Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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W, , passengers than we had on our rt'turn trip, antl many friendships were l'ornit'tl aniongst tht-in, The enlisted personnel were a partieularlv wt'll behaved and orderly group. antl at least one ol' them was a rather enterprising young t'hap. He was a lNlarine l'rivatt'. antl he hatl with hiin one of those niiniaturt' Singer sewing inat'hint's. Our Tailor Shop is always rushetl with work prior to returning to tht' States. ht't'aust' they have much work to do, not only in pressing, but also in sewing elean Xvateh tape antl Rating Badges on uniforins, so that tht' inen will look their best when they set' their one antl onlyf, Consequently, this lNl,arine, not wanting to overlook a good thing. just st't up business right there on the hangar detk, and ht' did sueh a thriving tailoring husint'ss that there is no telling how inueh he did inakt' on that t'ruist'. Everytime wt' passed his eot, ht' st't'int'd to have all the business he could handle. As an important part of our training, wt' never overlooked an opportunity lor Gunnery Exercises. Frequently. whilt' at sea, we would have one of our own plant's tow a sleeve targt't for us to practice on, but nearly always, just before entering, or just after leaving port. we would have one or more planes from tht' beach tow targets for us, because wt' felt pretty certain that we would soon be grateful for all the gun- nery practice we could cram into our routine. Our first contact with the States on our return therefore, was with planes from North lsland towing targets for us. NVe could. at that point, see concrete evidence of the results of our many hours firing at towed sleeves in the hot tropical sun, because we were hitting the target pretty regularly. We had hardly secured from Gun- nery Exercises when on c'Saturday, 5 August 1944: O8-I2 Steaming as before, 0804 cle to 0ti4O'll and p.g.e., 0560 p.s.c. 0807 cfs to 1b knots. 0838 Sighted outer buoy bearing 063018, distance 2 miles. 0839 aye ahead Q xg. 0901 cfs to IO knots. 0917 Ciommeneed maneuver- ing on various eourses and speeds to conform to channel. 0931 Pilot, 'lf -lohnston, came aboard. 0957 Passed Point Loma. abeam to port. I03O Nloored starboard side to Pier Item, North Island, San Diego, Calif. IISQ Passengers disernbarkt'd.', 1 8 . Everyone on board was happy that morning as we docked at North Island, but nont' wert' happier than our passt'ngers who wt're return- ing to tht' States after many months duty in the South l'at'ilit', antl they nearly went wild with t'ht't'rs wht'n tht-y saw tht'ir first American girl sinet' leaving tht' good 7olt' U.S.A. She was a civilian einployet' of tht' Air Station, driving a tractor on tht' dotrk, but sht' looked like a glam- tariffs. -ru.. ' U.. 'infix Beaeh antl Tennis Club, del Coronado Hotel: t't'rz!o'.' de tloronatlo llotelg lmllnm: .Xerial view of San Diego. 415

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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

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orous Debutante at the Stork Club to those boys that morning. Having disembarked our passengers and un- loaded our cargo of planes, liberty started for the Port Watch at 1600, and that night the telephone lines were busy from Coronado and c'Dago to all sections of the country, as Ltmga Point men awaited their turn in line to call their wives and families. It being pretty well under- stood that we would be in and around Dago and Long Beach for several weeks at least, many Lunga Point wives were given orders to return to that area with least possible delay, since many of them had returned to their homes, scattered all over the country, after we shoved off from Astoria on 5 June, exactly two months before. The next day, 6 August, we got underway for Terminal Island, Long Beach, Calif., where r,.,7.....,.,...,,,-Wi ..,. -.......-- . Y, , Two views of Captain at personnel inspection, North Island. we were to go into the Yarcl to lincl outqjust how well we had shaken her tlownf' Most ofthe men spent their first few :lays there trying to lind a room, any kind ol' a rooni, for their wives, because the housing situation was something terrible. lN4any a wife was en route, not know- ing where she would stay, however, they were all taken care of one way or another, either in hotels, apartment houses or private homes. Wllile at Long Beach all hands were offered Eve days leave, with most of the single men go- ing to Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Francisco and San Diego, and most of the married men remaining in Long Beach with their families. Quite a few Ltmga Point men were able to get rooms at the Hotel Hilton or the Villa Riviera in Long Beach, while those in the upper bracketw stayed at the Biltmore in Los Angeles. Actually, we had one representative from our ship in that upper bracket. It mattered not to us of the 'cproletariatfa though, because we could get to Los Angeles on the Pacific Electric in forty-five minutes. In any event, it was here at Long Beach that many lasting friend- ships were made amongst the wives of the Lunga Point men, friendships that were going to mean much to them during their lonely hours awaiting our return from the fighting front later on. One event in particular did much to cement the friendships amongst the wives of the officers, and that was the luncheon that MI'S. Wasliburn gave for them in the Rendez- vous Room of the Biltmore in Los Angeles dur- ing our Long Beach sojourn. We husbands, of course, did not rate,' the luncheon, but were told all about the delicious food, the lovely centerpiece, and some of the gossip that night. ' vi-s Q--at . Personnel inspection, North Island. ' 3, 3 E A i 5 i i E l