Shannon (DM 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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TYPHOON The morning of October Oth, word was received that the ex- h pected typhoon was close at .. , hand, Shortly afterwards, in ac- dance with typhoon plan William, the steering gear was energized and the boilers lighted off. The number of ships in each nest had to be reduced, 35 a precaution, so we were rdered to shift to buoy 14, which was in a more sheltered part of the harbor. COY 0 At 1335, just after we had moored, the Helm CDD 3883 moored alongside. This maneu- ver was made difficult by the steadily increasing winds, which had already reached 30 knots. On the first two attempts, the Helm was caught and swung broadside by the wind, forcing her to ram us on each occasion, Fortunately, she had little way on and the skin of the ship was not broken, By sunset, the wind had reached about 45 knots, where it stayed throughout the night and until early the next after- DOOR. During the day, several ships were torn from their moorings and drifted,-out of control, down the harbor. An APD, adrift from the mooring just north of buoy 14, miraculously swerved aside to miss the Shannon by scant inches. A few minutes later, an LST began to drag her anchor and passed only a few hundred yards east of us. She was almost com- pletely out of control-a perfect target for the wind because of her very high freeboard, - shallow draft, and very little available speed. When we last saw her, she crashed into the Wicliita CCA 455, scraped the length of her side, and then slid off, only to go drifting on down the harbor. Several small- er landing craft were in equal difficulty, but finally managed to beach at the southern end of the harbor, 0 . ' -' ft ss . . sis J MS The full fury of the typhoon struck at about 1600 when the reached 97 knots, with 1 gusts to well over 100. After about two hours of full force, it began to subside, dropping to wind about 40 knots by midnight. By noon the 11th, the storm had passed and the weather was back to normalcy, although a little colder. Very fortunately, the center of the typhoon had passed about 100 miles south- east of Sasebo, it veered to the northeast. The velocity of the wind at the center had been estimated at over 125 knots. The damage inflicted at Okinawa, which had been directly in the path of the storm center, is a grim, Well known fact. More than 200 ships of all classes and sizes were destroyed or severely damaged in Buckner Bay, and numerous lives lost, The effect of those losses was felt by us only in the temporary loss of mail service, a not serious shortage of supplies, and considerable concern for Lt. fig? Weager and his working party, which had not yet returned from Okinawa. SASEBO CITY Occupation proceeded according to schedule. The city was being slowly cleaned upg military forces had been disarmedg all military installations and factories had been taken overg NavTechJap Engineers had arrived from Wasliington to in- spect Japanese military, naval, and production material, and to recommend and arrange for its proper disposition, the people were under control and orderly. There was still much to be done-work that would probably require years-but the city was orderly enough to permit liberty parties within certain limits. Everyone was curious to see as much as possible of ,lapan and its people, and to collect souvenirs. Each man went ashore at least once when his turn came. XVhat they saw was not pretty. The city was filthy. Those utilities and facilities that still existed were very primitive in comparison with a city of the same size in the United States. The community as a whole was very poor, as one would expect in the feudal society of japan. This poverty was made more acute by the sacrifices and ravages of war. ' Only a few of the streets are paved, most of which were in the business district. Except for the government buildings, a bank, a hospital, two department stores a new theater, one Or two temples, and a few miscellaneous buildings, all structures in the business district were of fiimsy frame construction. Sasebo had been hit by only two small raids of medium bombers, dropping mostly incendiaries, but about half of the business district was completely leveled. The amount of destruction was almost unbelievable for the number of bombs dropped. The railroad and most of the roads were intact and open to traffic, under the control of the occupation forces. Most of the people traveled on foot, although some of the most prosperous had bicycles. The few automobiles that one might see belonged to the govern- ment. Practically all material was hauled on the back or in crude carts, pulled by men and women. Only a very few people were fortunate or wealthy enough to own .12 a horse. Small shops were numerous, but had practically nothing to sell, at first. Sou- venir hungry sailors, rich from months at sea, were willing to buy anything that looked Japanese, and did. Cheap pottery, fans, cheap kimonas, wooden sandles, chop sticks, stamps, and pictures were the most common items of purchase. XVhen the natives learned that Ameri- cans would buy anything and everything they had to offer, they gathered old books, chopsticks, pictures, household utensils, pieces of silk, and every other item available to put on the market. 69

