Kenneth Whiting (AV 14) - Naval Cruise Book

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CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES OF THE PESCADORES . . . Saint Mary ' s chapel has been estab- lished in Ma Kung lor the past 60 years. Along with two Pro- testant missionaries, these chris- ' ! ■:.■■■ ' ■ I ' -i in con- V. : ' ■,■■:,. ■ ■].e 80,000 ivi 1 [■ . 1 ii.i: ' ; ' !,-■ Christian ALTAR OF A TYPICAL BUD- DHIST TEMPLE . . . Buddha and 1:1;-- nnny lioutenants. Each fish- . -, its own temple, ; ' .ar Buddha, The lithing and the ; •,:::, in : : t incense. A TRAVELING OPERETTA COM- PANY , , . In this scene a vile old fuedal master has died and his serfs are deliriously happy over the news. EAST MEETS WEST , . . Captain Laviqne has a smiling conversa- tion with one of Ma Kung ' s soda jerketts, Although having adopted the Western dress, she, like all the other islanders (except- ing a couple dozen), has a long v ay lo go before adopting the American lingo. A smile, however, seemingly makes for nice con- versation all over the world. CHANGE OF COMMAND CHANGE OF COMMAND . . . Captain Stevens takes over command of KENNETH WHITING from Captain W, W. Hollister, 17 June, at Boko Ko, Pescadores Islands, Here Captain Stevens holds his first personnel inspection aboard the KW, )l: i k till

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i.!A KUNG ' S SUPER-i ' vlAHKtr . . . Here you can purchase almost everything from soup to nuts, but it ' s Pescadores soup and nuts, and it ' s doubtful indeed if any Westerner could identify any plant or item in the place. Sturdevant and Mussetler posing beside villager ' s fishing scow. Decorations of boat bow will keep evil spirits away. Of the 68 islands, only a half-dozen are inhabited; the remainder being only white craggy toad stool- like coral reefs rearing ugly heads out of the sea. The group ' s complete worthwhileness is con- centrated on the two larger islands, Ma Kung and Bai Sha Tao. On these most of the citizens live, work, and from them will pass on to the land of Buddha. The largest and capital city. Ma Kung, is located on the big island of the same name. It is the site for 70 percent of all industry. Here 35,000 people live in an area comparable to a U. S. community of 5,000. The typical home is 1 and 2 rooms, and houses a 4 to 10-member family. Most shopkeepers and their families live within their 1-room shops. The island of Bai Sha Tao is rural, sprinkled with small, sti ll villages. These are located near the water so the residents may tie their boats near home during high tide. Their farms are carved out of the high ground. The men sail the blue island waters in quest for fish; the women and children do the farming. No small number of American Navy men think this a splendid arrangement. But again, no smaller number of their ladies back home would think it strictly for the birds, so the motion would never get a vote. Bai Sha Too is no comfortable location in which to live. Here 25,000 farmers and shopkeepers fight a prevailing wind from, August until May. During that period a 30-knot gale tears their crops with incessant and unmerciful fury. The chief crop is Kai Liang (Guy Lee Ong). Similar in appearance to sugar cane, it contains very littte food value. Some goes for animal food, and the re- mainder is chopped and distilled into a 160-proof whiskey that is reputed to have curled the toe nails of the esteemed Buddha himself. The islands are a far-cry from self-sufficient. They have to import all their rice from Formosa. In this temple this follower is washing the altar, which is always cleansed after each prayer. Often times a Taiwanese will kneel and pray for many hours without rising. Inside one of the temples two Westerners examine some of the tools cf the trade. Captain David Lavigne, American liaison officer, and Doug Mauldin look over the Prayer Blocks. While the islander intones prayer he drops these blocks until they land flat side down. It might take all day, but he ' ll pray and keep dropping until they come to rest in the right position. 44

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ttihr SB ! g During u respite from the sun, Kelley, Intantmc, and Chiel Clark take it easy under this crude, but effective shed the Nationalist soldiers ererled fcr cur ccmfcrt. The model airplane bug v. ' as in the Pescadores, too. Ellington (with plane) displays his model to (left to right) Scharlau, Roby, MacKay, Hunnicutt and Rube before sending it aloft over Sand Island. On one of their occasional get-togethers Nationalist Chinese soldiers get a taste of American beer, cigarettes and nonsense from these members of the Whiting crew on the seawall at Gyoo-Too. .-Jjiia Island O-Club. Built by the Naticr,:;- Forces as l. token of good-will, it was lacking in plush furniture, running water, ice and air-conditioning, but it was on the beach, and oft-times that is enough for any Navy man. There is little culture among the Taiwanese as their education standards are low, averaging 4 to 5 years of schooling. And their arts and crafts, have a rugged aspect. There is none of the del- icate and exquisite taste of the mainland Chinese, nor are there any intricate wood and ivory carv- ings. Their jewelry is fashioned predominantly of sea shells and a rare, highly polished wunstone. Reputed to be mined only in the Pescadores and Sicily, the wunstone ' s rarity deems it somewhat of a collector ' s item. The people are devoutly religious, with 99 per- cent being avid Buddhist, and a sprinkling of Christians tossed in. Both Catholic and Protestant groups have found it near impossible to convert the people to the christian faiths. After 60 years of persistent teaching by the Catholic mission- aries, 300 converts make up the complete flock at Saint Mary ' s in Ma Kung. The Protestants have enjoyed even less success. To the American Navy man aboard ship at Boko Ko, the most pronounced aspect about these incomprehensible people and their homeland is the languid quietness. Watching them day after day, and throughout the night, he sees sampans moving to and fro like uncountable water beetles negotiating a mill pond. He can never quite man- age to get in close proximity; he can find no way of communication — no avenue from which to ef- fect a merger. So eventually he shrugs it off in typical American nonchalance and quits sweating it. As far as he can discern, the native ' s only goal is existing. And their chief concern? Enough work to survive; many hours of rest and sleep; increas- ing the Pescadores population. And the American that could talk to them learned that they seem- ingly have 10,600 years in which they can ac- complish these things — or anything else they might happen to desire. We learned, though, that they were our friends, and glad that we were there. And we were glad that they were glad . . . AND AWAY WE GO...