Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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and the Pacific, and commanding an excellent view of each. There v erc so many Navy couples there, in connection with the C ' E commissionings, that we never lacked for con- genial companionship; consequently, we were never lacking for something to do. Another advantage in staying at either Gear- hart or Seaside was the beautiful drive in to Astoria, with the highway literally banked on both sides with Scotch Broom, its yellow blooms giving you a feeling of driving down a highway of spun gold, through the stately pines and fir of the Coast Range, with Saddle Mountain rising in the distance. This was, however, a much prettier drive at sunset than at sunrise as many an officer and man from the Liinga Point will agree. During our fitting out, we were constantly stumbling over shipyard workers who were putting the final touches to our ship, pointing up this and tightening up that. Despite the general confusion, however, we finished with our work in record time and were ready to put to sea. Consequently, the Crew was given a dance on the hangar deck on the evening of Saturday, 3 June, and it was a most enjoyable occasion. The forward half of the hangar deck had the various signal flags and pennants hang- ing from the bulkheads, forming a very appro- priate and pretty setting for the dance. The Astoria Naval .Station Orchestra played for the dance, and many a rug was ciu to smith- ereens ' by the Jitterbugs of the Liiiiga Point. Refreshments were served throughout the evening in both the C.P.O. and the Crew Mess to as lovely a group of ladies as ever graced the Lunga Point. ■Sunday, 4 June, found most of the Lunga Point wives en route home or preparing to leave, because Scuttlebutt, straight from the C;how Line, told us that we would soon be getting underway. anc:hors AWEIGH! Stand Na y down the field. Sail set to the sky ! We ' ll never change our course; ■So Army, you steer shy-y-y ! Roll up the score. Navy, Anchor ' s aweigh ! Sail Navy down the field And sink the Army; sink the Army Grey! Monday, 5 June 1944: 08-1 2 Moored as before. Set Condition Baker. 0820 Stationed all special sea details. Made all preparations for getting underway. 0857 Underway from Pier 2, Berth 4, U.S. Naval •Station, Astoria, Oregon, on various courses and speeds. Pilot, Lt. Cdr. Clark, at the conn. C aptain, Executive Officer and Navigator on the bridge. 0909 Pilot, Lt. Cdr. Hansen, USCG. relieved Pilot, Lt. Cdr. Clark, at the conn. 0944 Exercised at General Quarters. 0957 Sighted blimp; identified as K-87, U..S. Getting underway from .Astoria. 27

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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

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Navy. loof, Passed from lnlaiul to Iiitcr- iiational waters, lonfi .Seciirctl Iroiii (Jciieial Qiiarieis. .Sel Condition III. .Section • . loji I ' ilot, l.t. ( ' .dr. Hansen. U.SCXi, left the ship. Took departme on course Pji ! and p.i;.r. I no e (■ to if)4°r and p.t .e. ' The al)(j ( ' loK entry was not needed to con- vince everyone dial we were linally underway on our ' Maiden N ' oyai e. ' Notable amoni tho.se who needed only the pitch and roll of the Lwiga Point to con ince them that something new had suddenly come into their lives were Lieutenants DeAngelis and Ray, as well as many men scattered throughout the Crew ' s Quarters trying in vain to calm the seas by laying Hat on their stomachs in their bunks, with their agonized heads burrowing futilely into their pillows for comfort, which was no- where to w found. It was during this period that Lt. De. ngelis introduced a new piece of gear to be carried topside to the open Bridge Tof : Seattle from a w boat; bottom: .Seattle from air, showing Bremcrlon ferry. by till- ( )lii(ir-of-lhe-I)e( k when rditxing the Wait h jiisl a plain Inuket. After crossing the Columbia River Bar, we found ourselves in the- Pacilic for the (irst time. The I ' acilic was evcTything but what its name- im|)lies, however, and cjur ship pitched and to.ssed like a ccjrk in the- mountaincnis waves, and the plates c;f the ship rescjunded with a boom throughout that first night at sea as they gave under the impact of the heavy sea.s. It was. therefore, a relief to all. and particularly those unhappy sea-sick .sailors, when we entered the C|uiet and peaceful waters of Fuget .Sound the ne. t morning. For the next few days, we enjoyed smooth sailing in what is probably the mcjst picturesque sound in the world, while we called at Port Townsend, Illahee. Bremerton and oth er points in Puget Sound, taking on various stores, ammunition and other gear, and going through various tests of precision instruments preparatory- to our Shakedown Cruise, which was ne.xt in our schedule. As we cruised along through the narrou- straits of Puget Sound we could not help but feel that we were being allowed much the same view as met the eyes of Captain John Smith as he brought his ships into Jamestown, in the Colony of ' irginia. in 1607, because the beau- tiful pines, firs and spruce so typical of that beautiful northwest country came right down to the crystal clear water ' s edge, as virgin in appearance as one could possibly hope to see. Despite the fact that huge lumber mills were humming beyond the hills and that we were cruising through waters that are literally a highway of commerce between the United States, Canada and Alaska, the view that met our eyes convinced us in our ow-n minds that we were the first ship to chart a course through that panorama of e ergreen beauty. While we enjoyed the cruise from a scenic standpoint, we had hardly gotten underway from Astoria when we were made to realize that this cruise was not only a preliminary to our shakedown, but that it was the beginning of an indoctrination period that was to grow in its intensity until such time as all hands had been trained to do the job for which they were best fitted and to do that job well. Drills of all kinds were the order of the day — General Quarters, Fire Drill. Collision Drill, Abandon Ship Drill and many other exercises that, thoroughly mastered, would enable us to fight our ship successfully when we had reached that 28