Cowell (DD 547) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 11 text:

01511 11zeCanal

Page 10 text:

lr it i n s 1 A ii .rlr T S X , ' xl 0 ' I X X ' l f T X N, x 1 1 xx ll . l 'T . r f Q' . flu-2 r li f' N l ' ff 'Q U. I tl f I' 4 ' I' - in 1 : 4 'f 1 i-2 J f x x 1 ' l ' N l 4 ff! l , Jak Y X 4 , I Ng XX.. ' T We set the Special Sea and Anchor Detail early on the morning of the 7th of January. This was the day that we said goodby to the East Coast and it was -hard to realize that before returning we would have circled t-he globe. Our mind could wander no farther than the Far East, and what our tour of duty in Korean waters 'held for us. . After bucking the Atlantic's mid-winter moods we steamed into the calm water of the approach to the Panama Canal on the morning of January ...... l. We transited the canal .inlseven hours going through the canal's Huge locks, Gatun Lock, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Lock. The canal was built by the United States after ten years of battling swamps and jungle. American 'ingenuity and ever-more ,important medical knowledge made The French made the original attempt under the leadership of Lesseps, the builder of the Suez Canal. 'But disease in the form of Yellow Fever and construction difficulties drove the s took over and made a dream a reality the canal possible. French attempt into bankruptcy. The United State We moored overnight on the Pacific side of the Canal at Balboa. For those of us that were fortunate enough' to getashore, the liberty was short and sweet. Most of us drifted into Panama City, the metropolis of the Canal Zone. The town we enjoyed, a mixture of ld 0 and new, ,good and bad and awfully good rum.

Page 12 text:

I ma After cruising up the coast of Mexico and lower California we sighted Point Loma Light on the morning of the 28th of January. The tranquility of the Pacifi-c was a soothing tonic after battling the seas of the Atlantic. San Diego's location is such that we en- countered no difficulty in finding good enter- tainment. Some of us ventured south of the border to Mexico's Tiajuana, a border town thriving on the influx of tourists from America. Walking down the main street of the town we realized that this ,wasn't one of those sleepy Mexican towns that you find publicized in travel folders. lt's main attractions were the famous Jai-Ali games and during the .season, the bull fights. In the San Diego area we visited such popu- lar vacation resorts as Balboa Park, Coron-ada, Crown Point Beach and La Jolla, one of the most popular beach resorts in the country. The three wonderful days on the west coast passed all too fast, and on the morning of the 3lst we shipped out to sea, and had our last glimpse of America for some time to come.