After the U.S.S. TELFAIR sailed out of San Francisco's Golden
Gate the course of the ship was set for Pearl Harbor, T.H. (Territory of Hawaii).
One of our first adventures occured about three days later in mid-—Pacific, when.
we intercepted an S.0.S. from a merchent ship without a doctor who reported
& member of his Navy Armed Guard erew with acute appendicitis, We altered our
course, made a rendezvous with the ship and transferred the sick boy. The
doctors took one look and said, "operate", which they did and found a rup-
tured appendix. I'm glad we got the message because much more delay would
have been too late. As it-turned out, a few days after rdaching Pearl Harbor,
he walked down the gangway, a well man. Our Medical Department did a real job.

Then we sighted the famous Diamond Head and Aloha Tower, landmarks
of what lay before us, Pearl Harbur and Honolulu, a new adventure for a major-
ity of the crew. A good many of us probably expected to see 2 lot of beautiful
native women with grass skirts and leis (neckpieces made of flowers or tissue
paper) doing. about seven different versions of the hula right on the dock. Fact
of the matter is that Pearl Harbor is just like a lot of ports we've been in
along the West Coast. It's like being in New York, Chicago or San Francisco
during any rush hour with that rush hour extending throughout the day. Down-
town Honolulu is so similiar te any State's town of 25,000 in California, Arizona,
Georgia, Alabama or Florida that you could set it dow in anyone of those states
and hardly be able to distinguish it from the rest of the towns in the vicinity ,
except of course for the natives. They are short, dark and have coal black hair
and look like Mexicans,

Honolulu is filled with souvenir shops, jewelry stores and curbside
hamburger stands. It's a rat-race every minute you're there. A few of us took
Sightseeing trips around the island of OAHU and saw some beautiful Scenery, in =
the outlying districts of Honolulu there are many beautiful homes surrounded by
gardens filled with tropical plants and flowers, Inland, the island reminded
me of a few spots I've visited in Califomia. The island of Oahu, like most
of the islands in the Pacific, is of volcanic origin - - - that is at somtine
in the distant past volcanic action on the ocean floor erupted with the result
that there is now an island (or severs] as the case may be.).

a About half of the TELFAIR boat group were assigned tenporary shore
duty at Waimanola while we were in Pearl Harbor. The boys considered it good
duty for it gave them a chance to get used to being on land once more. The
camp was situated in one of those real beauty spots of the island.

: The weather, while we were in the islands was ideal. Temperatures
might get up to 80 or beyond during the day, but at night it would cool down
just like Spring at home. i

Then one afternoon about-1500 (3:00 P.M. to you) we headed west |
again and knew it would be several days before we saw land again, We settled
down to the routine of shipboard life for the next ten days and kept steaming
along.

_ I wonder if you know what an "Atoll" is? Well, we do because we
stopped at one, the island of Eniwetok in the Marshalls, I'm sure you remember
reading the accounts of the fight the Navy had to secure these islands, Eni-
wetok is an enlarged piece of coral set down in the Pacific about midway be-
tween Pearl Harbor and the Philippines. It might not look like much but it
meant a great deal to the Navy for many reasons I can't mention now.

One of the interesting events was the crossing of the International
Date Line when we jumped a day, and come to think of it, I guess we lost a days
pay. Anyway we all passed into the DOMAIN of the GOLDEN DRAGON, Ruler of the
180th Meridian. We 411 hold proper credentials addressed, "TO ALL SAILORS, wher-
ever ye may. be and to all mermaids, flying draggons, spirits of the deep, devil
chasers and all other living creatures of the seas, GREETINGS", We will later
get regular certificates which can be framed and hung over the fireplace at home,

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