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As the boats :tml the town dis- appeared in the distance one of the chiefs rernatrked, The tiovf ernment doesn't need to st-ml any diplornatsg just give at bunch ol' - - - r 4 .5 sailors a few cigarettes :tml some sud candy and they'll make friends. . f 'These guys could win over any- body. That is certainly trite in t Yoguamupo, Korea, or Song lung, ' ' as the natives apparently call it. X This had been a mighty pleasant' ,X X interlude from months of grueling sea duty. But to everyone on .board the Shannon it was much 0 more. There in Korea, a country which, to most people, seems like the end of the Earth, we found an expression of what we had been fighting forf To those somewhat primitive, peasant people, we symbolized America-and America meant free- dom. These people believed in and worshipped a far-away country, which they had never seen, because of the things for which it stands. The Korean spokesman had said, VVe wait for you long time. That made most of us feel a bit ashamed that it had taken us, the United States, so long to get there and fulfill the promises we had made some forty years before. But our shame was far overshadowed by the joy that our coming had wrought. It is a wonderful experience to free a people, whether actually or symbolically. Their happiness and gratitude was, in a measure, payment for the hell and horror we had experi- enced. All that seemed to matter little when we saw its re- sults. Freedom, war, ways of life-much that had before been intangible, expressed in generalities-took on new mean- ing. Our experience in Korea had made many things specific and real. Probably never again will we be given as sincere and ap- preciative a reception, and in no port in the world will the Shannon ever be more welcome than in Yoguamupo, Korea, BACK TO OKINAWA Shortly after leaving Yoguamupo Wan, We anchored off the entrance to Fusan harbor, in the vicinity of the sea buoy. An LCS came alongside at 1600, returning CominDiv 7 and his staff to the ship. Our orders then called for a hurried trip to Okinawa, the main purpose of which was to report to CominPac the findings, of the Korea conference and the progress of sweep- ing operations around northern and western Kyushu. Time was pressing, so we made 25 knots all the way down, and arrived in Buckner Bay at 1700, October lst. LOST: ONE WORKING PARTY On the following day while the Commodore called on Com1nPac to make his report, the Paymaster and a working party of twelve men went over to Brown Beach for provisions and much needed GSK stores During the afternoon gr third of the crew enjoyed a beer picnic and baseball game on Tsuken Shrma Later rn the day the Commodore returned, but there was still no word from the working party This caused a great deal of concern for we were scheduled to leave for Sasebo prior to sunset few more hours would produce the lost Finrlly about 2000 Word was received that the Supply Officer the working party and several tons of provisions were sitting on the dock waiting for a boat to bring them out to the ship Your hours of searching in Pipe clown the chickens on the forecas'cle. ttnirinp, and ph-gtding had produced no trait-.pttrtatinn, The If,,-Obability ttf getting a boat at night was even lt-ss Ui t.'reatt:r' concern than getting 4-ni int-n and supplies back, was tht' approach of a very Severe typht.on. t'onsidc-rable danger and hiss ff prt-ciorrs time would result it' wc- did not get back to Sasebo i ahead tit' the storm. Finally, at 2200, we gave np, and headed north at ltr knots in hopes of making up tht- time which had been lost. This left our men stranded on the beach, all without a change of clothes, and most without even a foul-weather jacket. Luckily, Mr, lllcager had enough money to buy , each man a tooth brush, but that was hardly a necessary item the first day for no one had had any- thing to Cat since breakfast. As we proceeded, the weather got worse and the sea heavier. By the end of the midswatch, We were steaming through 25- to 40-foot seas. Green water washed over the bow constantly, and very heavy spray kept the bridge personnel looking like drowned rats. The impact of each wave, shook the ship so severely that we soon wondered what kept her in one piece. Since we were heading into the sea, our roll was negligible, but the pitch was terrific. As we rode up each wave, the ship would pause momentarily at the crest, and then