Randolph (CV 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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,rf Our lasl few days of air operafions were unusual. Torpedo planes loaded wifh bags of food flew over fhe Japanese ci'ries of Osaka and Kobe, and dropped 'lhe bags on prisons where Americans were held. Sepfember 5th was an excifing day. We ihoughl we were on our way fo Tokyo Bay fo pick up our Marines and perhaps some of fhe Americans who had been war prisoners. Scufflebufi was ihaf we mighf also go 'io Okinawa. Abruplly, al Il00, fhe ship received orders fo proceed fo Pearl Harbor! We were delached from fha Task Group in company wifh a single desrroyer and headed on our way al 20 knofs. Alfhough we were sorry noi fo go info Tokyo Bay and have a look ai Japan, we were happy af lhe ihoughf of heading ioward home. ln a few days fhe news was ou? ihai we would go fo lhe Easf Coasf for Navy Day, Oclober 27. We moored al' Ford lsland, Pearl Harbor, Sepfember ll, and were There for fhe resf of fhe monfh, ge?-ring painfed, having '?' our siarboard 40mm sponsons removed, and iaking on supplies. Our food had been ge'H'ing low. We had been 73 days al' sea and in,+ha+ fime had fraveled more ihan 29,000 miles. Our ihird and final war cruise had been The longesl. Aliogefher we were proud of our war record. We had been in all +he major naval campaigns from Febru- ary un+iI war's end. Our guns had accounied for four Jap planes and helped accounl' for many more. Our air groups had desfroyed I43 Jap planes in 'lhe air and I60 on +he ground, besides sinking 87,000 'ions of Jap shipping. A+ Pearl Harbor everyone had a chance io go ashore, have a drink of fresh milk or rum, and fake anoiher look ai fhe gyp ioinfs of Honolulu. Many of us boughi' +rinke+s ro +ake home wifh us. Under The poinf sysiern, some of us would soon be civilians. Affer monihs of Pacific war, if was hard 'lo believe. We lei? Pearl early Ociober I. Cruising ai I5 knofs we had a long, and surprisingly cool, frip io 'ihe Panama Canal. We had abou+ I000 passengers on board. Many oi ihem slepi on cois befween planes on fhe affer parf of +he hangar deck. We wen? 'ihrough +he Canal on Ociober I6. Thai day we also had on board a large group of civilian sighfseers from Balboa and Chrisiobal, including females of all sizes and ages. There was a iouch of drama as fhe waier, painied by fhe colors of lhe sunsei, ran oui of 'rhe lasl of 'lhe ihree Gafun locks, lowering us again +o fhe A+lan+ic! The ship's whistle droned oul a blasi as lhe gaies opened. A+ daybreak nexi morning we leff Chrisfobal and for live days headed nor+h. Balfimore had been designafed as our Navy Day porf. On Sunday afiernoon, Ocfober 2l, we sailed up ihe coas+ and in+o 'rhe gray-green wafer of Chesapeake Bay. The year was over. We had come back from ihe war. 1-wr, . 'uw li Q Q ,J To

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also damaged fhe baH'leship Naga+o af heavily-de- fended Yolrosulra Naval Base. Ranging wesi' we aH'aci:ed norihern Kyushu and fhai' pari' of Honshu across ihe Shimonoselri Sfraifs. Our planes also bombed shipping in +he Inland Sea, helping sinlr +he baH'leship-carrier Hyuga. The ninfh of Augusi' found us again off +he coasf of noriheasi Honshu. There we launched afiaclcs on air- fields and enemy communica+ions as a prelude +o fhe expecied invasion of Japan. Thai invasion, for+una'l'ely, never had 'fo faire place. On fhe morning of Augusi I5 our planes roclreied and sfrafed Kisarazu airfield on easl' side of Tolryo Bay. A second sfrilxe was launched. Al' 0642 before fhese planes reached ihe coasi, all planes were recalled by fhe Task Force Commander. Lafer fhaf morning Cap+ain Jaclrson R. Tafe, USN, who on July 26 had replaced Capfain Balmer, announced fo us over fhe loudspeaker sys+em fha? Japan had accepied fhe Allied surrender ferms. We senl' up a cheer fhaf echoed all over fhe ship. The war was over-almosf, lhal is. Tha? affernoon, af I300, Admiral Halsey addressed 'ihe fleel' over fhe radio. While he was fallring, a Judy and a Zelre were shof down as fhey aH'emp+ed fo dive on ships of fhe Taslr Force. Bogeys were reporied for several days afferwards. Apparenily They hadn'+ gof fhe word. On fhe 25+h and Zbih of Augusf we were buflefed around by fyphoons. We managed fo avoid ihe cenfer of ihe slorms, however, and rhe ship escaped serious damage. On Augusf 30 our Marines, plus a Mainfenance Force of four of our naval officers and aboui' I5 sailors who had earlier leil' fhe ship, wenl' ashore a+ Yolnosulca Naval Base, pariicipaling in fhe hisforic lirsl landings in Japan. YQ in ails :fi Q' sf J xi K K i ,'f'n ,ii' o xg ,,4,' If - I n N A-fs ' 'uv rn-P' Aff' C' The Mainfenance Force did repair worlc ai' 'ihe Navy Yard 'rhere, while +he Marines occupied The Naval Air Sfafion. They hunfed Through 'I'he elaborafe caves in lhe hills on bolh sides of fhe airfield, localing Jap guns, planes and o+her milifary supplies. The Marines were +oo big 'ro sleep in Jap beds, which were only five and a half 'feef long. They repor+ed lhaf fhe day 'ihey arrived, 'rhe Japanese women ran from +hem.

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