Shannon (DM 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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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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am. On the whole, Sasebo is a picturesque city, especially in the residential areas, with the mountains as a backdrop to the hillside homes and shrines. But the filth and squalor detracted from, and often obliterated, anything of beauty that might be there, Much was learned of the Japanese people and their way of life in Sasebo. It was exceedingly interesting, but not 3 single American envied the Japanese. October 14, Lt. Commander Goranson was detached. In order to catch the Ellyson CDMS 195, of which he was to assume command, he Hew in a small Marine plane to Kobe, Honshu, a city which had not yet been occupied. From there he traveled overland to Wakayama where, his new ship was based. just before leaving, he had been relieved as Executive Officer by Lieut, Grehan, who in turn had been relieved as Gunnery Officer by Lieut. Caldwell. The following day, the Shannon moved out to Buoy 23 to nest with the Helm, Lamson QDD 367J, and Coghlan CDD 606j. In the afternoon of October 17th, the Supply Officer, with Boone, Welcli, A, I, Hall, Pajas, Frey, Manning, Schwartz, Gilliam, Hendershot, Gumble, T. D. Allen, and Matarazzo, returned aboard, after 16 grueling days on Okinawa and on an LST in Buckner Bay, They were all mighty happy to get home. All had had to borrow or draw clothes and toilet articles, since none of them was prepared for so long a stay. The time and effort to get supplies was in vain, for nothing could be brought up from Okinawa. Perhaps the biggest blow of all was that among the stores which we almost got, was 250 gallons of paint. We had long since resigned ourselves to the fact that We would have to use a conglomeration of whatever we could beg, borrow, or steal. Most of what we did get was Japanese lacquer in a variety of colors, including bright purple, yellow, and green. 7 Entrance to bombproof underground factory. 8 Sasebo's crowded hillside homes, tile roofs, terraced roads, and steps are typical of all Japanese cities. 9 Wayside shrine stands amid bombing rubble. I0 Suburban Sasebo street. ll Geisha girl plays her unmusical stringed instrument. I2 Party at a Sasebo Geisha House. fThe only furnishings, as in most Japanese homes, are a low table and thiclr floor mats. Note sliding screens which divide rooms.l