Tortuga (LSD 26) - Naval Cruise Book

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We'll just make a quick stop in Sasebo to pick up the U's , and then . . . whatis that? Pusan! What are we going there for? Nobody knows? Well I'll be ..... !!! v And here we are at Pusan, and still nobody knows nothin'! Friday . . . Saturday . . . there go those three days we had saved up for visiting in Manila. Saturday night. . . and you say the orders just came in? Good, 1et's go! What? They're cancelled a-gain! Ahhhhhhhh . . . To make a long story short, we finally left on Sunday morning, went back to Sasebo for the U's , and set our course for the Philippines on Monday. Me gripe? Naw, I like Pusan! awww PHIUPPIN EQ o- s A . I are running along between Luzon and Formosa, and I don't think there's a breath of air stirring anywhere! Everybody's grabbing one last chance to get a tan, and usually winding up the color of those beets we had for lunch yesterday. The night before we arrived in Subic Bay everybody decided This is like coming out here . . . hotter than blazes! Here we f' 1 1 2 ? , , 4. , ,, 'K 5- I I :g 26 'lv l I A 27435 W 1 3 n Y A in Rx' Q X CNRS 1 Q Everybody got liberty who could possibly be spared, and we all started out to 'see as much as we could in the short time we had. First the Naval Station itself . . . a beau- tiful little place that seems to combine a maximum of efficiency with a maximum of comfort and good times for all hands. No wonder Mr. Tappy's been raving about the place all this time. In Subic they've even given the quonset huts a modern' de- sign, and no effort has been spared to pro- vide everything the personnel there might need to make life more pleasant. it would be a good idea to sleep outside, and under a full' moon the 5-inch gun deck looked like either Coney Island or a pan of worms, I'm not sure which. Oh, it was coo1er,. alright, but we found out that even the softest deck plate gets pretty hard by six o'clock in the morning. Theyjust don't seem to have much give to them. Subic Bay is beautiful on a bright summer morning . . . even the Naval Station looks more like a city suburb than anything else. Yet you can't forget that this harbor saw some pretty rough days not too long ago. The rusting landing craft still hung up on the beaches and the big freighter aground just off the inner harbor are mute reminders. Let's go take a look at this place! Page Thirty-Five

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After loading the troops and vehicles in Hachinohe we made our actual landing back down near Yokosuka at Sagami Wan. And we gave them the works, too! Put the smoke boats over and fired up the smoke generators on the wingwalls back aft . . . starting a nice hot fire in a 40mm gun mount in the process. No damage . . . and after we'd put our cargo of LSU's to work unloading troops from the trans- ports we declared holiday routine, bal- lasted down, and all hands went for a swim. That's one thing good about an LSD . . . it doesn't take long to get rid of your cargo. Why, those guys on the transports were working all night . . . and here we were enjoying a swim in our own private pool. Not bad, huh? N Af CHR We put the second Hachinohe operation under our belts easily, and then came back to Yokosuka once more for some really interestingf news. Yes boys, it's true! We're going to get a look at something else out here besides Korea ,-., ,and Japan. They want us to run some LSU's down to Subic Bay . . . so let's 'castoff and get going! Page A T hirty-Four .M W A' .igvflbiwn Back to Yokosuka again for another short yard period before the second amphibious operation . . . and a little more R Kz R. The weather kicked up one night . . . our mooring shackle parted from the buoy . . . and we had a really tense moment or two drifting slowly down on the AJAX with the tide . . . out of control. .Nick Gonzales got a commendatory mast for letting go the anchor in time to stop us, and also eafrned himself a place in the famous last words de- partment by insisting when he relieved the bow watch just before the incident that that thing will never break! Maybe you think Lady Luck wasn't on our side a time or two this trip! aft we J lil y D ' , 'L , 4 o. ri YEAH Somew LISSEM TO 04.0 SER DADDY ,, mo vouu mme cmec :one You KNOW W--

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Now that we've bought out the ship's store and taken pictures of the main gate of the old Spanish Naval Station . . . built over 100 years ago . . . let's go on into the town, they call itf'Olongapo, and look for some bright lights. Well, where's the town? You mean this is it here? Why you don't even see more than a couple of souvenir stores! Wonder what these people live on? And why do they build their houses on stilts? Oh, when it rains the town is covered with several feet of water, is it? Great place only I'm not a duck! Jeeps seem to, have taken the Philippines by -storm, Converted jobs, that is .... neither quite 'car nor jeep, but very handy for taixifservice. Still, where can you take a taxi except back to the Naval Station? They tell me the woods around here are' full-eof Huks, and Marine sentries won't let you go more than a few miles out of town along the main road to Manila. Living in the Philippines right now is like living in an armed camp. You don't notice it right off the bat, but this place is a tinderboxl So we liberated these people from Japanese rule . . . try telling that to a Huk and see where it gets you. All they can see is that big red -hammer and sickle. The United States has big problems out here . . . and no f-ooling! Wish we could have spent a few more days in the Philippines . and .at least had a glimpse -of Manila. Anyway, we won't soon forget the hospitality of every- one at the Naval Station. The Base Com- manding Officer had the Chief's Club -opened especially for us in the afternoon, and even the Shore Patrol and MAA's seemed more like big brothers sometimes than anything else. Sorry-we have. to go so soon . . . maybe we'll see you all again sometime. Except. for having to make 9, little emergency turn of our own to avoid be- ing run. d-own by a whale, and turning Mr. Wh1tman's hair white by running over an unchartered 5-fathom mark in the mid- dle ofthe night, the trip back to Sasebo was a' quiet one. What s in store for us now? Well, wou1dn't you know it! Page Thirty-Six Main Gate of the old Spanish Naval Station Yes, it rains here now and then S ' Native Sons