Tazewell (APA 209) - Naval Cruise Book

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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 . . '

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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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.i,. xxx! XXyXXxgxX xXXXxygyxxGx XXQWXXXXXXXXXXX xxxxxxxxXXxXxyxxxxx xnxx llie 1lI5I.lIltL' hetweeu Tokyo and Yokohama, which is Tokyo's port, is alvout txxciuy uules .1 ilxxelllnlgs, pulwlu Iuuilil- ings, slirines .llltl teme- teries. Alter seeing such congestion i1 is easily 11n- clcrstoocl how a person could Iwe lvorn, live, die and he lvuriecl all within il space of a few acres. l.an1l is the premium in japan. This area is now just one great ash heap as Ll result of the Eighth Air Forces' relentless hom hings. Only incen- diary homlvs were used here and this once vast industrial section is now reduced to heaps of junk. An electric elevated train operates between Tokyo and Yokohama on the half hour, and ap- pears to he very fast and moderng Navy personnel are not permitted to ride. The trolley system in Tokyo is very dilapidat- ed, hut never-the-less is in use daily with each car loaded to the steps. Many strange meth- ods of transportation are seen along the streets. The majority of trucks and automohiles are op- erated on charcoal burn- ers. Cattle can he seen t11ggin,1g at heavily loaded M -4' f- -,Wa , nd the area ol devastation between the two cities runs a xx i1I1I1 ol .ipprosiiuately three miles. This area was a conglomeration of factories, YOU APE NOW ENTERING T KYU lsr CAVALPY DIVISION WSI 'N VLNILA F4957 vomvo ff'fV,,,nr,,, , ,,, ., , ,MN W ,Ama AM www' 7 X , , I ,, La. If m,,'X' .msn - 29