Minemen Around the World
AS WE REMEMBER IT
AN ACCOUNT OF NAHA, OKINAWA - 1954
by David Goldsmith and Jim Spencer
NAHA, OKINAWA ,1954, MINE DETACHMENT, FASRON 118, GUAM
Jim and I reported to Okinawa in 1953, I, David, in early November and Jim on Christmas day. Monsoon was raging with the usual downpours. Most of the 1953 the crew was waiting for their orders to return to the USA. By early February they were gone, leaving two chiefs, five MN2’s (Spencer), one MN3 (Goldsmith) and one MNSN. Our CO was Lt Anderson and Warrant Officer Jackson. The Korean Conflict was over but we were on an eight hour alert. We had guns and ammunition, M-1 Carbines and .45 caliber pistols.
Later Phillips, VanStone and McCrelless, all MNSN’s, arrived, Chief E.O.Spangler replaced McMahan. Lt Jg Trotter replaced Lt Anderson and Warrant Officer Jackson retired. By end of February the white hat crew consisted of MN 2 Spencer, MN3 Goldsmith, and four MNSNs: Brown; Phillips; McCrelless and Phillips. Our quarters were located inside the US Air Force Base at Naha, consisting of three Quonsets and one office building.
The crew of 1953 built the office and when I arrived it was located at the far corner of our compound near the air strip. It was later moved up near the entrance gate. We lived in the center Quonset, the mine shop was next to the airstrip, the third Quonset was the Aviation Ordnance Shop. At this time the AO group consisted of two men, both were up at Kadena Air Force Base but later moved down with us. The area was surrounded with high chain link fence with barbed wire running across the top. It had two entrance gates; one in the rear and the main front gate. The gates were always locked. We were next to the F-86 squadron and that make it very noisy. Across the main road up on a small bluff was the US army, 29th infantry. On the other side was the Navy Sea Bees, their motor pool and their equipment Also the small navy air station was along side of the Sea Bees area.
Back of our area was the airstrip used by the F-86s and other planes. We dined with the Air Force and the food was very good. We had use of the Airman’s Club and the very small Post Exchange. We had a jeep, a cargo truck, a pickup truck, and an ammunition truck. The A O group that was included with our mine group had their own vehicles.
The roads were not good, not many were paved but some were paved while I was there. While paving the road on our front a WW2 Japanese fighter plane was uncovered. The weather when not in the monsoon season was nice, neither too hot nor too cold. Okinawa is considered semi-tropical. The monsoons were as advertised: heavy downpours of rain for days without stopping. There were three Typhoons in 1954, two minor and one major. The major one lasted five days with the eye over us on the third day. We were confined to our Quonsets. I don’t recall any major damages.
The Korean Conflict was over so we did not have much to do but we did man the "rake stations." This involved spotting the mine drops by a Navy bomber squadrons composed of P2V’s. The planes flew from our Naha base, Japan or Guam and maybe Shangri-la, and layed a mine field in a specific pattern. We had three locations; two were on islands, one on the main shore. Two sailors at each station, using a theodolite for tracking the drops, which were smoke bombs and we communicated by radio. We recorded and charted the drops and forwarded the information to the authorities. We also practiced assembling, checking and testing mines.
For recreation, we put up a basketball hoop and we played basketball, usually two on two or three on three, usually the minemen against the A O guys ; We played cards, usually Hearts or Poker; we swam and scuba dived off the reefs on the sea side of the airstrips; some of us built model airplanes. We had beach parties at Kim and White Beach and our equipment was fins and face mask ; We had cookouts at White Beach with the other Navy personnel. We also toured the Island and their villages. Jim Spencer was returned to stateside at Treasure Island, San Francisco for his separation in November, 1954. I was returned to Treasure Island for my discharge January 1955.
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