Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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AIR SUPPORT yVO JIMA ACT ON RtPOR US6 LVUCA POfN iOFiBRUARV lp4 11 MARCH 1945

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Ix ' cr iliiil HI) will) it. Dill- to the lartjc iiimilxr of . a iil vessels in port, liowcvcr, it was iniitc a pr()l)l(in for the local Service- Sc|iiaclroii to furnish each shi[) siillici -nt boats to haiiclle its liherty parties. Our problem was somewhat soKcd, thouifh. lhrouy;h the kindness of the AK- ' -). wliii li lo.iiK ' d us two boats and crews; thus, we were able to send a Section ashore each day. We were in the Southern Anchorage, however, and it was too long a boat trip to attempt to take our liberty parties to Mog Mog Island where there were organized recre- ational facilities as at Pityilu. Consequently. we and all the other ships in the Southern An- chorage decided to use Feitabul Island, which was uninhabited and just about 6000 yards from our berth. WTiiie there were absolutely no recreational facilities on this mile long island, we managed to get our per capita allotment of beer each day, and it was really a treat to go to Feitabul, because it was the one island we had seen that had been absolutely untouched by the ravages of war. With its many beauti- ful coconut palms and its very dense under- growth, it was everything we had expected to find in a typical South Pacific island. Tropi- cal flowers were numerous, and you couldn ' t step on a spot in the jungle without stepping on coconuts, the ground being literally covered with them. There was a beautiful white beach on the lagoon side, and the ocean side presented a very pretty sight, with the clear, blue-green waters breaking over the coral reefs 1000 yards oil shore. .Since so many ships were in the same fix we were in, there was al- ways a crowd on the island. Many parties brought rations along and cooked supjx-r over open lires in the .shade of the palms. In one sen.se it was like Main Street back home, |j -- cau.se one was constantly running into f ld friends there from other ships present. Even when in port, however, it ' s not all play with us by a long shot. We arc all kept very busy attending to our part in the preparations for the next operation. Ihen, too, there is no little cleaning of bright work, and there is, of course, the ever present painting to Ik- dc»ne. We don ' t believe there is ever a minute in the day that somebody on board isn ' t painting somewhere, trying to keep one jump ahead of the rust and corrosion caused by the salt air. We do, as often as possible, have Happy Hours, which are put on by officer and enlisted personnel from the ship and squadron, and we had one of our best while at Ulithi on this visit. It was highlighted by a boxing match with the team from the Bismarck Sea (C ' E 95), though we are forced to admit that they licked us in that department, but not without our men put- ting up a good scrap. As a matter of fact, it was a great fight, and we lost by only one bout. Our spirits were undaunted, though, and we pro- ceeded to put on a good show for them, any- way, w ith our orchestra, our string quartet, our soloist s and our piano-accordionist. W ' e had many guests from the Bismarck Sea as well as other ships, not the least of whom constituted the biggest cargo of gold braid we ' ve ever had aboard at any one time before. The ship was literally listing to port under the weight of the head gear worn by the Old Man ' s dinner guests. Captain Whaley of the Makiii Island (CV ' E 93), Captain Pratt of the Bismarck Sea (CV ' E 95), and Captain Frank T. Ward, Jr. of the Shamrock Bay (CVE 84). -After nearly three weeks of work and play, mostly work, and guessing when we were get- ting underway and where we w ' ere going, we had every reason to feel that we had success- fully completed another leg in the travels of the Lunga Poiiil and were about to embark on another. 74

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PAR r IV IWO JIMA 1 hfit camr llif Imrdisl fi)iii; il hallli- nf llum alt: Iit ' o Jiiiia jusi (Itdti ' t want to fall. But our ij liling Marines had a diffirint idea. Tliev km-tf the l.uiiga Point ' s fdanes itrre near; So they forged ahead with grim determination To win another i ictory o ' er the Jafyanese . ation. Saturday, lo February 1945: 12-16 Anchored as before. 1239 Underway on various courses and speeds from Ulithi Atoll. Western Caroline Islands. Captain at the conn. E. eeuti e Ollicer and . ' a i ;ator on the bridge. In one of his customary fireside chats that night, the .skipjx-r told us over the general announrint; system that u ' - were underway for the in asion of Iwo Jima. We already knew that Iwo Jima was way up in the ' olcano Islands, and right in the Jap ' s front yard. The Captain didn ' t mince any words in telling us that it was destined to Ix- a tough scrap, becau.se the Japs W(juld undoubtedly light to the last man in attempting to hold this air base so near their front door. He l(jld us. however, that he knew we had what it took to carry out our part of the invasion successfully. The importance of Iwo Jima as an air base in our Pacific strategy could easily be .seen by the mighty force of warships of all cla.sses that were sent to insure the success of the ofx-ration, and it was really an inspiration to be a part of the powerful Ta.sk Force that set its course for Iwo Jima. J southwest beach at Iwo Jima ju t before H hour (0830) on D day ( 19 February) Smoke and aerial bombardment almost obscures the island. Mt. Suribachl is seen at upper left. 76