Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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Jap radi lili-s N ' E of Naha. Okii hy our squadron. , bring boml f i cat naps as he lay exhausted on his flash- proof mattress cover on his buni , with his clothes on, and with one ear cocked for the sound of the General Alarm. Some of us have stood many a topside watch in the heaviest rain one can imagine, for hours at a time, getting drenched from head to foot. Some of us have had just the opposite privilege of stand- ing engine room watches in the almost un- bearable heat. It has been hard on all of us, but no harder on any one man aboard than on any other. But our spirits are not down- hearted, because the hardships we have en- dured have been recognized in so many ways by those under whom we fight. On 14 April, we received a di.spatch from Admiral Spruance, Commander Fifth Fleet, reading as follows: ■FOR THE CONTINUED FINE PER- FORMANCE OF OUR PILOTS AND AIR- CREWS IN 0 ER VHELMING ENEMVS HEAMEST AIR EFFORTS AND FOR FORTITUDE AND EFFECTI ENESS OF OUR SURFACE UNITS PARTIC:ULARL ' ON OUTLYING STATIONS IN COMBAT- IING THE SMALL PERCENTAGE OF ENEMY AIRCRAFT THAT C:OULD GET THROUGH OUR AIR DEFENSE I CAN- NOT EXPRESS TOO HIGHLY MY .AD- MIRATION X THIS WILL NOT BUILD UP THE ENEMYS AIR FORC:E NOR HELP HIS MORALE X And, sfjeaking of recognition of good work, we are all mighty proud of those Departments responsible for fueling at sea — Gunnery, Engi- neering and C. R. — because the results of their training in this particular job were well proven on 1 ) . pril. when we received a dis- |)ai h from Admiral Duri in. following a fueling o|) -rati()n. rcadint; as follows: ■WIl.M Is ■( l R 1LI.LI. (, I ' ROCE- !)L RE I 11. VI . 1. KES n POSSIBLE FOR YOU K) ilNISH SO olickly: We were further •energized on the same date when we received a pat on the back by being specifically mentioned in Admiral Blandy ' s dispatch reading as follows: WE C:ANNO ' r TELL YOU HOW HI(;HIA ' WE REGARD IHE PERICJR.MANCE OF THE C ES .AND THEIR PILOIS IN THIS AS WELL AS PREVIOUS OPER.ATIONS X YOU NOT ONLY DO YOUR USUAL DIFFIClULl SUPPORT TASKS WITH- OUT C:OMPLAINT BUT ALSO TAKE ON IMPORIANI OFFENSIVE MISSIONS WITH EAGERNESS AND SUCC:ESS X WELL DONE X Then, on 22 April, we received the following dispatch from Headquarters 77th Infantry Division: ' THE AIR C:0 ER FURNLSHED THE 77TH DIXISION IN THE KERAMA RET- TO OPERATION 2b MARCH TO 31 MARCH 1945 INC:LUSI E WAS SUC:H THAT NOt A MEMBER OF THE DI I- SION WAS LO.ST OR INJURED BY EN- EMY AIR ACTION X THE AIR SUPPORT FURNISHED ON L.ANDING BEACHES .ANT) UPON SUBSEQUENTLY LIMITED TARGETS IN THE ISLAND WAS OUT- STANDING BOTH IN P ROMPTNESS .AND EFFECTI ' ENESS OF MISSIONS C:ONDUCTED X SUC:H SPLENT)ID CO- OPERATION BETWEEN ARMS C:.AN ON- LY RESULT IN FURTHERING THE C:OMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENEMY RAPIDLY .ANT) WITH MINI MUM LOSS TO OUR OWN FORCES X ' When the end of the Okinawa operations was in sight, the powers that be undoubtedly knew that we were tired and needed a change of scenery, so they sent us off on a special mis- sion where we would be less likely to encounter any Jap aircraft. The night before we took departure from the operating area off Okinawa the Captain talked to us over the general an- 102

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haiinrhcs, licking ihcir wounds, right in their own front yard. The American Army, Na y, Marines and C oast Guard were giving him more than he could take, and, despite his fanatical resistance, his fiendish tactics, his in- human tendencies, it seemed to us who were knocking at his door that he would soon rue the day that he had perpetrated that sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Yes, we do remember Pearl Harljor, but no one will remember it as long as the Japanese Nation, because they are now paying a heavy price for any sense of guilty satisfaction they might have derived from their villainous act of 7 December 1941. And, with all the suffering the Japs were now undergoing, we were glad that the Lunga Point had been, and would continue to be, the cause of no little of their misery. But, the war is not over yet; even the Battle of Okinawa continues as we near the end of our first year in commission, and we, ourselves, have been in on it from the start — an operation that has lasted longer than any individual carrier operation in history. When the pov ers that be consider that our job has been com- pleted, and wc are ordered to some port for rest, we will have been constantly underway without let-up for a long, long time. The only thing that we have had to console us during this arduous campaign has been the fact that we t: entered Kerama Rctto on 2 . pril. have had mail brought to us three or four times by destroyer. That, naturally, is in addition to the satisfaction of a job well done. Our fresh egetables are gone. We are living on dehydrated spuds, dehydrated carrots, de- hydrated onions, frozen pork chops, synthetic lemon juice, frozen pork chops, powdered milk, frozen pork chops and frozen pork chops. We are tired: very tired. The average man aboard has considered him.self fortunate if he has gotten six hours of sound sleep a day, and a good part of the sleep he has gotten has been in In many instances supplies were dropped by parachute to our forces on Okinawa. 101

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nouncing system, telling us where we were go- ing and what we had to do. At the same time, he told us that, comparatively speaking, it would not be a strenuous operation, that all hands had done a good job thus far and needed a rest, and that he hoped we would be able to relax in the new area and get some much needed rest. W ' e arrived in our new operating area on 26 April, with all hands looking forward to that relaxation the Captain had promised us. We had hardly gotten there, though, when the Exec left the Old Man out on the short end of a limb. The Executive Officer is second in command and is well protected by Navy Regu- lations, which go on to say that all orders of the Executive Officer shall be considered as emanating from the Commanding Officer. We had hardly taken station in our relax- ation area when we picked up the Plan-of-the- Day, covering our work for the first day there, and what to our weary and sleepy eyes should appear but the following note: Field Day all day throughout the ship! The words Field Day have a number of meanings. To our pilots, it can be a Grand Slam against enemy aircraft: to some of us, it is a day set aside in Prep School and College for a full day of intra-mural track and field events. But to the men of the Litnga Point, it has a more ominous and dreadful interpretation. It sim- ply means to them that all day throughout the ship they will be scrubbing the decks and bulkheads with soap and water, polishing bright work, chipping paint, sweeping down, painting the decks and bulkheads, scraping the ladders with wire brushes, and otherwise relaxing as they carry on their work under the ugly stares of a Petty Officer, in preparation for the flashlight inspection of the First 1 forecastle while dropping hook at Gu 103