Lenawee (APA 195) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 17 text:

OKINAWA 13

Page 16 text:

i OKINAWA OKINAWA — Noha was our usual jumping off place for Philippine operations. Visits to this main port of Okinawa included two stopovers in January, one in February and a final visit in March. Naha was the preferred port in Okinawa. The local exchanges and the city of Naha were easily reached by taxi. Port facilities were efficient and best of all, we were alongside a pier. Buckner Bay was a stopover point before and after Operation Strongback. We didn ' t see much in Buckner — except a lot of bay, since both times we were anchored so far out it was a short cruise in itself to get ashore. Kimmu Wan, just above Buckner Boy, was another stop. Our business there was amphibious only. We wet-netted troops and transferred supplies — no liberty. Okinawa wasn ' t the most popular place we visited, however, after some of the long amphibious operations and the heat of the Philippines, Okinawa was welcome indeed.

Page 18 text:

HAWAII I HAWAII — Pearl Harbor was both the first and the last chapter of our Asian Cruise. It was a good liberty stop enroute to the Far East and a welcome sight on the way home to San Diego. Differing from our first visit, the second stopover was one of relaxation with the long hours and hard work behind us. We had the benefit of a couple of mail calls and a chance to buy some final gifts for which we never seemed to have enough money in Japan. After Pearl Harbor it was a smooth trip until San Diego. Home was a different story. San Diego greeted us with buckets of rain and a 40 knot wind howling straight down the bay. We were the last in line stand- ing into the channel and the five knot entrance speed made it seem like we ' d never make it. But we did get the lines over again in San Diego, shifted colors and watched the dependents storm the ship like no Jar-Head ever could. Sayonara WestPac!