Louisville (CA 28) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 232 text:

Once the thriving port '4 xx of Dairen The splendor of Rome. The 5ClU2ll0l' of MThieve Muket Shmtg pl-iesfs chair, Russians treat us as comrades. East meets West and poses for a photo Meanwhile, we of the Louisville called at Chefoo, Weiheiwei and Taku Bar in China. From the latter, small liberty par- ties visited Tientsin twenty miles up the Hei Ho River. Aboard ship We cleaned and polished day. after day to bring our Every man gets a Jap rifle and bayonet. standard of smart appearance back to the high level of peacetime days. Smokers and boxing matches were re- vived. A basketball court installed on the well deck Was the setting for a hotly con- tested basketball league. All these activi- ties bolstered the morale of the ship in an attempt to dispel the low hanging clouds of monotony. Each Week or so another group of our high point oflicers and men would depart for home and discharge with our Cod- speed and sincere gratitude for a long job Well done. And then one day We, too, We who still remained, could give a rousing cheer of joy. We received our orders to become a ulVlagic Carpetw ship, which meant a homeward voyage. On November 14, We stood out of Jinsen, Korea, loaded with high-point Navy personnel, bound for Pearl, and Uncle Sugar!

Page 231 text:

ll I .11 IKHIXIIIK na , , hForty-four pointn men say last good-byes, check out with the O. O. D., and climb into the boat that will start them on the long road home. ments. Simultaneous with the surrender acceptance, and with the disarming and reorganization of Japan under General MacArthur, a similar series of events were being enacted in China under the direc- tion of General Chiang Kai-Shek. In this he was assisted by General Wedemeyer, China Theater Commander, the Seventh Fleet, and Marines of the Third Amphib- ious Corps. Our tasks now were confined to patrol duty in supporting our forces in the Yellow Sea area during the transition period following surrender. The political situation proved to be most important and complex. The pres- ence of the U. S. Forces in the North China area was, of course, to perform the militaryiduties attending the surrender of the Japanese forces to the Chinese, andy' to supervise the former's repatriation. However, it became an increasingly diffi- cult task for our U. S. Units, because the internal politics of China, far from quiet at any time, now flared into a state of open rebellion. The Communist Party, attempting to gain full control of the rich districts of North China, objected strenu- ously to the entrance of Kuomingtang troops. Treading on thin ice most of the time, our commanders continually had to evaluate the varying conditions in the dis- tricts concerned, and act accordingly. 201

Page 233 text:

only the Marine Corps managed to get shore duty at Tsingtao. H' ' U l l ,' 'li at Jinsen, Korea, we find ourselves welcomed by a grateful populace. lltlllr, tie neat WWWW Strolling about towi 1 We Hn-d interesting sights and souvenirs plentiful. ,A..i-,,,.,,..,- 203