Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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T H8l1Q'll' deck p'rsse-nge-rs returning to Uncle Sugar l-l'Ul'I'l lNew Guinea VVe were getting the fffeel of the sea., Cur Gunners were staving Hon target more and more in our Gunnery Exercises. We had a definite feeling that our f'Progress for Combat ' was shaping up to the satisfaction of all con cerned, and a definite feeling of pride in our ship and in ourselves was beginning to develop. We not only felt, but we knew we were 'on our way, and that we had reached that near state of perfection with our many drills and exercises. It was, therefore a happy and more confident crew that on ESPIRITU SANTC8 Thursday, 20 july 1944: 3 16-18 Steaming on various courses and speeds preparatory to entering harbor of Esprrrtu Santos, New Hebrides. 1616 Dead in water Captain at the conn. Executive Officer and Navigator on the Bridge. 1631 All engines ahead 113. Maneuveririg to enter Segond Channel. 1631 Passed through anti-subma rine nets 1653 Passed Beacon A' abeam to starboard 1708 Passed Beacon C abeam to starboard. 1714 Passed Beacon ' G abeam to starboard. 1720 Maneuvcring to moor at Buoy 16. 1728 Line aboard buoy. 1 43 Moored to Buoy 16, Segond Channel, Espiritu Santos Island, with ro manila bowline and wire preventer. Various cargo and repair craft moored in harbor. SOPA: U. S. S Briaius 1743 Sludge birge reeeiveel alongside Secured main engines. I7-,7 lixe cuted colors lhe sun having set just as we anchored, we saw no prospect of getting ashore that night and Scuttlebutt, straight from the Chow Line, having pretty well convinced us that we would be getting underway sometime the next day our hopes for getting ashore rapidly diminished Fortunately for us, however, the Captain still hadn t gotten his khaki pants, so he sent us rn at o8oo on the QISY to try again to get them for him We found the pants right aw ay, which we didn t mind very much, because after all there were no more places of interest to shop in between Esprritu and Uncle Sugar and we had every reason to believe we were returning to the States Our boat was not to return for us until IIOO, so we had over two hours to w art We decided to use that time to look up some friends at our Seaplane Base so we hopped a ride down there in a eep Bn route, we w ere immediately impressed with the fact that the New Hebrides were a much prettier and more cn ll17td Gunto than we had expected Phere w as not as much mud as rn New Guinea and the SeaBees had built perfect sand and more afllue nt crtize ns were of Fre nch extraction and lived rn xery attractrse homes scattered :long the roads and many of them had their own lrench automobiles though thex were of 1 rathc r old x int rge luxe n the natrxes lrxed in more enxrlmd hornes than were found rn New flume 1 howexer we saw noxrllages the homes me ic ly be ing se rtte red sparse lx tlong the roads with ple nty ol l eibenstraurn .1-....i. 1, 4 1 1 1 T f ' I , 'YB x 1 1 ' A 1 ' 1 w v y Q - 1 1 ,H n - , . . . , ll s 3 - Aw D l ' w a - - ' - .x w 7 3 A . N . , . . l . C 77 ' . , . 3 7 ' 3 7 . . . . K E , 1 N . I 7 . r i n f ' ' . . . cc ' ' ' , ' 1 -1 'I V v U 1 . F 1 L '. ee a ' y x -. 1 yn'h fx .. - 1 e . ' ,' ' 4 te as , , , 'V 4 1 1 L- 'Y N-1 yl '1 N 'I l Y V . - l s s x f ce a - s ss. . ' ,. s 1 , C I . e r cc an ... . , d d , , ' d . .' gravel roads all up an own the rslan . The c nv , , , ' ' , . V J -1 s Y - ' , . 1 . . , ' X ' ,x. 1 V Q ' y s s , s . . . 1 ' x r 1 1 f X I 7 e K ., n V 'W ' , , ., . , . . . 1. . , . .. ., ' L' u 1 ll . ., ,. .' Y, ., Bvx -'sv 'vs ' ' C' I X . L , '. 'f '.7..'Av sk- L rx- ' ' Y Y ' sf - 'yy vs- wx sf lv v. 1 -ws 3 s , 4 , , . g ., .. ' I-, J C J, x. . ,., X' - it sz e-s xv 4 ,tux yi - y - . s . .. . e 7- 1 1-9, xv. Y r v i 53 JA' V x rw -f N55 . 43

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Part of our cargo of army planes on Hght deck at Espiritu Santos. making in this war, and they are doing it happily, too. Having completed our loading of cargo and passengers, on 'cSunday, 16 july 1944: 16-18 Moored as before. 1617 Underway from Pier 11, Dreger Harbor, Finschafen, New Guinea, on various courses and speeds to con- form to channel. Pilot, Captain Bell, at the conn. Captain, Executive Officer and Navi- ,...,IW,5,,,,.!,., .,,, ,, .3 ,, , ,.. . ,. . .,, V ffiyyf My . G! f, ff , f . 1 ' . 'fvffcf gator on the bridge. 1631 Passc-cl Red Drum Buoy abeam 'to port, distance 50 yards. 