Macon (CA 132) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 230 of the 1959 volume:

.! «• MA iSiOtli USS MACON CA-132 The heavy cruiser, C .SS MACON (CA-132), was named in honor of Macon, Georgia. Buih by the XcMv u k .SliiplniiklinfJ- C-iorporation ol Canulen, Xcw )i ' isc , MACO va liist conuni. ' i ' iioneil al the I ' liilacklpliia X.ual l a e i n August 26, 19 15. She was buih til adoninioclatc a noinial ((iinplemeiu oL a|)|)io iiiiaicl 75 olti(ers anil 1200 enUstetl men. During her hist li e years the 17,000 ton, hahi- niore-class (ruiscr v.is assigned to the Operalimial l)e eli)|iuRnt Forte as a test ship, evaluating and testing the latest develojjnients in niarhincis and equipment proposed hjr use ihroughout the Xa , The ship ' s armament at that time v.is linnied to a main battery ol nine 8-intli guns mounted in triple tuiixts and a secondare anti-aircrah battery con- sisting ol twelve 5-inth dual pinpose guns in six iwiu mounts, and lourteen M-incIr automatic guns motniteil in sexen tAvin nunnus. On r piil 12. 1950, MACON was de-commissioned anil placetl in mothballs at the Philatlelphia Na al IJ.isc. She was le-commissioned lor duty with the Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet in October 1950, short- h alter the oiubreak ol the Korean War. Ihe MACON has seen extensi e duty in both the . tlanti( and Mediterrane.m areas, ser ing viih the U. S. SIX ' FH Fdeet lor three (onseiLuiNe years liom 1951 to 1951. U]ion (oin[)leting her thiid toui iili die SIXTH Fleei. the MACON reiurned to ilu Xoi- lolk X,i ,il Shipviid -wiieie she coinmeiKed an ex- iensi e oxerhaul in ])eceinber 1951. Upon completion of her yard period, she proceeded to Guantanomo Bay, Cuba for a routine refresher training cruise and returned to Norfolk after re- ceiving the High Excellent mark from the Fleet raining Group. the spring of 1956, the heavy cruiser added the kis I guided missile to its armament. The MACON is one of the four surface-to-surface m jg j l ruisers of the U. S. Navy capable of laur egulus I guided missile and is the onh mecL cruiser serving with the Athiiuii ' s I gui(fOT ifiilsi ' I ' ? Pi lcmbles a conven- naJBWrept-wingecI jet fighter ibout lUirty feft ffong BT is i|A)v operational, powered h a turbojti  d is l.iuncjied from the 1(1 roclsci IjtJosCtis. The lajigi o excess ol live hiiiulicil miles '  hip V Idiijg Regtikib, .W IC ' OV ' i homeport w 1 Norfolk, Viigini.i to Boston, Massa ' n MmACON saped a toui a ; .i Iuik tional arm W ■ SIX! H Fleet during the critical Siieyi ci ii )5( Ixing one of the Inst Ameiican wais-fc, iJfer in the Eastern Meduerranean. She returnee! ilKPl ' nited States in February of 1957. That sum- mer jfound MACON in Latin America on a mid- shipman cruise. After returning to Boston for an extended in-port period she made a North Atlantic ri se which included a visit to Copenhagen, Den- mark. The MACON next embarked on an eight week refresher cruise to the Caribbean. This was followed by a midshipman cruise to Europe where _ , she visited Spain, Norway, and Holland from which W 1 many MACON men visited the Brussels World ' s Fair. L In early November she proceeded to Norfolk to B embark RADM Lawson P. Ramagc, Commander MJK Cruiser Division TWO and his staff and proceeded t S to complete half of the Atlantic Fleet Exercises ¥ 2-58 in November. On Monday, 1 December 1958, the USS MACON got underway for a sixth-month cruise in the Mediterranean, its fifth such tour of duty. !r ' % 1 ,, .,w .A ' USS MACON CA-132 «: W ' JOSEPH CALDWELL WYLIE CAPTAIN, U. S. NAVY Our Commanding Oftiter, Captain Joseph C. Wylie, speni his youth in and around Newark and was ap- [)ointed to the Naval Academy Irom New Jersey in 1928. After receiving his commission in 1932, Ensign Wylie was ordered to the USS AUGUSTA, the flagship of tiie Ojmmaiuler in Chief, Asiatic Fleet where he served in the Cunnery Department. In May of 1930 he re- ceived orders to rejjort to the USS REID where he was ID be Torpedo Officer and Conmiunications Officer. .Vfter two years aboard the REID he was ordered to the USS ALTAIR as Connnunications Officer, serving in that capacity until June 1938. July 1939 found Lieuten- ant Wylie back at the a al . cademy where he scrveil as a Company Officer and as assistant to the Executive Officer. Lieutenant Wylie was sent to sea in 1941 aboard the destroyer BRISTOL operating in the North . tlantic. He served on boartl as Clinmerv Olficer for one year before he wa transferred to the destroyer USS FLETCHER as Executive Officer. He was serving in that billet when he received his promotion to Lieuten- ant Commander. Jt was aboard the FLETCHER that he was awarded tlie SHx ' cr Star fur ii nllavlry in action dur- iin the Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 Noveinticr 10-12. In the Buttle of Tassafarovga. two weeks later, his ship was the rescuer of 712 sin vivo) s from the heavy cruiser NORTHAMPTON which was sunk by the Japanese Navy. In January of 1943 he reported to the USS TREVER as Commanding Officer. While he was skipper, the TREVER won the Presidential Unit Citation. After only six months at sea he received orders to report to the Commander Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, as Staff CIC Ollidi. While serving as C;iC Officer on the Staff of tile Ccjunnander Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, he re- ceived orders to report to ilic USS AULT, where he assmued (onnnand in February 1944. The AULT. though homeported in New York, served with the Third and Fifth Fleets in the Western Pacific while Comman- Just a little over a year after reporting to the AULT he received orders that,- when carried out, would take him to the Office of Naval Research as Supervisor of Human Engineering projects. He was here for 2 years before being transferred to the Naval War College where he was under instruction in various senior courses. At the end of the term, one year later in June of 1949, He reported to the Commander Destroyer Flotilla ONE as Staff Operations Officer. Like the majority of his other duty assignments, this, too, was a short one. One year after reporting he was again assigned to the Naval War College in Newport, R. I. This time he was a student in courses of advanced study. He was promoted to the rank of Captain there in 1951. After completion of his course of instruction, he remained at the War College as a member of the staff until June 1953 when once again he went to sea. He received orders to proceed to, and assume com- mand of, the USS ARNEB in June 1953 and served aboard her till September 1954. After being detached from the ARNEB he became Chief of Staff for Comman- der Amphibious Group TWO and served in that capacity until September 1955 when he was transferred to duty in Washington. He served as the Head of Navy Plans Branch, Strategic Plans Division under the Chief of Naval Operations. He was detached from this position in Octo- ber 1958 and relieved Cajnain Harry Hull as Command- ing Officer, USS MACON (CA-1 52) on October 28. 1958. fn addition to the Silver Star Captain Wylie is en- titled to- wear the Defense Ribbon with Star, American and European Theatre Medals, Asiatic Theatre Ribbon with 7 battle stars, the Victory Ribbon and the Philip- pine Liberation Ribbon with 1 Star. Captain Wylie was married to the former Harriette Bahney of New Jersey and Watertown, Connecticut, in Novonber 1937 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. They are now resitling in lioslon while their children Elizabeth and Peter are stutlying at nearby scfiools. ■m«|g J. C WYLIE COMMANDING COMMANDER W. J. 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NAVY For conspicious galUnttry and iiUrepcdity at the lisk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty as Com- manding Officer of the USS PARCHEE in a predawn at- tack on a Japa7iese convoy, 31 July 1944 . . . This excerpt from the Medal ot Honor awarded to RADM Ramage is ilkistrative of the career of Cominaiukr Cruis- er Division TWO, the only flag officer on actixc tint) in the Navy who holds the Congressional Medal ol Honor. Lawson P. Ramage was born in Monroe Bridge, Massa- chusetts on 19 January 1909, and attended schools in New York and Massachusetts belore entering the Naval Academy in 1927. At the Academy he was a participant in such athletics as soccer, lacrosse and wrestling. He re- ceived his commission as Ensign with the class ol 1931. The four years .following his graduation Ironi the Naval Academy were spent at sea in the VSS DICKEli- SON, USS LAWRENCE, and USS LOUISVILLE. RADM Ramage then began a long association with sub- marines when he was under instruction at the Suljmarine liase in New London, Conneciicut from June to I e- lendjer 1935. He served in the USS S-29 based in Hono- kdu from January 1936 to May 1938. Alter a postgraduate course in General Line at the Academy he joined the USS SANDS as Executive OUicer when she was re-coni- missioned in September 1939, and served aboard her iMitil February 1941. He was serving at Pearl Harbor as Radio and Sound Officer on the Staff of Commander Subinarines, Pacific Fleet, when the Japanese attacked the Fleet there on 7 December 1911. Lf. Ram ' nge partirijmted in a irar fMitrol of the USS GRENADIET (SS-212) from April to June 1912. and for ' ■Consjnruous gallantry and iutre- pidity as Navigator . . . he was awarded the Silvi-r Star Medal. His own suljniarine the i ' SS TROUT