The trip to Yokosuka took us back through Shimoniseki, the inland sea along the southern coast to the entrance to Tokyo Bay. The idea of steaming with the ship lighted seemed strange, but the tension was over for awhile and everyone was ready to make the best of our 10 days in port.

The getting acquainted phase over; everyone settled down to the business of Christmas shopping and just having fun. The Navy Exchange was full of good buys and what wasn't there could be found in town. The new men soon learned the technique of "trading" and the returning liberty parties began to look like the caravans of the Wise Men on their way to Bethlehem.

Some of the guys got to go to the rest camp at Fuji Yostuda, in the shadow of the famous mountain. The tales of good food and plenty of fun were universal and from the appearance of returnees their stories were true. Also a lot of us made the trip to Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kamakura. The big cities were impressive in their resemblance to home, except for the people and the various modes of transportation.

Our ten days were over all to soon and we were back at sea again. It was different this time as we were back to training. From the 13th through the 15th of December we played hide and seek with subs in Songamiwan, stopping in Atami, Japan each night. Those who went ashore had a chance to see a real Japanese resort town, famous for its hot public baths, at normal Japanese prices instead of the inflated prices of the UN ports.

After three days we returned for another night in Yokosuka and then started south on the ASW exercise. We, DESDIV 91, operated with the Bataan and DESDIV 201 in a Hunter/Killer organization that lasted until we reached Okinawa. The days were full of maneuvering and waiting until we got a chance to go after the subs. There were a lot of General Quarters, especially for sonar, bridge, and combat, and some practical work on wolfpacking pig boats. But when we finally pulled into Buckner Bay the attack team knew that the time had been spent to their advantage.

Again we settled down to enjoy ourselves and Christmas in spite of the shortage of liberty boats. The weather was terrific, but the "Damn Yankees" had to complain it didn't look like Christmas. There were other differences on the big day, too, instead of the kids waking us early to see what Santa had brought, we got up a half hour later than usual to a Boatswain Mate blowing his whistle.

There was no dinner with our folks either, but the galley force did a terrific job of imitating Grandma's cooking. Each man had his chance to observe the religious aspects of the day too, with Mass on the Battaan and an interdenominational service on our fantail.

During the stay the athletes flexed their muscles and showed their power. The baseball team took on the other ships in the Division. The Chiefs and Officers went at it too, in a game that showed better bookkeeping than ball playing. At the end the score was something like 45 to 47 but the true victor was Mother Nature, and the old folks knew it as they hobbled up and down ladders the following week.

The day the destroyers paraded out the channel on their way to Formosa was eclipsed by the events that followed. Little did we know that when we started rolling that first night we were beginning a period that would mean many days of sandwiches and coffee only. There are very few among us that won't admit at least one period of stomach trouble as we bounced and bobbed, rocked and rolled through seas that sometimes limited us to 10 knot speeds. Even though Kaohsiung, Formosa wasn't much, it sure felt good to put the feet on solid ground.

Continued