Iwo Jima (LPH 2) - Naval Cruise Book

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.min KAOHSIUNG Though we spent more time conducting operations off the coast of Taiwan than we did exploring it with our cameras, we were still fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of this island of ancient Buddhist Temples and congenial people. We first entered the port of Kaohsiung on October l6th for a short stay of two days and later returned for a longer ten-day period. Aside from being the proud possessors of what we consider to be the most beautiful girls in WestPac, we found the island to be a bargain hunter's paradise. Hand-made furnishings, beautiful jade and clay ornaments and other materials indigenous to the island were always for sale at the lowest prices. The Chinese, who are equally as adept at bargaining as we are, certainly did some heavy haggling, and in the most odd places, like, for instance, the fantail, in liberty boats, etc. We probably held more invasions against the coast of Taiwan than their Red Chinese adversaries a short distance away had ever threatened to stage. Taiwan was the scene of two large,-amphibious exercises by American and Nationalist Chinese forces. The first, Exercise Big Dipper , was an annual evolution conducted to evaluate how well Nationalist Chinese and American forces combined, could secure and hold a common objective. The second of these operations, Exercise Back Pack , was another effort, this time to dislodge a mock enemy who had already established a beachhead on southern Taiwan. It was the largest such exercise the Seventh Fleet had conducted in years. A total of forty thousand men and thirty-six U. S. ships participated. The entire operation lasted from February 29th through March 12th and was a huge success.