iS.S-2112) was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and he was personally awarded the Ncwy Cross. His next command was liie USS PARCHEE which made loiu ' patrols in tiie Soutii China Sea while he was skipper, and won a Presidential Unit Citation. For ex- traordinary heroism in action during War Patrols against heavily escorted enemy Japanese convoys in restricted waters cjl the Pacilic. Boldly ])enetrating the strong hos- tile screen at predawn, the USS PARCHEE launched a l)eril()us surlace attack . . . scored a killing hit as a cli- max to lortysix minutes ot violent action, retiring ini- scatlied with a record of four Japanese ships sunk and another severely damaged. Fighting superbly agiinst all odds, the PARCHEE. hy her stout-hearted service has implemented the alor and gallantry of her skilled ol- licers and men. Ihrougl.out t he remaining months ol the war he ser ed as Personnel Officer for CoinmaTuler Submarines, Pacilic Fleet which was followed by a year as Cojnman- clcr Submarine Division 52. In August 1917 he went to W.ishington as C:hiel, Surlace Objective Section in the Ollice ol the Assisi.int Chief of Naval Operations {Guided Missiles). Following this duty and six months at the . i Died Forces Stall College he served as Readiness and New I )c- elopmenis Ollicer on the staff of Com- nKuuler .Suhm.irines, Atlantic and followed this duty as Comnunider Sidjmarine Squadron SIX and Command- ing Ollicer ol the USS RANKIN (AKA-103). Following a comse of instruction at the Na al War College, he assumed duty as Chief of Stall and , ide to ihe Commander, Submaiine F jrce, U. S. Atlanlic Fleet. lours in Washington were next, as Special Assistant to the tJiiel ol Na -.d Oj:)erations and as Director, Surface Ivpe War l.ne Disision, Ollice of the Chief of Naval Oper.itioiis. On 2 September 1958 he assinned command ol Cruiser Division TWO, Cruiser Force, U. S. . tlantic Fleet. In addition to the Medal of Honor, the A ' (, ' v Cross with Gold Star, the .S 7i ' ( ' ) Star Medal. Bronze Star Medal, Cam inendatioii Ribbon, and the Presidential Unit Cita- tion Ribbon Willi two stars (USS TROUT and USS I ' AliCHE). Rear . dmiral R.unage has the American Defense Seri iee Medal, Elect Clasp, The American Cam- paign Medal the Asiatic-Pacilic Caiiipiii ' n Medal with engagement stars, the ]Yorld War II J ' ictoi Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Philippine Lib- eration Ribbon. Rear . clmiral Ramage is married to the former Barbar.i Alice Pine ol Ne ' London, Connecticut and is the l.itliei (il two sons and t vo daughters. His official adcliess is New London, Coiniecticut. THOMAS D. CUNNINGHAM CAPTAIN, U. S. NAVY CHIEF OF STAFF - CRUISER DIVISION TWO LT 1- E. Bu.ler Medical OKirer Louisville. Kentucky LT L- A- Lenu Navipior Pilubutgh, Pa. HOME PORT OF USS MACON CA-132 STATE CAPITOL BOSTON - OL ' R HOMEI ' ORT You ' d hcMid d lot al:)out Bosion before you reported to the MACOX at the Boston Naval Sliipyard in Charlestown. Von knew that Boston hatl been called the Hub of the Universe, the Alliens of Aiiicrici: that, in hut, she was the most historic city in America. Your history book told voii that Boston was founded in 1630 by Old-World settlers; you louud her a booming commercial metropolis wiiii nearly three mdlion in the Greater Boston Area. Yes, you ' d heard of Boston ' s many historic sites and its sailor ' s nightlife; now it would be possible to see all of this for yourself. You didn ' t have to look far for history, fn fad, the Boston Navy Yard is a true historical spot, having been in continuous opera- tion since 1800. Today it covers approximately one hundred acres and nearly one and a half miles of waterfront. Just outside the gate you found an historic monument which linked your present Navy duty aboard the MACON to the illustrious past of which Boston boasts. That monument, of course, is the now familiar United States Frigate CONSTITU- TION. Built by Edmund Hartt and launched on 20 September 1797, OLD IRONSIDES, as the 44-gun frigate is familiarly known, first put to sea in 1798. She won historic glory in many of her approximately forty battles, but especially for her victory over the British Frigate GUERRIERE in the War of 1812. She was restored to her former condition by the school children of the United States. The CONSTITUTION is still an officially commissioned ship of the U. S. Navy and flys the flag of the Commandant FIRST Naval District. Nearby, in Charleston, is a granite obelisk, a two hundred foot monument to the Battle of Bunker Hill. You knew the story of how the Yanks, badly outnumbered, withdrew from the field only after their ammunition was gone. But the courage these early colonists had shown struck a spark for the