Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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' •Kiel I I HI.I.I.S l;iiul .ill is Weill Lyrics l)v 1,1. jii( k 11. (i;m(lt. L ' . .S. .Navy, (( hirf I ' ,ni;inccr, L ' ..S..S. l.uni a ' oiiil), and l ' ,(luin |. Hill. Music l)y Don (icori c and Joliniiy . ()l lc. 11 V li.ilni Id llic htlls lluit ring at rarille As l iiy announce Ihr timr of day: MV symbol i-f the sound into a melody, And this is what they seem to say. ' •Eight Bells ' ' and all is well With our Savy personnel. ' ' ' Eight Bells ' ' there ' s no pretense, ]lVrc the first line of defense. Eight Bells for freedom ring To our memories will cling. While our ships fiatrol the seas To fnotect our liberties. -Eight Bells and all m uyII. li ' hen time arrives to fight We trill fight ivith all our might To keep our sea lanes clear .And defend this hemisphere. ' ' Eight Bells and all is well For our ships and personnel. To command our liberties .And the freedom of the . ;eas, Eight Bells and all is well. SIIJI ' MAII. or MINI- can still ur you there. Bombs bursting in air. You were fighting with one thought in view. To keep Old Hlory flying, : nd there ' s no denying, } ' ou gave all for the lied. While and Blue. Shifimate Of .Mine, You have sailed beyond the seas; .Shifimate Of .Mine, You are in my memories. HV sailed the seas together. With f ride in . avy Blue. There ' ll never be another, Never a Pal like you. Shipmate Of Aline Tou did not fight in vain, Because you were fighting For democracy to reign. Hoiv you loved the . avy, too, ril alicays bear in mind. And carry on for you, ' ■Shifmiatf Of Mine. The above poem is dedicated to the .American Blue Jacket, and was written by Lt. J. H. Garrett, U.SN, Chief EnRineer of the U.S.S. Lunga Polnl, as a memorial to Chief Boatswain Edwin (. Hill, USN, who was killed in action at the Battle of Pearl Harbor. 7 December 1941. and was- posthumously awarded the Ojn es- sional Medal of Honor for his heroic action, when, having been blown overboard by the explosion of a Jap bomb, he swam back to his battleship and personally supervised unmooring his ship, thereby .saving her from a disastrous fate, but losing his own life. Copyright, 1942. Miller Music Corporation, New York, N. ' . Lunga Point from air at sunset. 178

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' PORTHOLE No one seems to know too much about Port- hole, the Captain ' s cat. About all we do know is that Mrs. Washburn brought her aboard the day we sailed from the States on this cruise. Knowing that the Captain must keep pretty well to himself aboard ship, even ha ' ing to dine alone while at sea. Mrs. Washburn un- doubtedly felt that he would be very lonely at times; so she decided to get him a pet for com- pany. Porthole was just a tiny kitten when she first rt ported aboard, but she has grown on through the Debutante stage, and is now a dignified and sedate Spinster. She is the only one. besides the Captain, that has complete freedom in the Captain ' s cabin, and our opinion is that she just about rules the roost in there. We do know that she occupies the Captain ' s comfort- able upholstered leather chair as if it were brought aboard solely for her use. W ' e dare say, too, that, while underway, she coils up and sleeps on the Captain ' s comfortable Beau- tyrest Mattress, while he tries to get in his cat nap ' in his Sea Cabin up in the island structure. While Porthole is the Captain ' s pet, she has meant much to the entire Ship ' s Company in that she has added an atmosphere of home to the ship, and all hands enjoy seeing .Scotty and Porthole romping up and down the Captain ' s passageway, with Scotty usually running from those vicious slaps that Porthole gives him. Then, too, for those on watch topside during the mid-watch, Porthole has put on many a show as she chases a piece of paper or cotton up and down the flight deck during the wee small hoiu ' s of the morning, and otherwise ca orts to her heart ' s delight while Scotty snores away down in the C.P.O. quarters. All things considered, Porthole has been a good shipmate to us all, as well as to the Cap- tain, 177

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Dear Folks: Oh — hum ! Egad ! Reveille so soon? I ' ll be glad when I am Home again; rii sleep elear tiirough to noon. This 0330 reveille Was not designed for me; If Vd only known it soon enough I ' d never put to sea. Four o ' clock, Flight Quarters; All stations must be manned; Planes fueled, armed and chocked. Boy, this Navy life is grand. Four-thirty comes and brings G.Q. Such a rush you ' ll never see; As sailors manning Battle Stations In enemy sections of the sea. Five-thirty finally rolls around; The sun begins to climb. Two hours now have I been up; Two hours of should be slumber time. Six-thirty — Mess Gear; .Seven o ' clock, we eat. It seems the day must soon be o ' er; .So I can go back to sleep. Right o ' clock, sweep down, The day has just begun; The second flight ' s about to leave, And things begin to hum. Degassing crews and gassing crews Are busy at their tasks; Aviation ordnancemen Are always running past. Bombs and rockets fit in place With a precision how-do-you-do; All hands run the obstacle course Set up by the handling crew. Eleven o ' clock, Mess Gear ! How can we ever win? I know right after chow, We ' ll do it all over again. When evening finally rolls around All hands will darken ship: Fhen it will be too dark to tly. And I can take that slumber trip. Just at the final re -spot, ' ou feel about to relax, When you hear that familiar Cllang-c Here come those ! ! !XXX ! ! Japs ! I ' ll never make a Navy man, The above I do repeat; The Navy ' s not within my line; I like too well to sleep. Lotsa love. Your son, W. F. SiNEX, Sic, V-2 Division. ing! Top: 40 MM battery at AA practice; hdou : jm M 1 doing the same thing. 179