1635 Pilot left the ship. 1637 Witli Nussing Island bearing o5oOT, distance M mile, took depar- ture. Ahead sys. 1642 Set base course 27o.5OT, 2700 p.g.c. and 260.50 p.s.c. 1645 Ahead full speed. 1735 cfc to oo5.5OT, oo5O p.g.c. and 357.50 p.s.c. 1738 Darkened ship? Again, we were underway for somewhere, and, shortly after leaving New Guinea, where we had been for little more than 24 hours, we were told that we were en route to Espiritu Santos, New Hebrides, where, if we were for- tunate enough to get on the beach,'j we might have the opportunity of trying out our French on the natives. The cruise up to Espiritu Santos was uneventful, just the everyday rou- tine, drills and more drills, classes and more classes, the entire Ship's Company being oc- cupied in teaching or learning to Hman a shipf' It was at this point that we began to see the re- sults of our indoctrination. The Captain, who had heretofore felt it advisable to remain on the bridge nearly all the time, except for a few hours at night, began to spend a little less time up there. There was also a definite atmos- phere of mutual confidence developing be- tween the Captain and the Shipis Company. S. Kg . Harbor view at Espiritu Santos. 2

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Having spent a very pleasant hour witl1 our friends at the Seaplane Base, we hopped another jeep ride back to the boat landing. En route, we passed three natives, dressed 111 their best loin cloths, with their arms full of miniature out-rigger canoes, which we felt cer- tain they were taking to the landing to sell as souvenirs to the Army, Navy and Nfarine per- sonnel stationed thereg so we asked our bene- factor if he would mind stopping long enough for us to buy one. We approached the elder of the three and said, 'fHow much?', Not a grunt was forthcoming, even after the third attempt. Then, in our very best French, which we hadnjt used in 18 years, we said, f'Qu'est-ce que le prix? Immediately, the words came back, ffFifty Centsfi We finally got out of him that the only English they spoke was f'Money, and we can well understand that, because we later learned that, two years before, American service men could buy boars teeth from them Top: Sailing off Long Beach, below: Rainbow pier and Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach. for Q5 cents, wliercas, now that they have learned that all .Xinericans are rich, they cliargctl 'l'cn llollarii for ll'H'll'l, and they got it. XfVilh the Ciaptain's pants and our out-rigger C'2lllOL', we returnecl to the ship perfectly con- tent with our three-honr visit to the New Heb- rides. Upo11 arriving at the ship, we saw that the main reaso11 for our calling at Espiritu Santos was to take on a large l'll,lIl'llXTI' of Army, Navy 2l11Cl Marine personnel for transportation back to the States. Our flight deck and hangar deck were loaded with planes, and there were row upon row of cots all up and down the hangar deck for the enlisted pas- sengers, and every inch of space in Cfiicer's Country was taken up with oflicer passengers. They were a most cheerful lot of passengers, be- cause they were all going back to the States, either on duty or leave, after many months in the New Hebrides getting our various bases established. We, too, were in a cheerful mood, because the prospect of an early reunion with our families meant much to us also. There- fore, it was one happy ship when on f'Friday, QI july 1944: 12-16 Moored as before. 1422 Stationed all special sea details. Made all preparations for getting underway. 1458 Underway from Berth 16, Espiritu Santos, on various courses and speeds proceeding out of Segond Channel. Captain at the conn. Executive Cflicer and Navigator on the bridge. 1546 Passed through anti-submarine netsf' The Plan-of-the-Day for Saturday, 22 july, had thereon the note, 'fEn route San Diego, Uncle Sugarf, which was most welcome, but not altogether unexpected news to all ha11ds. Until then, we had been afraid they might, by some remote chance, transfer our cargo and passengers at Pearl Harbor, and send us on the road to Tokyo without another good look at the U.S.A. before starting on our business tripfj O The cruise back to the States was a very pleasant one, with most of our spare time spent either in classes of one kind or another or out on the forecastle or fantail, watching the many species of flying fish as they sailed excitedly away from our ship, and otherwise enjoying the PCQUFY Of the Pacific waters, while telling and listening to all manner of Sea Stories. We could not have desired a nicer bunch of