I recently came across all of my grandfather's photos he took during World War II. My grandfather NEVER talked about the war. My family has very few details. I do know that he was in the Navy as a "pharmacist's mate". He served on the USS Carter Hall (44-45). However, the first photo does not appear to be the Carter Hall. The caption on the back reads:
"A picture of my ship. You see it sitting high and dry on the rocks. Taken just after the typhoon hit us."
I assume this is the typhoon of December of 1944. But I can't seem to correlate any of the ships that were damaged to whatever type of ship is in the picture. I know he was in the medical department and saw a lot of injuries, which is why he probably never opened up about his story. This might be some kind of medical ship.
The second picture mentions the "City of Nahu(?)" - if that helps. I'd be curious as to what city he is talking about. I can't find that city on a map.
I think these pictures show that your grandfather was stationed at Buckner Bay, Okinawa in October 1945, either before or after serving aboard USS Carter Hall (LSD-3).
The vessel in the first picture is definitely not USS Carter Hall! It looks like a barracks ship of the APL-2 class. These were non-self-propelled vessels used as temporary housing for personnel who did not have berths aboard ship, perhaps because their ships were sunk or destroyed or because they were working ashore but there were no suitable shore barracks. Basically floating barracks (or if you prefer hotels) that would be towed from harbor to harbor. Since he called that APL his ship, it appears your grandfather was temporarily berthed aboard her for some reason. Note that a few APL-2s are still in commission.
"Nahu" could be Naha, the largest city of Okinawa. That is also a place where he could have met Japanese civilians as shown in one of the pictures. Also with reference to that caption, he would probably have thought of Okinawa as an "island." Okinawa had a rail system, with its main terminal in Naha, which would explain the locomotive picture. Naha was a large enough city to fit the other pictures of urban devastation. There was a Catholic mission in Naha as well. Okinawa's Catholic population exploded after the war because of the American military bases, but there was a pre-war presence.
Keeping with the Okinawa theory, Typhoon Louise hit Okinawa on October 9, 1945 and wreaked havoc on the ships anchored in Buckner Bay, which is what the Americans called Nakagusuku Bay. Buckner Bay was a major base during the closing months of the war and afterward. Actually, Buckner Bay is still a USN/JMSDF facility.
We can match some of the ships in the pictures to Typhoon Louise victims. LST-568, which is clearly shown in one of the pictures, was in Buckner Bay during the typhoon. She grounded but was freed. In that picture, it looks like there is a foundered vessel off LST-568's bow, so maybe this is the aftermath of Typhoon Louise. Both APL-10 and APL-14 of the APL-2 class were in Buckner Bay during the typhoon. APL-14 was grounded high and dry, like the vessel in the picture. Again, maybe that was his ship at this time.
So one possible explanation is that after your grandfather was aboard USS Carter Hall, he was assigned to Buckner Bay, perhaps to provide additional medical support. During this time, he was berthed aboard a barracks ship, possibly APL-14. He was there during Typhoon Louise and saw the destruction. He also would have gone into Naha at least once and taken pictures of the devastated city and a group of civilians.