Benner (DD 807) - Naval Cruise Book

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Mrr ATTer Two weeks oT dreary, sunless days, The sighT oT The sunliT WhiTe CliTTs oT Dover was welcome indeed. Only a shorT day's run up The Cornish coasT broughT us To The small summer resorT and seaporT oT Barry, Wales. The harbor was unique in ThaT we had To pass Through a seT oT locks, The inner harbor being considerably higher Than The enTrance. A very warm and enThusiasTic welcome was given The Benner, many people inviTing The Yanks inTo Their homes. ii l

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2 - KQIXA T cm! 15 Mainbrace was The largesT peaceTime land, sea, and air maneuvers ever To be held in Eu- rope.' Forces oT The NorTh ATlanTic TreaTy Or- ganizaTion NaTions parTicipaTed in The I4 day operaTions, which was a mock aTTack and de- Tense oT Norway and Denmark. The Benner sTeamed ouT oT The FirTh oT Clyde as a parT oT a TasT carrier sTriking Torce, and immediaTely iT was apparenT ThaT The wea- Ther was on The enemy's side. The rough seas, condiTion waTches and gen- eral quarTers combined To make The cruise Thoroughly uncomTorTable. As parT oT The ship's baTTle readiness, waTches were seT aT condiTion Three, wiTh 4 hours on and 8 oTT-iT we were lucky: Tor The GQ's came Thick and TasT. How many Times, aTTer coming oTT waTch To pass graTeTully in our racks, were we iarred awake by The odious clanging oT The general alarm? And in aTTempTing To pin our chow down in our Tray, how oTTen were we spaTTered wiTh ThaT oT our less TorTunaTe neighbor, as iT slipped Trom his grasp and overTurned in mid-air? We had To admire The guy who, balancing his Tray in one hand and gripping sTanchions wiTh The oTher, wiTh a combinaTion oT balleT dancing and broken-Tield running made iT To a Table wiThouT spilling anyThing. BuT his Triumph was usually shorT-lived, as his TirsT biTe was cuT shorT by The general alarm, Now seT condi- Tion one began To haunT us in our brieT dreams. For Three days we aTTempTed To reTuel Trom The gianT carrier RoosevelT, buT were ThwarTed each Time by high seas, which made iT impos- sible To rig Tuel lines. On The Third aTTempT, The Tueling deTail was Thoroughly soaked by waves which washed The main deck. The TlighT deck OT The carrier, which sTeamed placidly alongside, was lined wiTh curious specTaTors eaTing ice cream, while The band played Hap- py Days Are Here Again . Upon crossing The ArTic Circle, we were oT- Ticially designaTed Blue Noses a TacT which made liTTle diTTerence To anyone aT The Time, buf which is Tine maTerial Tor sea sTories, All hands consTanTly scanned The horizon Tor ice- bergs, buT none were TorThcoming. We were awarded wiTh a display oT The Aurora Borealis, however, so our ArcTic expediTion was noT a compleTe Tlop. For I4 days we cruised up and down The coasTs oT Norway and Denmark, acTing as carrier supporT and pickeT ship, and playing a viTal parT in The operaTion-or so we were Told! All hands, however, were anxiously awaiT- ing mail call To real in Their home-Town 'papers iusT whaT The hell was going on, and iT was wiTh a greaT sigh oT relieT ThaT we Took our leave oT The NATO FleeT and headed souTh Tor The English Channel.

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vale.: Four hours away Trom The docks by rail was London, and Those of us who made The Trip will long remember The lc wee end spenT There. The ciTy is iam-packed wiTh hisTory and TradiTion, and aT every Turn we encounTered places Tamed in song and sTory. Buckingham Palace, ScoTland Yard, The l-lorse Guards, and The Tower oT London were Taken in by sighTseers and camera Tiends by day, and The Tamed WesTminsTer Abbey, London Bridge, and Big' Ben also were prime obiecTs oT inTeresT. By nighT we decended on Piccadilly Circus, renowned Tor iTs commandos and as The cross-roads oT The BriTish Empire. The ever-presenT hospiTaliTy added To London's aTTracTions-how do you go abouT geTTing shore duTy There?