General Mann (TAP 112) - Naval Cruise Book

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To those of lis who had nt ' er bofn in the English Channel the smooth water and clear air was surprising. During this, and our remaining three trips through the Channel and the Nortli Sea, we were to find weather and visibihtv excellent. The morning of July 1 ?th found us passing Folkstone, an EngHsh beach resort where huge white build- ings lined the flat shore. Ahead lay the celebrated white cliffs of Dover. Throughout the shoal waters of this area mastheads protruded, reminders of the war. At Dover we hove to for the boarding of our North Sea pilot. His task was to guide us through the narrow swept channel that threads the mine-strewn North Sea. He told us that it will take seven years to clear the mines laid in the waters between England and the Continent during World War II. Our pilot was a happy little fellow, full of bad jokes and great humor. On the bridge he had to stretch to tip-toe to sight through the pelorus. An overnight run from Dover put us into the Wesser River of north Germany. Our approach to Bremer- haven up that waterway gave little indication of war ' s destruction. Green fields stretched back from the water ' s edge, well-kept, neat and fertile. Red brick farmhouses and large brick barns stood among clumps of trees. Big windmills thrust their arms into the sky. Hedgerows divided most of the fields, and neat little mounds of hay attested to the harvest. Two or three demolished gun emplacements formed small islands in the river as we neared the German city, and above the skyline skeletons of steeples were visible. Our approach to Cohimbus Quay, the berthing area of the Bremerhaven Port of Embarkation, impressed us with the neatness of the dockside area. Except where concrete piers breasted the water ' s edge the levee had been planted in grass, giving much of the waterfront the appearance of a park. Here we disembarked our troops who filed into the waiting railroad cars which were to take them to Manheim. After fourteen days of their company we agreed that the 2nd Armored ' s contingent aboard the Mann was the best troopload the ship had carried. Liberty in Bremerhaven was fascinating and fun. We left the ship and traveled over the narrow cobble- stone streets. Everywhere people rode bicycles. The men wore little black caps like those donned by sea- farers in all parts of the world. Most wore black coats and trousers. The absence of color was striking. We learned that most of the men ' s clothing was dyed army garb — that few had any other apparel after the war. Horse-drawn wagons piled high with hay vied with narrow trolleys, three-wheeled automobiles and a horde of bicycles for thoroughfare. Once within the city, war ' s ravages were inescapable. We traveled down what had been the main street of Bremerhaven until a night in 1944. Where multi-storied structures stood, there remains nothing but weed- grown lots. Segments of buildings, shattered and broken, mark the perimeter of the most heavily bombed blocks. Three brick walls are the ruins of a cathedral. Four walls and the skeletal steeple of another church stand in a devastated sector, and in the steeple is a clock that functions — just as it has without interruption since before the holocaust of 1944 when 1,000 British airplanes bombed the city. But except for this central section and a few scattered areas we found most of Bremerhaven to be a neat, clean city. Modern apartments line tree-shaded streets, and everywhere is evidence of industry and recovery. Once away from the gutted sector of the city it would be easy to forget that war had struck here — if it weren ' t for the sight of the boy jerking along on crutches, one leg severed just below the hip. • Evidently even the city dwellers love the land. In most congested areas small plots are set aside for the cultivation of vegetables. The little gardens look incongruous squeezed in between shops and dwellings. On the outskirts of town huge areas are tilled by the townspeople. Here the tracts are divided into hundreds of tiny plots, each with a little shack or loolshed. In the evenings a host of men and women work their little gardens. Those who took the bus and train to Bremen were treated to a view of the German countryside. Lush land. hea ily farmed, peat bogs and green pastures separate the two northern cities. Farm dwellings cluster in small groups of thatched-roof, concrete, and brick houses. Surrounding each group is the land, farmed in alternating strips of grain and vegetables, evidence of the German landowner ' s appreciation of crop rotation. Thick woods spot the countryside, a surprising sight to most Americans who wonder how forests survive in a land so intensely populated. Bremen suffered more heavily than Bremerhaven during the bombings of World War II, Vast areas of the city were wiped out. Much has been rebuilt, but everywhere ruins can be seen. On the 15th of July the Mann departed Bremerhaven for New York. This time we traveled empty. We arrived in New York (Brooklyn) the morning of the 2?rd and tied up at the Brooklyn Army Base, a stones throw from Ebbets Field. Ebbets Field was of no assistance to the Mann ' s baseb-ill fans though, as the

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PART 11 NEW ORLEANS TO BREMERHAVEN There was a startling change in our passenger hst at New Orleans. The pretty girls, children and diaper set debarked, and in their place came the tough, smart and rigidly trained troops of the 2nd Armored Divi- sion. Selected to become a part of General Eisenhower ' s Atlantic Pact Army, the men of the 2nd Armored were infused with the gravity of their mission and the division ' s tradition as one of the great combat units of the Army. They filed aboard heavily laden with equipment and weapons, military from the tops of their close- cropped heads to the toes of their heavy boots. Quickly their working and guard details uere established, and the muddy waters of the Mississippi were barely out of sight when they began a shipboard training program which was to take up most of their waking hours. Classes in German, map reading, communications and weapons were constantly in session. A vigorous physical training program was ordered, and throughout the day large groups of soldiers could be seen going through arduous calisthenics. The splendid physical condition of the men was evident in the course of the boxing matches that were part of the 4th of July observances. The Army made a clean sweep of the inter- service bouts in spite of the game efforts of Navy participants. Condition alone was not the reason for their showing, however. The Army entries were regular members of the 2nd Armored ' s boxing team. Several were professional fighters. On July I2th we sighted the Scilly Isles off the southwest coast of Hngland. During the remainder of ilie day, and until after we left Dover on the following morning, our crew and troops saw much of the green, undulating English countryside. Massive castle-like forts were clearly visible at every seacoast town. Thick hedges surrounded old stone mansions that stood on verdant hills, and small villages clustered the floors of little shoroside canyons.

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Dodgers were playing the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The followers of the horsehide did have the opportunity to watch the World ' s Champion Bronx Bombers oppose the Cleveland Indians and the faltering Chicago White Sox though, and all for free with the exception of the small federal tax. Becoming acclimated to the massive uptown , downtown and crosstown subway systems, we soon settled down and found sights of many interests in the largest city in the world. We all picked up quite a geography lesson and some of the highlights of the visitations were as follows: (Listed in order of popu- larity) (1) ' iankee Stadium and the New York Yankees; (2) Radio City Music Hall and the Rockettes; (3) Empire State Building (all 1,472 feet of it); (4) and the Statue of Liberty. Wc also rapidly learned that the great city is divided up into five large boroughs, Manhattan, the largest; Brooklyn; Bronx; Queens, and Richmond. Each borough has a president with the Mayor of New York City as chief executive. One crew member visited all five boroughs in one evening — he erred a little in his inter- pretation of subway instructions. While at the Brooklyn Army Base wc were treated in an excellent manner by the members of the Mili- tary Sea Transportation Service, Atlantic, organization. The members of the deck department were especially appreciative of the services rendered by MSTSLANT because for the first time in the ship ' s history, with the exception of services received during overhaul periods, the ship ' s exterior was painted by a civilian crew rather than by the Mann ' s deck personnel and of course, that job elimination meant a few extra hours of liberty time for those people to indulge in the activities on the beach. Loaded down with replacements for the various Army and Air Force units stationed in Germany, and dependents, we said goodbye to New York City on the 28th of July and commenced the journey across the North Atlantic, Bremerhaven again being our ultimate destination with a brief stop at Dover, England, to once more pick up the English Pilot who would aid us in maneuvering through the Channel.