Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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everyday, where the highlight of their Hberty was the privilege of actually talking to real, live and attractive American girls who were on duty there with the Red Cross. Then, too, ihcy got their usual ration of two cans of beer j)cr man, which added lots to the singing as tiuy gathered around the piano while one of the Red Cxoss girls or Talavera, Sic, played. lliere was also an Otticer ' s Club and a C:hicf Petty Officer ' s Club there, and the Officers and Chiefs had two barbecues at the Chief ' s Club during our stay, v hich were most enjoyable as they always are. Inasmuch as all the villages of Guam were out of bounds to military personnel, we saw ery little outside of our own military installa- tions and the recreation areas. We did have to go up to CinCPac ' s Headquarters one day, which, incidentally, is beautifully located up in the mountains. On this trip, we also passed through what used to he the village of Agana. Now, it is nothing but niins. and we understand that it was demoli.shed by our own Naval gun- Kri- during the invasion, retaking the island. As we rode along the coastal highway we would, occasionally, see a demolished Jap tank out in a field or a stranded American Alli- gator out on the coral reefs. While v e rode 7 jp: C-85 prepares tu dcparl sliip, betuut: C-b departs ship i orders to return to the States for leave and reassignment. at Guam: center: Fwankie Sinatra ' Josephine Gisch, Sac, dances. niber of Apollu Oracles sings; beiow: Wave 107

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cnuinc .ilicad i i . 2 H Port engine ahciicl J ■ . a (• stojipccl. IJ. 3 Mancinciint; lo lake station in Brrth -,()■ . U ' i Am hoicd in Rcrtli -,( -• Apia Harbor, (Juam. in i() fatlioins of water. 7;, I ' atlioins of ( liain out to tlic star- hoard anchor, on tin- Ibllowins bearings: Rani-e 1 1 - ° T. Beacon A iHH°l ' , Beacon B i4J.H°r, Beacon D ioo°r. Beacon G (K)C)° ' I ' . I ' -•4 ' 5 Sei iiicd lUiiin engines. ( il AM I ' ew uieii on board had e er been to (iiiam berore, and it was, therefore Cjuite a treat to us to liave the opportunity of visiting this impor- tant outpost of the United .States. As a matter of fact, we would have appreciated an oppor- tunity to set foot on land almost anywhere at that time, because everyone on board was ut- terly exhausted from ha ing been underway on the Okinawa operation for Hfty-onc days without stop. In this connection, with the exception of ten days in Ulithi between the Iwt) jima and Okinawa operations, we had. by this time, been underway on combat operations for exactly ninety days, and that ' s a long time in anybody ' s language. Small wonder, then, that we were ready for a rest at this port that was bustling with the business of winning the war. Although, our forces had re-taken Guam from the Japs only about nine months before we got there, from the looks of things, you could well imagine that the japs had ne er been there, because there was little outward e idence of their long oc- cupation of this beautiful, mountainous island. The . rmy. Navy and Marine activities there were doing a man-sized job in logistics and otherwise preparing our forces for the advance to the Empire. Our installations were tremen- dous and far-flung. Even Admiral Nimitz had already established his Advance Headquarters there, so that he would be just that much nearer the fighting front. We found that they already had just about every facility necessary for ser- icing the Fleet, and we found the authorities most cooperative in every respect. The Old Man and the Exec, realizing that we were tired, gave us all the liberty they could. As a matter of fact, during the time we were in dry dock there, when all hands are normally supposed to be over the side, cleaning, scraping and painting the ship ' s bottom, they let our liberty parties go ashore on schedule just as if we weren ' t in dry dock. To show their appreci- ation for this uninterrupted liberty, our men turned to on our liiill so eagerly (hat they had scraped, cleaned and painted (jur bottom in lli - record time (jf thirty-two hours. I ' he real treat of our stay in (iuani (jcrurrcd. however, when a representative of C!om. irl ' af came aboard and ollered to let groups of lifty men and ll c oliicers at a time spend a 48 hour liberty at a rest camp over in the hills. The rest camp was one that they maintain for the rehabilitation of .Squadrons just returning from combat, and you can bet your life we were (|uick to accept their most gracious invitation. Gon,sec|uently, a large number of the .Ship ' s Gompany were able to enjoy the facilities of the rest camp, where they could sleep as late as they wanted and not have to lift their hands, because everything was done for them. Except for the ones who were fortunate enough to go to the rest camp, the rest of us didn ' t get to see much of Guam. Our liberty parties went to the Gab Gab Kir n-nion .Area £ !lK lop: Ex bids squadron farewell; below: Squadrc responds to Exec. 106

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Aflcr vt-ais ul loyal service Chief Gunner ' s Male Wagner is piped over the side t„ a well earned res along the highway, there was always the possi- bility that a Jap might be peeping at us from behind a tree, beeause they still bring in Jap prisoners almost daily, although, comparati cly speaking, there are few left there now. That, of eourse, is another reason we were so re- stricted as to where we were allowed to go. Our Squ. dron Leaves Us It was as if we had lost an integral part of our ship when, on 1 1 May, the day of our arrival in Guam, our Squadron left us on orders to return to the States for further assignment. They had reported aboard for duty on i6 Au- gust 1944, and had b een a part of us ever since. They came aboard as strangers and they left us as friends. They came aboard as inex- p)crienced in actual combat as were most of us, but they left us as seasoned veterans of many an offensive strike against the enemy. They came aboard with a youthful outlook and in high spirits, but they left us as more mature men; men n ho had, for the first time, in many cases. faced the stark realities of life. They left w ' ith the same high spirits with which they came, but they were definitely more .sober in thought and manner. They had proven that, as a cross-.section of .American vouth. thev could Finale of ' .XpoUo Oracles. '