Tortuga (LSD 26) - Naval Cruise Book

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One of the most popular spots in the area was the little city of Kamakura . L . just a ten-minute hop away from the Yokosuka RTO by train. There was then-Buddha . . . a ,towering monster cast in bronze 500 years ago . . . and the famous shrine on top of -a hill that always seemed a mile high. At cherry blossom time this shrine was the site -of what seemed to be a big municipal picnic . . . with Japanese families spread- ing their lunches all over the grounds, going boating, playing games, and gen- erally behaving like the local Sunday School on its -annual outing. One ex- ception to that, though . . . .I'm afraid some of the Japanese men brought along a little more saki than was ab- solutely necessary to wash down' the rice. After a few glasses of saki the Japanese love to start 'singing . . . but I'm afraid the Oriental versions of Show Me the Way to Go Home just doesn't quite hit the spot 'with these ears. v 'The Shrine at Kamakura N 1kk0 Shrine The Carpenter kept wondering why the.sh1p kept sinking lower and lower in the water while we were in Yoko suka . . . until somebody got the bright idea of weighing the souvenirs coming aboard Let s see it averaged 100 pounds per man per day . . . times 300 men oh Just ask the mailman He carried It all over to the post office, anyway. Watch out, America . . theres going to be a boom 1n secondhand oriental curio stores next year. Page Twenty

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You know, we get pretty spoiled in America . . . especially when it comes to taking machines for granted. Oh, they've got machines in Japan, too . . . but the average man doesn't have them in his house to help out the wife on wash day, or anything like that. Most of the people in Japan are really poor, and therefore most of the work is done by a pair of arms well lubricated with elbow grease. Japan has automobiles, too, but not in every ga- rage as we do. Most Japanese must get along with rickshaws, nondescript little wagons, and ox-carts: They drive you crazy on the highways. Oh, there's money in Japan, and a lot of brains too, but Mr. and Mrs. Public don't get the benefits of eitherthe way we do at home. There have always been two big problems in Japan . . . too many people, and too little freedom. I guess we've been lucky. Shopping in Kamakura Yokosuka is a very busy place right now. As the chief repair and recreation headquarters for the United States Fleet operating in Korean waters, its shops keep humming day and night and 1ts streets are crowded with sallors enjoying a chance to get off the ship and get that wonderful feel of pavements under their feet, again. In no time at all everybody knew at least a few words of Japanese, and loved to show them off. I wasn t the only one who-se jaw dropped the first time I heard a boatswain's mate using Japanese words to work'h1s gang on, deck. When I asked him about it at chow that day, he told me they understood it better than English. And we d only been out here a few months already! if Back for replenishment . . . Then Off again! Page Nineteen

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Now that the Peace Treaty has been 'signed and the American oc- cupation of Japan is coming to an end, I think everyone hopes that the Japanese people will remem- ber the lessons we've tried to teach them, and stay on the right side of the fence with us. We found -out that once you get across the 'language barrier the Japanese people are a great deal like us. They certainly can't get through the years ahead without our help, and without them on our side we're going to have a pretty rough time of it in the Orient. So 1et's hope bygones will be bygones for good! :Ii-NW2ffW2'1fffzu:'mv f.-' . fr''.fff:zf'-4.vf:f.:1.f W 357 6 4 ,K 4, -. f ,4..,.aw2h:59- ..ff...,.-,fx .g 4 M, . ,,.,. ., . 'F K i. F ' - 4715 V -'W ffl? V, 'fav' V v .-,:m':4:.e, v- 4 23213':pgJ-ffiTf-:,- ., , hge :::. 2 ' w'-,z:1- M 'vw :aff-as-if Q. ' '6,g:+y,fQw. ., , ' if , i':'l - I fl f Vf2f?,1'zS2-VT? V .V -'fy ,- '-135' i 1 ., --'t1 ,,. .,! ,,,,,,., 1 , i s ' W' 4 i ,,,. H, Ay., ,, 1 g XL 'M fm , ww 'Y ' 1, ' .,,- - f,.-'fy-11-135 we-jrsvis- 1, f'cc - to, J c r ,,e, L r i -5 7,4 1 I K, o:.:,f.2,A , -f p X ,.,VVk 1 441. my - , ,Tsyff -,,, ,. , gf. , .. ,,,., i, z - -P J y V, , ,ml 1 fp,, ,E 'I g ...,, , V -m3u, A 35- , .. , ' 221 fi'-ill? ,, H .. ,1, , H - . . I was - 'f ' f'e' i ' - 'A - '- i ' ' y - ' -cf- , ,,,, , , ,,.,, - Hifi - ' , 1 i s ' 'fi' '-fir 1, 'S 'S' 'rc' it oose J f r If you rode the train about three-quarters of an hour after leaving 'Yokosuka you'd arrive in Yokohama, a big commercial sea- port and one, of the U. S. Army's main headquarters in Japan. A very modern city . . . clean . . . and famous for its serv- ice clubs and the Hthieves' market just across from the PX. This was the place to come just at closing time to swap yen and arguments with the proprietors who were trying to make just one last sale be- fore closing up. Page Twenty-One