Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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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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rl! 5 . . . t . . 0 ft 4 -: ,.,, , f' 1 ' +ff.,gffq , W -5 eg.. H. , i were, all together about thirty of and the held wide open lor gossip dis- of the latest styles, the lata st hair-do, ,Qu latest book, and the new movies lihe was at 1300, howtvcr it w'is 1700 j the tlme they returned to Long Bt.'1l.l1xjLlSf tallied out U 'lhtre is no doubt but that that luncheon was the starter for m my friend- ships because, even that night in the hotels oi Long Beach the gals started all over again, talking about the han-do that hadnt quite set when they left the Rendc zvous Room. After necessary work had bee n completed on our ship most of our wives followed us on down to Dago from where we were scheduled to operate for several weeks and after another frantic rush to hnd rooms, most of the wives settled down to wait, because that is just what they were doing a good part of the time there We went out on short cruises, lasting from two to ten days, going through various exercises and tests, and of course, our wives never knew when we were coming back' so each time we came in we got just about as big a thrill as we did on returning from our Shake- down Cruise Lunga Point wives could be found in almost every hotel and apartment house in Dago and Coronado therefore, the Lunga Point was al- ways very much in evidence around the U.S Grant Hotel and the El Cortez in Dago and the del Coronado in Coronado In fact, our men and their wives could be found almost any- where you went in that area. Our stay in the San Diego area was not only a pleasant and happy one, but also an interest- ing one, since many availed themselves of the opportunity to visit places of interest in the vicinity while on liberty, not the least interest- ing of which were Tia uana and Agua Cal- iente, Mexico. There, one could see the races on Sunday afternoons or spend an evening browsing around the many gift shops of Tia Juana, buying leather goods and Mexican silver, after a delicious dinner at the American Club, highlighted by one of those tempting Romaine salads. The San Diego area was a most pleasant one in which to be from another standpointfthe fact that it is truly the Cross-roads of the Navy There is seldom a day passes that you don't run into friends you have known some- where else 1n the Navy or in civilian life. This IS particularly true at the del Coronado Hotel, over in C oronado, where almost everyone feels pt ilk etly at home, walking into the lovely and sp icious, high-domed dining room or into the C oektail I ounge, because you are almost Cer . X y . -LE J Q1 . - - I- JJ., I 1 .. g X' fe 0 f ' -Q! .- ff uh' tain to meet up with friends even before you have had a chance to sit down. This only adds to the gaiety that seems always prevalent at this charming hotel VC-83 REPORTS ABOARD On 16 August, our Squadron, Composite Squadron Eighty-Five CVC 85D reported aboard for duty and we promptly got under- way to qualify them. Right from the start they made a most favorable impression on us, and they went about their ' Shakedown aboard the Lunga Point with a seriousness of purpose that was bound to have been most pleasing to our Old Man. From that point on, until we left on our business trip a good part of the time for the next several weeks was devoted entirely to shaking down our Squadron. We made several short cruises with them, and they left the ship once for a couple of days special training at one of our nearby land bases. They worked hard and long, and were really shaping up into a fine Squadron, but, because of the intensity of their work, we of the Ship's Com- pany were unable to get acquainted with them as quickly as we would have liked. We were determined to operate as one, so we decided to have a CVE 94-VC 85 Dutch Treatn Cock- tail Party at the Ofhccrls Club, North Island. The party was given in the Sun Room of the Club on Wednesday, 4 October, and it was a 47 .. if .3 -1 ,,. ,. , 5' 'Yr , ., ,Q , ., .,. , .