Macon (CA 132) - Naval Cruise Book

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I UNDER i it man® SEPT 8 1956

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AH KNOWS HOW PROUD VO ' FELLAS OM TH ' MACON MUS ' E E, FO ' WINNIN ' TH ' BATTLE EFFICIENCY COMPV-TISHUM. MAH MAMMY HAS WON TH ' DOGPATCH BATTLE EFFICIENCY TITLE, FO ' Y ' ARS AN ' Y ' ARS.V ' Al Capp salutes the MACON too! '

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WAY Taking her first steps toward the beginning of her fifth Mediterranean tour of duty, the MACON ' S lines slipped from pier 2 in Norfolk and she inched smoothly into Hampton Roads. There is nothing sweet about the sorrow of leaving loved ones behind, yet getting under- way for distant duty is an exciting if not mo- mentous occasion for any ship. With her ride the hopes and prayers for a happy and success- ful cruise — and with her go the love and bless- ings of hundreds of sweethearts, wives and families. So it was with the MACON. Standing at quarters in the warmth of a Virginian morning, her more than 1200 men focused their minds on as many different emo- tions of leaving. For some of us looking ahead there were thoughts of long days at sea, of liberty in Turkey, of flight quarters and of towns in France and Italy. For others, off on their first cruise, there was much to wonder about; much to get used to — the thrill of crossing the Atlantic for the first time, the endless hours of drills, instructions and G.Q. that lay ahead, and of visiting places that up ' til now were merely names in a book. For all of us, however, it was the chance to finally put our training to work — the opportunity to see if we could measure up to our number one rating; the occasion to match our ship against the rigours of unit requirements within the powerful Sixth Fleet. Perhaps a few of us were reminded of why we were leaving at all and of why we were going overseas for five long months — to bolster the confidence of our allies in Europe; to be ready to defend our nation against any aggressor, and to display our good will to the people of the Med along with our basic dislike for war.