  
Thomas Vagle
FP3
John Strohmaier Jr.FP3
Jim Blessitt GM3
Gunnery Officer (Ensign) Lt.Jg. John Mossbarger G.C. Edgar
   
Lloyd Vesey MR3 Kunkle GM3
Tidwell James Tiexeira
BT2
  
Charley Roberson Lewis Byrd BT3
Thurman Chaney MM3
     
     
Arnold-Murquia-Blessitt-Harveston-Burton-1957
Article in the Auckland, New Zealand newspaper 1956
Sailors on the America destroyer-escort Wiseman display their " cue
balls " --shaven heads at the Devonport naval base this morning, while
(below three men look though their New Zealand currency and try to work out
what their worth.
Same text as above
Four destroyers brought the biggest invasion of America
servicemen since World War 11 to Auckland today. Seventeen days out on a
training the ships called for fuel and stores.The four ships, William
Seiverling, Gilbert M. Moore, Lewis and Wiseman,are bound for Townsville and
Darwin.
Armed with cameras, gum, wads of crisp new New Zealand
bank notes and an insatiable curiosity, the frist wave of the 640 officers
and men came ashore this morning within a few hours of the ships tying up at
the Devonport naval base .
And with them they brought one of the biggest collections
of '" cue ball "ever seen here. The shaven heads were the result
of crossing the line ceremonies on Sunday.
Many of the men were making their first trip south of the
line, and a few have seen New Zealand before.
As they came out of the queues in front of a mobile Bank
of New Zealand agency in the dockyard they shuffled though the notes in
their hands and tried translating them into dollars.
"Guess the only way to work it out" said one
" is to go over there and spend it, then change what's left back into
dollars and see what we've got."
On the deck of one ship. a hawker was doing some early
bussiness with paua shell jewellery, but most men were holding their money
till they arrived in town.
One Question
What they wanted to know was : What is there to do ? And
are there any movie houses? What time do the beer halls close? What do you
do after 6;00 AM ?
The ships were built during World War 2. The Wiseman is
equipped as a floating power house to supply shore bases. and just after
World War 2 provided electric power for Manila for several months.
She steamed the equivalent of several times round the world-- lying at the
dockside.
The ships will leave Auckland on Monday morning.
1956-57 Duty in Far East
From the Diary of John Strohmaier
I was stationed aboard the USS Klondike AD 22, Pacific Reserve Fleet in San Diego from
June 1953 to 1956.In 1956 I asked for a transfer to sea. I wanted to see some of the world
before I got out..The navy assigned me to the USS Wiseman DE 667. Home port Sonar School
Naval Training Station San Diego. I was a board one day when I was put on shore patrol for
thirty days at the twenty ninth street landing as a beach master.We supervised the Landing
craft from the ships anchored in the bay that used the landing to load and unload
passengers .
When I returned to the Wiseman it operated a couple of weeks out of the Sonar School
training men to operate sonar . We then sailed for the Far East In Aug. of 1956 And I
spend my 22nd birthday at sea. Our first port was Pearl Harbor, Entering Pearl Harbor all
hands were ordered top side to stand at attention and to salute we passed the USS Arizona
with its mast rising out of the water. We took on provisions and fuel and sailed the next
day for Kwajalein in the Marshall Is. When we arrived in the Marshall the water was a
beautiful blue and it surprised me that the islands were so flat. We then sailed for
Auckland .New Zealand on the way we crossed the equator .We held a ceremony called King
Neptunes Court. All the crew that had crossed over the equator before were called
shellbacks.. All the the crew that had not been over the equator were called pollywogs.
Court was held to initiate the pollywogs. The ceremony started with breakfast , cream beef
over toast and fruit. Every thing was dyed green so it didnt look like something you
wanted to eat.
A little later we gathered on the fantail for the ceremony.The courts Doctor examined you,
they squirt some terrible stuff in your mouth. The courts barber cut a x or z in your
hair(we were due in Auckland in a couple of days). The chief cook who was sitting in a
chair with his big beer belly smeared with the green ugly breakfast garbage First you
knelt before King Neptune and pleaded guilty to being a pollywog. For your punishment you
knelt before the cook and had your face shoved into the cooks belly ,garbage and all..
