Haven (AH 12) - Naval Cruise Book

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The peninsular Korean War has brought home to the United States Navy the absolute necessity for the maintenance of her hospital ships which have been so adequately staffed and equipped for many wars Unlike the other wars in which the floating hospital was a more or less welcomed supplement to other medical facilities, the present conflict makes us a primary medical establish- ment for urgent frontline casualties and would almost leave us with complete medical responsibilities in the case of an all-out air raid. The efforts of the Navy in furnishing hospitals at sea which equal or exceed the standards of the world ' s best hospitals has indeed been rewarded — and she is rightfully proud of this. The following pages depict the hospital at work both in carrying out her present primary duties of taking care of war emergencies and her secondary duties of administering routine medical care to the Armed Forces of the United Nations, Between January 7, 1952 and October 13, 1952 almost thirty-four hundred patients were hospitalized in the U.S S. HAVEN and literally thousands more received treatment on an out-patient basis. S J0 [?T7m. Q

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On a cold, dreary morning in January the HAVEN sliced her way to- wards the port of Yokosuka, Japan, nearing the completion of a jour- ney ... a journey that had seemed long, had been interesting, and also at times very monotonous. The clouds were low and the view was hazy, but by straining our eyes we were able to detect the fuzzy outline of land, and in scattered ar- rangement, a few lights. We inched closer and definite objects began to come into view. We saw giant cranes silhouetted against the morning sky, weather-beaten fishing boats scurrying about us, and all around us, other members of our vast American fleet. There were no skyscrapers, no loud noises, not even rumbling ones For the most part it was too quiet to suit the occasion. Finally we docked and our predominant thought was a wistful won- dering if the place, this place that was to be our home for some time to come, was to be as dull and dismal as appearances now made it seem. We learned quickly that it was not. Stepping out the main gate was an experience in itself for we couldn ' t help but notice the terrific atmosphere the place offered. Here were a race of small tan people tripping about in their wooden sandals seem- ingly going in all four directions at once. Taxis and rickshas were busy conveying people, mostly sa ' lors, to their individual destinations while angry horns blew meaningless notes at them. Tiny shops were crowded close together. Each had it ' s barker beg- ging the sailors to come in, teasing them to buy something. The farther we walked the more interesting the place became. Up one street, down another, tramping up concrete steps, down again . . . maybe embarrassed. Entertainment ' Various means and ways. Beer halls dominated the place and most were comparable to the dives back stateside . The people and their customs gave us a unique form of entertainment, for they were all different ... the points of interest gave us scenes of beauty and sights to remember, and we saw that this land had its own sense of art, architecture, music and drama. So this was liberty in Japan? We couldn ' t be sure because this first stay was limited to only fice days. However, we left with a strong desire to come back , . , to come back and really become acquainted with Japan, with that part of the world that to us was the Orient. ffjTRcpucTfo» ik o mr

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