Rochester (CA 124) - Naval Cruise Book

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A Primative Land of Constant Conflicts Assumes a New Role as Chiangps Last Qutpost Formosa -The word was only a name to the crew of the ROCHESTER before the ship sailed for WestPac in February of 1955. It was the name of an island which lay somewhere off the coast of China. It was a name which appeared on the front pages of stateside newspapers during the days that the ROCHESTER was swinging to an anchor in Long Beach harbor. It was that and little more. The 1955 cruise of the ship in Far Eastern waters intro- duced the sailor to the island and brought into focus the country and the people which the name Formosa represents. For it was during the months of March, April and part of May that the island's principal harbor, Keelung, was to be the adopted home port of the ROCHESTER and the home- away-from home for the ship's complement. From charts and maps, the sailor learned that Formosa for Taiwan, a title which is preferred by the government and the peoplej is a fish-shaped island 200 by 50 miles in size and lying, at its closest point, only 75 miles from the Chinese Communist mainland. It is separated from the continent of Asia by the Formosa strait, which contains the Pescadores islands. Together with various offshore islands, Formosa and the Pescadores constitute Nationalist China, with its capital in Taipei, the only liberty spot outside of Keelung for thirsty sailors. It is from Taipei, a bustling city with a population ap- proaching that of St. Louis or Cleve- land, that Generalissimo Chiang Kai- Shek runs the affairs of his displaced government. It is from here that the Nationalist government prepares its plans to reclaim all of the mainland for itself. Geographically, Formosa is a very interesting island. The name, is de- rived from the Portuguese word for beautiful and the island lives up to its name. A cross-section of the island from West to East would reveal broad plains and gently rising slopes for 35 miles, or about two-thirds of the way across the island. Abundant rainfall plus the flat terrain makes the western portion of the island well adapted to farming. Here industrious workers may be seen utilizing every square foot of ground to produce rice, tea and a variety of vegetables. In this area another of Formosa's primary natural resources-coconuts, which no ROCHES- TER sailors had a chance to see--are picked and prepared for market. Many are exported to countries all over the world. Flying from west to east across the island, ,an observer would notice that the ground rises sharply about two-thirds of the way across, being topped by a mountain range that compares with virtually any in the United States. This range, which runs the entire length of the island from north to south is dominated by Niitaka Yan CMt. Morrisonh, 12,940 feet in height, about the same as Mt. Fuji in Japan. For such a short range it contains an unusually high number of peaks above 10,000 feet which are the first indication of land on the radar scopes of the ROCHESTER as it approaches from the East. The drop from densely wooded, extremely verdant mount- ains to the East coast of Formosa is very steep and abrupt. The terrain falls in a series of cliffs and sharply-inclined mountainsides and plunges into the ocean only twenty miles away. A small sample of this rugged country was seen by many ROCHESTER sailors in the area around Keelung. CCONTINUED ON PAGE isp CHIANG KAI-SHEK'S STATUE STANDS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TAIPEI

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-f .V Rochester Becomes Flagship For Third Time Since 1950 The ROCHESTER steamed to WestPac last Feb- ruary to become the flagship of Vice Admiral Alfred M. Pride, commander of the Seventh fleet, and his staff of 240 officers and men. It was the third time the three-starred flag of Commander, Seventh fleet had flown from the ship, and marked the second tour of Admiral Pride aboard the ROCHESTER. . . . . The admiral and his staff performed their assigned task of formulating the defense of the Formosan area aboard the ship from 3 March to 8 May, when they shifted to the USS ELDORADO. During this time, the ROCHESTER was not as much a cruiser at it was a floating office and base of operations for the staff. The ship had been torn up and reassembled to accomodate the avalanche of personnel and materiel which marked the staff's arrival. Ship's officers had to move to sickbay to accomodate staff oflicers. Ship's company men had to double up in living compartments to make room for the men attached to the staff. The duties of the staff were many. Operationally, they had to keep track of virtually every ship deployed in WestPac. Whether the problem was one of replenishing a Task Force or transporting Boy Scouts to Okinawa, it was the responsibility of Commander, Seventh Fleet to have the right ships at the right place. It was similar to a gigantic game of checkers, permitting ships to move from place to place in West Pac Without concentrating too many of one kind in one spot or spreading them out too thin. Granting yard availability and suf- ficient liberty and recreation to each ship were other problems which made operational planning difficult. Another responsibility of the Seventh Fleet staff was that of intelligence. It became necessary 'to know what was going on behind the bamboo curtain and evaluate it, so that proper American foreign policy might be formulated and so that the Seventh fleet, which was committed to the defense of For- mosan waters, might be better prepared to perform its function. A large part of the staff was comprised of com- munications personnel. The ROCHESTER's radios and other communications equipment were placed under direct control of the staff, and extra com- munications gear was installed to accomodate the heavy traffic which the staff brought with it. The communications requirement of an organization with such diversified and far-reaching interests was one of the greater changes wrought by the advent of the staff. Administratively, the staff performed many of the same duties as any ship's company. There were boatswain mates to coxswain the staff boats, yeomen to handle the vast correspondence required, per- sonnelmen to handle the men's records, photogra- phers and journalists to look after the publicity needs, and supply personnel to fulfill the logistic demands of the staff. Plans were made to rip up the ship months before the staff arrived and rebuild the office spaces which it required. For eight weeks at Long Beach Welders, painters, pipefitters, electronics specialists, carpenters, and many other yardworkers cut, chipped, chopped and burned the ship on almost every deck and then put it back together again according to plans and specifications received from the Seventh fleet staff early in the fall of 1954. The ROCHESTER emerged from the shipyard in late January, fully outfitted to take aboard the com- mander of America's strong right arm in the Pacific and his large staff. I I I Was Executive Officer of the SARATOGA when World War 11 broke out. I I IBecame the first skipper of newly com- missioned BELLEAU WOOD in March of 1943. I I IReceived a Letter of Commendation with Ribbon and his ship the Presidential Unit Citation. I I IAppointed Rear Admiral in March 1944 and given duty of Commander, Air Control Unit, Amphibious Force, Pacific. I I I Awarded Legion of Merit for his part in the planning, staging and execution of the assault and capture of Okinawa Shima. IIIPGGCG time commands include Carrier Divisions 2, 4, and 6, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Commander Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Md. I I I Assumed command of the Seventh Fleet with rank of Vice Admiral on December 1, 1953. SEVE TH FLEET

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