Tazewell (APA 209) - Naval Cruise Book

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QXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX QXXWXXXP Z x . Wxxxxxxxxxxvv Wkxxxxxxxxxx xxxwxxxxxxv- .5 Traveling across town, next visited was the Oriental Section of Honolulu. Here could be seen the Chinese and other Orientals living their strange ways and customs. The city's population is comprised of Chinese, Filipinos, Hawai- ians, and japanese. There are of course peoples of other nationalities living in Honolulu, although the above-mentioned are the most numerous. The Oriental Section was very filthy. The strong spicy aroma combined with odors of freshly slaughtered chickens seemed to fill the air, making it unpleasant to one's sense of smell. One did however Hnd himself impressed with the lovely simplicity of the Chinese pagodas that could be seen here and there about this section of the city. A tremendous amount of money is spent by tourists for souvenirs and remembrances to be sent Stateside to loved ones and friends. This is exceed- ingly true of Uncle Sam's servicemen. Curio shops are numerous throughout the city and prove to be one of its commercial mainstays at the present. Also, worth mentioning are the military bases of Pearl Harbor and Schofield Barracks. Pearl Harbor is one of the finest natural harbors in the Pacific, and has the world's most modern submarine base. Schofield Barracks quarters and trains thousands of the Army's charges for combat duty in the advanced Pacific areas. Our liberties here were enjoyable, although in one day you can see as much of Honolulu as you would care to. Very soon we were to find out that ours was a serious mission, for at this time troops were boarding the ship and before long Honolulu and the rest of Hawaii would be but a pleasant memory. With calm seas, sunny days, and cool evenings, the next phase of our journey proved a pleasant one. Flying fish were frequently seen to break through the surface of the calm water. On the morning of january 25th, our eighth day at sea, the Tazewell entered the East Channel of the Eniwetok Atoll. An atoll is a great island-dotted reef surrounding a large inner lagoon. Eniwetok is the northernmost island of what is known as the Ralik or Sunset Chain of the Marshalls. january 26th found the ship underway and westward bound, as we had remained at Eniwetok only long enough to be refueled. W' ith the dawn of each new day the feeling of tension became greatly increased, for the 'Trembling T and her crew were now in easy striking distance of the enemy raiders. Gielap and Iar, small islands of the Ulithi group were now long in our wake, and ahead lay Kossal Roads and the Palaus. Our next port was reached without mishap on February first. It was the volcanic Island of Pelelieu, one of the southernmost islands of the Palaus. These islands are of a volcanic origin and are completely surrounded by coral reefs. Not easy to forget was the time we had to veer sharply off our course in order to avoid the floating mine sighted in our path. Had it made its contact 14 .Q l Qi lr 'l i l ff 2 5 5 i fi if 5 w L ll 1

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xQ.xXXXXXXxyx xxXxxXXxXxy xxx fr N Q Xxxx x8 XXXXX 4 . ' i f if if renowned Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Finally, the camouflaged Aloha Tower itself was sighted, we had arrived. A tug took us in tow and we soon were tied up to one of the many piers along Honolulu's water front. ln the few hours that followed, the troops made their way happily but noisily down the gangways erected for their use, carrying their barracks' bags and rilles. Laboriously they made their descent to pier and long sought terra lirma . They disembarked to the strains of sprightly marches and popular melodies played by an Army band on the pier below. It was the arriving doggies war-time welcome to Hawaii. Time flew, and january l0th greeted us with the prospect of liberty. Spotlessly clean in liberty whites, shoes polished to a high gloss, the shore bound Swabbies of the Tremb!mg T stood restlessly assembled for dress inspection. Anxiety reigned as this was our first liberty on foreign shores. Liberty was to commence at 1000 and expire aboard at 1700. This seemed suflicient time to complete a sight-seeing a l shopping tour of Honolulu. this Q! H . Honolulu was found to be a very large and flourishing city. The downtown or business section teemed with con- tinuous activity. Nearly all of the city's many stores of any size, were modernized. Streetcars and busses were to be seen everywhere. Theatres, skating rinks, Q W X - bowling alleys, and other sources of amusement were numerous. Swim- ming at Waikiki proved to be fun since American 's ' girls were frequently to be seen lounging around on theibeach. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel appear- ed as beautiful as the postcards portraying it, and the Poincianas blooming in sweet frag- rance in the colorful cultured garden lent an arresting atmosphere to the scene. I 5 Q k,Q,6'.. XxxxxxXW NXxxxxxxX '- A U ,. a,4u2.LJ ' .. ramp - -A A .U

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V . then, the cruise of the 'Trembling T might well have been ended in the Palaus. No anchorage being available, after Condition 1-A was sounded, the soldiers and supplies were lowered over the side into boats while the ship was underway. This operation, much to the surprise of everyone, was performed flawlessly, though it had been practised many times before in the amphibious part of our training. Interesting things to remember about Pelelieu are: before the island underwent its terrific bombardment from sea and air, a rare species of prehistoric lizards that grew to a length of five to six feet could be found habitating the island. It was also on this islet that the Battle of Bloody Nose Ridge was fought and dearly paid for with the lives of almost a complete Marine division. Not many miles north of Pelelieu is situated the by-passed island of Babelthuap, where twenty thousand sons of heaven were slowly starving to death. It was these hunger crazed Japs, who when the tide was low, swam and stumbled across the coral reefs to unsuccessfully banzai against our soldiers' quarters on Pelelieu. KNO sooner was the task of unloading completed than orders were received directing us to sail for San Pedro Bay, Leyte, P. I. The next few days were spent steaming slowly in convoy, until on February 9th, the hooks of our anchor dug in on the harbor bottom of San Pedro Bay. The following day we weighed anchor and soon were underway to tie up to a waiting tanker to be refueled. After refueling we cast off, and once again proceeded to the anchorage. We remained idle in San Pedro Bay for over a month, the days slowly dragging on in endless fashion. Little then did we know that we were to be a small part of what would be the largest invasion fleet ever assembled. The natives from the surrounding islands of Leyte and Samar paid us frequent visits in their outrigger canoes, they carried their usual assortment of wares to barter. The majority of these sea-going souvenir shops offered for trade such articles as bananas, bolo knives, hula skirts, and a few hand woven hats and mats. Very little English is known by the l native traders, and for L most of them their voca- ' bulary consisted of two ' T words, Hey Joe , how- ever, these proved suffi- cient to attract the atten- tion of their prospective buyers. In exchange for A X their goods they would accept Ollf 1'I12ltfI'CSS COV- . . K , a X ps K M i ers, cigarettes, clothing, X A 15 zu, .1 , -1- - - Pvasiafvf-gay!-.-ra-'Q t xxxxxxxxxx xx-txxxxxxyxx co. -.s.x -91 xxxxxxxxxxx-.ess Vsxxxxx Xhxx we-f