General Mann (TAP 112) - Naval Cruise Book

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Lying at the mouth of the Saigon River, Ganh-Rai Bay was used as an anchorage for Japanese shipping during the last war. Many of their vessels remain. Only the masts protrude above the water, monuments to the proficiency of American airmen. Shortly after we anchored, two barges were brought to our sideports. Senegalese soldiers occupied sand- bag barricades that formed a square midships on the decks of the craft. Armed with rifles and machine guns, their fearsome appearance was enhanced by wide scars that slashed their ebony foreheads and cheeks. On the stern of each barge was a small hut occupied by the bargeman and his family. The doll-like oriental children, gazing big-eyed at us from the shadows of their tiny homes, seemed fantastically out of place in the grim atmosphere. Presently it was decided that the barges were not to be used and tugs dragged them off, taking the fighters, the families, and the little garden that each carried in boxes behind their huts, upstream. French patrol crafl circled as we waited, their guns fully manned. In the guerilla warfare waged by the communist Viet Minh even a small fishing craft might contain Ho Chi Minh ' s fanatics, ready to trade their lives for the chance to lob a hand grenade at the enemy. Although the native sampans that came within our area quickly departed upon warning shots from the French gunboats, it was reported that sus- picious craft encountered on the run to Saigon were blasted from the water without further ceremony. A rusted freighter appeared from around the river ' s bend and came alongside. Short brows were laid between the two ships and the first contingent of the Arab troops left the Mtiiiii. Each carried a small paper bag containing a loaf of bread, candy and fruit — our parting contribution to men whose diet for the coming months would probably consist of bullets and rice. The debarkation was accomplished speedily. The freighter backed away and turned toward Saigon, its decks filled with cheering, waving Arabs. We weighed anchor and steamed out of Ganh-Rai Bay. As we turned north toward Haiphong the green mountains of Cochin China were obscured by rain squalls that buffeted the ship. For two days we ran north, skirting the coast of Indo-China. French aircraft and frigates provided an escort, although the latter had difficulty in maintaining our speed. We entered the Tonkin Gulf, passing between the mainland and the Chinese communist-held island of Hainan, and on August 2nd came to Henrietta Pass, outside of Haiphong. Henrietta Pass is a never-ne er land of towering rock islands that jut suddenly and inexplicably out of the sea. Winding our way among them it seemed a; though we had entered a new, shadowy, quiet world. Mostly devoid of growth at their bases where they plunge straight into the deep water or cut inward sharply to form watery grottos, the islands wear a cape of green that extends for a way down their perpendicular flanks. From a distance they look like a mass of moss-covered boulders congesting the quiet water of a shallow inlet. Their size is deceptive. Not until we saw French patrol craft dwarfed at the base of their cliffs did we comprehend the immensity of the formations. A quick glance at the charts showed them to range from three to seven hundred feet in height. A wide opening among the rocks provided our anchorage. On all sides they towered about us. Narrow channels separating them afforded views of the more distant formations, , ' .11 crowding in upon one another, dissecting the waters of the bay into a thousand little shaded, winding passagewa s. Ahead we could sec the wide expanse of Halong Bay. A broad plain of Tonkin slanted down to the water ' s edge. A galaxy of tiny brilliant shining squares marked a horde of sampans collected in the quiet water beyond the rock islands. A few ventured to the borders of the area patrolled by the French, then vanished into a sea-cave, or slipped from ' iew behind the buttress of an island. Three big landing craft plowed up to the ship, and the remainder of the Arabs and their French officers debarked. Like the first group at Saigon, they waved and cheered as the boats pulled away. After three weeks we were once again alone. It was going to seem strange not to hear the urgent Alol Alo! that heralded each of their announcements. We were going co miss the clamor that surrounded all of their activity, the hustling confusion, their constant bumming of cigarettes — even the man who played the flute on deck until the early morning hours. And we were to miss their willing industry and cheerful assistance, too. They worked hard and without grumbling when jobs were made clear to them. They kept themselves and their compartments clean. In all. they earned the reTutation on the Mann as having been a good group to carry. And evidently we were good in their eyes. As we steamed soiuhward out of Henrietta Pass a message was received from the Commander in Chief of the French Army in Indo-China. thanking us for the splendid treatment afforded his troops. Two F6F Hellcats, bearing the French tri-color, swept low over the ship in a farewell salute as we turned for Guam, Pearl, and home.

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