I slept all the way until my alarm went off at 4:05 this morning, so it was a late start to the day. I've got the post for the Yolo worked out, so here it is.
Comments of C. Homer Bast Commanding Officer USS Yolo docked in Yokohama, Japan.
September 18, 1945
A stack of storm warnings was handed me at dawn. A typhoon of extreme severity was predicted to hit at 1800. Every precaution was taken. Not only were all lines doubled but additional ones were secured to the bollards. As the pier was littered with debris, a salt water line was hooked up and a working party was sent ashore to clean up. In the early afternoon I slipped away to see for myself the damage done. Except for the dock area, the devastation was complete. In my vision nothing remains except charred embers with elderly women poking through the ruins. The only transportation was an occasional trolley packed with men hanging to the sides. Japanese walk to their destinations. Former officers ride bicycles. Bow legged, the men wear knickers with leggings and canvas shoes. All carry a knapsack. Many of the men have infectious smiles; women are dour, wear baggy, ill fitting slacks, dingy blouses and wooden clogs. Their black hair is pulled back in a knot. Babies are strapped to the backs of their mothers and are covered with sores due to poor nutrition and lack of medicine. Kids pick through garbage and have articles for trade.
The typhoon failed to materialize. This evening a moon rides high in a sky filled with stars. There is no wind and the water in the harbor is still and quiet.
September 19, 1945
This was a glorious, summer day. Following lunch, the Shore Patrol commander invited us to ride with him to the Imperial city. As far as the eye could see, on either side of the road from Yokohama to Tokyo, except for small sections, the devastation was complete. Nothing remained but rubble, an occasional concrete wall, a steel safe, twisted corrugated iron sitting like some monument to the past greatness of a nation. In Tokyo scarcely a block was untouched. The concrete and steel buildings remaining are gutted. Several department stores managed to repair some damage and are open. The emperor's palace stands still and silent. People kneel at the palace wall as American soldiers stand guard. Overhead planes wheel, circle and land, some 300 a day, at Atsugi. People are everywhere. They are in a hurry to go; I know not where. They are serious, seemingly unemotional as they purchase items from itinerant merchants. Hauling is done by individuals whose backs carry huge loads or by a cart pulled by a horse or cow. Homes that withstood the bombs are small wooden houses with almost bare interiors and glass fronts. Burned out and twisted trucks, cars, buses, trains and fire engines clutter parts of the streets and highways.
Returning to the ship, dinner was served and a double feature shown on the dock. At the movie army personnel and the Japanese sit in a semi-circle around the screen. Chairs from Yolo are set up for the officers. All stand at attention when I enter and ¬the movie opens on that note; the procedure is "heady stuff".
September 20, 1945
Mr. Davis and I accompanied the LCT Flotilla staff on a 15 mile ride to Yokosuka. For the first several miles out of Yokohama there is nothing but rubble. Some Japanese have built shelters of sorts. For cooking and warmth wood is gathered and stacked alongside the huts. Women make a fire out of the pungent wood and eat their sparse meal of a handful of rice per person, provided by the government, and their garden produce. People bathe in tubs or buckets in the yard. Women are more modest than men. Water is gathered from an open main and toilets are the streets. Bomb shelters were dug in caves.
At the former mighty Yokosuka naval base machine shops were built into the hills. Lined up at the seaplane ramp were huge four engine flying boats. The base was deserted and silent except for the American guards. No more do the factory stacks belch forth their smoke. The buildings are nothing more than a mass of charred wreckage. Large naval gun barrels and mines are stacked in piles. Midget subs in various stages of completion are in evidence. The usual cranes, dry-docks, piers, tugs and ships were present, most in a state of disrepair. Moored to a buoy off shore was the battleship Nagota with steam up but an American crew on board. Her superstructure is charred and wrecked. All her secondary batteries and AA were removed. Anchored nearby are two subs and an assortment of smaller vessels. Sheer cliffs rose 100 feet above and on the landward side. The cliff tops were level to make way for many AA guns placed so that all angles of approach were covered. The base is protected from the sea by a breakwater.
By mid morning some of the Yolo crew returned from liberty with an abandoned three wheel motorcycle which they eventually repaired. Late this afternoon a truck found several days ago and fixed by the en¬gineers roared up to our private dock. A second truck is needed for cannibalization. Yolo has needed land transportation for a long time. Now that we have the two vehicles the powers must be contacted in order to keep the Army from confiscating them.
September 21, 1945
This day broke rainy, cool and dreary, but by noon the clouds lifted, the blue sky hove into view, and the sun appeared. It was a great afternoon to take the duty boat, pick up the mail and head to Yokosuka. Mr. Selke has done a great job keeping our six LCVPs in running order and on time in the schedules he and Mr. Kinley work out. His lads have done an excellent job. Both sets of boats, the originals as well as these, have had hard usage.
En route to the base, row after row of warships were seen including the British force that protected the Sakishima flank at Okinawa. Around the American fleet were 100 destroyers and, reigning majestically over all, was the battleship New Jersey. Only transport Hansford, Teton, two LCI(FF)s, several beach masters unloading LSTs, and Yolo have a semi-permanent status. The occupation is an Army show, and MacArthur wants the Navy out.
We are back at our dock. Legal rights to the truck were acquired, and immediately, the boatswain stenciled USS YOLO on it. The Army agreed we might keep it, but when the ship departs they will claim ownership. It was quite a concession! Apparently the cycle did not interest them. Another double feature was shown on the dock beneath a slightly cloudy, but balmy and moon lit night.