They had a canvas in a circle twenty feet long ,filled with the same garbage.As you
crawled though the canvas you would be hit in the rear with a piece of water hose by
members of the court. When you came out of the canvas you were a shellback, and you then
could take part in whacking someone in the rear in the canvas. Dont be the one of the last
ones though because some of the guys got carried away with how hard they could hit some
one When the ceremony was over every one was a Shellback. It was a Navy tradition. Every
one was given a Shellback card .
We crossed equator and were on our way to New Zealand.I wanted to see some of the world
and now I had a good start. As we sailed south from the equator the temperature became
cooler. Near the equator the steel decks would become very hot and would not cool off at
night and it would be hard to sleep. The ships in those days did not have air
conditioning.
Many times while we were underway flying fish would land on the ships deck and the
officers stewards would pick them up and have them for lunch. After 40 years I can still
remember when we arrived at Auckland ,it was like a early spring morning at home, cool
with a few scattered high clouds.When we tied up to a dock it was not far from town as I
could see building close by.I believe every one in Auckland new we were there. Not many
American ships went that far south after the second ww. It must have been on a Sunday
because they opened the Pubs for us.In there pubs at that time they did not serve mixed
drinks only warm beer and straight shots of whiskey . They had bars where they serve mixed
drinks. It was places where men and women went.It was for couples only and they had to be
together when they entered. Women were not allowed in a bar unescorted.
On the surface it looked they lived the way we did but they were not quite as advances as
the US.Of coarse every thing was cheaper there as it was almost every were we went out
side the US. We had to change our money into theirs before we left the ship. It was
against regulations, but you could take our money ashore and get a lot more for it on the
black market.When the ship arrived in New Zealand we were low on supplies so the supply
officer really loaded up. He must have gotten good buys because we had steak two time a
day for weeks. It was the first time I had ever saw a kiwi fruit.We called them monkey
n-ts. They were very good, a lot better than the ones we now buy in US stores.The people
of New Zealand treated us a lot better than we deserved.
The next day we sailed for Australia. We were suppose to go to Brisbane where the Olympics
were due to start, but just before we arrived we changed coarse and sailed for Townsville.
Maybe it was a good thing because tin can sailors were not Known for there good behavior.
When we arrived in Townsville I had the duty that day and night so I could not leave the
ship. The Capt. let those who had the duty the night before go ashore the next morning for
two hours to site see and pick up a few things.
We were to sail at 10:00. I bought some Canbury chocolate it was suppose to be some of the
best in the world. We were late getting under way for two reasons, One of my Div. Petty
Officer got drunk and decided to drive some bodys car that did not be long to him. The
police came to the ship to get him but the Capt. would not give him up. The Capt.wanted to
get under way but one man was missing, somebody found him sleeping in the boatsins locker.
The others three ships with us were under way and headed for sea. We were still tied to
the dock and the police wanted the Petty Officer for the car ride.When they found the
sailor that was missing the Capt. ordered the mooring lines cast away and we got under way
with the police standing on the dock without there man. He never would allow the police to
come aboard ship.We were heading for the open sea and that is the last I heard of that.
We were sailing for Darwin, in northern Australia. We were to sail though the Great
Barrier Reef that few US ships had sailed. The water was beautiful in places and we were
to keep most of are water tight doors secured for precautions. One evening as we were
sailing though the reef a ferry full of people crossed astern of us moving away from the
main land and I never did ever figure out where they were going because it seemed like we
were so far from every thing. As we sailed north though the reef it seem like we were
never far from shore. The water looked pretty and clear.
When we arrived in Darwin we tied to a pier right near the town. We were to spend one
night there a night I shall never forget. We were to join up with a British Cruiser the
New Castle and some British Frigates. There was a Australian Aircraft Carrier ,New Zealand
Frigates, and four Pakistan Frigates, and the four American Destroyer Excorts. About
10,000 sailors. Most of the ships were anchor in the bay. Darwin at that time looked like
it had about 2000 inhabitants. It was a very small town. There was quite a few aboridges
in town they had the darkest skin I had ever seen ,much darker than the American Negro.
Now they had two Constables and three volunteers in the whole town. Each America ship
supplied 2 Shore Patrol personal. Now it was hot and there was nothing for these sailors
to do and there was about 7000 of them that came ashore in this little town. As luck would
have it I had shore Patrol Duty. Now as there was nothing to do, they of coarse started
drinking beer . the pub was to small for all those sailors so they were drinking in the
streets.
