Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 70 text:

5 f 2 2 K ii E CY? E as 33 3 5 43 f ii I -C' Ki f

Page 69 text:

FFF'--'i- terribly hot out there in the sun as we fired away at the targets, but we were destined soon to be more than thankful that the Skipper and the .Gunnery Oflicer were so insistent that we get in gunnery practice just as often as possible. After all, we were en route to the real thing, and, with that knowledge, the gun batteries hred away at those targets with even more in- terest and enthusiasm than they ever had be- fore. It was, so to speak, our final test. Ex- cept for our gunnery practice, this short cruise was uneventful, and on 'gSaturday, 30 December 1944: 08- 1 2 Steaming as before. 0834 c fs to 5 knots. cfc to 197014 and p.g.c., 1800 p.s.c. 0841 axe stopped. 0921 Anchored in Berth 24, Kossol Passage, Western Caroline Islands, in 18 fathorns of water with 75 fathoms of chain at water's edge to the starboard anchor. 0936 Secured main engines. 0940 Secured the anchor detail. Set Condition of Readiness III, Watch I. 0955 Secured No. 3 generatorg cut in No. 2 generator. 1035 Made daily in- spection of magazines, conditions normal. Here we were in Kossol Roads again. And, again, it was to be a very short visit, just long enough to take on some more stores and ammu- nition, because we all knew that a really big and important operation was in the ofling, and we were to be a very active part of that opera- tion. We still didnit know exactly where we were going, but there were many among our Ship's Company who were pretty good guessers. New Year's Eve this year was not celebrated by us by the ringing of bells, the blowing of whistles and the usual hilarity that accompanies it, but, instead, we were all very busy getting our ship and ourselves ready for the job just ahead of us. As we rang out the Old Year, we also brought to an end another chapter in the Odyssey of the Lunga Point. ,I 4

Page 71 text:

1X1 ll LUZUN .Mart mme the grml lfulrlr of lugfmq It zeax nip ami flllhlt' zeillz lin' Sam of .Yzippmf :lx our flffllltii' zlmmlffilml slum' zimlnllalzinii In fI'bt'!'1Ifli0lI tif the l'l11'f1ipfu'm' .hiflflitlll In CFVIIII-Il I'1'l'flllV'l'.f!'1IlIl the zmnl, Ihr i'lN'lOnday. Ixlanuary 1945: 04-08 Anchored as before. turgo Station:-cl ' ships inxolxcd would be one of the largest in world history in a single operation. Phe large nuinhc r of ships of all types in our own Task lorec was already well known to U5 and We wc rt told that wc. would be joined by other groups from time to time as we proceeded on Day fthe. Iuzon invasion dayj was to be 9 'tnuary but that we were to arrive oH'L1nga- yt n C ulf smeral days ahead so that the planes of our group could go about the task of bomb- ing 'uid strafing enemy shore installations and , lk? 1 1 I ' ' I ' s 1 1 4' . , , V 7 . ' I 3 - i 1 , i , 1 1 --ind UU' 'VW' -' 3'1 -t,ff f.iff Off ff .f ' -M 'NU' WHY- lhe Old Man also told us that SH c ' , lc 7 l x A i . 2 . , i f , L A all . 4. . L 1 K the anchor detail. lNlade all preparations for getting underway. Set Material Condition Baker. obo! Underway. Steaming in coin- pany with various units of'l'ask Group 77.2 and Task Group 77.4. UTC in USS. Clflflif-Ill'!ll.!l CBB 447. Guide in U.S.S. .llakziu lslmzrl CCIVIQ 93533. We had hardly gotten underway when the Skipper told us over the general announcing system that we were a part of one of the great- est military operations in history. We were en route to Lingayen Gulf, where the Invasion of Luzon was to take place. and the number of othmrwisc softc ning up the inxasion beaches, paving the way for our landing forces. New Yearls Day 1945, will forever be indel- ilily impressed on our minds, because, instead of sitting at home by the fire, listening to the Rose Bowl game with a group of friends, there was an even bigger game that occupied us, and we were not spectators, either. Realizing the magnitude of the ugamew ahead of us, and determined to live up to what was expected of us, every ofiicer and man turned to with a seriousness of purpose that was bound to spell success for our part of the Luzon operation. Except for one emergency turn, resulting Sail and stmam in hfindanao Qea win' . - s- f ,f ' ' i . - 01 ,fift h ,L ,Q'5,b Him, . 'gilt I V Sex y ,g ig 7941.1