Henry A Wiley (DM 29) - Naval Cruise Book

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WMM The Ulithi Islands lie on two atolls and consist of about fifty-five islets of various sizes. The soil is constructed of broken coral covered with coconut palms and it is not suitable for cultivation. Qfulnawa. The Okinawa Gunto, consisting of Okinawa Shima and numerous smaller islands, are located at the approximate center of the Nansei Shoto group. The Gunto covers an area roughly 90 miles east and west and 65 miles north and south. The center link in the chain which screens the East China Sea from the Pacific Ocean, Okinawa Shima, larg- est and most important island of the Nansei Shoto, lies roughly at an equal distance from Formosa on the south- west, China on the west and Kyushu, Japan, on the northeast. The population of the Okinawa Gunto in 1940 was 462,000 of whom 435,000 lived on Okinawa Shima. Although the people are racially a mixed group they have the same basic characteristics as the Japanese. Physically they differ slightly as they are shorter, darker, and are inclined to have more body hair. For 700 years as part of the Ryukyu Retto the Okinawans maintained their own succession of kings. Chinese inva- sions began as early as 600 A. D. and continued intermittently. In the seven- In 1930 a total of 450 people inhabit- ed these islands. In Ulithi as well as the Marshalls the natives are Kanakas who were governed as Japanese mandates. teenth century the islands were con- quered by the Japanese, and for the next 250 years the shaky Ryukyu Kingdom maintained a precarious existence, in- fluenced by both China and Japan. In 1879, the king was reduced to the rank of a non-imperial prince of Japan, and the islands were incorporated in the Em- pire as Okinawa Prefecture. It was not until the end of the Sino-Japanese War in 1894 that the N ipponese rule receiv- ed full recognition, and the imprint of Chinese culture still remains. Chinese Ancestor Worship still has a strong influence and large whitewashed funeral vaults are conspicuous through- out the countryside. The average Okin- awan believes that he dwells after death as he did in life, and nearly every family has a funeral vault. There are few other external indications of active re- ligious influences. The Capital of Okinawa is Naha, the largest city of Okinawa Gunto. As a rule, Japanese from the empire filled all important administrative posts. The standard of living is lower than in Japan while the dress predominates Japan. Page nineteen

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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

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