Smalley (DD 565) - Naval Cruise Book

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l 'fagqggji Tokyo Railroad Station Buddhist temples of Kamakura before reaching Tokyo. For most of us, this was the first large city of the Orient that we had seen. The Tokyo abayousv which once served the city as canals, the modern streets and tall buildings, the rush of trucks and cars on the same thoroughfares as rickshaws and hand carts, kimonos and European Dress, the modern department stores and the portable stalls of small merchants made Tokyo a city of contrasts-truly a place where VVest had met East. Here again the occidental influence was rapidly sweeping into the oriental traditions. Of the twenty-two major parks, most of us visited at least one. The Shinto Shrines were run down but provided enough faded color to entice the shutter bugsv to unlimber their cameras. Uleno Park, situated in the north central part of the city, was perhaps the most popular of the parks. lt was certainly the most popular as far as the post card manufacturers were concerned. We found a good system of public buses and elevated trains but they were not much use to Smalley sailors who were incapable of deciphering the Japanese characters on the various signs. Many of us went jolting down the Ginza in one of those toy-like taxi cabs, dodging trucks, buses and three-wheeled rickshaws only to learn that Tokyo's traffic control is still geared to the rickshaw and oxcart. The Imperial Palace with its weathered gray walls rising out of a brackish moat attracted 17 all hands, though none of us were able to gain entrance to the palace grounds. Another place of interest was the Akasaka Detached Palace, also known as the Old lmperial Palace, and now a library. This sprawling piece of transplated Versailles style architecture was open to the curious. Those who ventured within the walls wandered many miles of dark red carpeted corridors in semi- darkness. Sometime during our visit to Tokyo we stopped at the lmperial Hotel, the pre-war rendezvous of diplomats and statesmen. The setting was good, the food excellent, and the tab amazingly low. There was much to be seen in this capital city of japan, the largest city in the Orient, but one or two days was not nearly enough to do it in. We only scratched the surface, but we had been to Tokyo. Back in uYokuska,', the bars, hotels and cabarets with which we became familiar early in our Hve day visit were of all shapes and sizes. They ranged from tiny old-fashioned japanese tea rooms to flashy night clubs which would put some of the gaudy stateside gin millsn to shame. The P.O. and E.M. Clubs with their various bars, restaurants, barber shops and ballrooms also saw a great many Smalley men. Even though we were burdened with gifts and void of money there was more than one wistful eye turned and one longing glance cast when the Smalley drew out of the bay on June 29th. Korea, Task Force 77 and perhaps real adventure now lay directly ahead. Fujiyama in the Spring I nm.

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the Smalley, though for most of us this was our first time in the liar hast. Even with the broad acceptance of XfVcst1-rn ideas and customs which were seen in Amer- ican style cabarets, stores and clothes, we noticed the difference between Japanese living standards and our own. We were pleased with the quiet leisure and humble politeness of the Japanese people. The houses of paper and wood with straw matting or utatamiv on the floors, the rickshaws gone- modern with motor bicycles, the mysterious and often weird music, all called for attention. In fact, with all of its occidental trappings this country was found to be so entirely different from our own that on the first liberty we were almost at a loss for where to look or what to watch. Souvenir hunters found aYokuska,' a verita- ble gallery for beautiful Japanese paintings, Woodcuts and lacquers. These interpretive art objects are descendants of ancient oriental crafts which have always played an important part in the aesthetic lives of the Japanese people. Every evening we saw the streets crowded with people carrying small wash basins and towels toward the public baths. Some community baths have separate facilities for men and women to conduct their ritualistic ablutions, but in many places both share the same large pool. Those who could tear their eyes away from the brilliant banners and signs that hung on the thousands of small shops filled with curios and oriental gifts found a trip to the outskirts in a rickshaw was one to be remembered. VVe felt a little foolish riding behind such a hard- The Great Buddha at Kaniakura Yokosuka Naval Base pedaling little man, but we realized he was happily, if strenuously, earning a modest liv- ing. In the outskirts we found compact farms with rice and vegetables planted in fields which had been tiered to many levels. Because of the large per capita population we were told it was necessary for the hard-working farmers to cultivate every available piece of land, and we saw throughout the ancient countryside that is just what they had done. One hundred twenty yen and forty-five min- utes north of Yokosuka lies Tokyo. The trip to the big city on an electric train amounted to a series of countryside glimpses. The ride resolved into snapshot-like fiashes of terraced rice fields, thatched-roof huts and little brown figures in rolled up trousers who were planting rice. W7e rattled past Yokohama and the Stocking up for 77

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argl l wtf X NW xg mms K .. ans. S ' 5 V A T ' S X S S S Q Q Q Q .S V A tense feeling of excitement penetrated the damp, grey dawn on the morning of 30 Iune as Destroyer Division 302 steamed briskly into the Japanese Sea to join Fast Carrier Task Force 77 off Korea. Trme out for 1 drrnk gvx swoon Passing through Shimoneseki Strait, between the Iapanese home islands of Honshu and Kyushu, the ship took a last glimpse of the mountainous, once hostile terrain. As We neared the large Task Force and received our screen station the entrre crew was appre hensrvely alert at lrst we would make effective use of our combat preparation Task Force 77 demanded precision mfrneu verrng at high speeds w hrch fused into 1 con trnuously changing pattern The huge aircraft carriers which We protected lrunched strrke after strike of hervrlx armed planes which attacked strategic enemy posrtrorrs rn North Korea Squrw king r rdros Ind clfrngrng Gllgllle order bells were handled with else after a few uncertrrn drvs and soon We found our selves carrying out shrpboud duties w rth more assur rnce Consequently when our first rescue mission Urrne we w are more th ur crgcr for rt An emergency srgnrl rndrcrted thrt 1 ret prlot hrd gorrr dow n oil North Korer D11 rn rtrc rlly tht Smczllrrf sur Utd rhr rd ot the for rn rtron w hrch wffrs plunging rlonff rt '75 knots Another crn w hrth h rd strrttd out w rth us