Hopewell (DD 681) - Naval Cruise Book

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The in-port period in Sasebo ended much too soon. Duty with the Formosa Patrol was our next assignment, and we knew this meant a trip to Hong Kong. We relieved Division 151 at Keelung and while the rest of our division proceeded to sea, we went to Kaohsiung to train Chinese National sailors. After Yokosuka and Sasebo, Kaohsiung did not look like much when we 'went ashore. The city was small, the children dirty, and there was not the modern look that the japa- nese- cities had. x We did find, however, that the Chinese hospitality was as good as the japanese-the girls were just as pretty and the ricksha boys plentiful. They had a nice Club and we played baseball at the municipal sports field almost every day. General Chaing Kai- shek's headquarters was in Kaoh- siung, and we were able to pay our respects to the military and political leader by manning the rail when he and his flagship left the harbor' to observe Chinese naval maneuvers.

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Some of us Went on the all day tour of Nagaski, about 50 miles south of Sasebo, where the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945. We saw the exact spot where the bomb went off, the wreckage of the Catholic Church and other points of interest. It was amazing to see how much had been rebuilt since the atomic explosion first rocked that city. We had a wonderful lunch, saw the home of Madame Butterfly and had a good time Wandering around this very typical an-d inter- esting japanese city. 4 .:. :.:..... f 1:.: f- . .. .. .. ....,- ...-.- A . ,,,,,,.,. ' - - J..-. - ..............

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V 1 We left Kaohsuing one afternoon, and after a rendezvous with the cruiser Los Angeles we both proceeded to Hong Kong. Immediately after our arrival, we were besieged by merchants with every kind of ware imaginable. We fought them off with water hoses until the Exec could make sure that the ones we let on board were reliable. Soon we were inspecting everything from hand carved dragons to lace tablecloths. We bought cashmere sport coats, gabardine suits, jade and jewels and almost anything you could name. The liberty party went ashore to inspect this pearl of the orient. Some of us went on tour of Hong Kong, inspected the Tiger Gardens, saw the city from atop the surrounding hills, had a steak lunch at the Lido Lounge, roamed through the fishing village of Aberdeen and returned to the main city to sample the night life. We also went to Kowloon fonly a mile from Commu- nist dominated Chinaj by riding one of the many ferry boats. When we left Hong Kong the ship was two feet lower in the water and our wallets were empty.