spirit of independence. You ' d gone on liberty or shore leave and you ' d found that all roads seem to lead to Tremont Street and the Boston Common, a large centrally located park containing nearly fifty acres. This ground was set aside for common use as a cow pasture and train- ing field during the 17th century. On the Common the Soldier Monument reminded you that here, on Flagstaff Hill, the British Artillery was stationed during the siege of Boston. Here the British mustered before the Battle of Bunker Hill and here also gathered contingents for colonial expeditions against Louisberg and Quebec. In colonial days, according to tradition, pirates, witches and Quakers were hanged on the Old Elm which was near the Frog Pond. Freedom of speech is a tradition of the Common, and anyone with a grievance or a message mav mount one of the benches and lecture to all who care to attend. Just up Tremont Street on the hill you sighted Peter Banner ' s masterpiece — the Park Street Church — built in 1810 on the site of the Granary where the sails of the CONSTITUTION were made. Henry James once described it as the most inter- esting mass of brick and mortar in America. Here William Lloyd Garrison gave his first anti-slavery address on July 4, 1829 and on the same day three years later America was first sung publicly. Nearby you found the King ' s Chapel — the first Episco- m[ Church in Boston, which, after the Revolution, became the first Unitarian Church in America. On nearby School Street, you saw the site ol the first public school in the United States. This school, built near the present City Hall, was the origin of the Boston Latin School. Its hard benches were occupied by many famous men of the jjast such as Emerson, Samuel Adams, Rev. Cotton Mather, John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin. The Boston Latin continues today as a public school, Init is now located in a different part of the city. Soon you came upon the Paul Revere house, the oldest house in Boston, probably built in the 1670 ' s. It was the home of Paul Revere from 1770 to 1800 and it was this house he pre- sumably left for the Bos ton Tea Party in 1773, disguised as an Indian. And, of ((jurse, he was living here when he set out on his historic ride to Lexington in April 1775. O d ironsides i V i -cs- jr To the south of Scollay Stjiuire you visited F:inueil Hall, well named the Ciadle oi Liberty, lor hcie took place some ol the earliest and most stirring mass meetings ot Boston patriots who were determined that Americans shotdd govern themselves without interference from the British Crown. The impassioned voices that made their demantls lor Ireeiloni within these walls were the voices of a new nation calling her sons to light for liberty. And, of course, you stopped at the Durgin Park Restau- rant, home of some ol l oston ' s best h)od — all fresh from the market streets below. ' ou lel.ixed by sludfling your feet on sawdust-covered Uocjrs amidst .in imusual atmosphere which Durgin Park has maintained lor over 150 years. At night there w-as the busy bustle of the Washington Street area, with its familiar neon signs — JOE and NEIMO ' s, WAL- DORF, GOLDEN NUGGET, P.VL.VCE, STATITR, GARY THEATRE. . nd then there was City Scpiare with the lamiliar Jack ' s and the Morning Glory. All these were the places you remember seeing so often. Yes, tliere were many days and nighls in lioston that you mused over Boston ' s glorious histoiy while your inmiediate sur- roundings were those of a modern meiropolis with its ir.iliic its excitements, its luuricd exisieiuc. ' u appu( i.ucd the dual personality of this lily. nu gicw slran.m ' lv .illaduil to Boston and knew you ' d miss it when the ship got undeiw.iv lor the Mediterranean. Ifc- ' «j ' .-In 17 i ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT o J. tidilletown, R 1. ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT Se CTal months beloic the ship was scheduled to get undei vay, the wheels had begun to turn, policies and plans were made. In the Admini- strative Department, headed by the Executive Officer, SIXTH Fleet Regs were read, preliminary reports were forwarded, and policies on leave and liberty were established. The formulation of policies and ])ro- cedures to be loUowed is primarily the job of the Executive Officer. To assist him in the establishment and implementation of policy is his . dministrative Assistant, who relieves the Executive Ollicer of man tiring details involved in the internal administration of this thirteen- hundred man organization. The handling of officer ' s Shore Patrol Orilers, leave, and all other requests from officers is the duty of the Ship ' s Secretary and the Cap- tain ' s Office yeomen. .VU