The Aussies did not like the British .The British didnt like Aussies, and of coarse the
Americans did not like any of them. About dusk a hole lot of them were becoming drunk and
starting to fight. Now we knew this was going to happen and we were at the constables
office playing pool just waiting to be called. It was not long before the American Officer
in charge came in and said lets go men theirs a fight at the library . At the LIBRARY!
Every body started to go with the Officer in Charge everybody except my pardoner who was
in charge of me. He was a 2nd Class Petty Officer and I was a 3rd Class Petty Officer. I
started out with the rest of the guys when my pardoner grabbed me by the arm and said we
had some thing else to do. He had been in the Navy for over 15 years and he knew his way
around. So the officer, the rest of the men, and the constables went in the direction of
the library.
We spent the next couple of hours walking around town occasionally talking to guys from
our ship. We talked to some of the other shore patrol and they said by the time they got
to the library every thing had cooled off. Liberty expired at 10 oclock and we got the
word to tell American sailors to start back to their ships. The Australian civilians had
cleared the streets hours ago because the sailors were becoming rowdy. A little past 10 we
headed back to the ship. Luckily it had been pretty calm. Not near what I though it was
going to be.
I could not believe my eyes. There were hundred of sailors from all the ships crowded on
the pier waiting for a ride to their ships anchored in the bay. Now I thought man, I did
not like the idea of walking though that drunken mess of sailors with that Billy club
hanging on my belt as it would be to a big temptation for some one to grab at it , well my
pardoner was one step ahead of me. He had the same thought going though his mined. He told
me to take off the belt and club and hold them tightly in my hand. We had about 400 feet
to our ships gang way. We left our SP arm bands on and squeezed are way though the crowd.
They would see are arm bands and let us through .
The British sailors looked at the clubs and you could feel they wanted to take a grab at
them but they were not quite sure of them selves. While they were thinking about it we
kept moving closer to our ship until we were at the gangway.I could not believe how low
the tide was, the gangway was so steep it was scary. I thought to my self thats why the
sailors on the pier were so calm they did not want to fight or cause trouble because they
were scare of going over the side because it was so far to the water.
We turned in our equipment to the Officer of the Deck and headed for our bunks we were off
duty thank goodness because that night could have easily been a night mare. The next
morning we left Darwin, we would be at sea for the next 30 days. We would be on maneuvers
with the other ships leaving Darwin with us , the British, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the
Aussies.
Out To Sea
We had left Darwin, Australia and were now on maneuver's with the Queens ships. We would
do night maneuvers, and all the ships would be operating with all lights out.I was up on
the bridge having my watch log signed when the port watch reported the USS Moore closing
on our port side. It wasnt very long and he was shouting the Moore is closing fast to
port. I looked and thought oh shoot we are going to collide.Now both ships were trying to
avoid a collision. The Moore went astern of us that was to close for comfort.Every body on
the bridge let out a sic of relief.
I went below and continued my watch which was called the roving patrol. It was the best
watch on the ship. The patrols duty was to check all berthing compartments for fire and
flooding and that all water tight were closed. We also take soundings of compartments that
could not be checked by sight.We would keep track of the fresh water tanks and keep them
in balance,and chlorinated.
The ship would go though maneuvers day and night with gunnery practice and sub chasing.We
were out of Darwin about a week when are water making machinery started to malfunction .
We had to conserve water for the ships boilers.We could only wash our face and hands and
no showers.The Capt. would not permit salt water bathing because there was no fresh water
for rinsing off and the salt water might make someone sick. All this time we were sailing
north west toward Singapore and a British Naval Base. With about a week left on maneuvers
we were getting low on provision ,so we started to get powdered eggs and milk. We refueled
at sea from a US Navy tanker.One day we had a close call with the British Cruiser the HMS
Newcastle the deck hands threw rope camels over the side so we would not scrape metal to
metal. I do not know the exact route up though the Islands we passed to get to Singapore
but I remember going close by the Is. of Bali.
It was awful hot on board ship. We had enough water made now to run the boilers so we
could open the showers for 1 hour a day. You had to take a quick shower and I mean quick
because every one was hollering to hurry so they could take their turn. You learn how to
take a fast shower with no fooling around.We were finally finished with the war games and
were on the way to Singapore.From the time we had left San Diego until now I had only had
one day of liberty ashore and the 2 hours in Townsville. In Pearl Harbor I had the duty
,In the Marshall Is. we just refueled and left. In Darwin I had ShorePatrol. I was looking
forward to arriving in Singapore so I could go ashore.
