From Okinawa to the States (July-August 1945)

When the boat dropped me off ashore I asked directions to the Beach Master and reported to him within an hour after I left the ship. There were quite a few sailors loitering around his Quonset hut headquarters apparently with a mission similar to mine - to get back to the States. The Officer of the Day (OOD) was pointed out to me and I presented him with my orders. He read them and asked for my service jacket. He put my service jacket in a large waterproof pouch, with other records, handed it to me and told me I was in charge of a 21-man draft, including myself, and that air travel was authorized to San Francisco. The draft was the guys standing around outside the Beach Master’s office. The final destination of the draft was the Naval Receiving Station, Farragut, Idaho and upon reporting to the OOD at Farragut the draft would be dissolved and my responsibilities terminated. Upon arrival in San Francisco I should report to Treasure Island for transportation arrangements to Farragut.

I, along with my draft, mounted a personnel carrier (Six-By) for transportation to Yontan Air Field and I reported to the Army Air Force Duty Officer with my orders from the Beach Master covering the full draft. I was told the plane we were to fly in was down the tarmac on the right side in easy walking distance. There would be some personnel “servicing” it for the flight out.

He was right - it wasn’t far and it was definitely being “serviced”. The covers were off one of the four engines and about half a dozen guys, under the supervision of a six-stripe sergeant, were working off scaffolding around the engine. We stood at some distance while they pulled the scaffolding back and a guy in the cockpit tried to start the engine several times - then it was back to work on the engine. After about two hours they took a break and I walked over to the sergeant in charge and asked him if that was the plane going back to Guam? He said it was if they ever got that @#&)$(+ engine running. I asked if he had any idea what the problem was. He replied he didn’t know - all he knew, they had been having trouble with this plane ever since he had been on Okinawa.

I had heard enough. No way was I getting on that plane to fly over the vast Pacific Ocean to Guam. I went back over to the trees where my 20-man draft was waiting and repeated what the sergeant had told me and stated that I wasn’t getting on that airplane - no way. I suggested that we go back to the Beach Master and get transportation out by ship. They agreed. The Army Air Force Duty Officer gave us two trucks to carry the draft and their gear back to the beach.

I marched into the Beach Master office and told the OOD that air travel was not available and there was no indication when it might be and since air travel was not mandatory, when was his next ship back to San Francisco. He said the LATIMER (APA-152) was in the anchorage loaded with the First Division, 11th Marines, (what was left of them) scheduled to sail for San Francisco early the next morning and he could get us on her with no problem, but we may not like the accommodations. I told him that was fine and it wasn’t long before we were in a LCVP (Landing Craft Variable Purpose) on our way to the APA-152.

The Beach Master was right-on about the accommodations - bunks below decks were rigged four or five high and there was only two meals a day. This was going to be a long voyage - my draft began to grumble and complain.

The APA-152 was operated by the Maritime Service, but the guns aboard were manned by Navy personnel called Armed Guard. I went to the stateroom of the Lieutenant in charge of the Navy Armed Guard aboard ship and cut a deal for our draft to stand gun watches for three meals a day in their mess and we would bunk in the Armed Guard quarters. It turned out to be a pretty good deal for us and the Armed Guard.

On July 18th the LATIMER (APA-152) weighed anchor and got underway shortly after dawn. After clearing the harbor and putting Okinawa astern the ship set a southeasterly course in an effort to avoid some heavy weather due to a typhoon. This old tub may not ride too well in heavy seas and it will be rough on the 1,100 plus Marines in the hole.

On the second day at sea we began to really feel the effect of the typhoon and I understand that most of the Marines were deathly sick. Bunking up above the main deck with the Armed Guard is looking real good now. Word is that a loaf of bead and a can of spam would feed the entire Marine contingency. They will live, but you may have trouble convincing them of that now. They didn’t look too good to me before the ship sailed, so this is especially tough on them.

There were two days of this rough weather before it began clearing about mid-day on July 20th. Not a bad ride now and we quickly settled down into a routine of four hours on and eight hours off gun watches - we are headed home - that makes it tolerable. I estimate the trip to be approximately 6,800-miles and expect it to take about 18-days if we average 13 or 14-knots. Talking to the Armed Guard, they think this old tub can average 15-knots - I don’t know.

As we move east the seas become smooth and the sun is out. The Marines come up to the main deck and lay around in the sun. They look like the walking dead. I understand some of them have been out here well over two years.

We have an uneventful passage to San Francisco and arrive on a beautiful morning of August 6th. News has just been released that one atomic bomb has been dropped on Hiroshima, Japan killing over 78,000 people. Everyone has begun to celebrate in the streets of San Francisco.

I report with my draft to Treasure Island and we are assigned a billet and given 48-hours Liberty immediately. We were told that transportation arrangements would be ready when we reported back after Liberty. By the time we get back to San Francisco to join in the celebration the city is almost at a stand-still. The streets are full of happy people - ever office building must be empty - it was impossible for cars to move on Market Street. Some young ladies became so enthusiastic in their celebration that they stripped down to their underwear and went bathing in the water fountain in front of the San Francisco Opera House. Now, that got the attention of those of us who had just gotten back from a tour in the Pacific. We got excited about women with their clothes on. We joined in the celebration and the civilians couldn’t have been nicer. Someone always seemed to pay for our food and drink - we couldn’t spend any money, but all good things must come to an end and when we reported back to Treasure Island our tickets were ready for the train trip to Spokane, WA. Surprisingly enough, the entire draft reported back from Liberty on time and we boarded the train for Portland, OR where we would change trains. Maybe we could get some badly needed sleep on the train after celebrating for 48-hours.

By the time we arrived in Portland the second atomic bomb had been dropped on Nagasaki and the war was all but over. The citizens were in the streets celebrating and since we did not have an arrival time at Farragut, we got off the train and joined in the fun again. We could not have arrived in the States at a more opportune time - the timing was perfect. We got the same warm reception in Portland that we had received in San Francisco. We celebrated until the next day and boarded the train for Spokane, WA.

In Spokane we reported to the Military Travel Desk in the railway station and were given bus tickets for the approximately 80-mile trip to Farragut. Upon arrival at Farragut I reported to the OOD, presented my orders along with the orders and service jackets of the draft. Some of the draft were to be assigned to new construction, some to service schools, others would be given leave before new ship assignments, but regardless of the orders some of them may be changed because the war may officially be over very soon. I was the only draft member with orders to the Navy V-12 Program. We were given billets and told to watch the bulletin board in our assigned barracks for orders of the day and further instructions.

Farragut was built on beautiful Lake Pend Oreille (Approx. 90-miles from the Canadian border and 400-miles from the west coast) originally as a Naval Training Center, but later converted to a Receiving Station. The Navy thought they should have a training station far enough inland to be safe from shelling by Jap submarines. At this stage of hostilities, the base housed a large element of German POWs who did all the maintenance and service jobs on the base. They did everything in the galley but cook - maintained the buildings and grounds, manned the automotive garage, ran the printing shop, etc. We were told that none had ever tried to escape - they never had it so good.

It now looked like the Japs were ready to give up and a surrender could occur any day. I guess my assignment may be in abeyance - the last thing the Navy needs now is more Ensigns. So, after a thorough physical and an interview, they gave me a 30-day leave plus 8-days travel time. Guess this will give them time to get official guidance on how to handle my future.
(Written by: Wilbur V. Rogers)