Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 223 text:

1 if Sldearms a d ShC5fl l Kmygs lD'lallO5V6d,glub v P N 'B . X Xxx J' f xl 9 K, atv A41 , A l Q, - 'Q 1--as x Q W y i i I 5-'VA v ., 441,14 in .. fa, , 1 l f --iff r .N . l d - , X gf? YI,-f I 1 y , , A 1 , 4 v If . ,. ,Q r gi? 1 i , A , .. Si fif ig' . W, x Top: One of our guests points to warning sign at squadron Ships Company officers' dance at Saipan Ofiieers Club: anim' and below: Groups at dance. ranged for a VC 98-CVE Q4 Dance at the Saipan Oflieers, Club on Sunday evening 26 August. A dance is not mueh fun without female partnersg so we set to work to invite a number of Army and Navy nurses and Red 219 'lnfi and fviiffn' lianee at Saipan Ollie:-r's Cflubg bwfmip' QIKZIHLIU, PhoNlic. goes tanqoinq at Red Cross clanee at Saipan. Cross workers based on Saipan. XVhile there were hundreds of them there. there are still about five hundred men to one of the fairer sex: so we sent a number of our younger oflieers on a round of the' hospitals and Red Cross

Page 222 text:

who came aboard for the presentation of awards. JAPS SAY CcUNCLE,, Gn Friday, IO August, while riding at an- chor in Buckner Bay, we were overjoyed to re- ceive word at about 2030 that the japs had all but sa-id, 'cUncle,', by sending word to the Allied Powers through neutral sources that they would accept the terms of the Potsdam Ulti- matum provided they were permitted to retain their Emperor. This, by no means, meant the end of the war, but it did very definitely mean that the japs had just about reached the end of their rope and actual surrender could be ex- pected momentarily. That same night, while all hands were avidly picking up all the news they could through the radio shack, that gong sounded at 2122 sending us to general quarters. On reaching our battle stations topside a great pyrotechnic dis- play greeted our eyes 5 shore batteries were firing in all directions all around the bay. Yet Gun Gontrol told us there was not a Bogey on the screen. We couldnit understand it. SOPA must have had some reason to send us to general quarters. Suddenly it dawned upon us that maybe the Army was prematurely cele- brating our Victory. Sure enough, that later turned out to be just what was happening, and the firing continued on the beach until Ad- miral Oldendorff in the Caljomia assumed com- mand and ordered the firing to cease. lt was quite a dangerous celebration, and itjs a won- der there were no casualties on our ship. We learned the next day that several were killed and many wounded during this wild celebra- tion on Okinawa. We continued to maintain the same Gon- dition of Readiness as in the past because we were all too familiar with japanese treachery, and there was no telling what they were up to. On Sunday, I2 August, at 2045, we heard a dull thud, which turned out to be a torpedo or mine hitting the U.S.S. Pennrylvania which was anchored about 1000 yards from us. It has not yet been determined what hit the Pennryl- vania, whether it was an aerial torpedo, a tor- pedo fired from a midget submarine or a float- ing mine. In any event, when we passed the Penngflvania on our way out of the harbor the next morning en route to Saipan she was down by the stern, evidently having been damaged well aft. Negotiations between the japanese Govern- ment and the Allied Powers continued as we Q 218 steamed toward Saipan. From what We had gathered from the radio there was little doubt in our minds but that the Japs would meet our terms of unconditional surrender. Finally, on I5 August, shortly after 0800, Captain Holl- ingsworth announced to us over the general announcing system that President Truman had announced the acceptance of unconditional surrender of the Japanese Government at 2300 GMT I4 August C0800 I5 August our timej, and that the Emperor was to order immediate cessation of hostilities. Several hundred mem- bers of the ship's company were gathered on the flight deck to hear the announcement, they having known pretty well what the announce- ment was to be. It was quite significant to us that, in contrast with the hilarious celebrations in the States, the men of the Lunga Point ac- cepted the news without even a single shout. When the Gaptain finished, they just walked quietly away and went about their business. They were happy enough, but it was a happi- ness based on a job well done and the knowl- edge that their chances of not getting home were now very remote as compared to what they had been a few weeks previously. Meanwhile, both our own and the japanese Government ordered cessation, of offensive hostilities pending actual signing of surrender terms. General MacArthur was designated Supreme Gommander for Allied Powers, and he promptly announced that the surrender would take place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay at a time to be announced later. We were, therefore, operating in a state of armed truce so to speak, and, except for the danger of floating mines that continued tO plague us, we could actually feel that the Wal' was over. SAIPAN We arrived at Saipan for a few days avail- ability on 18 August at which time our engiHCS were overhauled, our ship painted and minor general repairs were made. All hands WCTC very tired from our many months of combat duty and it was a great pleasure to us to flllfil that Saipan had such nice recreational facill- ties. There were clubs there for ofliCC1'S, chief petty ofhcers and enlisted personnel, and we made ample use of them. We had never had an opportunity for ofhcers of VG 98 and the shipas company YO sf together for a party since the Squadron reported aboard in Guam in May, so WC

Page 224 text:

centers to extend the invitation. The supply simply would not meet the demand, and the result was that our buffet supper and dance was graced by the presence of only eight girls for the approximately Ioo ofhcers. They were a very attractive group, however, and they would have gotten a rush anyway. As it was, though, they were simply rushed off their feet. In any event, a good time was had by all, and when we weighed anchor on I September for Ckinawa, we did feel that we had at least had a taste of civilization. V LTNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER Our cruise up to Okinawa this time was momentous in that during this cruise, on 2 September, Japanese representatives came aboard the U.S.S. zldfissouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay, and signed our unconditional surrender terms in the presence of various representatives of the Allied Powers. Naturally, we were more than happy to know that the war was over and Captain WILLIAM RIGHT HOLLINGSWORTH, U.S. Navy U.S.N.A. Class of 1926 Commanding Cflicer 5 July 1945r' that we would all soon be seeing our loved ones after so many months at sea, however, we were faced with the realization that we would not all be going home right away, because it was only reasonable to assume that there was work yet to be done in japanese waters. There were PCWDS to evacuate, there were American military personnel to bring home and there was a certain amount of necessary policing to do in this theatre to insure ourselves against any successful Jap treachery. We reached Buckner Bay this time on 5 Sep- tember, but we did not stay long, On the 7th we received orders to disembark VC-98 to make more room for passengers, and on the 9th we set our course for Wakaiioura VV an, Honshu, Japan, sans VC-98, to assist in the repatriation of Allied Prisoners-of-W'ar. This trip was also momentous in that we sailed with our running lights for the Hrst time since we had been in commission, and it was quite a treat to stroll up to the flight deck after dinner at night just to look at the beautiful lights on our ship as WCH