Manchester (CL 83) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 37 text:

On the 27th of June, 1950, President Truman had made the decision: The attack upon Korea makes it plain that Communism has passed beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations and will now use invasion and war ... In these circumstances the occu- pation of Formosa by communist forces would be a direct threat to the security of the Pacific area and to the U. S. forces performing their lawful and necessary functions in that area. Accordingly, I have ordered- the Seventh Fleet to prevent any attack on Formosa. As a corollary of this action I am calling upon the Chinese government on For- mosa to cease all air and sea operations against the mainland. The Seventh Fleet will see that this is done . . .

Page 36 text:

FROM: COMMANDER TASK FORCE 77 TO: MANCHESTER YOUR PERFORMANCE OF DUTY HAS BEEN OUTSTANDING X WE SAY GOODBY TO YOU WITH KEEN REGRET While the Allies pushed deep into Korea ' s North and the last battles seemed to be in sight, the Manchester was embarking on a new assignment. The last we saw of Task Force 77 was its boss, Rear Admiral E. C. Ewen, when he came aboard in Sasebo to say goodby and — Well Done. In his short talk to us on the fantail, he spoke for the carrier boys when he added: You were our insurance, and you did a hell of a good job . . . Admiral Ewen poses with Storekeeper Dan Smith lor a hometown picture. They both hail from Portsmouth, N. J.

Page 38 text:

COMMANDER TASK FORCE 72 The Manchester steamed into Keelung harbor on October 29th to take the Saint Paul ' s place, and Captain Parks relieved Rear Admiral Binford as CTF 72 — and as the Seventh Fleet representative in Formosa. Soon we took command of four patrolling destroyers: the Hollister, Knox, McKean, and Ozbourn, and the fleet oiler Ashtabula. For awhile it seemed that our job would not be particularly difficult, and the men of the Manchester were des- tined to make the best of it . . . Captain Parks with the mayor of Keelung.