Duncan (DDR 874) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 22 text:

-«i-a! KAOSHIUNG, FORMOSA Situated in tlic soutlnvcstcrn nrea of tlie island of Formosa, the city of Kaosliini, sometimes called TAKAO, was tlic site of many extended visits I,y tlie 1)1 ' XCAX. It was liere tliat tlie Chinese dress, witli its split sLirt, tlie narrow liarlnir entrance and cliannel, alon with tlie association witK tlie Chinese Nationalist forces gave the men of the DUNCAN a welcome hreal- from the monotonous routine of the Formosan Fntrol. Few of us will ever lorsjet the apprehensive feelings which accomjianied the knowledge that we were sitting on top of a powder L-eg wdiich was heing carefully oh- served hy the entire world. P St

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■■l BBS H P; H s V, hSHIM H I HONG KONG while thh i.lanJ, wl,l.l, was ccJed tc Great l?rllnln in :184-1 measure? only tlilrly-two square miles in area, it is witliout a douk one of tin- most tlensely populaleJ areas in the world. It has ol ' ten l,een said tlult You can In.t anytl,ini in llon.i Koni, and to the men of the Dl ' XCAX ' this has heen proven conclusively hy our latest visit to the Colony. It is here that the purchase of a fine British tweed suit, ne accomplisncLl witn equal ease. Ma.iy of the DUNCAN who had previcmsly missed the opportunity to see the world-famous Ti V-r Balm Gardens utilized their free time to acpuainl themselves with the ornate statuary of tins puhlic garden, which was erected hy the profits fr.un the popular Chinese ' I ' i er Bahn Tonic, which is the Chinese epulvalenl of I Lulacol. It is needless t, say that all were very well satisfied with the OrXCAX ' S five-day sojurn in tilis, The Pearl of the Orient port which is hy far the most fascinating of all those on the DI ' NCAN ' S Far Eastern Itinerary of J 954.

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KURE, JAPAN Evc-ycHic will well rc-mcMiilicr our fir=.t vli it Ic Kuro, one til japan ' s wartime antl pre-war ' secret ]mrts. J liis naval tlocL-yarcl was Lullt in 1 )()4, l,y order of Hmperor Meiji, to Letter tlic prosecution of tlie war tlien in progress against Russia. It was liere tliat tlie I ' amato, i nu of Japan ' s super-hattlesliips, was built. Located in Western Tlonsliu, fifteen miles from Hiro- sliima, tlie site of tlic first atomic allacl,; in liistory, tlie town of Kure received mucli unwanted attention from tlie U.S. Air Force, and carrier-liased, aircraft during World War II, and as a result, was completely demolislied. Tlie docl-yard area is still in a sliamlde ; tlie old arsenal a jungle of twisted metal, scattered midget submarine parts, and rusting torpedoes. Japan ' s cpuivalent to Annapolis, tne Inijierial Naxal Ccdlege is located on Eta Jima. Sllglilly to tlie west is Miya Jima, or Slirine Island, an island dedicated to tire Shinto religion, and literally covered with the slirines of tliat lailli. All of tliesc, plus its accessibility to I lirosliima tend to niaL-e Kure one of tlie most iiileresling ports of call during our i ar Eastern cruise of 954.