To view a larger picture, click on the picture at left.

We also carried a Marine contingent of about 100 men with two Marine Officers-a Marine Capt. Williams in Command  and a 1st. Lt. Mann as his Exec. Both stood deck watches in port and played cards at sea!!!!

In either late August, or early September, 1946 we were in Guam when a 150mph typhoon struck. The L. A. was last ship out of Apra Harbor. We were moored on the breakwater at entrance of harbor watching all of the ships leave with men standing watch at lines with axes ready to chop us loose. By the time we headed out to sea. no birds were in the air; no wind; absolute calm; THEN all hell broke loose. I stood a mid-watch that night in Pilot House not seeing anything; not being able to keep steerage; and at one time seeing the Clinometer swing to within two degrees of our maximum roll. The Captain never left the Navigation Bridge all night. Two cruisers of a different class broke up in typhoons of this magnitude earlier in the war. We were knocked around and lost two screws by flooding of the shaft alleys. Riding out a typhoon of this size was "no fun" with 50% of your power.  We were sucked into the eye of the storm-dead calm for awhile - then Captain decided to surf board out as we didn't have enough power to keep headway.

When we finally left storm the L.A. was way south of where we were supposed to be, and then ordered back to Pearl for repairs. We were supposed to join the Helena and Bremerton in Japan but never made it. The L. A. at this period in its history was "top heavy" and was not a good gun platform. None of our fire control Radar worked; Navigational Radar was marginal. My Battle Station was the forward fire control tower over the Captain Bridge and I can tell you we "DID ROLL".   We had a great Captain in Voegeli. We had 21 days in Pearl Harbor dry dock. On the day they flooded the dock, a sea valve was stuck open in forward diesel generator room, thus flooding the room. This called for a Navy Inquiry - no blame was placed as valve stem was broken. Then back to Tsingtao and Shanghai where we joined the Helena, our flag ship for the division. 

The L.A. was in Shanghai during months of  November, December, 1946 and most of January, 1947. Finally after the New Years Day Communist Riots in Shanghai, 1/1/47, we were ordered back to S.F. for a complete overhaul. As I recall we left Shanghai direct for San Francisco towards end of January, arriving in S.F. in early February, 1947.  This was the home coming picture of the L.A.  Note you can see the home coming pennant flying.  I was standing on deck near the forward #1, 5"-38 mount when it was taken.

The Home Coming Pennant was 1' long for every man on the ship. As I recall it was about 1,100 feet long. There was a Blue Star for each officer, and Red Striping for each enlisted man. On reaching harbor (S.F.), the pennant was cut into one foot pieces and each man was given his piece; the officers a star, enlisted men a red stripe section.