George MacKenzie (DD 836) - Naval Cruise Book

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.

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 15 text:

A ship gets tired after 33 days of continuous steaming. The Mac was dog tired when she eased into Sasebo harbor. Jane Russell Hill — a welcome sight that day In early February. Our stay in Sasebo, shorter than we would have liked, was filled with work and preparation for the upcoming Hunter-Killer operation. We did manage to keep the merchants of Rob- ber ' s Row solvent and to make a tour of Nagasaki, home of Madame Butterfly and the A Bomb Blast. i %--- K ' % ' yj 4B 4k