We had left San Diego over two months ago and had been at sea most of that time. It was
showing on most of the men ,they were getting short tempered and restless. When we arrived
in Singapore we tied up next to a British Frigate that was tied to the dock at a British
Naval Base out side of Singapore. As the ship was tied up liberty started. Me and a couple
of my friends got a taxi and headed for town. The road to town was narrow and windy and it
was a thick under growth of plants and bushes on both sides of the road. We were a long
way from town ,it was a few miles anyway.Everything I heard about these taxi drivers was
true. They drove fast and honk their horn at every thing and expected every one and every
thing to get out of their way. I though we would be killed before we got to town.
When we got there we when to the British Inlisted Man Club and got something to eat.I
thought US sailors drank a lot but it seem to me that the British were worse. When we were
finished eating we went out side on the side walk There was a man sitting on the side walk
with a big basket in front of him, he started playing this flute and a cobra snake rose up
out of the basket and I thought that was just like the movies. I stayed back about 15 feet
I did not like the looks of that darn snake one little bit. After having enough of that
snake we went site seeing.
The City of Singapore at that time was big but it was not very clean. There were a lot of
different races of people living there. As we walked around the City we came apond a open
air market. It was something like a flea market. Everything was on tables or on blankets
laying on the ground There was fruit ,cloth, just about every thing you could think of. A
few things that have always stuck in my mine was the little wind up toys .I had never seen
those in the USA at that time, there were so many different kind and so clever. I bought
one that was a little man playing a drum .At that time that was something new to me.
They had food of all types ,one in particular caught .my eye. It was some kind of small
animal that had been skinned and then roasted whole ,head, tail the whole bit. It looked
like a rat to me. It had become dark by now and there were many beggars and such about by
now .We then came on this carnival .This really surprised me because the people appeared
to be so poor yet they could take their children to the carnival.
It was very crowded and me and my friends became seperated.I looked for them for some time
and could not find them. It was getting late and this city looked very rough to me. I
decided I better head back to the ship because this was not the place to be alone at
night. I got a taxi and told him to take me to the naval base and the 667.I do not know
what nationality he was but he could not speak English. I though he under stood what I was
saying so I got in and we started hopefully for the ship. He got near to this ship and
said he could go no further. He said that the ship was the 667 but I could not tell
because we were to far away, but it did look like a destroyer and what could I do there
was no one else around. I just took off walking for the ship and when I got close enough I
though (oppss) wrong ship, a British Frigate . I went abroad and asked direction to the
667. Thank goodness they were English and we talk the same language.They did not know were
my ship was but they pointed to one and said they though that was the 667.
It was quite a distant away, all I could make out was the yard arm lights in the distant
so I crossed my fingers and headed for the lights. I had to go though some under brush and
bushes and I though this is a jungle and there are poison snakes tigers and who knows what
else around here. When I got close to the ship I saw that it was the 667 and was I ever
relieved. I learned a lesson. Never would I let some one leave me off like that again.
Being young and in a foreign land that was not a good situation to be. I though to myself
I shall never do that again.
The Wiseman Set To Sea Oct.2
We were operating in the Indian ocean and the word came down to tie every thing down
because we were heading into a typhoon. Shortly the ocean started to become rough .I was
tying down some oxygen bottles when one of my shipmates reach out of a door and gripped my
shirt and said hold on ,the ship rolled I felt the water hit me I held on, I knew what was
coming. The water was up to my waist, the ship rolled the other way and I could fell the
water pull on me. I held on for dear life so I wouldn’t be swept over board .
The water went down quickly, I went inside the ship. If my ship mate had not warned me I
might gone over the side. If you go over the side in a typhoon you are done for because
they can not pick you up in the rough water. The water hit so hard that it slam the door
shut on my shipmates arm and almost broke his arm.Now no one could go out on deck to tie
the bottles down. This was my first Typhoon aboard ship at sea. The USS Wiseman DE 667
which I was crew member of was in route to Manila in the Philippines. We were in a
squadron of four destroyer escorts of which the USS Moore was the flag ship.
The ships usually cruised at 17 knots. As night I felt the seas became more and more
violent and the ship would pitch and roll. First the bow of the ship would go under the
water and the stern would be out of the water and you hear the screws of the ship turning
as they were out of the water. As the ship settle slightly waiting for the next wave the
bow would start to rise and then it would be completely out of the water and the stern
would be under the water. As the bow fell back into the water the ship would shake and
shiver and make a terrible noise like someone slamming a big sledge against the ship .
