Forrest Royal (DD 872) - Naval Cruise Book

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28 NOVEMBER 1969---POLLYWOG REBELLION One of the oldest traditions in the navy is the lengthy initiation ceremony held each time a ship crosses the equator. FORREST ROYAL crossed at 00° ■ 00 ' latitude and 00° - 00 ' longitude (the Greenwich Meridian) at 0346 Z, 29 November 1969, enroute from Dakar to Luanda, Angola. Crossing at this point gave all of us the rare claim to the title of Golden Shellback . As is customary the day previous to the crossing, the pollywogs banned together in a rebellion against the shellbacks. Since there were 203 pollyv ogs as compared to 43 shellbacks, the revolt occurred with- out much difficulty. The pollywog victory was short- lived and was mild in comparison to the well-planned torture devised by the shellbacks for the followmg da y Naturally the major leaders of the pollywog revolution were given extra punishment for their heinious crimes by the impartial court of King Neptune (alias Commo- dore Bayly). T L 26

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DAKAR, SENEGAL The first stop after Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico and a long voyage across the Atlantic, was to be Dakar, Senegal one of the major ports of Western Africa. Here we found a modern city which came as quite a surprise since most of us were expecting to see a country in the early stages of development. Many of us were able to take tours of the city and saw firsthand how the predominantly Moslem population lived. The soccer team met their first taste of the foreign competition that faced them in practically every port. Our team lost the con- test but some valuable experience was gained for they were able to beat the team from the USS LAWE 5 to 2 the following day. xfc—jrwfci nyS iiw- %::% r J J. ■ ' ? I

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29 NOVEMBER 1969 ---GOLDEN SHELLBACK INITIATION Pollywog Reveille went promptly at 0500 and they were immediately herded upon the forecastle in the uniform of the day (skivvy shorts on backwards, T shirts and tennis shoes optional) and given their morn- ing shower (cold salt water from the fire hose) by the sadistic pirate, BT2 Albertson. After their shower, breakfast was in order and CS2 Elmore prepared one of his better rare dishes for the occasion. It was then time for the well fed pollywogs to com- mence their long journey toward their final goal of becoming shellbacks. Special highlights included a stint as the Royal Dog , haircuts from the Royal barbers BT2 Cockrell and TMl Nentwig, and the re- quired ritual of kissing the belly of the Royal baby (BTl Cagle). After these hurdles it was all downhill except for the visit to the Royal doctor (PN3 Frey), a trip through the slop chute and the final reward of a clean salt water wash down. What emerged was a joyful, though somewhat stench-laden Golden Shell- back. 27