Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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had to face him at Mast to this date. We were ail impressed with his sincerity of purpose and felt that we had a Skipper who was going to be tough when necessary but fair always. Many of us. even at that early date, suspected that he Captain Earner cnngratulates Claplain Washburn at commission- ing was a Perfectionist, although he denies it at this writing, only admitdng to striving for perfection. In either case, being or ■ striving, at the conclusion of his remarks, we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we had a long road of indoctrination ahead of us before qualifying to strive for perfection. Following the Captain ' s talk, all hands turned to on fitting out and all that goes with it. The three weeks following our commission- ing were hectic ones. Without having gone through it, it is impossible for anyone to appre- ciate the tremendous amount of work in ol ed in putting a new ship in service. The hangar deck was piled high with what appeared to be mountains of stores, supplies and the usual ucar To y; Mrs. Washburn serves the Captain a slice of cake in ward- room followinc; commissioning exercises; center and bollom: en- listed men and guests enjoy commissioning party in forward crew mess. Ship ' s officers at ease during commissioning 25

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of the Mfiknwiir Slraih. a Im Miiiifiil silver Iray, a ijift to tin- ship from Mrs. James H. Mi Kay. our S|j( iisor, who was tinahle to he present for the jommissioniiii;. Followiii); tlie formal r T- einonies. (!apiain Washburn invited our guests clown to the Wardroom, the Cl.l ' .C). Mess and the (brew ' s Mess for refreshments, and many of our guests look advantage of the o|)portunily chaplain Bamcr ad : to look around the ship, but many of them got lost, for even their guides were unfamiliar with all the many ladders and passageways at that time, not one member of the Ship ' s Com- pany having been allowed on board before 0930 that day. .Soon, our guests all departed, leaving us with a feeling of pride in the fact that our home for months to come had appro- priately been commissioned on Mother ' s Day, a day that is dear to the hearts of all of us. At 1 300 that day. Captain Washburn assem- bled the entire Ship ' s Company on the hangar deck where he talked informally to us for an hour, telling us exactly what he expected of us and what we could expect of him as our Com- manding Officer. He had just returned from nine months in th e Pacific with the fast carriers and knew what he wanted. He emphasized over and over again that, in order to success- fully fight our ship, it would be necessary to give more than our best. He admonished us time and again that he wanted our best ' plus 25 per cent. He told us quite frankly that he realized the gi ' eat majority of us were Boots in the Navy. and. for that reason if no other, it would be necessary for us to gi e that 25 per Oaptain Washburn reads his orders at cent extra. To further emphasize his deter- mination to whip us into a first-class fighting unit in record time, he told us that, starting that day. we could expect many drills and cla.sses in various duties. He warned us, also, that he expected us to conduct ourselves in keeping with the dignity of the uniform v e wear, stressing the fact that, while he intended to do all he could for the comfort, happiness and wel- fare of his men, he could make a man feel mighty small at Captain ' s Mast. Conse- quently, few men doubting him then, few have Captain Earner make 24

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' fh I hangar deck at .Vslo A Lunga I ' owl lovriy and her husband at dan . storia. ird ship al that is needed to adequately outfit and supply a Naval vessel, and there was e en more in the warehouses on the adjacent dock. All hands turned to with splendid cooperation, though, and we all worked long days, passing up many liberties in order to speed up our job. Manv of the OHicers and men had their wives with them; so that, on their liberty nights, they had someone to rub liniment into their sore muscles and joints, because both officers and men were doing heavy work in trying to finish up with a tough job as soon as possible. The housing situation in the Astoria area was about the same as in every other West Coast port, and Lunga Point wi es were scat- tered all up and down the Columbia River, some even staying in Portland, Oregon. Most of our couples, though, were able to find places in either Astoria, Gearhart or .Seaside; however, we feel that those who stayed at the Gearhart Hotel, Gearhart, Oregon, were the most fortu- nate of all, because the wartime shortage of labor had made it probably the C:ountr ' s most unique hotel. We were fortunate enough to ha e gotten rooms there, and it was at the Gearhart that we first operated a passenger elc ator, because the Ele ator Boy had gone to war. It was also here that we tipped the Bellboy for bringing our bags to our room on arrival, and he promptly drew himself up to his full height and told us with great dignity that it just -SO happened that he was the Man- ager and Co-owner of the hotel. The Gear- hart had its own switchboard in the office, but, when you called for ice to be brought to your room, almost invariably you heard the voice of the wife of another Officer saying. Go get it yourself. Dearie; it ' s in the pantry. Many a Navy wife learned to be a switchboard op erator at the Gearhart, and Room .Service is some- thing we just learned to do without from the erv first day. When a guest went to check out, he would nearly always find a Na y wife behind the counter, handling the books and cash register just as though she were regularly employed there. They just all pitched in and helped where they were needed, and it seems they were needed just about everywhere except in the kitchen and dining room and as maids. And speaking of the dining room, you were a total stranger if the waitresses didn ' t call you by your first name on your second day there, and, of course, they were always expected to join the Navy couples in the bar for a beer after dinner, and the bar tender was practically always a guest of the hotel. Mixing drinks, handling the cash register and cracking ice gave the guests invaluable training for jobs after the war. Probably due to insufficient ration points, they served no lunch at the Gearhart, but the Manager himself .ser ed coffee to the wi es every afternoon before the big stone fire- place in the lounge. We assume that he felt he simply must give the wives some rest from their daily chores about the hotel. Not only was the Gearhart Hotel unique, but it was a real pleasure to have been fortunate enough to stay there. There was a spirit of hospitality and congeniality there that has made us determined to go back for another isit after the war. It was a ery spacious and comfortable hotel and has long enjoyed an ex- cellent reputation as a resort hotel, being situated mid-wav between its own golf course