This would go on and on for days until we moved out of the storm.
It would become very scary at times and you would think about the stories of the ships
that break up at sea and go down . There were US Navy destroyers that were lost in
typhoons during WWII with all hands lost . As you looked at the other ships in the
squadron you could see them high in the water and the next minute you could not see them
because the waves were so high. The ships beam was about thirty seven feet that means wide
and if some thing was not tied down on one side of ship and the ship rolled sharply the
item would sail across the ship through the air and hit the other side.
In this type of seas if you where not on watch all you could do is stay in your rack, that
means your bed. That night when every one had turn in except the sailors on watch the ship
continued to pitch and roll. Most every one had dozed off when all of a sudden the ship
rolled violently and continued to pitch and roll. Most every one had dose off when all of
a sudden the ship rolled violently and some thing began rolling around on the main deck
and it sounded like some thing hissing, the trash can on starboard side of the sleeping
compartment flew through the air and hit a bunk on the opposite side the ship. Then you
could hear water coming into the compartment. By now every body was awake and you could
see them looking toward the hatch that leads to the main deck to see if were about to
sink. Since no more water was coming in and the ship returned to its normal storm pitching
and rolling most everyone settled back down to sleep.
The next day we could see that the oxygen bottles had broken loose. We then knew it was
the bottles that were making the noise on deck the night be fore and that they had broken
a conduit pipe leading into sleeping compartment causing the water to come into the
compartment. In a day or two we were out of the storm . We had to put into port and I
believe it was Bangkok, Thailand to get a seaman on a airplane to a US hospital. When the
ship rolled he had lost his balance and fell hitting his head on a gun turret and had a
concussion.
I would like to mention that we did spend one night at anchor at Bangkok. We could not go
ashore because the communist were some where in the region and they did not want us caught
ashore. I do remember some ship mates fishing off the fan tail at night under some lights.
As they were fishing some kind off sea snake was attracted to the lights. There were quite
a few of them and some one said they were poisonous . I sure did not like the looks of
them
The next day we returned to sea and continued on. We went on to the Philippines where we
went to a naval ship yard for repairs. That was in Subic Bay Oct.14. The next day Oct.15
the Wiseman sailed for Manila. On Oct.18 we left Manila for more maneuvers. On Oct.22 the
Wiseman returned to Manila and the end of operation Albatross.
On Oct.25 the Wiseman left Manila and arrived in Subic Bay for major repairs. The repairs
were done by Philippine workers at the US Naval Base. On Nov.9 repairs finished we sailed
for Manila to pick up some Naval Reserves and left Manila and sailed for Legaspi.
We would see many of the Islands as we sailed though the Philippines. At night you could
see single lights on the Island and sometime the lights would be a great distant apart and
you would wonder who would be so far away from everyone. While I was in the Philippines in
1956 a Japanese soldier from WW2 finally surrendered. He was hiding on one of these
Islands for 12 years. There are many Islands In Philippines that are very isolated When we
visited the town of Legaspi on Nov.10 we were the first US warship to arrive since the 2nd
WW, There were two young ladies from the US teaching school there and they were the only
American there. They told one sailor that it was no wonder we were always at war the way
the US sailors acted. We left Legaspi Nov.12 and arrived in Subic Bay Nov.13.
On Nov.14 we again departed from Subic Bay for gunnery practice and arrived back in Manila
Nov. 17. On Nov.19 we departed Manila and arrived in Subic Bay again.
On Nov.20 the Wiseman departed at 08:00 to sea, but had to return to Subic Bay when she
blew one of her boilers
She returned to Subic Bay at 16:00 on the same day for repairs which would take until the
10th of Dec. to complete.
On Dec. 10 the Wiseman sailed for Hong Kong and arriving Dec, 12 to become the US Naval
Station Ship for forty five days.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong was going to be something different from all the other places we had visited. Of
all the places I had been Hong Kong would be the place I would most remember. If there was
one place I would like to return , it would be Hong Kong. We set anchor out in the Bay
where we could see all of Hong Kong and some of Kowloon across the Bay . Kowloon was part
of communist China and Hong Kong was still under British rule.
As you looked around the bay you would at times see ships from all around the world
loading and unloading goods of all kinds. There would also be what seem like hundreds of
small and smaller Chinese boats I believed called junks. The larger ones would be mostly
fishing boats that would go to sea. The smaller ones would be for all kinds of uses I
could not possible know. A great majority of them were the homes of the people they called
the boat people. They would live on these boats all their lives and pass them down to
their children. Some of these boats were very small, may be as small as ten feet long .
