Henry A Wiley (DM 29) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 21 text:

PURTS 0F BALI. Beamacla. The Bermuda Islands consist of two hundred sixty small islands of coral for- mation of which twenty are inhabited. They lie 677 miles southeast of New York. These Islands make a total of 19 square miles and have a population of 32,451. Bermuda was settled in 1609 by a party of colonists under Sir George Somers, who at the time of his arrival was enroute to Virginia, but was ship- wrecked on the Islands. The Island, a perennial garden, with a dozen winter hotels and famous beaches, was a favorite winter resort for Americans before the war. Until 1943, no automobiles were ever seen on these islands and now only government and official cars are permitted. In 1940, sites were granted to the United States for use as naval and air bases. l 6606-Z 3006 The Canal Zone is a strip of land ex- tending five miles on either side of the axis of the Canal but not including the cities of Panama or Colon, which remain in the Republic of Panama. The port at the Caribbean entrance, formerly a port of Colon, is Cristobal, at the Pacific entrance, Balboa. The strip of land was granted to the United States by Panama by treaty in 1904. N o private individuals are allow- ed to own land. Of the 553 square miles of the strip, 362 square miles consist of land. Gatun Lake, with the water at its normal level of 85 feet above sea level, has an area of 163 square miles. As a matter of executive arrange- ment, the Secretary of War represents the President of the United States in the administration of Canal affairs. The Canal, consisting of three sets of locks, is 44 nautical miles or 50.7 stat- ute miles in length, at least 300 feet wide at the bottom of excavated channels, 110 feet wide in the lock chamber, which has a usable length of 1,000 feet. dqdtlldii Hawaii, by voluntary action of its people, ceded its sovereignty to the United States in 1898 and was organ- ized as a Territory in 1900. Twenty Is- lands make up the group, nine of which are inhabited, all of which lie at least 2,000 miles west from the nearest main- land. The Islands make up 4,021 square miles. The Islands are mountainous and vol- canic in origin, filled with extinct crat- ers. The soil is fertile, all tropical and sub-tropical fruits and vegetables are grown. Large quantities of small tim- ber and saw logs, for use in the war ef- fort and to reduce the strain on ship- ping facilities, have been cut. Their largest trade consists of sugar and pine- apples. Other produces are canned fish, fiber insulation board, molasses, cattle hides, potatoes, coffee, bananas, and nuts. The estimated population of Hawaii in 1941 is listed as 465,340 consisting largely of native Hawaiians, Puerto Ricans, Caucasians, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Filipinos. The chief executive officer of the Ter- ritory is the Governor, who is appointed by the President, with the approval of the Senate, for a four-year term. The Legislature of Hawaii consists of a House of Representatives C30 membersj and a Senate Q15 membersj. Page seventeen

Page 20 text:

DATE AAINEQ MILLS 'r'o'rAL. 9fl5fLJ+ New York 9fl8fl1b, Bomuoo 697 697 1Ofl8fLL Bermuda 10119111 Norfolk 683 1380 1Of2Ofl+L No rfolk Yorktown 60 114110 1Of25fl4.L Yorktown , l0f26fL1+ New York 325 1765 1lf8fl+h New York 1119111 Casco Day 335 2000 11f10fL,1, Casco Bay 1lfl7fhl+ Colon, Panama 22L,l l12L,1 1lf18fl1l, Balboa, Panama 11f19!hu Balboa, Panama 11f2'7!h1+ san Diego 2863 70811 l2f3fLb San Diego l2f9fbl+ A Pearl Harbor 2285 9369 M2716 Pearl Harbor 2X5 A5 Ehiwetok 2Lp25 117914 2!7!a5 miwotok 2f1lfh5 Saipan 6 1000 12791, 2fl3fl+5 Saipan 2flyL+5 Iwo Jima 660 13391, Iwo Jima ' 5 Sai an 660 342525145 Saipan P 13 991' 3 la-5 Ulithi OO 3!21!L+5 Ulithi 5 mm 3!21+!I+5 okinowo 1210 15701, 9flfl+5 TOTAL MILAGE As RECORDED BY THE P1T0METER L00 'ro THIS DATE - 59800

Page 22 text:

Honolulu, on the Island of Oahu, is the Capital and chief commercial city and port of the Islands. According to Emweiak The Marshall Islands consist of wide- ly scattered groups primarily of two chains of atolls. Beside the two main chains, there are some six outlying atolls, so that the whole group is made up of about thirty groups of low coral is- lands and islets, some without lagoons but the greater number being fully form- ed atolls The islands are authentically reported to be only walls of coral blocks debris and sand accumulated by storms and thrown up on the reefs by the surf The government before American oc SGWAGJ4 Saipan is a part of the Marianas which consist of a chain of steep vol canic islands extending in a north and south direction for a distance of 389 miles All these islands before the war with the exception of Guam were Jap anese mandates .7010-LIQZG The rock the piece of volcanic ash which protrudes upward in the Mid Pa c1f1c this eight square miles was the scene of the W1ley s first major engage ment It was on this unheard of once insignificant island whlch will go down in the annals of American History as the scene of as highly contested a battle as the world has ever seen where the Wiley made its debut It was believed that some civilians l1ved on this island but 1t was later learned that Iwo Jima had been turned into an arsenal of underground fort1f1 cations Page eighteen the U. S. Weather Bureau it has never been hotter than 88 degrees or colder than 56 degrees on the islands of Hawaii. cupation, was under the jurisdiction of the Jaluit Branch Government, the is- land constituting a Japanese mandate. Eniwetok, our first stop after Hawaii, is 21 miles long in a northwest and southwest direction. The Islands are generally low, from 6 to 13 feet in height all of which are sandy and unsuitable for cultivation, but they are partially covered with coconut palms and other trees The 1930 census lists 121 inhabitants on Emwetok who raise pigs and chick ens for existence The original natives were Chamorros who have diminished in number how ever the islands were colonized with Kanakas from the Carollnes who now constitute about one third of the popu lation In 1934 Saipan had a population of 18 868 of whom 15 695 were Japanese Iwo J ima s terrain is very rough and the island is shaped as a Swift s Pre mium Ham with Mount Sur1bach1 alias Hot Rocks on the lower end The 1S land 1S situated in the volcanic island chain 660 miles north of Saipan and is of great strategic value Few trees are seen on the island and vegetation is not practicable due to the volcanic soil The little growth that can be observed con sists of low sickly looking shrubs I dustry was limited to several small quar ries Iwo Jima now a famous island shall never be foigotten by the members of the Wiley s crew that participated in the hard won battle lg , ' A , . i S O I 0 I I . . .- E E , . . 1 2 ' ' E gl 3 ll 1 . X 0 0 Q U I 0 9 1 I 1 . . . . - . . if ' a lr . . . . ljy' . . . . 1 1 - - - ' - ' - - - 1, - 5 V 7 ' 7 lx! 1 . ' , , , lhl, 1 11 ll iff 1 5 1 f 1 Q ' 1311, 11 21 - 1 ' ' ' - iff 1 ' ' cc ' a 1 . .. . ,, . . .-, . 1,191 11-.1 - , - . u an , . ,El - -' O 7 . iw? . . . . . - . . 11' ! . , . ,lit , . . . . . ?Z . - 11: 11 . - , . .xi . 1. . . . . . , - . . '11 3j11 ' - ' . . - . . L . u - 3 ' - . . . , 3 . V I 0 I . . . . . l 0 7 ' 5 1 . 1 I ' ' '- ' 2 - - . lx ' . 1 . . l. I. 11 ' I 1 1 3 , 1v I