incoming oUicial mail is delivered b} the Post Office directly to the Captain ' s Office for further routing and all outgoing official mail is dated and serialized here. Add to this the monthly publication of the Officer ' s Roster, Precedence List and Personal Data Sheet, the many details involved in receipting and transferring officers and you understand wh) ' the Captain ' s Office is a beehive of activity from Turn to till Knock off Ship ' s work. Shore Patrol, Beach Guard, Leave and Liberty in foreign ports for the enlisted men - - all of these problems fall to the Personnel Officer and his staff. Regardless of the location of the ship, emergency situations arise, expiration of active duty continues, new men report aboaril and service records nuist be checked regularly for accuracy - - these daily occurrences in the lite of the Administrative Department require some kind ol s]}ecial attention by the men in the Personnel Office. o ii Kohout. J M SN Cleveland 9. Ohio X DIVISION The word v.is just pussed, All mast reports and mast report witnesses assentble in the pas- sageway outside the Executive Officer ' s cabin. The Legal Officer and his yeomen have just finished their in estigation of the mast reports by interviewing the men invohed in the different reported incidents. Service Record entries have been made and the disciplinary record of each man has been outlined for the Executive Of- ficer ' s information. If the E.xecutive Officer a- wards C:a]nain ' s Mast this means additional work, because possibly after Captain ' s Mast a Summary or Special Court-Martial will have to be prepared. The Legal Officer is responsible for the routine disciplinary problems of all ACON personnel and such other legal matters as wills and letters of indebtedness. For a ship as large as ] L CON the legal problems are many and varied and the Legal Officer and his staff are always on call to assist the command in af- fairs concerning discipline or legal advice. They are also responsible for any foreign claims made against the ship by people in the ports visited by MACON. BM2 Philadelphia. ] .■ Nothing is more im[)oit:int to a sailor tliaii his reconimendaiion lor advaiiceniem in rating. His ability antl liis eligibility often depend al- most solely on his training. The Training Otlicer and his stall are lesponsiijle lor relating lormal training lectures, lilms and correspondence comses to on-the-job pr.ictical training. ' oli hear a lot abotit Class A or C Schools and whether a (jiiota lor a certain school will come in. The Training Ollice handles all requests for both oUicer antl enlisted schools. These range iiom the one day I ' hone Talker school in Newport, Rhode Islanil, to the two month Spe- cial Weapons School in .Vlbequerqiie, New Mexico. The X ' isitor who boards the ship in a foreign port often treasmes his ollicial visitors card, and his pictine of the ship. Both of these treasures are the products of joint efforts between the Captaiir ' s Office, Print Shop and Photo Lab. Tire printing of church bidletins, the monthly MA- CON WAY and those beautiful pamphlets on ports-of-call, plus the many jobs required by the ship such as copies of forms and letters, are all products of the Print Shop. . dd to this depart- mental instructions and notices, the daily Radio Press, the Plan of the Day, and you soon under- stand why the somid of the press is often heard mitil the wee hours of the morning. The Photo Lab is always on call, ' e leali ed dining this cruise just how many e ents hap|)en on short notice, and the photographer nuist be there. Who woidd have expected those Emer- gency Flight Quarters as the l .WnOLPH ' s helo •as hovering just abo e oiu ' fantail attempt- ing to land. ' h.it a moment for a dutv pho- tographer to be on hand when the liclo irashcd into the water just a short distance oil the port C]uarter and out scinried the pilot antl crewntan in record time. Or who would ha e ex|)ecied, near taps on that January night, to hear the word passed, Standby to man Rescue and Assistance Stations! . The M. CON was coming to the aid of the binning ftalian merchant shi]) r. RI. . M. TA, antl the lUny ]jhotographer was there to recapttne for the future the intense excite- ment of that event. The photographer was there to capture for the futme the impressive (juarter- dcck honors in ea h port we isitcd, the recep- tions in the Wardroom, the oiph.in pat lies, the isiiois who scanned the ship in e m purl. .Vll these memorable events weie rccoi ded i)v the alwavs-on-the-spot ship ' s photographers. Potember. B. J- BM2 S Boiton 27, Mas The Naval . tlachc in Barcelona was making plans for a press con- ference and was having a ship ' s history translated into