Baltimore (CA 68) - Naval Cruise Book

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CR DIVISION Standing eight hours of watch per day, always at one soUd stretch, living most of their shipboard life away from the sunlight and fresh air in either radio one, two, or the compartment, and handhng the basic communications of the ship is what distinguishes the CR Division from the rest of the crew. Ninety per cent insane, the radio gang spends most of their leisure time complaining bitterly about shipboard conditions and the fre- quency of GQ. All the news from the States comes through the courtesy of the radio gang (and the United Press). The post office is manned by CR Division personnel, two, and Chief Powers blushes modestly whenever complimented on the fine mail service. None of these activities affect the CR gang. No sir ! Just because a radioman cUcks his teeth in code, and a teleman wags his two fore-fingers (punching out a test tape on tele-type) doesn ' t mean they are becoming looney. Why a guy has to be crazy before he becomes a radioman or teleman. However, it was on that good ole ' Mediterranean liberty where the CR gang really shone. After the Rock, 50 per cent of the gang swore they would never touch another drop (that same 50 per cent helped boost the sale of French beer by 1000 barrels). We ' ll never forget the Riviera... its soft, stony beaches, the mademoiselles, the friendly French re- sidents, the tourists. Smith, Whapham, ToUin, and Rohloff climbed the Matterhorn in Switzerland in hopes they would get lost and a well-stocked St. Bernard would find them. Brandt had to cUmb the Eiffel Tower tw4ce to look for Borruel when they were in Paris. On the Rome tour. Nelson and Portier took over the Colliseum. Rhodes was a swell place. Dodge finally got his shore duty and left us. Gaimon tried his best to buy something for one drachma (15,000 equalled one dollar) but only got another drachma in exchange. Tripp went swimming in his red Bikini and little kids swarmed around waiting for it to fall ofi ' . In Istanbul, Kluck climbed a tall minaret to see if he could see Russia. That ' s what he said, anyway; we all knew he was looking for the Sultan ' s harem. The cruise was a wondeful experience and its memories will certainly help us to remember each other for a long, long time to come.

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