Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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Welcome Home sign, ; entered San Diego Harbor. many interesting and trying moments during the strenuous campaigns of Leyte, Luzon, Iwo, Okinawa and the East China Sea. We have learned from the Officers and men of your gallant ship that, when the need arises, there is no limit to the endurance, the will-to-do, the fighting spirit and the courage of our sailor men. I speak not only for my staff but for all the Escort Carriers when I say the LUNGA POINT is an outstanding ship and we are happy to have had the privilege of serving with it. All of you have every reason to take pride in the achievements of your ship and for your part, which was much more than most of you realize, in our overwhelming victory. I am proud to have been one of you and will miss the good old LUNGA — We all felt safer when she was by our side. Goodbye and good luck to you all. No other ship more deserves a Well Done. (S) C. T. Durgin Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy Commander Escort Carrier Force Finally, vc managed to get our passenger capacity aboard and we set sail for Pearl Harbor on 28 October at 0749, flying a Home- ward Bound pennant 604 feet long and with 38 stars: a foot for e er ' enlisted man and a star for e ery officer on board who has been away from the States a year or more. To say that we were happy to sec that pennant streaming out o ' cr our fantail assisted by the buoyancy of sexeral acrological balloons is not only putting it mildly b« i| absolutely superfluous. What would otherwise ha e been such a plea.sant cruise, however, was fraught with many things to make it almost unpleasant. We had rough weather all the way to Pearl Harbor; the longest stretch of rough weather c ha c had in our history .It was so rough that not too much sleep was gotten en route; it was almost impossible to stay in one ' s bunk at night. Add to that the matter of low ra- tions, most of them dehydrated, and then add a serious water shortage that made it necessary for us to institute water hours and the .sum total wasn ' t too pleasant. If it had not been 238

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for vh;il wjs at tlic other end nl ilic Liiiihow it would liiuc been a iiii litiiiarc. Ncvcrtliclcss. the rougli wcatlur niiK (U- layrd us (jiir clay, aiicl vr n-aclircl I ' cail on . o- vcuiIht the 71I1 where those of us wiio got ashore had our first glimpse of real ri i!izali()n ill over a year. We did n(jt slay in Pearl loui;. shovinir off the very next dav at noon for San Dicuo. The nip to I);ii;() ,is nolliiiii; like .i bad as ironi I dkyo to Pearl, alliiough the seas were ju l .ihout as hea y as West of Pearl. ' I ' he water situation improved, and, Ix-si of all, we were able to gel aboard some fresh provisions dmin); oin- short stay in Pearl anrl w - ale better than we had in months. . nd, now, it ' s the morning of 1 - ncml)er. . rc we happy? Well, who wouldn ' t Ik-? We are si.indini; on the (light deck of the Lunga Point, .111(1 (Mil of the ( ' (jrner of one eye we .see 1 7 Jap Hags on our bridge, and out of tlie corner of the other we .see old Point I.uni,! rising into the sky. and, i)y nightfall, well be at the other end of tiie rainbow. C:. PTAIN WILIJ.WI RlCiHT HOLLING.SWORIH. U. S. NA V It would not only be inappropriate, but it would also be ill-mannered and ungrateful to close the cover of this book without saying a word about our present Skipper. Captain Hollingsworth relieved the com- mand of the Lunga Point on 5 July, bringing with him a record of achic cmcnt of which he should be justly proud. While it is true that he assumed command toward the closing days of the war and, consequently, had little oppor- tunity to prove his ability as a leader in battle aboard our ship, he has demonstrated his lead- ership in so many other ways that there is no doubt in the minds of the ofHccrs and men of the Lunga Point that he can rise to any occasion. With great pride in having served under C aptain Hollingsworth we say to him, Good- bye, Good I uck and many happy crui.ses. 240