The boat would have a little platform at the very rear of the boat and one long orr
sticking into the water at about a forty five degree angle. Now usually the mother and the
children would do the rowing. The taller person would be toward the mid ship and the
shortest one toward the rear. They would row this boat all over the bay and it just amazed
me how they could do that. The father would sit toward the front and shout orders, he was
the boss no doubt about it.
As I said they lived abroad these boats .They ate, slept, cooked, and washed . They did
ever thing abroad these boats. Some of them fished and sold there fish at the dock or at
the open markets on shore In the morning and evenings you could see them cooking. They ate
a lot of rice and fish. I thing that is all some of them ever ate.
A boat would come along side every day to pick up our laundry. You could have the ships
laundry do it for free or send it out to the Chinese laundry but you had to pay for it,
but they ironed and pressed every thing and it was very cheap so most of the crew sent it
out. When the laundry boat pulled up to the ship the women would be doing the rowing and
the men would just sit there. The men would come aboard and then yell for the women to
bring the laundry aboard The men would collect the money and hand the laundry out and then
collect the dirty laundry .They would then have the women put it aboard their boat. The
women did all the heavy work The men got in the boat sat down and the women rowed the boat
away.
Ever since the day I got out of boot camp I had heard of Suzie and her side cleaners . The
first day we set anchor in Hong Kong she was one of the first visitors to the ship .What
Suzie did was paint or clean the sides of the US NAVY ships that came to Hong Kong. The
Navy would supply the paint and Suzie would supply the labor. She had all Chinese women or
young girls working for her .Most of the girls looked to be about 16 or 17 but I could not
tell for sure but I new they were young. The girls would tie their little junk up to are
fantail and that is where they lived. You could look over the side and see them washing
and eating, they seemed very happy. These girls were out of bounds, that is they were to
be left alone.
What Suzie got for exchange for the labor was the food that was left over from all the
meals served on the navy ships, including the food the crew left on their trays. The women
would stand by the garbage cans and take the sailors tray and separate the food. They
would keep the meat, veggies, and every thing else separate from the other. Suzie would
have women come aboard and take the food ashore where she would sell it. I was told she
was a very wealthy person. When the girls were finished painting our ship they would paint
other ships as they came to visit Hong Kong.
The Wiseman was the US Navys station ship in Hong Kong while we were there. That is other
navy ships would come and go but we would remain , and some time we would be the only US
ship in Hong Kong. If any thing came up concerning the US NAVY we would be the spokesmen.
When we would go ashore on liberty we would take a water taxi. A water taxi was a boat
that would take sailor to shore and back to the ship. It was operate by the Chinese, and
it did not cost much to use it. On shore things were very cheap. A lot of sailors would
get clothes made to bring back to the USA. A person could buy just about every thing
possible in Hong Kong. You could buy American products cheaper there than you could in the
States. We could eat at a very good restaurant cheap, like a filet mongoin complete meal
for one dollar. There was two parts to Hong Kong the poor and run down part and the rich
and modern section. The poor and the disadvantaged lived in the poor part. The buildings
were run down and little children would sleep on newspapers in the door ways. There a lot
of kids begging in the streets and a lot of them would have sores on them and you would we
scare to touch them. There was a big section of people living on the hills in shanties
made of cardboard and scrape wood.
The Chinese were working on a street and women would be carrying rocks in baskets. They
would have a pole about 4 foot long with a basket on each end where they would place the
material. They would then place the pole on their shoulders and carry the material, they
worked very hard. In the modern part of Hong Kong lived the British and the rich Chinese,
there were also quite a few Portuguese. The buildings were as modern as any in the world.
The restaurants and hotels were the finest. In the day time the city was alive with
people. They had a lot of buses and a lot of bicycles, and of coarse many many rickshaws.
Hong Kong was huge even in 1956.At night when I had the duty I would go up on the bridge
at look at the city lights and it was a fabulous sight. Hong Kong was just fascinating to
me. I wish I could have returned,but I suppose it would be a lot different now.
We spend Christmas and New Years in Hong Kong and it was getting close to the time that we
would have to be leaving. Are next destination would be Yokosuka, Japan.