plunge downward as if the sea had opened up and its bottom had fallen out. This constant pounding, and eventually an engineering casualty, forced us to slow to 18 knots, which speed we main- tained until noon. Reducing the speed only eight knots had eased the strain considerably, but we found it necessary to resume the former rate in order to reach Sasebo before dark. Our calculations proved correct, for, shortly after sunset, October 3, we were moored alongside the Ralph Talbot CDD 3901, in berth 25, Sasebo Ko. By the time we moored, the wind had abated. Since the typhoon was moving much more slowly than had been antici- pated, and since the Shannon was not operating, We l121d.3 short breathing spell. This allowed us some time to spend in upkeep and preparations for painting in case we should get some paint, which was then almost unobtainable. October 4, the Sasebo Officers' Recreation Center waS opened for business on a bring your own basis. A full delegation from the Shannon was on hand for the inaugura- tion, and all those present became charter members. The club was housed in a small, two-story, brick building in one of th-C coal storage yards on the western shore of the harbor. Busi- ness boomed, so, by the end of the month, a frame shed and a small, fenced-in terrace had been built as additions. A large warehouse just across the road was taken oxer and renovated for use as an Enlisted Mens lvecreatton Cetlfel' ns was readv for use the second rieel rn October A Cmfl c next to the building proxrded room enough for tOL1C1 football and baseball games rough the condition and location of the recreation CC s and the adjacent playing frtld was far from ideal 01' eqrrrtc it did provide r plrce for rnrrclr needed relaaatl f KWC Cvery one the chance to get rway from the cramps rrters of s p ind to drrnl 1 little beer This was N 1' f come for liberty had been mighty scarce rn months Pa oon one third of the slnp was sent over t0 brrch timed with plenty of eer - . . Tl' .- - - .- Q' . ' ef 4 C , v ' ' ' C ,n nel l, 5 ' ' , - -' - - ' 1 1 , 's ' , ' ' Arn - -' , f - ' rr- ' 5 A tiff. c ' 5 'lc 7' 1' I X r' Q K . 1 ' ' ad Z , . l ' 1' 2 it - ' 'On' Our departure was subsequently delayed in the hope that a I ,z R f . - - 3 f - d ' '- is- 'i 2 , , quz 'R -, a .hi , 1 -' gg ' -, '. - 'E Y t s ' ' J, vsel- , - ' - , x ' 4 5 , ' - St- ' e ' I - -. I 3' ' liach aftern '- , ' v- 5 , the ' ' ' 4 l 4 nil ' Q xi , 2 ' I 'V b ' 68

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. 1 ....,,.,g1: 9 'J 4 A 4 5 V V ,,,, -I iff-,i 2 Occasionally someone would find a good silk kimona for sale. A few fortunates traveled to Kakyaimo's pottery shop in Arita, or to a pearl diver's home on Amura Wan, where items of unusually fine workmanship and value could be purchased. The residential sections of Sasebo surrounded the city, ex- tending all the way up the hillsides. Most of the houses were small, frail wooden structures, roofed with tile, and built practically on top of one another. The interiors of these houses were almost devoid of furniture, having, at the most, a few Hoor mats, a low table, and a small charcoal stove which served both for heating and cooking. The buildings were di- vided into rooms by thin porta.ble screens. Narrow streets and stairways wound up the hillsides, and in among the groups of houses. A few open canals flowed down the hills to provide drainage and to carry off sewage. Each family, or group of families, kept a small vegetable garden in rocky, terraced plots, carved from the hillside. Much of the sewage was used to fertilize these gardens. The people of Sasebo were not nearly so reticent as those of Nagasaki, although they were thoroughly beaten and, for the most part, submissive. During the early days of the occupation, many had been moved or frightened into moving back into the hills, After a few weeks, they were allowed tt, return to the city, or had overcome their fright enough to come back. As the city became more populous, the natives .became more friendly, especially the children and elderly people. Every child had a greeting for the visitors. Laughing and giggling, they would call out, usually with a bow or a nod, Qhio CGood morningl, Ohio Gozy'mas fGood morning, Sirj, or Sayonora CGood eyeningj, After a few days, natives and Americans began to pick up words from each others languages. Jap children would say God-day or Haro KI-Iellol, and the sailors would reply with the Japanese equivalent, Kon-nee-chee-waf' I Overlooking the city and harbor from northeastern Sasebo residential section. 2 Remains of Sasebo business center. 3 Street scene - Sasebo business district. 4 Shopkeeper rests during lull. iVehicle in right background isia taxi., 5 The children were friendly. iNote, extreme left, girl wearing identi- fication tag, and, center, girl carrying her baby brother on back., 6 Mothers watch dubiously as sons pose. T 6