Clarence K Bronson (DD 668) - Naval Cruise Book

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jdsn jofice 77 Leaving Yokosuka on July 3, we crossed the treacherous Shimonoseki Straits and the West- ward Passage, past Ullong Do into the sea of Japan to rendezvous witli Task Force 77, tlie crack fast carrier force of the Korean Theatre. We made our debut with considerable trepida- tion, and, although our conditioning ac ross the Pacific had given us a lot of self-confidence, we viewed the precision maneuvers of the Force with awe. We had four tours of duty with 77 and by the middle of the second, things had settled into as much of a routine as might be expected from a group that ran aroimd in cir- cles day after day at flank speed. After the establishment of a truce between the United Nations and North Korea, we began to feel the force of that fine, all-encompassing bit of navy doctrine: The priinary jo]) of the peace- time Navy .s training. We had Warning Ma- genta and Maroon and exercise Adept and Adex from sunrise to siuiset and if the day seemed to be going slowly we would fire from formation Liner just about chow time. We tracked so many planes and fired so many prac- tice rounds that we almost wished for the com- parative quiet of wartime. Perhaps the most exciting moments were the night refuelings from the carriers, where the overwhelming blackness of a moonless night was broken onlv by a half-dozen bobbing red lights in a row a hundred yards long on the carrier ' s hangar deck. The most fatiguing 24 hours was cer- 53