LST (491) - Naval Cruise Book

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ll Decommissioned We received unexpected news around December 15, that our ship was to be decommissioned in the near future and turned over to Sca-Jap Qthe shipping con- trol authority, japanesej for repatriation purposes. This was unwelcome news as the men had worked so hard to put the ship in A-l shape, and several of our men would have liked to have sailed the Ol' Double Trouble un- der the Golden Gate for her last trip. Captain Teuscher QCommander LST Group 107 5, and his staff were or- dered to transfer aboard the LST 702. We regretted to see him go as we all had great respect for his leader- ship and understanding and enjoyed serving under his command. Christmas had soon rolled around. The interior of the ship, which had been recently painted, was beau- tiful, fresh and clean. We received two Christmas trees aboard, one for the crews' quarters and one for the ward- room. Divine Protestant services were held aboard 011 Christmas Eve 'and men of the Catholic faith were sent ashore for .midnight mass. A Christmas carol sing WHS arranged by Dr. I-lal Kattus around the tree in crews' quarters, and each man received a Christmas gift p2lCk' age from the American Red Cross. We had a mi110f 54

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i ! THE OL DOUBLE TROUBLE T icles American British French and Italian A F men aboard had witnessed many trying experiences both IC and Pacific theatres of the War and in every case all had performed their duties and assumed their respect1ve responsibilities in a most outstandmg The hope of every ship s captain is to have a hap We ywere satisfied that ours was a ha y ship although We realized our degree of efficiency could have been rmproved A in the Atlant and efficient ship We like to think of ships in our Navy not just as iron and steel and guns and such but as flesh and blood from which comes a genuine spirit of service to the Nation We all know that our Nation has been grate ful for all we have endured and for all we haveaccom plishcd The cost of the recent world struggle was high terrilically high when We count up the number of men who made the supreme sacrifice To us the living 18 given the difficult task of maintaining a peaceful World Where the dignity of all men can be secure and not re- served just for the few. We must not fail. If all those who served their Nation so loyally and faithfully during the War, work shoulder to shoulder for peace on the home front, We will have peace, not just for our time, but for all time. 56