Toledo (CA 133) - Naval Cruise Book

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Memories of World War ll. Aberdeen, the Hong Kong fishing village. could not have been chosen. The variety of merchandise rivaled our own drug stores: woolens, silks, tailoring, shoes, ivory and wood carvings, luggage, tapestries, rugs, paintings, with the artists ready to copy any portrait and, of course, enterprising trades- men with irons and sewing machines to renovate uniforms. To these and similar establishments ashore the crew flocked and each night the ship's draft increased three inches as each new load of loot came aboard. And there was a lot more to do on the beach, too. The British had the place well under control and their clubs were well attended by all. The Chinese in their own ri'ght Well under- stood the Western likes in entertainment. Tiger Balm Pagoda-one of the most beautiful sights of the enfire cruise. Fantail Follies, courtesy of H.M.S. KENYA. To the sightseer Hong Kong was a prize package headed by the View from Victoria Peak overlooking the harbor in which were counted over one hundred large merchant- men. Tiger Balm Pagoda was also classic as were uThieves Marketf, the floating restau- rants in Aberdeen and the city in general. The basketball team played two games each trip, winning three against good teams whose lack of height was well replaced by speed and accuracy. Cricket was introduced to the ship in several games with the British which were very interesting. ln May We went back to the British Crown Colony again, thi's time with over a hundred airmen and soldiers from Clark AFB. The effect was the same as the first trip except that we seemed to go broke even faster. The grounds were also very scenic.

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Mary Sou-Girl Side Cleaner and her crew. Ever since the proposed cruise through the East Indies ending at Singapore had been cancelled, the hope that we would at least get to Hong Kong had been mounting and for once hope was rewarded. To deal with the most important factor about Hong Kong first, the clothing of the Chinese women was something that every red-blooded man in blue would have loved to bring back home. The dresses while ultra anew lookn in length were cut in such a way that a very delightful ufantail yawn was al- ways noticeable, but even this took a back seat to the split in the side of the skirt. The moregbeautiful the woman the higher the The handicraft skills of the Chinese are excellent. A Hong Kong tour party takes a rest a1'Repulse Bay. skirts were slit, a murderous combination. Upon arrival the TOLEDO nearly had to stand by to repel boarders as the local merchants stormed the after gangway from their sampan landing craft. The unfortunate chief on watch had about as much chance of success as did the liberty boats of getting everyone ashore, but the situation was fin- ally solved with a stream of water from the fire hoses. When all became quiet on the eastern front the merchants were allowed to come aboard, if their credentials were in order, and display their wares. Thus was born the TOLEDO Ginza, and a more apt title Sampans carrying hopeful merchants to the ship. ,740 5' 1 t T X W 4 Y I vo W l K ' 1 f A 1 Q, 3 Q .,, Wg ' 'hx ,. 'Q , . , wtf ,.'??'?m.X.. 'WWW V :r . 1f v ,5::.l Q 9 'mb Y X

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Jim mmm, malt.. From Hong Kong the ship headed north for a brief operation with the ships then stationed in Japanese waters. This again brought the customary condition watches, Air Defense, tactical training, Air Defense, flag hoist drills, Air Defense and then when all of these had been completed a little more Air Defense-'tjust for drill. The exercise finished, the ship dropped the hook for a night off Okinawa. Relax- ing now that the work was temporarily over, there seemed to be an air of excitement around the ship, featuring such remarks as Hlt sure feels good to be going home, Yeah, it won't be long now, and HI can hardly waitf, To an inexperienced observer the obvious thought would have been that the nose of the ship was about to be headed east for a long cruise. However, were the truth known, all such references were to Yokosuka where the ship would be for the next week while Admiral Boone relieved Admiral Berkey as Com7thFlt. The Bos'n supervises the hose connection. Make I39 revolutions