Baltimore (CA 68) - Naval Cruise Book

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J ..., . ,, ' ' ' , rf' , W 41 ' f 4- f I , ' wwf ., 4 ll will .UI 'Ri - a 'I1Il 'rf' .ffe-iifj V? -.mil ,, ' I I ,gl f I 4s tr I X - 1 1- ,V i xx . A 'Z.3,'li'in,'?,u X , f f N w X ' -4,-533234164 Aft X Q Lat. soo 45' 30 N ' I I I , - I N 5 'Q' Long- 1675 se' oo w 1,4 A ZMQ44zuefQf-fvrfvfvf :wk IL' ISSUE XXIV L U.s.s. BALTIMORE qczxeap 24 February, 1946 AU REVOIR ORlOLE To the editorial staff, contributors, and printers of the Oriole , Well Done. - During the active service of the ship you have done an excellent job of building and maintaining a ship's paper that has been invaluable in maintaining high morale throughout the dark days of the war. Many of the folks back home also know a lot about the Mighty B because of your work. We deeply regret the necessity of closing up of the ship's paper-only demoblization and reduction to reserve status could do it. We look forward to the day when the ship may be active again, and the song of the Oriole will be heard once more. So it's not Goodbye Oriole , but Au Revoir. ' C. E. OLSEN, Captain, U. S. Navy, Commanding. BALTIMORE COMPLETES OCCUPATIONAL DUTY To certain Old Hands the cruise of the BALTIMORE now coming to an end presents a sort of anti-climax, but to new hands, a trip to foreign shores holds new and different sights, strange adventures and the culmination to vivid imag- inations. Fresh memories and important facts concerning our voyage and material to endless sea stories include the ship's arrival to the Island of Honshu, Iapan, anchoring at the Koko- suka Naval Base. Such visions as the fishing boats, island formations and the peculiar rays of the sun that morning formed our first striking impressions. We anchored at peace with such famous and interesting enemy vessels as the NAGATO. The first liberty party came back from Tokyo im- pressed and repulsed by the poverty, dirt, and smells . . . a good look at the Iapanese here-to-for witnessed in movies . . . in some cases in battle. Mount Fuji glowed White and pink in the sun over a fog on the morning of Nov. 26th. The BALTI- MORE anchored at Kure Naval Base the next day where we

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Cruiser Baltimore At Sea Two Years l HUMEWARD-BOUND Another of the stories now revealed with the lifting of the security curtain is that of the war exploits of the cruiser Balti- more, which fought inlmany parts of the Pacific and partici- pated in the first carrier raid against Tokyo. Successor to a line of the cruisers of the same name, the new Baltimore was commissioned April 15, 1943. A recital of the engagements in which the ship took part has been re- ceived by Mayor Theodore R. McKeldin from Capt. C. K. Fink, in comm-and of the vessel. In ,Pacific Two Years Dated in August before the end of the war with Iapan his letter was released by the security authorities several weeks ago. Captain Fink wrote, in part: I would like to take this opportunity to let the good people of Baltimore know what their namesake has been doing out here in the Pacific. Needless to mention, the U.S.S. Baltimore is strictly an instrument of war. The vast Pacific has been her home for over two years. Her participation in actual combat has been wide and varied. Bags 12 lap Planes Twelve lap planes were brought down by the cruiser's guns and several island installations were bombarded, Cap- tain Fink wrote. The vessel's active operations began with the attack on the Gilbert Islands. Then came attacks on Kwajalein and Maloelap in the Marshalls as part of the es- cort of fast carriers. In February, 1944, the Baltimore, operating with fast car- riers, participated in the attacks an Truk and Saipan. Next the ship was part of the fleet that blasted a path for the land- ings at Hollandia, New Guinea. Captain Fink continued: , The Central Pacific had now. become our habitat. We ' ' -f'-l: a'sai' helped cover the 'invasions ofthe Marianas Iwo lima. Under Admiral Halsey' strikes 1 were Formosa and Luzon. Early in ,19451foundthe In Iwo Irma Invasion Strikes were made against Camrahn Bay in do-China and Hong Kong In February the pated in the first carrier I raid against Tokyo finally led to the invasion of Iwo lima. on 'Easte , 1945, the Baltimore operating with fast carriers, way for the invasion of Okinawa. ' I ' 2 '1 This ship is only one of hundreds doingyher defeat of Iapan. Wars are not -won by taking. a stand, but by striking the enemy whenever and may be found. It isrthe new ships, the productsof. ing into the South China, Sea. ' A . Q r skill, labor, money and experience, learned the, hard that form the overwhelmin bulk of the hu e task 9 . . 9 j ,. will finally bring the enemy toshispkneesff 4' ,.'W A ' 'F - ' Ship Like Community- f , - Captain Fink described life on shipboard as a large and well-integrated cofhmunity with ya shop, shoe repair shop, clothing store,-1 ice-cream: movies and other facilities available. . A daily paper issued on the, ship is From the crew a dance band, softball, teams have been formed.,lAmong they are: . ' Lieut. Cjgj Iohn C. Ryan, 111 Barclay ham, seaman lfc, 2702 Presbury street: lfc, Govanstowe George Kruger, 2114 trician's mater, lfc 80 Webb street, and' il. man lfc, 2802 Berwick avenue.

