow Sea for the fourth tour on the line. On the 13th she launched her first flight on this, the final trip. The next day BATAAN lost a plane at sea. Captain Dick, pilot of a wounded Corsair, was making his final aproach when the plane flipped over on its back and crashed into the sea. He was immediately picked up by helicopter. Other than a broken collar bone, he was uninjured. The 15th of July proved to be a bad day for BATAAN, and her squadron. She lost her first pilot of the 1952 cruise in Korean waters. Captain Guy A. McLaury crashed and was killed after take-off from a desolate airfield in Korea known as K-6. He had been forced down by enemy fire. But the war had almost ended for BATAAN, temporarily at least. On the 21st she sent her last flight against the enemy, completing a mission that earned her and her squadron VMA-312 the respect and admiration of all. She felt a kind of sadness as she launched her planes from the flight deck to send them to Inchon where they would be land based for a time. The next day she followed them in, anchoring at Inchon Harbor. There she debarked the rest of the squad- ron — the boys with the funny brown caps and the green jump- ers; with grease smeared on their faces; the boys who w atched the skies with hope when the planes were out; the boys who grew ner- vous and smoked many cigarettes when One (il ilii (),,aMcin:il ' ( .odlish aircraft gets the laiirK li signal. These planes hrmighl IIATAAN vital parts and iiinip- nient, allowing htr to maintain her tight fligh schedule.

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FOURTH OF JULY One of our aircraft rclurns dirty, and as it touches the deck a white phosphorous rocket breaks loose. As the rocket shoots forward the spinning prop cuts it in half, sending streamers of phosphorous skyward. This one comes back really hot, and the deck crew loses no time in giving it plenty of room.