Benjamin Stoddert (DDG 22) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE LAWS OF THE NAVY Now these are the laws of the Navy, Unwritten and varied they be; And he who is wise will observe them, Going down in his ship to the sea. As naught may outrun the destroyer, So it is with the law and its grip. For the strength of a ship is the service. And the strength of the service the ship. Take heed what you say of your seniors, Be your words spoken softly or plain. Lest a bird of the air tell the matter. And so shall ye hear it again. If you labor from morn until even. And meet with reproof for your toil, ' Tis well, that the gun may be humbled The compressor must check the recoil. On the strength of one link in the cable, Dopendeth the might of the chain. Who knows when thou may ' st be tested? So live that thou bearest the strain! Can ' st follow the track of the dolphin? Or tell where the sea swallows roam? Where Leviathan taketh his pastime? What ocean he calleth his own? So It is with the words of the rulers. And the orders these words shall convey; Every law is naught beside this one, Thou Shalt not criticize but obey. Say the wise: How may I know their purpose? Then acts without wherefore or why; Stays the fool but one moment to question. And the chance of his life passes by. If ye win through an African jungle, Unmentioned at home in the press. Heed it not. No man seeth the piston. But it driveth the ship none the less. MORAL As the wave rises clear at the hawse pipe. Washes aft and is lost in the wake; So Shalt thou drop astern unheeded Such time as these laws ye forsake. Take heed in your manner of speaking That the language ye use may be sound, In the list of the words of your choosing Impossible may not be found. Now these are the Laws of the Navy And many and mighty are they. But the hull and the deck and the keel And the truck of the law is - OBEY. Written by CAPT. R. A. Hopwood, Royal Navy 83

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NAVY HYMN Eternal Father, strong to save Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bidd ' st the mighty ocean deep, Its own appointed limits keep; Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea! Christ! Whose voice the waters heard And hushed their raging at Thy word. Who walked ' st on the foaming deep. And calm amidst its rage didst sleep; Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea! Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood Upon the chaos dark and rude, And bid its angry tumult cease, And give, for wild confusion, peace; Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea! O Trinity of love and power Our brethren shield in danger ' s hour; From rock and tempest, fire and foe. Protect them wheresoe ' er they go; Thus evermore shall rise to Thee Glad hymns of praise from land and sea. AMEN 3 ' Siwi-.,

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THANKS TO } y Philip D. Eakins, J03, USN Thomas P. James, DKl, USN John M. Trail, QMl(SW), Photographer Photographer Photographer Layouts Layouts Layouts Writing Typing Art Poem Selection USN A SAILORS PRAYER ; Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep grant no other Sailor take my shoes and socks before I wake Lord guide me In my slumber and keep my hammock on its number grant no clews or lashings break and let me down before I wake keep me safely in thy site and grant no Fire Drills tonight and in the morning let me wake breathing scents of sirloin steak God protect me in my dreams and make this better than it seems Grant the time may swiftly fly and myself shall rest on high In a snowy feather bed where I long to rest my head far away from all these scenes from the smell of half done beans take me back into the land where they don ' t scrub down with sand where no demon Typhoon blows where the women wash the clothes God thou knowest all my woes heed me in my dying throes take me back I promise then never to leave home again. i Our Father who are in Washington please dear Father let me stay do not drive me now away wipe away my scalding tears and let me stay Thirty years ImJ Four Years Later 84 Please forgive me all my past and things that happened at the Mast do not my request refuse let me stay another Cruise ..J ' m