USS TAMALPAIS AO-96

Surrender Ceremony in Tokyo Bay was on September 2, 1945.  Yes, we were one of the fortunate ships to be present on that memorable day anchored very near to the USS MISSOURI where we observed all of the comings and goings.

Our cargo was "potable water" and we were assigned to serve the hospital
ships that were in the bay to recover the American, British, Australian, and
Dutch POWs that the Japanese held.  We were alongside the USS BENEVOLENCE
(hospital ship) in Yokohama harbor when those men were being brought aboard
for hospital care.  Several days later we were honored to have a number come
aboard the TAMALPAIS for movies on evening.

While in Tokyo Bay (Aug. 30, 1945 to November 1945 (Thanksgiving), we served
water to hundreds of small craft assigned to cleaning up the mines in the
coastal waters of Japan.  Later, we moved to Sasebo and were there from
Thanksgiving until mid-March 1946 where we services large flotillas of LSTs
ferrying Japanese soldiers from Indochina back to Japan and returning
captured personnel back to their homelands in the Indochina area.

Then, we spend a number of months as station water ship at Hong Kong where U
S forces were assisting Chang Kai Shek in his fight again Mao.

We were only afloat some 13 months as we were late comers having joined the
3rd Fleet the morning of August 15, 1945 off Japan.  We were in the service
group which consisted of about seven hospital ships, a number of ammunition
ships, other tankers, fleet tugs, and cargo or supply ships.

A number of these ships were ordered into Tokyo Bay to support the fighting
ships that Adm. Bull Halsey sent in to recover POWs in the Yokohama and Tokyo
areas.

Gene Leavelle,  RM3 1944-1946