Block Island (CVE 106) - Naval Cruise Book

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if 5' Nw mfsfg Sf i In 34,,,,WI N fi L, IVY ff' POXVS ABOARD CVE 106 ENROUTE TO MANILA if 1 ish. MAN ILA HE .IAPAINILSIL IDEA OF CAMOUFLAGE MAN ILA

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-J Da Sunday, 19 August 1945 The following dispatches have been received: ComAirPac: alt is with a feeling of pride and humility that I say to all officers and men of the Air Force Pacific Fleet, well done. From the grim early days of the war to the glori- ous day of victory over the last of the aggressors Naval Aviation has been in the forefront. The notable part you and your comrades, whose lives were bravely sacrificed, have played in the reduction of Japanese military might is known to and will be remembered by all the world. You have earned the blessing of peace and the enduring gratitude of your country-men. Q Fleet Admiral King: uPlease accept my sincere congratula- tions for your successful conduct of the war against Japan. The war has been an all hands job in which teamwork has been responsible for victory. Under your outstanding leader- ship all personnel in the United States Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Area contributed their full sharef' AT QUARTERS WE GOT THE WORD The Commander in Chief and Chief of Naval Operations: uTo the men and women of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and the United States Coast Guard the final victory has at last arrived. Japan has surrendered. Her fleet which once boasted that it would drive us from the seas has been destroyed. The United States Naval Service played a major role in this mighty triumph therefore we observe this hour witl1 a special pride and satisfaction in our achieve- ment. Especially do we remember the debt we owe the thousands of our comrades of the Navy, the Marine Corps .... L ,J Q., in A JAPANESE TOMB ON OKINAWA WIC CHl.I+IRRA'I'Ir'f 'I'Hl'I YlC'I'URY

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died of malnutritiong others were yet to die in spite of the llvsl efforts of our medical officers. They were provitlvll Wlfll IWW issue Navy clothing, haircuts, plenty of food, and good bunks. They ate themselves into nausea. I Their docility and readiness to fall in line, their happiness and yet their sorry condition, impressed all hands. DIVIIIC services of thanksgiving were held to a pew of bunks. Before the ship reached Manila a smoker was held on .the hangar deck. The British Chaplain, to express lllS appreciation, gave an Ensign of the ship a precious gift, 10 yen, about two months' salary in prison. The prisoners came from three camps, only 89 being Americans. Some of them were survivors of the '4Death March from Bataan. The British, many of them survivors of Dun- kerque, were from artillery and engineering units who fought down the Malayan Peninsula in 1942, through the battle of Sin- gapore. At least one man had escaped from Singapore to Java, fought there, took to the jungles when the battle became hope- less, and was at last captured in the hills. Almost universally these British and American soldiers had been forced to labor under sickening conditions for the past three years in the copper mines of Kinkaseki in Northern Formosa. Some walking skeletons had farmed rice and tea plantations, grown sweet potatoes and been thankful when they were allowed to eat the tops. These men will never forget the glorious comforts and delicious food of the great CVE 106, and the trip that meant ugoing Home. The following letter is one of the many received from the evacuated prisoners. Tuesday, 11 September 1945 Before we disembark from the ships under your command, we should like to express on behalf of all the prisoners of war whom you have rescued, our deep gratitude and sincere appreciation of the delightful courtesy and lavish hospitality with which we have been treated by all ranks of the United States Forces since they first contacted us on September 2nd. The celerity and efficiency with which Colonel A. D. Cooley and his officers and men swept into Taihoku and swept us out in less than twenty-four hours will always amaze us. Lastly, I should like to bring to your notice the names of Lieutenants John MacLellan and John Sehon of the United States Navy and Lieutenant Cook of the United States Army, who, in the teeth of many difficulties first contacted us from the China Theatre of Operations on September 2nd, estab- lished a buffer between us and our captors, and gave us our first foretaste of the treatment we have received ever since. 'LYou must realize that these poor words are in no way commensurate with the depth of our feelings. The days since xahfr ' ' , ' FORMOSA RUBBLE H f . T .. . 1 Wgixxxaxxxxxx xx ,Z X ia , , COLONEL COOLEY AND OFFICERS RELAX WITH CHINESE September 2nd have been one of the greatest experiences of our lives. Col. Fitzpatrick, British Army, Lt. Col. Glattly, U. S. Army, Lt. Col. Blyneham, Australian Imperial Forces. 'I 1' ' .,'2 'jrg,1 gf, if it .Q gp.. THE FIRST l.Ali' llOiVll'i FOR POVUS - s Ns.: 'l'lIl'I PRISON