Gainard (DD 706) - Naval Cruise Book

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' ff .,,.,,k,w.,, , , L ,,. v fywgg..-,.f 5 gf . f as f' ' ,N 4 1 -rx 4611! Ni'-J! 4' ' e' ,EA 1, is 11 in 1 gf i J' Gibraltar On I9 January the Gainard, oafterlacross- ing of thirteen days arrived in Gibraltar. It was a welcome sight to all of us after the difficult trip. For ua large 'part of the men it represented the introduction to a ne-'lv con- tinent and the beginning of an enriching 'ence in trave. expgilce secure inside of Gibraltar's shelter- ing breakwater and having finished the usual Ship chores necessitated by tl1e.crosslng, we turned to the task of acquainting ourselves with fhe people and their ways. Gibraltar was a mingling. of two cultures lust as it is a meeting place of two continents. .An old and typical British coloniallsm'was interspersed with the less familiar Spamsh,.lts istel streets were narrow and irregular, its architecture European, and its shops dark, low-cellinged and interesting. We found a mixture of the fashion shop and the bazaar. But all took advantage of the bargains both had to offer in woolens, silks, and linens. Certainly none of us will ever forget the grandeur of the rock itself, standing maiestic- glly above the city and the harbor. Here was a fitting symbol of Britannica's unfailing vigilance and it served to remind all that we were entering a sea still very much guarded by the English at either end. Those of the Gainard who took the British Army sponsored tour of the rock saw many of its secrets, its brislling guns, detection devices, reservoirs, and underground fortifications. All hands spent a memorable week in Gibraltar before turning Eastward into the vast Mediterranean. iw .ijt Nr' 1

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h G . d-S presenf Captain is Commander Robert S. Brookings, ll, USN Cup T e f ' ' anna born in Redlands California, on 27 June, 1912. He attendegf . ' ' . P tain Brioiokllngfllrzsj Alexandria, Virginia, and Exeter Academy in New Hampshii 'Q copa i B kingsfreceived his undergraduate degree from Harvard University hi O I gggaind gfidegree of MBS from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce gf an - - - 'A h U . rsity of pennsylvania in 1938. While in college he won varsity letters in fnpi f 9 W8 b ll nd track His civilian employment was with the Johns-Manville Corporation a an . 4 1- N Y k City. . . ' ew' 05940 Commander Brookings, then an Ensign, U5NR,.as a result of NROTC ' 'n at Harvard volunteered for active duty and was assigned to the USS. Gil- g2:nligD233l Wheri war with Japan broke out the ship moved into Alaskan waters, After gunnary schooling in 1943, he served aboard the USS Thatcher lDD5l4l taking part in the Solomons, Marshalls, MOrtcn0S, New GUU160, Philippine, and Okin- awa campaigns. ln 1944, he became Executive Officer-Navigator. ln the Spring of 1945, Commander Brookings was ordered back to the United States for leave and reassignment as Commanding Ofticer of the destroyer USS. Cra- ven lDDilf' 382l, then operating in the Mediterranean. He is one of the few reserve officers to have achieved command of a destroyer during the war. By the end ofthe war he had reached the rank of commander and in 1946 he applied for and was transferred fromnthe reserve to the regular navy. Commander Brookings later experience was as a student in the General Line School course at Newport, Rhode Island. Upon completion of this course he was as- signed as Administrative Officer for the Bikini Scientific Research Expedition. In the Fall of 1947 Captain Brookings assumed the duties of Executive and Industrial Rela- tions Officer of the Naval Ordanance Plant at Alexandria, Virginia. His next assign- ment took him overseas to Ankara, Turkey as Operations Officer and Training Offi- cer, Naval Group, Joint American Military Mission for Aid to Turkey. In the Spring of 1952, Commander Brookings was ordered back to the United States for leave and a course in anti-submarine warfare tactics. Following this he assumed his present duties as Captain of the USS. Gainard lDD706l. Commander Bf00ktn9S 1105 the Naval Reserve Medal, American Defence Service Medal, Ameri- can Area Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Area Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal l9 starsl, World War Il Victory Medal, NOVY Occupation Service Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Medal.

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Augusta, 5iCilY The second port that we ed at was Augusta BUY, 0 stopp n town on the eastern small Sicilia side of this Italian island. Set beneath Mt. Etna, Europe's highest active volcano, the city was dominated by the Pe0k5 snow-capped heights. Augusta was a poor city and we were often beseiged by small children and peddlers who had something to sell. Many of us took to tour- ing from Augusta. The favorite spot was the ancient city of Syra- cuse, founded in 736 B.C. by the Greeks. We saw a Roman amphi- theater, an old but well-preserved Greek theater, the crypts of St. Marziano, an old Christian church where the people took shelter from the catacombs, and the ancient stone quarries of Sym- cuse. -A .wf , 3 pa ,,,. . ,,, , 5.51 -s-.,':f'4 a- t gs- af 1 , A f F . .-. I, siy' fa 7 V . 5' s rf, 2 J. . V53 ' fi.. mf-.., 'F f i - FM! A . :B . 1 Q A ' v' ,, .s - - ' 4 ' - C. -' , , -' , , , I ' 4-' . I- I -:ff imivfs ,f-in sts s K a s NN.-f,,, , , 4 -f . v.. ui. 1,5 ,,..,gmr:? 13: 41,35 , ,,1d 'JA- . 4115? s . .:,., .qi gil 1 :A -.l'i ,3z is A -r fait siliti .445 .s. .-L4 sw .cw n 'le-mf r Q ix-'wif-w 1 . ' - , '1 'L 'S' .' 'im . - . ,ay 8 l -'hr , A--'Sn ' .ig -' W U ,Z ,. vw. - t y f A L 5 if we - V I ,, ' Zu - .N ,si l 0 .- ,N.s..,s.. ., ,s 5. .Q 1 K, .1 y , 1 I 1-t3L,j.i - 1 fs A' 'is is-4 t -4 i ft sf of ,ix . N