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W,..,,,-,-..,--,.,-..i..--,.,m-..,z.,,,...-w,,,. -,-,., , uv--- , ,.... ., ,, ,, ,W ,A f' ' ' 'FTW' ' s spent about two months acquainting ourselves with Japanese habits and customs, getting used to the dirt and smells. Sou- venir collections found an almost untouched field of oper- ations in such places as Hiro Wan, Kure, and Eta .lima where they stalked about in quest of something new-different- unique and unique some of them have been! During ra firing run on Ianuary 7th, through Army transport, we witnessed Matsuyama on Shikoku, an almost intact Japanese town. We invaded Sasebo on Ianuary 31st, and danced at the famous advertisedrlilose Land. At Nagasaki on February 4th we studied 'forla few moments the horrible and stark destruc- tion of the second atom-ic bomb. February 5th found us spend- ing an interesting week at Wakayama, unmarred and friend- ly with free run of subversivelactivities and yen-hungry Iap- anese. . , . I 7 i Finally the ship returned to Tokyo. on February 15th, puzzled by the many rumors and doubt about our return to Uncle Sugar and eager --to see the largestcity on the West Coast. ' V 'And so We look back upon such lucid scenes as the sunk- en Iapanese craft in Kure Harbor, Mount Fuji, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kii Suido, dirty Iapanese children, oriental temples. the cooley and the back breaking: load- of hay-'on his wife, snow falling at Matsuyama, the old woman selling her daughter at Wakayama, the live volcano at Kirishima. the -Imperial Theatre, Imperial Hotel, and the Imperial Palace of Tokyo to chalk a lasting experience. - - THE CRYSTAL GAZEB The BALTIMORE sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge at 0800 on March . . . Commander Lugibihl being relieved. by Commander Espenas soon after arrival. Commander E. L. Lugibihl will be promoted to Captain upon his detachment and will proceed to the U.S.S. CALIENTE and report aboard that vessel as the Commanding Officer. Congratulations and best wishes for a successful cruise . . . Chaplain Lynch will head for Texas . . . Doctor Group heading for ,South Dakota . . . Doctor Gaston hoping his relief is. in Frisco so he can get the next stage coach to'Texas . . . The Aviation Unit leaving the ship on temporary duty . . . Doc Minge becoming one of the leading citizens of Colorado . . . F. O. Williams soon wearing civvies in Michigan . . . 'fInky McCracken settling down in Ohio . . . The,First leave party shoving off on the 4th. The Second shoving off when the First returns. Oho happy days!!! . . . Danny Guerrieri cutting hair in his father's barber shop in good old New York . Carp. Copeland working like mad on boxes . Mr. Horton struggling under his burden of loot . . . Mr.ySmith, joining Mrs. Smith and family . . . Bosn. Strong returning all borrowed tools . . . Mach. Gately finally winning a game of casino. W. A man' is getting along in years when he pays more attention tothe food than 'the does to the waitress. . r 1...-.1.. ., That's the guy I'mt laying for, muttered the henas the farmer went by. ' ' T.i..r.... Imagination is something that sits up with the Wife when her husband is out late. ...........1g Wife: lim, we have the wrong carriage. This isn't our baby. ' lim: Shhh! Not so loud. This carriage has new rubber tires. A , l.,-...i Poker is a game in which a good deal depends on a good deal. MaM2c: Ski, you put too much postage on this 'let- ter. , p Ski: Gosh, I hope it won't go too far. V They should be very happy because he's just her type-a man!