Next Japan
After leaving Hong Kong on Jan.22, 1957 we headed for Japan. Not to far from Hong Kong we
sailed into another typhoon. The sea was very rough and the ship was rolling violently. I
had the midnight watch and after taking the soundings and equalizing the fresh water tanks
I made a complete tour of the ship checking water tight doors and hatches. I then started
for the bridge to have my watch log signed by the officer of the deck.
I went to the wheel house where they usually were in a bad storm but the lookouts and the
officer of the deck were still out on the flying bridge. As I open the door and stepped
out on to the flying bridge the ship rolled to port the door behind me slammed shut .It
was raining hard and the deck was wet and slippery could not keep my balance. I was force
to start running to the port side of the ship because it was rolling so far that way. I
was scared because I could not stop. Every thing was happening so fast I thought I was
going to go over the side into the water. There was no doubt in my mine that is where I
was headed. The only thing that saved me was they had a rope tied from one side of the
ship to the other using it to hold on to so they wouldnt fall .I luckily grabbed it and
stopped my self or I would have been fish food. I gave the officer my log to sign ,he
signed it and I got off of that bridge as fast as I could. I didn’t want any
more of that. I learned a lesson I wouldnt soon forget. I went down below where it was
dry, warm, and hope fully safe.
As we approached Yokosuka Jan.27 I could see all the caves the Japanese had dug into the
hill side for defense of their country. It would not have been an easy job removing them
from those tunnels. There were so many caves you could see from the ship you could not
count them. How many more were there you could not see, would be a good question.
I remember it was very cold and I could see snow on a distant mountain. We were tied up at
a US Naval Station in Yokosuka at 08:30 the 27of Jan. 1957. Ashore the buildings seemed
flimsy to me. There were a lot of outdoor markets with all kinds of things, I bought some
things for my nephew and nieces. A lot of the stuff was cheaply made and most could only
be used for souvenirs. I went to the ships store on base and bought my mother some China
.It was to be shipped to the USA..I would arrive home and discharged from the Navy before
it arrived .
Japan was being rebuild and even though it had its own culture that was much different
than ours I believe Hong Kong and Singapore were more representative of the Far East at
that time.
I remember more about Hong Kong and Singapore because of that. We were in Japan but a few
days and we would start on our way back home .Most of the crew were getting anxious to
return home.
On Feb.2, 1957 at 08:00 hours we under way steaming for San Diego. Steaming from Japan we
would make two stops on the way home and that would be at Midway Island on Feb.7 to
refuel. On Feb.8 the Wiseman again was underway. On Midway is where LT. JG. Osborne
Wiseman was shot down at the Battle of Midway. The USS Wiseman was named in the honor of
LT. Wiseman. It is a very small Island in the Pacific Ocean about half way between Japan
and the US.
When we approached the Island the waters were very rough even though the weather was
prefect we took some pretty good rolls. I did get to see some gooney birds as sailors
called them. They could fly beautifully but they could not land. They would crash land all
the time. When a sailor did something wrong the other sailors would call him a gooney bird
after this bird.
The next stop was Pearl Harbor on the 11th of Feb. We refuel and on the 12th of Feb. the
Wiseman steamed for San Diego our home port. When we arrived in San Diego on Feb.18, we
tied up at the Naval Training Station. In a few days I had my orders to report to the
separation center at the Destroyer Base in San Diego.
It would take about three days to process me for a discharge. Each morning we reported for
muster at the Parade Field. The Parade Field was surrounded by personal building. There
were hundreds of sailors four deep on both sides of the Field They called us to attention
and then marched in twenty to thirty men dressed in civilian clothes Their clothes did not
match. Some of them had flashy pants of one color and a .flashy shirt of another. Their
hair was cut short and they looked ridiculous.
At first I could not figure out what was happening. It did not take long to figure out
these . guys where getting Dishonorable Discharges. A high ranking officer read off each
ones name and what kind of discharge he was receiving. The officer then gave us a command
. ABOUT FACE. We turned are backs to them. They were being humiliated. I thought to myself
they must feel awful. Well maybe some of them did and I suppose some had no feelings.
On Mar.1,1957 I had my Discharge papers and I was on my way home. My Navy career was over,
but I would never in my whole life every regret serving in the Navy. I spend four years in
the US Navy and I learned and saw a lot of things I would never have experienced if I had
not served. Upon arriving at boot camp in San Diego the first thing I learned was to take
orders and the boss is the boss. If you had trouble with that you had big problems.
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