Stevenson (DD 645) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 52 text:

Q'QX'v fl Q, pw X X ' X X 5 . icky? 3, My ,, ,. W, Ha

Page 51 text:

Yokohama held slight interest except for bargain and souvenir collecting. MacArthur was here, with all his staff, during the first few days, and their headquarters were standing erect and untouched by fire bombs. Much of the business district was untouched, either because it was of sturdier stone con- struction, or almost as if Doug had pointed to a small pin-point cluster of build- ings on his maps and said to his bombardiers, Leave these for the Amer- icans . The main attraction in Tokyo was the Emperor's palace-still untouched so far as we could see, for We never got inside the inner moat. This moat, with its giant Carp two or three feet in length, and the expanse of lawn before it, made an ideal spot for eating lunch, and many an American was happy enough to picnic on the palace grounds . We felt no pangs of regret if we were desecrating the Sacred Home of his Imperial Highness. Gradually the shoeleather began to wear thin with so much walking. An area had been fixed ashore to play baseball and basketball, and it soon was far more popular than Tokyo. What has the Emperor got to compare with a good hot ball game and some ice cold beer. The A and B teams managed a few games with other ships of the squadron, and they wound up a very satis- factory season by each beating the officer's team in double-headers. Then thebiggest news of all came. Where it started we aren't certain, but careful tracing through the galley, the after fire room, and the bilges confirmed a pretty certain thing. We were going home, and we were going the Long Way! So the Steve was to make a World Cruise! Wakanma Wm The communication department finally straightened out the confusion of orders about our .return home, and on the 7th of October we set out with the Thorn, Stockton, Lansdowne, Lardner, and Nelson, and escorting the Battleships Tennessee and California, for Wakanura Wan. With no mishaps, we arrived the next day, and had scarcely settled into routine to clean up the ship, polish brass, and paint the lifeline white, until we had to move to a Typhoon Anchorage. There is something about a storm warning which literally sets this ship on its ear. Radio was the most popular spot on the ship, as person after person kept after them for reports on the movement of the storm, which caused so great damage at Okinawa as we later found out. - When we saw this was only to miss us by a few miles everyone battened down for rough weather, hunted up lifejackets, and got as much sleep as pos- sible in preparation for a blow. Close to morning the wind began to slack and weather reports indicated the center had missed us by about 40 miles. After checking our position we found that steaming at anchor had still caused us to drift slightly, but aside from loss of sleep and overworked nerves the ship rode out the storm very well. We soon shifted to our regular anchorage and the days dragged until our O.T.C. hoisted signals on the l5th and we were homeward bound. First stop- SINGAPORE! ' 43

Page 53 text:

ing C1120 115 OB ER' 1945 xx X X LL L9 K . x ,rv N465 MX ,1 X 4 sz' 31'5:.'jQ '! ' ' xt 'lx xr l 'xv' X r I ,, x 1 f , , 3 W 1 ' lk 'fe V fl , . Frm - . V 'ff-1 ' 6 ff xi X X' .Y if, Lv . , N N W XS ,, 7 yi X'-N--Fff???f..gf?'l 1 1, I 'A W A ' fffs 'M f Q Ll Xxx X w. ,,,E-'Ugg H -1' l If I ff.. xx 17' W x X fb- f J wiigfifll' ' f , 1 I I , , t 3 ----., ,,l,Efb3' , -sv., pig, I if - f0VliIl , Wx ' X 'ff' I , gif X fx , K ,f 'gl' . I 'Q X x 115 ' N ff Q, x I5 ' - X ' I N ',f X ' Q X xl X R VL ,G ' fx gf ,xx 1- ' 0' X V Y 1X QS? QM T Nt Sk X X X I 15- I . ,X XX 1, X X V x