VJ Day aboard Lipan 

Lipan returned to Okinawa and then went back to Leyte Gulf.  We were tied up to a large supply ship and they were having a USO show aboard and we were watching an old movie on Lipan. Suddenly some guys on the merchant ship started whooping and hollering and we looked to see what the fuss was all about. One of them yelled down to us, "Hey you guys, the war is over ... the Japanese surrendered!"  We were so stunned that a small silence fell over all of us but it didn't last long.

Some ships started blasting their ship's whistles and then searchlights came on.  The sights and sounds grew and more ships were tooting their horns and shining their searchlights into the sky. Word was passed from ship to ship, and there were over 2,000 vessels anchored nearby, and the celebration was terrific. Sailors were firing flares and very pistols into the night sky.  That place went totally bonkers.  Our skipper broke out some stateside booze and passed it around to the crew.  We couldn't stop yelling, we were so excited.

A week after the big party, lists were posted and depending on the "points" you had it determined who went home first.  We ALL had more than enough points to go home.  After all we had 33 months overseas. There were mixed emotions, though, because we had all been together for so long that we were family.  We all used to say, "When I leave this Pig-Iron SOB ship I will never even look back."  When the time came, though, it was hard to hold back the tears and sniffles. We exchanged names and all that stuff (you gotta have stuff) but over the years its difficult to keep track of your old shipmates.

We were put ashore in Leyte and caught a big merchant ship for the trip home. We arrived in Frisco under that beautiful Golden Gate only to be chased right back out again because the docks were crammed with ships filled with returning servicemen.  There were other ships ahead of us, too, so we headed for Seattle and disembarked and caught a plane for all points east.  The trip on the plane took 27 hours and that was fast back in those days.  Soon I was back in Maple Shade, New Jersey and into the stream of life.

 -The End -