Tortuga (LSD 26) - Naval Cruise Book

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tg 2 if 22 if f' HAEHINDHETGPGN In July the Navy decided that perhaps we were suf- ficiently recovered to go back to work for a little while, so we joined forces with a number of trans- ports and LST's for the first Hachinohe operation. This was quite a thing! First we had to run up to Hachinohe from Yokosuka, about a 500-mile trip, to pick up an Army regimental combat team and its equipment. On the way up, steaming in forma- tion, the Commodore decided it was high time for a little tactical maneuvering. Now don't forget that these were the first 'fleet maneuvers we'd ever had . . . and the cussing started when the first signal hoist hit the air. Oh, it's not so tough to get in column and stay there, but when those Emergency Turns 'start coming at you one after another you feel like you're driving in LA traffic, and fourteen knots seems like the speed of a jet. Even with all this it's not so bad in the daytime . . . but just wait until they spring those night zig-zag plans! Quiet . . . dark . . . no moon . . . and all at once you look at the clock and swing 50 degrees to the left, only hoping the other ships are doing the same thing, too. They tell me one of the OOD's almost fell off the bridge trying to see if the SKAGIT was turning the same way we were . . . and a helmsman who swung right on a left rudder order was left hanging at the starboard yardarm for three whole days. Well, we're here, aren't we? So I guess you know luck was with us. '-Loadedofor bear . . . Page Thirty-Two 'and 'ready to go!

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One of the many reasons why none of us felt sorry for the poor boys on Ocupation duty in Japan was the network of rest hotels found all over the islands. Japan's finest tourist hotels have been turned over to the Armed Forces exclusively for their use in enjoying a little R 8x R . . . Rest and Recreation, if you want to call it that. Exhausted as we were from the grueling days at Inchon, we jumped on this bandwagon as soon as we hit Yokosuka again '. . . and everybody came back asking for more. No wonder . . . for-8.50 a day it made Ri1ey's life look monotonous. Like Hank says, We never had it so good! Most of these R 8x R Hotels are located well away from Japan's main cities, in beautiful mountain or seashore country, and the Shore Patrol somehow manages to forget all about them. You get up in the morning when and if you please . . . and from then on the day is yours to ,sight-see, swim in hotel pools, play games, fish, loaf, drink, or loaf. The Jap- anese hellp in the hotels gives you such good service that before long you're too lazy even to scratch a match for yourself . . . and there's no tipping! Dun- garees without hats are the uniform of the day, and who's to' worry about keeping a shine on the shoes? Ah, so . . . could I use a large dose of this! While some of us were off on R 8z R, the others still on board enjoyed watching Japanese laborers swarming over the well deck like ants and disappear- ing into our ballast tanks for a majorcleaning and repainting job. The general sentiment was, 'Tm glad it's them and not me! . . . for this job is just about one of the dirtiest the Navy has to offer. fAll right, I know about B Division cleaning the boilerslj. Lnflj ,slime 1, we-l..'h' fir?-i I ygi? J' Q .Qs in ,, s , f' Q ' tiff We V Q mR6INH R 4. R J APAN Rest Hotel Restees Page Thirty-One

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Tallring it over Transferring Cargo Underway Z V I Swells like these made the ,operations tough at times and the LSU's took a beating, too! Page Thirty-Three