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’ÄúA’Äù Bomb Was Dropped Here
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¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý On a trip to the Far East aboard the LST 1126 in 1956 we made port in a lot of places where we were greeted with plenty of smiling faces. First we came through Hawaii and those expensive smiles and tourist traps. Then it was on to Yokosuka, Sasebo and their outskirts. I had not given much thought to the amount of animosity anywhere in Japan. I had found the people with smiling faces, eager to please and ready to always take my yen or Script whatever the case might be.¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý This somewhat changed during our visit to Nagasaki, Japan. First, we had to moor alongside another ship, a destroyer I believe, which was already at the docks when we made port. First they were reluctant to have us even moor alongside. However, our Captain was a Lt. Commander at the time and had a certain amount of ’ÄúMustang Authority’Äù he developed on his way up through the enlisted and officer ranks. Anyway we came alongside and made a gangway UP to their main deck. Our Captain had us get everything in place and in order before he gave the liberty announcement. We started peeling off, showering and moving out for liberty as fast as we got the word. When we started to pass over the other ship on our way to liberty, we were detained a little while by their Captain who attempted to settle a point. The Captain of the other ship did not offer his troops overnight liberty. They enjoyed only Cinderella Liberty, where they had to be back at midnight. We always got overnight liberty unless we were getting underway early the next morning. The Other Captain did not think this was proper and did not want us to be wandering in at any and every time of night and day. He mentioned this point to our Skipper who informed him that if he did not want us walking across his decks, then we could change places on the dock with them being on the outside. Our Captain won that option offer and off we went across their spanking clean and bleached wooded quarterdeck. They were not happy campers as you might have expected, and it got worse when we started coming back, 4 sheets in the wind so to speak, with beers in hand or pockets, singing and or what not. On the first encounter with our heavy drinking Cookie they attempted to relieve him of his bottle. He snatched it out of their reach, ran back down the gangplank, finished it off, and then broke it on their starboard side. I had mine hidden in my pea coat pockets, the quart size Nippon’Äôs as I recall.¬Ý They came calling after this incident and our Captain told them not to bother his troops at their gangplank. He reminded them they had no jurisdiction of his troops, and they would be handled appropriately at our side where the gangplank allowed entry to our LST quarterdeck. Our Captain won another !!! During muster the next morning, our Captain urged us to be a little bit more considerate, and don’Äôt break your bottles on their ship’Äôs sides. This visit and arrangement lasted for about a week as I recall. ¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý¬Ý Back to the Nagasaki welcome we received. First we visited several small bars and food centers to partake of the obvious, where we were welcomed quite well. Then as we ventured further out the downtown areas and around we found this nice looking bar with some jam up music coming out the door. Just the right place for us to spend some time we thought. We went in, about six of us, and just as quick as a wink, in a well orchestrated movement we were in no uncertain terms ushered right back outside. ’ÄúNO AMERICANS , JAPANESE ONLY ’Äú were the words and it was not at all hard to understand that they meant it. We found several places like this on the outskirts of the town as well as some Sushi stands and eerie three sting music plunking. Of course there were enough others to satisfy our needs so we didn't persist on staying. At the time, it was November and cold as a well digger’Äôs toes. We would walk from one bar to the next with a quart size Nippon beer in hand, or for myself, inside my pea coat vest pocket. Upon entering one bar I was grabbed by a large, friendly bargirl with a bear hug, and forced back on a table with my hands still in my coat pocket. Yes, the opened Nippon beer flowed quickly into my clothing as I was held prone by this ’Äúfriendly’Äù girl. My yelling could not overcome the overall noise of the people in the bar and everyone else, so I had to fight myself free to stop the beer flow. She was apologetic afterwards, and offered to dry my clothes over a hibachi pot. This could have taken all night, so I passed on the offer. Anyway it proved that everyone was not unfriendly in Nagasaki !! Later after I had time to think about Nagasaki and the visit, It made more sense on how they reacted to us in those private bars. It had not been very long since that place was devastated by the Atom Bomb. They had not yet forgotten that and let us know it in no uncertain terms. Since we were there a few days, we got to venture out in the daylight and found they had a monument designating ground zero. No, they had not forgotten, and they had a monument to remind themselves not to. Calhoun C. Benton, EM3 (a couple of times) USS Snohomish County,¬Ý LST 1126
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