Rochester (CA 124) - Naval Cruise Book

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operational commitments permit her to be in the area. Into the wind and out of the wind, steaming in company with carriers and destroyers, she gets the chance to limber up her equipment and participate in mock actions which come as close as possible to the real thing. New ideas can be tested, new systems evolved. New men get their sea legs and a thorough familiarity with their jobs. Old hands learn new details of jobs they thought they already knew perfectly. Under the theme of training, though, there is always the thought that the task force is ready. If, while the ships conduct maneuvers, the need for their services should arise, they are there. In a matter of hours they can be at almost any trouble spot in the Orient. And the communists know this. With the task force practicing at sea an amphibious landing in the Pescadores is diflicult to envision. Complete con- trol of the seas belongs to the free nations, and without a navy to force the issue with Task Force 77 the enemy can do little. Here, then is the reason we came. Not only to protect the interests of the United States in the Far East, but to improve our ability to protect those interests, the ROCHESTER has come half way around the world. Ready now, more ready tomorrow, waiting- that is the position the Navy has been assigned. It will be years before we can tell how successful the President's policy in Asia has been, but we can hope that our Far East tour of duty has been a contribution to discouraging communism in Asia and strengthening our friends there. M., .... - -23:5-1 1. mmm.. A afar'-' ' radii-N - Mew T 'fsfzfwmgar . . i A 1 i - ., frfii v - ' . gr L-ww j -Q '- ' T 1 ' t i s ' V M. .E 3,-Q v M . .,g.- ,. . . fm--1.f..,.qu.1Lz,,4fw ,,. -- ,,,...,,, up 4 V, g ,Mean M . A , , ,,.L,,,.:,,..a.AT,f: WwTZ,2. 4,F2wV an ' 'ft'L4..4Zw T -L-is L. A COUGAR IN THE LANDING PATTERN flashes by the Rochester as the Philippine Sea lunges into the wind, waiting to recover her brood of flying chicks. Operating with six carriers during tour in WestPac presented the ship with new challenges. f .,ts

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OPERATING IN FAR EASTERN WATERS The Midway and a can fill 'er up during task force operations. The Rochester waits her turn from astern. Refueling at sea is always intricate and absorbing-- an operation which demands the utmost in deck seamanship. Q 7 CCONTINUEDI Pacific. Of these the most important is Admiral Pride's Seventh Fleet. And of the Seventh Fleet the most important operational unit is Task Force 77. The ROCHESTER'S job in the Far East is to train, and the best place to train is with the Task Force. During the Korean conflict TF 77 was a con- tinual force cruising oi the mainland, launching strikes at the enemy troops ashore every day. Since the truce the job of the task force has shifted. Now it conducts intensive training all over the Japan-Okinawa-Formosa area. Exercise by exercise, day after day, the ships of the revolving task force plan for the battles they may some day be called upon to fight The ROCHESTER, like other ships, joins the force whenever she can, Whenever KEELUNG CLUB IS ESTABLISHED FUR THIRSTY SAILIJRS Facing the prospect of endless weeks in Keelung-a prospect which did not exactly elicit cheers from the troops-the Captain and various Seventh Fleet officials ac- cepted Nationalist generosity and established the cosmopolitan and internationally famous Keelung Club. The ambitious venture, designed to offer the American sailor marooned in Keelung a place to recreate, was located in a three- story building owned by the gov- ernment, and which was used by the Japanese for a similar pur- pose during their occupation of Formosa. Initially subsidized by the ship's Recreation Council funds, the club ofered corn pressings for fifteen cents a throw and featured three bars, a dance floor for those who ivere able to corral the local beau- ties, and the Seventh fleet staff musical combo.

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:born luly 17, 1908, in Marion, Alabama. : appointed to U. S. Naval Academy in 1926. :four years a member of the mid- shipman wrestling team. commissioned lune 3, 1930. : early sea duty: IDAHO, LEXING- TON, DALLAS, BULMER. :1934-1937, aboard the BULMER, With the Asiatic Fleet. :shore duty at Annapolis, 1937- 1938. :reported to the cruiser SAN FRANCISCO in 1939, in which he served throughout most of the War. :Navy Cross and Presidential Unit Citation, Battle of Guadalcanal, 1942. :Legion of Merit, Battle of Cape Esperance. :1944-1946, Bureau of Ordnance, Washington. :Commander Mine Division TWO, then on the staff of Commander Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet. :staff, General Line School, Mon- terey, California. lstaff, Commander Mine Force, Pacific Fleet. : postgraduate study at the National War College, Washington. :skipper of the FREMONT QAPA- 54 . :Chief of Staff to Commander, Blockading and Escort Force, Pacific Fleet. :assumed command of the ROCH- ESTER on February 4, 1955. :nine engagement stars on his ribbons, which include Pacific Theatre, American Theatre, Asi- atic-Pacific, Korean Service, Navy Occupation, United Nations, Ko- rean Order of Military Merit, Ulchi with Silver Star, in addition to the Navy Cross, Legion of Merit, and Presidential Unit Citation. Captain William W. Willbourne COMMANDING OFFICER ' .M