Domain of the Golden Dragon: Crossing the Two Main Longitudes Part 1

Part 1

My father's Golden Dragon Card which he received on our trip
to the Philippines. This is smaller than the official document. 

My father, Stanley G. Cooper, served in the US Navy from 1941-1967. He served across the United States & in the Pacific in two foreign countries, the Philippines from 1957-1960 & Japan from 1964-1965. 

During WWII, he served on several ships in the Pacific crossing the International Dateline & the Equator. Ten years later with his wife, Martha, & children, Gib & Mary, Lieutenant Cooper obtained passports to travel to his first duty station overseas at the U. S. Naval Station Sangley Point in Cavite City, south of Manila, on the Philippine Islands. 

His job title was the “assistant War Plans Officer, Logistics Planning Officer and a few other things” as he described to his parents.

SAILING TO MANILLA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS  17 December 1957 - 4 January 1958

On the 17th of December 1957 with the proper paperwork, the family boarded the MSTS (Military Sea & Transportation Service) GENERAL DANIEL I. SULTON in San Francisco.

I will be quoting through letters my parents wrote to their parents sharing of their personal experiences. 

We boarded the ship at noon & sailed at 3 p.m. I was very pleased to find the ship was more luxurious than I had expected. They kept us very busy with various volunteer activities. I worked in the game & book check-out room which was across from our cabin. We had bingo parties, dances, movies, card tournaments, etc. I won an electric razor & Stan won a portable steam iron at Bingo.

We had a roomy cabin with 4 bunks & a crib, plus a small bath with shower.

The children were kept occupied at all times with planned & regular activities.

The dining room was attractive & had table seating from 6-8 people. The food was very good.

We arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii, on December 22. We spent the day with friends & a short time to tour the city. By 6 PM we were back on the ship. 

We missed the International Dateline Ceremony as we crossed on Christmas Day. The Ship’s Master decreed that Christmas should be celebrated. Stan & I were presented with our “Golden Dragon” certificates at the end of the cruise. They had religious services, Christmas trees, & we picked Santa Claus up on a buoy at 5 a.m. when all little children are asleep. They had a nice party for the children & gave out gifts. 

Stan holds Mary as she visits with Santa to receive her gift from him.

Mary stood the trip very well, & was no problem. Everyone did their utmost to make it a pleasant & comfortable trip for her. (Mary had a body cast on for her hip dysplasia.)  Of course, Gib & I (Martha) were miserable with ‘mal de mer’ the first few days out. Stan was a little & Mary not at all. 

Stan is being kept busy. He has been assigned as Unit Commander of all military personal including the troops aboard. He’s also troop mess & sanitation officer. He still finds time to spend with us.

We arrived in Guam on Tuesday, 31 December, where most of the passengers debarked & we picked up a lot of inter-island passengers. After taking to the newer passengers, we learned many were unhappy there because of high costs & very little things to do. Gib & I took a bus tour of the island & saw nothing of interest. We left Guam at 6 PM. The rest of the trip was uneventful, but enjoyable, as we behaved very lazily.  

We entered the San Bernardino Straits at 10 AM on Friday, 3 January 1958. Surprisingly, it was very chilly until we reached Manilla Bay the next morning. We passed Samar & a few smaller islands, coming very close at times, giving us a good look at things. We saw a small primitive native village & natives coming toward us in their outrigger canoes (banca boats). We passed Corregidor at about 5 AM. After breakfast, we spent most of our time on deck seeing the sight of the harbor. With a few exceptions, it was now cleared of the sunken Japanese war vessels.

As the ship was tying up, we saw former friends from Chase Field, Texas, with their son waiting to welcome us. The Tourist Association of Manilla had lovely corsages for all the women on board. After we came off-board the MSTS Sultan with our luggage, our friends drove us around Manilla showing us the sights; then off to Cavite City, 30 miles away.

Two years later, my family returns to the United States from the Philippines. I will relate that adventure in my following post.