Spanish. Why all the activity? The MACON was coming into Barcelona and the Public Information Officer had wiittcn the Naval Attache well in advance so that oin- visit woidd be vcll publicized. Much work had gone into the Press Kits with their nevvly revised ship ' s history, Admiral ' s and Captain ' s biographies. The budding, official ship ' s reporters were on the spot when we got into port, eager to find material lor future stories and hometown releases. The ship ' s thorough coverage in foreign newspapers is a tribute to their industry. The daily Radio Press keeps you informed of the latest national, international and sports news. This is one of those important links with the home front which you were eager to have each day. And then the ship ' s and crew ' s activities were pidjlished in the MACON WAY. You read that your friend in the Maiine Detachment had been pro- moted, the news from ilie . ' nli l)i ision boys, and the feature articles cover- ing major e ents in ihe life of the ship. The thorough coverage im- pressed you and lelt with ()u ihc opinion that the Public Information Offi.ce men must be jnitting in some long hoins. Siewjrt, H S PHG3 Niagara Falls, N, Y. X DIVISION Twin Lalie. Mid. This man was over two hours and .... What is the most important thing to a Navy man on a long cruise? It ' s mail, of course, and the Post Office was always bustling with activity. For them it was a mailer of long night hours after the final close out of mail at midnight on the night before we got underway, or it was a rough boat ride in Cannes and a twenty mile ride to the Nice Airport, only to wait anywhere from one to eight hours for that R5D from Naples to arrive. And sometimes you waited only to hear that the flight had been cancelled. There were those Christmas parcel post packages which literally moved the Post Office into the Crew ' s Lounge so that the daily routine of selling stamps, money orders and processing out-going mail coidd be continued. Few of us knew of those behind-the-scenes hours of labor involved in getting the mail to the Crew, but the men in the Post Office, despite the work involved, shared in the crew ' s happiness when they gave out the mail and heard those shouts of, Oh Boy! I got letters! And we must noi forget the men who assist the Executive Officer in maintaining order and discipline aboard. The master-at-arms were always on hand to assist the OOD when visitors came aboard in the many foreign ports or tcj lend a hand on an especially big liberty night. This then is your , dministrative Department. UHDERWAY GETTING UNDERWAY Dateline, Boston, Massaihusetts, Eaih ' in tlie Morn- ing of Monday, 1 December 1958. The night reluctantly gave wn to a cokl, gray dawn. In the first light MACOX men coming on deck from below shi ered in the icy blast off Roston Bay. ]l voii spent that last night home Avith yoin lamiK. Mill felt a doiiijie chill tliat ni ir ning. The (iikl ijieaih of the Clitnlcs River caused )oii to turn yom (i)llar njj when you got off the sid)way at Cit .Sc|uaie. . nd in r)ur chest you felt a cold tightness— l)ecause Mill knew the winter would be gone and the iiees in fidl leaf before you returned to the A -.irmth ol the home ou had just left. It was sailing da ! MACOX vas departing for the Mfilitrmmciin. We voidd join the Sixth Fleet, a l (wer lor I ' eace in a very troubled and disturbed ()ild. Oui of the bustle and apparent confusion of liie preceding veek there vas a sin face of calm now. Stores were all aboard; fuel tanks full; those last- iiiinute repairs liad been made and the N.iw aul nrkeis had gathered up their last tools ,i d lelt the ship. Rut underneath the surface there was a suppiessed excitement that per aded the atmosphere. DoA n )e- low decks the engineers, who h.id lighteil olt liie last boiler hours before, sipped tups ol hot (otlee as ihe sileiulv vatchell the guages on the fiaiiel in -Main Engine Control. Finalh, c.uiie that long-a-ivaited woid, .Vrue stdliuii the SjiecidI Sen Dclriils. ou had heard it m;u)y times belore Ijiu totlay it had a special meaning. Th.ere was a little thill that went ujs and ilown your back— a goose pimple or two on the back (.it our neck— as you mo ed to )our sea detail station. Erom the i)riilge, llowing o er the sound powered phone cir- cuits, came the last instructions— ' ' Tri .