from SERVING ABOARD LCS 11 in WWII by LBS
Yokohama, Japan, October 15, 1945
Dear [Brother],
On October 9th LCS 11 arrived at Yokosuka Naval Base, just south of Yokohama and a bit further south of Tokyo itself. We arrived at just the right time, for a typhoon was brewing. We found a secure berth, which was fairly easy as Yokosuka is a very large base, stretching to Tokyo really. As you probably read in the papers, the storm damage was considerable at Okinawa.
On October 10th I went on liberty to the city of Yokosuka. On the way there, I saw a Japanese cruiser and three destroyers. The only Japanese battlewagon still afloat was near our ship. The weather was rainy and muddy on the 10th. We were not allowed to take more than two packs of cigarettes ashore. Shore Patrol men attempted to see that no more than that were taken. A pack easily brings 20 yen. That is $1.30 in our money. A dollar is equal to 15 yen. Only Japanese money is any good to you here. The sailors and soldiers based here get their pay in Japanese money.
Yokosuka was the most modernized place we had touched yet since leaving Honolulu. The buildings looked fairly nice. Only one small square of this town was hit or destroyed. Here the Japanese have open shops, and if you have the yen you can buy whatever they offer. There was nothing in the food line, but there were a few trinkets like you get in the Dime Store at home cheaper than you can here. The shops are little cubby holes. Also there were barber shops open for business. Also a “Wotch” (the way they spell it) shop and photographer shop.
And, of course, there were plenty of Japanese. They are all very small, and I have to stoop down to enter most doors. Everywhere one hears the clip-clop sound of the wood pieces that they use for shoes. Otherwise the natives appear well clothed.
There was a noticeable increase in the number of Japanese who could speak English here. I noticed that our Navy had requisitioned the best buildings for administration purposes. We saw Japanese trucks and cars driving on the “wrong” side of the road.
There was at least one prospering Geisha House. A very, very long line of servicemen waited to enter the house. The line wound around corners and along the streets. My pal and I stood beside the line near the front, where it turned into a courtyard and a building. Then we saw men leave the building and go across a bricked yard to a building three stories tall. We talked to a couple of fellows coming out of the second building, and they told us service was pretty good except for the fact that the guys had to kneel down on bamboo mats which cut the “hell outa’ your knees.” However, the price was right—10 yen or 66 and two-thirds cents.
I saw several buildings that looked like theaters, but they are now closed. As I have already said, I saw very little bomb-damaged places around Yokosuka. I guess things are about the same as before the war except that the Japanese are now working for the Americans.
A fairly nice place has been set up as the Enlisted Men’s Club, but so far the most attractive thing about it is the serving of beer. They do have some shows once in a while—a couple on Sunday. If I were a collector and could look far enough ahead, and had a locker to store it, I might get fans or dolls or some such souvenirs. Would you believe that the movie we saw the night before we got underway for Yokohama was “Destination Tokyo.”
On the trip to Yokohama, a short one, I noticed many more of our ships. As far as I know the battleship New Jersey is our newest completed one, and it is here and a very beautiful piece of workmanship. After seeing Okinawa and Leyte, I am used to seeing a harbor of about 500 to 1000 ships anchored about. A very short distance from us, there are two Japanese ships that had been under construction, but were never equipped. One is an aircraft carrier and the other apparently a transport. The British have a very nice sized token force here. Also I have seen some Australians here.
On October 14th I started out on liberty in Yokohama. It was the clearest day we have had in a long time. Immediately we saw that the B-29s had done a job here. However, the docks and waterfront seemed undamaged. This is the first time since Tugali (in mid March) that we have tied up along a pier. I just looked out the porthole and saw land; it seems strange. I can’t explain how or why, but there are certain burned out areas and then a building standing almost untouched. I saw frames which used to be freight cars, now hulks, but still on the tracks.
We thumbed a ride in a jeep with a Lt. Colonel in the Army. We rode a couple of miles, and the scenery was about the same. We caught a ride back in an Army truck. We saw an electric train that went pretty fast over an undamaged bridge or raised railway 2 or 3 miles long.
One place with a concrete fence around the front had a nice metal plate at the gate with the inscription “Yamotochita.” But the once elaborate home appeared as if it had collapsed from within. After a while we came to “Church of the Sacred Heart.” We continued along this route. My pal would want to turn off, but I was always interested to see what was over the next hill. Soon the street narrowed, and we turned down some steep steps. Water was running over them, rich grass and weeds were growing there, too. At the bottom of the steps, we came out into a thickly populated territory, and I was kind of nervous because the Japanese looked at us like we were the first Naval personnel to come this far from the water.
Apparently some English was spoken here, for hordes of kids hollered “Hello, Hello,” and when we said “Goodbye,” they took up that in chorus, only they cut their syllables shorter. Once a middle-aged man, in a startled manner, said: “Hello there, my friends, how are you?” I wondered how long we had been his friend.
We saw a crowd and found some sailors were selling a few packs of cigarettes. I don’t think food would have gathered a more interested crowd. Selling cigarettes at $1.30 per pack, a person could get rich if he had paid only 5 cents per pack for them. The Japanese tried to sell us old photos from their family albums.
Soon we were in a crowd that made us think of Norfolk or San Diego days. We saw American military personnel—nurses, etc.—dressed in nice clothes. I might add that we were dressed up in our real liberty uniforms—the first time since Hawaii. Maybe the next port will be Tokyo, or better still, just any old port in the USA.
Tags: Battleship New Jersey, LCS 11, letter home, remembrance, sailors on liberty, US Navy, WWII, Yokohama 1945, Yokosuka Naval Base
