Homeward bound - on the U.S.S. General William (Billy) Mitchell
Photo by: Joe Menno
My gosh, was that the only boat that brought us there? I went over 01/52 and came back on it 12/53. I do have a picture of it as it was on our way back. It looks like a derelict next to this picture. This looks like a - like a cruise ship.
Ward Colbree (10-24-07)
In a way it was a cruise liner. They called it a " Dependents Liner " because all the upper deck cabins were assigned to the dependents traveling between the US, Japan & Okinawa. They had MPs guarding the area to keep the "horny guys" out & one 2nd LT. did get arrested for "fraternizing" (cute word for sex don't you think)
Joe Menno, Heavy Equipment (10/25/07)
This rust bucket is what the Gen. Wm Mitchell looked like in 1954 when I shipped back to the states.
W. Colbree 11/8/07
I also shipped over on this rust bucket on 1/52 and returned 12/53. I remember it smelled like a sewer. On the way over we had rough seas and split a seam. We thought we were going to pull into Pearl Harbor for repairs but no such luck. I later saw this ship in San Diego; probably in the early 60's. It was going to be salvaged and it looked worse than in the 54 picture.
Lloyd Sterns (3/30/08)