Kenneth Whiting (AV 14) - Naval Cruise Book

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WE RELAXED... ISHAKAWA BEACH . . One of the lovely beaches on Okinawa, this one is reserved exclusively for U. S. Armed Forces personnel and their families. The patio ci the Enlisted Club at White Beach proved to be a popular spot for cooling off and an occasional sea story. Here Honeycut, Howell, Zimmerman and Hendon swap a few. i Like most American sailors away from home. Chief Wilson and Smitly have time on their hands, and are pondering what to do now. Attempting to beat the afternoon heat, some of our men eased over to the Enlisted Men ' s Club at While Beach and had a cool one. WENT SHOPPING... and, in many cases, little more than ser- vants. They have two jobs: (1) to serve the master in the home, and (2) to bear chil- dren — preferably sons. Today when an Okinawan Papasan, the size of a 12-Year- old American boy, sees a 6-foot, 200- pound Western man yes-dearing his wife, the Okinawan bends double with convulsive laughter. Woman suffrage? Why, he couldn ' t even spell the words! When we were ready to leave Okinawa many of us took an accounting of what it had cost. We have paid dearly. Fiolcik and Parton get helpful information on the best buy of the hundreds of patterns available in Chinese and Japanese chinaware. Perhaps a present foi Mem. Almond and Blevins browse through the Army Post Exchange looking for gifts.

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WE TOURED Taoism, introduced through the Chinese, places emphasis on ancestor worship. This still is a central tenet of Okinawan faith today. Taoism teaches that, after seven generations, ancestors become div- ine; therefore, the ancestor must be hon- ored and humored. This is the reason for the thousands of pretentious tombs we saw all over the island, to which offer- ings of food and paper spirit money are taken for use of the dead. Buddhism, coming from India by way of China, and Shintoism from Japan, were important in the island at various times, but their influence today has waned to insignificance. And now there are ap- proximately 5,000 natives on Okinawa who have been converted to the Catholic and Protestant faiths. There are 17 native pastors on Okinawa. The island terrain varies greatly be- tween north and south. Southern Okinawa consists of rolling hills. Many inviting sandy beaches, comparable to the ones in Florida and Southern California, can be found along the coastline. In the north- ern part, the country is much more rugged and beautiful. There the hills raise to more than a thousand feet, with Yonaha Take (1650 feet) the highest point. Naha, the capital and largest city, was a big surprise to most of us as far as our idea of cities was concerned. We under- stand that before the war it had the mod- ern look we ' re used to — now it looks about the same as the towns and villages we saw in other parts of the island. But we had to remember that every city and village in the southern half of the island were completely destroyed in World War II. No wonder Okinawa seemed, in sharp contrast to the life we know, like one of the backward areas of the world. Occasionally, in a brave attempt at masculine superiority, we American men bleat There ' s a place for women! Well, in Okinawa the men practice it, not hide and crow about it. There, traditionally, women stay in the background. They have always been considered inferior BUCKNER BAY FROM WHITE BEACH . . . Here we spenl more lime than any other stop in the Far East. Hot and humid OS it was, it was considered cooler and more com- fortable than the Pescadores, Hong Konq or the Philippines. THE INEVITABLE RICE PATTIE . . . Although there are thousands such as this throughout the islands, they are relatively newcomers, and sweet potatoes lake precedence as the native ' s stable food. THE NEW AND THE OLD ... On streets of Ihe larger villages a few modern vehicles, mostly buses and taxis, may be seen. The principal mode, however, is Ihe horsedrav n carls such as this. The mevitable change cf shoes. Two Whiting sailors prepare to depart the celebrated Tea House cf the August Moon in Naha. 39

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AND HAD A BALL f ' T And lo prove he ' ll chance Connor ' s cake (far right) he accepts the iirsi hunk. Captain Stevens starts the ball rolling while the Executive Officer and members of the crew look on. The Battle of Okinawa was the last and fierciest of the Pacific Campaign. Nearly 13,000 American men were killed in the bloody 90-day battle. And on le Shima, one of the 108 islands in the chain, we remembered that Ernie Pyle — the fam- ous World War II correspondent — was killed only three months before the end of hostilities. But evaluating Okinawa ' s worth to the free world today, most folks will agree that none of these men died in vain. On peering back to watch the Key- stone ' s hilly, green coastline sink into the sea, we all agreed: It was good that we came. We learned much. But oh! how wonderful to leave. The Pescadores await Our Combo (left to right) . . . Lcdr. Stan Krolczyk, Bob Scruggs, Jerry Smith and Chief Freeman. A good bunch to have aboard, they have brought home considerably closer many an evening with our favorite tunes. Okey, I ' ll chance it, says Commander West. TJHn|H ife Pf M K ' I a|L A m The KW ' s en the spot glee club with their rendition of Roll Out the Barrel. Caught in the act, Lcdr. Neal refreshments, to three of the men. The men limber up rusty dance steps with local hostesses furnished by the service clubs.