George MacKenzie (DD 836) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 13 text:

. iTAS ' K FORCE S 7 I r V Task Force 77, the Navy ' s mailed fist ripping Into the enemy ' s vitals. Not much change since we left it eight months ago. The power packed carriers, the potent cruisers, the panting destroyers. And always the planes roaring from out of the skies over Korea to their floating homes. We settled quickly into the task force routine. We raced into the wind with the carriers, then turned and raced in the other direction. We were prepared for the operation and didn ' t find the going difficult, at least, not until the storm hit. She socked us in mid-January. The wind picked up. Seas began to froth. A light snow at first, soon a blinding blizzard. We pushed our way northward. Temperatures plunged: 20 degrees, 10, zero. Ice covered everything. We lurched and rolled. For those who had the desire, eating became a major opera- tion. A bridge watch was a bone chilling nightmare. The Mac wal- lowed to within 50 miles of the Man- churian border. Every mile was a fight. Five days later the storm, most vicious of the winter, wore itself out. The sun pierced the ominous gray clouds. The waters calmed. The worst was over and our planes went back to work.

Page 12 text:

Our first stop in the Far East, and a short one. Just long enough to patch up and load up, and of course, to celebrate Christmas. . . It wasn ' t the prettiest Christmas tree in Japan, but, certainly it was the largest We went up into the Japanese hills and chopped it down ourselves. The Yokosuka police department had to bottle up traffic while we carted it through the city Decorating it was a problem until, at the last minute, the dock officials let us borrow their 20 ton crane. Ever try decorat- ing a Christmas tree from a platform suspend- ed forty feet in space, held there by a crane operated by a non-English speaking Japanese dockhand? Our advice — don ' t — unless you happen to be in dry dock five on Christmas Eve. But the tree was decorated and with the aid of an accordianist borrowed from the Hospital ship Repose we gathered at its base, and had us a real old fashioned, heart warm- ing Christmas 6000 miles from home

Page 14 text:

i I I ' • gf » fc . 1 - f It took a lot of hot water to clear this away. It was c-c-c-c-cold on the bridge. • K .» .. Manchuria is iust five waves away. FORM The Ice Man cometh. Ma Chief MacPherson gets his shot. The boat deck took a beating.