Neshoba (APA 216) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 74 text:

3 u-gm .sup L 75 T. , .r 'ur rf ' Y .Ri Q,-s , , 'fn .

Page 73 text:

of cargo and troop carrying smalltcraft. The hot corner could have become hotter but it remained a spectator's seat at a turkey shoot. After we had moved in, our carrier planes gave us a first hand demon- stration of precision bombing, rocket firing 'and strafing on live targets. It seemed incredible that anything or anybody could survive. But men do. Later in the afternoon a Tap battery on a hillside opened up on our beach positions. We itched to take him under fire ourselves but it wasn't long before the closest cruiser's secondary battery was tossing curves at the hillside. Soon the laps were silenced. Next day one came to life again, but the second was done for good. Strange sights for a country boy. , As night fell we made ready to retire to the open sea where we would roam and come back with the dawn. Then came another air attack. Again all the ships to the north opened fire, their tracers cutting the evening into a million red ribbons. Again we saw no planes until one came tumbling down in flames to burst into a big blossom of fire in the water. The firing ceased within minutes and we got to hell out of there. We thumbed our noses on the way out, though, passing between the city and small lap-held islands-a stone's throw either way-as we headed out to sea. Again I slept soundly to be awakened too early to make another run into the beaches. Again we had the morning anti-aircraft show. Before noon, the carrier planes gave us another exhibition as they supported infantry ad- vancing across the island. It was getting to be an old story. In the afternoon, a destroyer which had hung about in our shadow leveled off at lap strongpoints, dropping phosphorus shells which burst into white clouds like cotton bolls above the green of the hillside woods. A new but grim feature was added during the afternoon as a dazzling white hospital ship anchored nearby. But my binoculars failed to reveal a feminine form along the rails. Damn!! What a war. . That night and the next day it was the same thing all over again. Iust like seeing the same movie twice. During the day we seemed to be on the seaside end of a front line angling across the hills. American trucks and tanks chased each other up and down the hilly roads and disappeared into wooded sections and villages. There was one spot near the beach where a road angled down the hill and dropped into a grove. As it emerged on the shore side of the trees it doubled back along the beach. Vehicles dashed into the trees coming down the hill at breakneck speed. Then there would be a long wait before we saw them emerge slowly and carefully, stop as if looking carefully both ways before coming out into the open and turning along the beach. - Everyonce in a while, a destroyer or cruiser would hit the jackpot up in the hills, with the payoff in big explosions and fires which we hoped were ammunition or fuel dumps. The town burned all day and heavy firing could be heard in the distance. lust beyond the beaches, flame throwers were at work, methodically going from cave to cave, dugout to dugout, house to house, carrying out a slogan og let's not bring 'em back alive. By contrast, soldiers were swimming in t e surf. The sun was warm too. It was a lovely spring day at Okinawa. From then on, we stayed right in there at night. My slumbers were troubled as a cruiser right behind us lobbed shells over my bunk, while a desroyer off our bow maintained a steady fire of five-inch shells past my topside ear. The coming of dawn rolled back the curtains on a now familiar scene. Same noise, same shooting, same commotion ashore. The planes had evi- dentlylost interest and were busy elsewhere. I lost interest too, staying below to take up routine prosaic tasks where I had forgotten them several days be- fore. I even grabbed some sleep in the afternoon. When we finished our business I thought we might leave but we didn't. On the final night we laid down a smoke screen so thick our own boats couldn't find us. It must have been effective. Nothing happened and I really pounded the sack. But on the next day we bid Okinawa adieu. We were off again over those ever-so-long reaches of the Pacific, bound for other scenes and other missions. Here's hoping that when it comes our turn again to play the hot corner we set 'em down hard again with no hits, no runs, no errors, and none left on base.

Page 75 text:

1 -'J' U-xr t'?9f' ., ' f w5+K4-f flew., wx . . Pls-fr if ,k.'.x, .,,,,,,,. V ff .CAL x- I