Lanier (APA 125) - Naval Cruise Book

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Outer harbor, Nagasaki P boat, with wave paddle on ramp, ready for Nagasaki landing Akuseki Jima in Jokara Gunto, 200 miles south of Nagasaki Ens. Wright views outer harbor, Nagasaki OCCUPATION OF NAGASAKI-Continued Buildings in the few villages visible were in a most disreputable state. Those at the waterfront resembled a slum district. One frame, building had a room which obviously would not shed water, and which apparently housed two families. The only building which remotely resembled those back home was a large, concrete Christian church building, with a large cross atop a neat spire. It looked like a small Cathedral and stood out like a neon light in a dark room. At ll5O we got the word to lower all boats l26 of theml into the water. At 1230 the first wave was well on the way to the beach, 5 miles away. As the waves went in lthere were 12 boats to a wave on this operationl, they travelled down a 4-mile-long estuary. ln approaching the destination in the boats the effects of American bombing became more and more visible as the waves neared the Customs House where cargo and per- sonnel were to be discharged. Grim-faced Japanese soldiers, still wear- ing their khaki clothes and' box-like miner caps, lined the banks, stood in darkened doorways or lounged on piles of debris. Two American nurses aboard the hospital ship USS SANCTUARY earned their month's sal- aries in iust smiling and waving to the sailors and marines as they approached this foreign port. Unloading of personnel proceeded smoothly, as the 600-foot dock facilitated the operation greatly. Cargo, as usual, took much longer to dispose of, because of the limited number of available trucks. But it doesn't take the Marines long to do a iob, and soon all the ships were unloaded. .lap-

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Wcouhalzbn sffayaxa aka' The remainder of this section is devoted to pictures and story of Nagasaki, Japan, and the results of the atomic bomb N advanced Marine unit was loaded aboard the LANIER on 9 September. It was the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Division, consist- ing of l3 Officers and 274 enlisted men. With the LANIER anchored in the outer harbor at Saipan, heavy swells due to a nearby ty- phoon interrupted the loading process. As it became impossible to hoist boats aboard, they were sent ashore for three nights, though they continued to bring supplies to the ship during daylight hours. By l3 September all supplies had been loaded. The second run to Japan was begun by ships of the following convoy on l8 Sep- tember, l945: WAYNE, MENIFEE, GAGE, AUDRAIN, MclNTYRE, AQUARIUS, OTTAWA, GRIMES, CAMBRIA, FREESTONE, MENARD, LYCOMING, APPLING, ANDROMEDA, CAP- RICORNUS, BRAXTON, LANIER, MERI- WETHER, MELLETE, WAUKESHA and TYRELL. Commodore Knowles aboard the CAMBRIA was convoy commodore. Questions which ran through minds of those aboard the LANIER as they approached the outer Nagasaki harbor on 23 September included: How much of the city was dam- aged by the atomic bomb? , Are the people starving? , and What does the inner harbor look like? As the ship dropped its hook and stood by to lower its boats and personnel the harbor filled up with transports, interrupting the tranquil domestic scene of small villages surrounding the Bay. Atomic Valley , with Mitsubishi arms plant on right, looking toward Nagasaki harbor

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- 'ff --Q-....-.....,.f-fs.,-........-...,--...L..,.-,....-...,N......,-.,...V.-...----.......w--.---Q..-......'----.ia-i...,. V-,.,.......-..,........,.,..r...A-.,..-M... End of lnner Harbor fafomic bomb area Ruined factory area, lnner harbor, Nagasaki extreme righf background-'I 1 Marines scramble down debarkafion nef unloading eight drums al G time info LSM HAVEN nurses helped morale ISANCTUARYJ alongside Boarding P boaf af Nagasaki X ,... N K 1 X