Tazewell (APA 209) - Naval Cruise Book

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5 Ui xxXXNXXXxx xXXxXx yxxx 'lllxxxxxxxxxxxwxx xxxNXXxxxxxx9'xxxxx xxxxxKXxxxxxxxSX'3'Xxx l blossonntd .innilst boinbtdfout buildings, selling articles of all descriptionsg lr.intlem.ule sanilals, woven baskets and purses, daintily embroidered handker- tlnels, .intl water--bnllalo liorns, Little Filipino boys darted among the ctoWdS of sightsseers selling lap invasion money, postage stamps and cheap rings. Prices were extremely high. XXforn-out trucks and small, pony 8 drawn carts, known as carromatas furnish- f ed the only civilian transportation on the Y. streets which were narrow and dusty. The military was much in evidence with an endless stream of jeeps, trucks, tanks, and ambulances rushing here and there. XXt'e soon received orders to debark our troops at San Fernando Bay in upper Lu- zong then back to Manila to tie up at a pier. Here we loaded oc- V. cupation forces of the Eighth Army headed for Yokohama in japan. Q 4 ' g 4 . . D I Leaving Manila we sailed southward to Batangas. Then on to Legaspi where we met the remainder of our squadron. The village of Legaspi is located at the foot of Mount Ma- yon,altitude of 7,943 feet, :S f- considered the worldls most perfectly shaped ac- the tive volcano. An eruption takes place every ten years. The next one is ex- . rf 7 pected in 1948. We were given a liberty here and were able to barter with the natives. The boys came back from liberty loaded down with ba- nanas, pineapples, woven l baskets and grass skirts. 27

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NX xxxxxxxx xxXXXWlXXX xxXW'W Whxxxxxxxxfg xxxxXXXxxxxxXV'xxx XXXXXXXXXXXVQ Although the war was won, our work was far from completed. lt was time to load up for another cruise on the Pacihc. We sailed from San Pedro on August twenty-sixth with a very unhappy load of I ir W A S Hz:-Eizx Sl: Pi! - S ':::.:'ffg '1 P 1+ ii w ::::.:::' 'l E-eaiiiiigigsaii1i.itt: .ii1a-T-1,-f '--- ' 195113, sg' WA I ENIJEII. MACARTHUR Wlll RULE JAPAN Hirohito to Stay as Figureheacb Formal Armistice Will Be Signed in Few Days Doggiesn on board. This time our destination was Manila, largest city of the Philippine Islands. We steamed past Hawaii and on to Eniwetok where we stopped for fuel and mail. Another week brought us through the San Bernardino Straits and up into Man- ila Bay. Manila Bay was liter- ally loaded with ships. Here were transports, hospital ships, merchant vessels of many nations, amphibious craft of all descriptions and even the British f 1 r 26 carrier lllzmriom. Here and there a humbled Jap freighter furtively stuck her bow out of the water. Inside the breakwater smaller japanese vessels lay helplessly on their sides. We all had oppor- tunity to make liberty in war-torn Manila. Here was an opportunity to see the ravages of war first- hand. What had once been a beautiful city was transformed into a rubble of bricks, tottet- ing buildings and hungry people. Whole areas of the city were in ruins. Pock-marked buildings still standing, attested to heavy artillery fire and street fighting. Shops had

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, with mixed emotions that t w . Xgxxxxxxxxxx xxxyxxxxxxxyyxuxx ,-cxxxxxsg lMXxXxXxxxx8 xxXXXXxxxXXXxs i Xxxxxxxxxx After a short delay we headed for our destination in Tokyo Bay. No less than three times we were forced to retreat southward, in order to avert the typhoon which ripped up Okinawa and caused considerable damage, and loss of a number of ships. Finally on Saturday - morning, the 13th of A . October, we steamed in Tokyo Bay, up past Yoko- suka Naval Base and in- to Yokohama. It was we watched a group of japanese dock workers, ' prodded by an Army ser- geant, tie up the Taze- well to the pier at Yoko- hama. In very short order our troops l l . were off and our cargo was being un- loaded onto Army trucks. With Japanese Yen 15 for one dollar, and liberty declared for twenty- five per cent of the crew, the first party went ashore to see Japan. Tokyo, the world's third largest city, lies at the head of Tokyo Bay, with a population of seven and one quarter million. It is divided by the Sumida River over which have been built many fine concrete bridges. These are a few of the structures undamaged by the bombings, and are used almost constantly by a continuous parade of , ' military vehicles. A reconstruction pro- - gram was completed in 1930 which gave Tokyo over 200,000 new buildings. Many of these are of Western archi- tecture and are the ones remaining today. This reconstruction was the outcome of the earthquake and tidal wave of 1923, and resulted in wide tree lined inch piling and paved over with rock and asphalt The rc lson for this ty pe ol construction is the lack of natural solid road bed foundation soil P8 streets replacing the narrow dirty lanes. These streets are made of two by four I I 5 i I c . Ji I 7 Q , G . . '