Cayuga (LST 1186) - Naval Cruise Book

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PUSAN, KOREA AFTER A SHORT TRANSIT WE ARRIVED IN PUSAN, KOREA, WHERE IT WAS EVIDENT THAT THERE WERE BUYS TO BE MADE, ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER WE AR- RIVED VENDORS BEGAN TO SET UP THEIR SITES WITH GOODS FOR ALL OF US TO BARGAIN FOR. EXCEPTIONAL PURCHASES WERE MADE. NO ONE RETURNED EMP- TY HANDED, AND THE VARIETY OF ITEMS WERE ENDLESS. THE CREW REALLY ENJOYED THE ATTENTION AND BARGAIN PRICES IN PUSAN. OUR STAY WAS TO BE RELATIVELY SHORT, AND WE SOON SAILED, BACK TO WORK AGAIN. liiB iRliii! ihik hhs TuSm ' sta tion — ™ iHli liiii mmrinmrai ilffWrK ililli 31

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OKINAWA TRANSIT TO OKINAWA WITHIN 24 HOURS AFTER LEAVING LONG BEACH WE EXPERIENCED SEA SWELLS OF 6 TO 8 FEET, WHICH SET THE CREW TO RESECURING OUR GEAR FOR THE ROUGH WEATHER AHEAD. FOR SEVERAL DAYS THE SHIP TOSSED AND ROLLED. WE ALL FELT THE UNSETTLING DISCOMFORT OF BEING UN- DERWAY IN SUCH VIOLENT SEAS. THERE WAS LIT- TLE TO DO WHILE THE SEA CONTINUED TO POUND THE SHIP. OUR THOUGHTS WERE ON THOSE WE LEFT BEHIND, AND OF WHAT WAS YET TO COME. WE WERE ON AN ADVENTURE THAT WOULD LAST IN OUR MINDS FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. AS QUICKLY AS STORMS DEVELOP, THEY SEEM TO FADE AWAY, AND WE SOON SAILED INTO CALMER SEAS. THE ROUTINE OF THE DAY BEGAN TO COME ABOUT AND EVERYONE WAS BACK INTO THEIR WORK SPACE FOR THE OPERATIONS AT HAND. AS THE WEATHER CLEARED, AND WORK PRO- GRESSED, IT WAS TIME FOR OUR FIRST OF MANY STEEL BEACH PICNICS ON THE FLIGHT DECK. WE ENJOYED A COOKOUT, PUT ON BY THE SUPPLY DEPARTMENT, WITH GRILLED STEAKS AND SODAS FOR ALL THE CREW. THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT FOR SUCH AN EVENT. IT WAS ALSO A DAY FOR SUNNING, AND DISCUSSING THE EVENTS THAT WERE TO COME. WE FINALLY ARRIVED AT WHITE BEACH IN OKINA- WA. AFTER SUCH A ROUGH RIDE, WE WERE GLAD TO STOP AT THE FIRST PORT ON OUR SCHEDULE. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY, WITH THE SUN SHINING BRIGHT AND THE CRYSTAL BLUE WATERS OF THE BAY INVITING ALL FOR A SWIM ON THE BEACH. WE WERE ONLY TO BE INPORT FOR THE ONE NIGHT TO UNLOAD CAUSEWAYS, SO A PART OF THE CREW WAS GRANTED LIBERTY. THE NAVAL BASE WAS SMALL, AND CONSISTED OF ONLY A FEW SMALL SHIPS WITH JAPANESE FLAGS AT ITS PIERS. IT WAS STRANGE TO SEE THE STARS AND STRIPES FLYING NEXT TO THE RISING SUN IN A PLACE WHERE SUCH VIOLENT ACTION HAD TAKEN PLACE JUST 40 YEARS EARLIER. THE USS OGDEN AR- RIVED WITH US. MANY OF US WENT TO KADENA AFB, WHICH WAS ABOUT 15 MILES AWAY. TAXIS WERE AVAILABLE AND MANY SET OUT TO VISIT NEIGHBORING AREAS OF INTEREST. OKINAWA WAS A RUGGED, MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN WITH SUB-TROPICAL WEATHER SIMILAR TO SOUTHERN FLORIDA. 30

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SASEBO, JAPAN WE ARRIVED IN SASEBO, JAPAN ON THE 5TH OF MAY AND EVERYONE BEGAN LOOKING FOR- WARD TO THE NEXT 12 DAYS. TOURS WERE SCHEDULED AND MANY ATHLETIC EVENTS WERE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP. FOOTBALL, SOFTBALL, BASKETBALL, VOLLEYBALL, A 10K AND MINI-TRI-A-THON BECAME A PART OF EV- ERYONES ' ACTIVITY. CAYUGA DEFEATED PELE- LiU 14-6 IN THE SASEBO CHAMPIONSHIP FOOT- BALL GAME. THE WEATHER PROVED TO BE PER- FECT FOR ALL THE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES HELD. SASEBO WAS A WELCOME RELIEF AFTER THE CONSTANT EVOLUTIONS AT SEA. SHIP ' S WORK STILL CONTINUED WITH JAPANESE WORKERS ROAMING ABOUT, COMPLETING MANY SCHED- ULED REPAIRS THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE. WE WERE VERY IMPRESSED BY THE SHIPWORKERS BY THEIR STEADY, AROUND-THE-CLOCK DEDI- CATION TO FINISH THEIR WORK PRIOR TO US LEAVING. IN ALL, OUR VISIT TO SASEBO WAS ONE TO TRULY REMEMBER AND DEFINTELY AN ENJOYABLE AND RELAXING STAY. SASEBO, WITH IT ' S SUB-TROPICAL ATMO- SPHERE AND SCENERY, HOUSES ONE OF THE LARGEST NAVAL BASES IN JAPAN. THE SEV- ENTH FLEET USES SASEBO FOR PORT VISITS AND REPAIR WORK. THE HARBOR IS DEEP AND SPACIOUS AND IS THE HOME OF THE USS ST. LOUIS (LKA 116). SASEBO WAS FILLED WITH MANY INTERESTING PLACES TO SEE. THERE WAS THE SHOPPING ARCADE WHICH SOLD EVERYTHING IMAGIN- ABLE: PEARLS RETRIEVED OFF THE COAST, PORCELAIN CHINAWARE, AND THEIR FAMOUS FOLKCRAFT - WOODEN SASEBO TOPS, TREA- SURED FOR THEIR FINE QUALITY AND DIAMOND- SHAPED IRON TIP. MANY LOCAL DISHES: SUKI- YAKI, TEMPURA, AND SUPER-FRESH, THINLY SLICED SUSHI (RAW FISH)-A DELICIOUS DELICA- CY PREPARED RIGHT BEFORE YOU. AREAS OF INTEREST INCLUDED HIRADO ISLAND, ABOUT 20 MILES NORTH, WHERE WILLIAM AD- AMS (FICTIONALIZED IN THE NOVEL SHOGUN AS BLACKTHORN) WAS BURIED, AND NAGASA- KI, ABOUT 52 MILES WEST. SASEBO WAS A DY- NAMIC AND INDUSTRIOUS PORT AND ENJOYED BY ALL.