Baltimore (CA 68) - Naval Cruise Book

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s- U. S. S. BALTIMORE CA 68 MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE 19 5 2 A private edition printed and published for the U. S. S. Baltimore by David Waddiugton Publications of Trieste.

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Maybe you notice it first in Gibraltar where a Bobby says, Good Evening, and in spite of his funny round hat and his British accent he somehow reminds you of the neighborhood cop back home. Maybe it ' s in France, at a streetside cafe where an impatient little taxi darts past you and you think of last-minute flights between South Station and Charlestown; or a face, one of those eternally animated French faces, resurrects the gaiety of Mardi Gras or Coney Island or the annual church festival. Or maybe it ' s at Augusta Bay when you ' re on Beach Guard, when the night stillness is suddenly parted by singing and around the corner and down the street and out of the darkness stroll three Itahan sailors with a guitar, all blended in happy harmony. You wave and they wave back and they stop and you join them for a few choruses of Oh Marie and O Sole Mio. Then cigarettes are swapped and handshakes exchanged, and when it ' s over you amble back thinking of hayrides and skating parties and songs by a campfire on a summer evening. You notice that there really isn ' t much difference after all. You see that beneath the surface of custom and speech is a common core, that the currency of kindness has the same high rate of exchange in the lands of the lire and lirasi, the pound and the pesata, the drachma and the dollar. And you wonder, in view of all this, just what you and your weapons and your warships are doing over here in the Mediterranean. The mission of the Sixth Fleet is to maintain an active operating force in the Mediterranean Sea for the threefold purpose of (1) reenforcing with mihtary potential the efforts of the United States to assist European nations; (2) engendering good will between Sixth Fleet personnel and residents of European countries; (3) training of Sixth Fleet personnel. A few eventful months and the cruise is over. You ' re home again with the family, drinking that quart of fresh milk you ' ve looked forward to for so long, changing the diaper of that baby you haven ' t yet had a chance to become acquainted with. It ' s good to get back. It ' s exciting, but in time the excitement subsides and you look back on your Mediterranean cruise. You think of the long hours, the endless drills and watches as well as of the good times, and there ' s a satisfaction that goes with your thoughts. You know you ' ve contributed something. You ' ve assisted your country in her attempt to help Europe get back on her feet. You ' ve made friends. You ' ve learned how to fight, should ever you have to do so. But most important, you ' ve enlightened a lot of people. The colorful little French waiter who recommended the splendid white wine; the jolly Itahan carriageman who serenaded you as you drove through the Capri quiet; the Greek shepherd and the Spanish fisherman and the Turkish merchant; all will remember you in the face of insidious propaganda. All will look back on your brief associations and remember, as vou. that there ' s reallv not much difference after all.