-c ' in nil line!, - Shiiifl l to (insicer nil belh. When the last line lell liom the pier, the bugle soiuided loiul and clear — (oloi ' s shifted— .J enj ine.s lineh one ' ' the engine telegrajjli came alive and slow 1) the scre s began to turn and MACON jjacked into the stream. . long twehe-se( onil blast was torn from tlie ship ' s vhistle b ihe lingers of the wind, and a ciutain of blowing sn(nv as drawn liet veen shi[) .ind shore. Il ' t ' locrc underway. NAVIGATION DEPARTMENT NAVIGATION DKPAR 1 MENT The ship is quiet when the red light comes blinking into the Navigator ' s room. It ' s 0100, sir. The sky is clear and the teniperatiue is ()1! F. Once again he a ■akens, goes to the chart house, and prepares lo take star sights. He inirst work cpiickly anil accurately, for morn- ing and e ening t iliglu are the limes when he and his assistants can most accinatel) ' determine the exact location ol the ship. His walth is checked — each second error can cairse a tpiarter- miie error in the ship ' s position, ami that can ' t be tolerated — the sextant is ?eroed, the forms are readi ed. By now the sky is glinnnering with the first touch of day, and he goes to work. In a matter ol miniues he returns to pore over long lohunns of figures. Finally the computing is finished, the calculated position is plotted, and once again the Macon is triangled on the chart. recommend you come right to south ' Macon ' s ace helmsman. Corrivcau. D. G. QMSN New Bedford. Maw. N DIVISION tNb R. L. Smallidgc ' Navigator fakes a noon sun line WoosiCT. Ohio a dM Somcrville, Mass. ill ' ic «•« K ' DIVISION This same proccdine has been repeated thousands o[ times for hundreds of years, for celestial nav igation is one of tlie proced- ures developed in ancient times which is still important today. But in a modern navy tlie work of the navigator and his quarter- masters goes far beyond just tak- ing star sights. Today ' s naviga- tion and shijihandling are too precise for that. The ancient sailors had to make their own maps as they weirt along, but today almost all the waterways of the world have been accurate- ly charted. These waterways, however, with their buoys, bells, channels, and shifting land, are constantly changing, and the job of keeping the charts up-to-date is one which never end. Ac- curate charts are essential in a navy of fornration steaming, ren- dezvous, and a 30-knot ships. To- day ' s quartermaster nuist also be skilled in tire modern methods of navigation. Since the early 1910 ' s radar navigation and lo- ran have become increasingly important as aids in conning a ship. With its long range and widespread usage loran is an ex- cellent method of determining the ship ' s position, especially in bad weather. A quartermaster ' s job goes be- yond just assisting in the naviga- tion of the ship. He must learn to keep an accurate record ol all events occurring within the ship in his Quartermaster ' s Notebook, a log which is an in- valuable part of the ship ' s rec- ords that must be maintained as correctly as possible. .Vnother big job is keeping the ship ' s clocks correctly set. At least twice a week every clock must be com- pared to the standard chronom- eter — a painstaking job! In their spare time the quarter- masters also manage to be bug- ler, helmsman, fathometer op- erator, coffee maker, publication corrector, and enough of a sig- nalman to send and receive flashing light. Thus you can see that to be a part of navigation department — one must possess a large measure of patience, ac- curacy, neatness, and preciseness, plus a cheerful enough disposi- tion to resist all the verbal blows from the people he awakens in the middle of the night! MACON RELIEVES NEWPORT NEWS Who asked you  o come here? Gibraltar! The beginning and the end. For us the beginning — It is the £irst land in many days; all hands are topside to view this ancient watchstander, This inditterent warrior who has served so many masters. This solid, impregnable Rock, Gibraltar! Before we can muse too long on the okl fortress we are ashore on the narrow winding streets, Sho})i)ing, and sampling the warm musty English ale. This is oiu lirst lesson in bargaining, and we find apt teachers. After a short time we are convinced that we are dealing with the self-same merchants who may have haggled so vigorously with the Phonecians over some treasured Indian ivory cen- turies before. Here we relieve, Our predecessors hand over all the necessary paraphenalia; And some of the rumors. The anectdotes. The little tips, the tips we never follow until too late and then carefully pass on to our own unknowing and eager successors. And then, Before the last gift is bought, Before the last information is garnered. We are underway. The great rock echoes GOD SAVE THE QUEEN, then ANCiHORS AWEIGH, As two mighty cruisers sail olf in opposite directions - cme west and home, one cast to adventure yet unknown. We ,nc liii.illv in ihc Med., eager to know her and her history, antl to make some of our own. i - ' V- • ' ' ' - i -  ,rf 2 .. ' H ' ' Two mighty cruisers Gibraltar ' s apes EVERY DAY LIFE ABOARD THE MACON 1 im t ' Now Captain, I ' m sure Nightly movie line forms on main deck. AugytaBag Augusta Bay — Joining The 6th Fleet Saturday, 13 December 1958, dawned bright, crisp and clear. The sea was calm and it did not seem as if Christmas was just around the corner. a tlie (list:mt horizon Mniint Aetna thrust upward her snow- capped simimii. Aii ' ii hi Huw Sliilx was oiu- destination. Today we were to rendezvous with the mighty Sixth Fleet.  .-«afc Teddy Roosevelt once said, Speak softly but cany a big stick. What could be more appropriate in describing that Sixth Fleet quietly anchored in Augusta Bay. Speak softly— by ' i itino ports, getting to know our European friends, letting them know us; having children ' s parties, inviting visitors aboard; b our words and deeds conveying to-our Mediterranean friends our sincerity and common interests. Carry a big stick— the FOKRES- TAL and t}:ihM.AMiiiQLPH with supersonic Crusaders and Sky- rays; the destroyer radar pickets .widi their early warning capa- lity against enemy aircraft; the 84MMf« ||MiHhe cruisers, the ting power of the Marines; MACON with her Regulus. y, was a big stick. It is an obvious fact that the existence of the Western 4 ' orld, as we know it, depends upon the freedom of the world ' s sea- ways. No nation can long exist alone; and the life blood of the western body-politic is sea commerce. The free world can be no strongerthaL Jfelj mie traffic which nourishes it. The only means To l mie of freedom is seapower. No where is this more clearly illustrated than in the Mediterranean, mother- sea of a hundred empires and of a thousand kings. It takes no genius to Jook at a map and recognize that tiiose who control this greatest of inland seas control the destiny of three continents. Through this sea of song and epic of history past flow the strategic materials upon which depends history present and future. Our presence as a part of the Sixth Fleet is a clause in the insurance policy guaranteeing that there will be a future. The task of our Mediterranean Sixtli Fleet is primarily that of preserving the peace. To do this we must be ready for war. War, brushfire or total, is an always frightening but ever-present possibility. We must be ready to cope with any eventuality where- ever and whenever it may arise. Battle-readiness, then, was our watchword. Days and nights of training and exercises was our lot. Of equal importance to our battle efficiency was our task to win friends in these coimtries whose shores were washed by Mare Naslruni. These lands and this sea are as old as man. These blue hori ons framed the golden sails ol a Homeric odyessy and etched the rigging ot NL A, PJNTA, and SAXTA MAR A. These are the same waters which swirled in the passage ot a Pharaoh ' s barge and foamed in the slave-stroked wake of a trireme of Caesar. These lands and this sea are also new-stirring with a new nationalism, like giants rising from two thousand years of sleep and flexing muscles yet unused. This is history new and present, yet to be fashioned by YOU! This, then, is our task— to keep the seaways free; to be ready to resist aggression any time, anywhere; to increase our know- ledge and understanding of this Mediterranean Basin and her peoples and share with them some of our own hopes and dreams. GUNNERY DEPARTMENT The anchor is let go; on the foc ' sle and back aft the four boat booms are swung out; the accommodation ladders are lowered and the crane commences to lower the barge. All of this is on the first note of the bugle for you are competing against time in order to present a sharp looking ship. Or it may be the hand- ling of lines when you tie up alongside, or Med-moor, or it may be the off-loading of vehicles. All of these are important jobs and normal routine for the Gunneiy Department. The largest department on the ship is divided into ten divi- sions. These span the ship from the 1st division on the foc ' sle to the 7th division on the fantail, from the paint locker on the second deck to the G division spaces aft in the hanger deck. All of these are in some way concerned with maintaining effective fire power. If tjlftT., Macon ' s own airstrip GUNNERY MACON ' s main battery is composed of three triple gun 8 55 turrets. The thunder of a nine-gun salvo is not often heard, but when it is, the concussion of the hundreds of pounds of poivder ex- jjloding in the 8-inch barrels ivrecks havoc with the loose paint and gear, just as the three hundred pound projectiles wreck havoc with their target. Don t let the Main Battery ' s usual silence make you forget the destructive potential of one of those nine-gun salvos. Anyone who has spotted for one of the turrets knows what an impact one of those pro- jectiles makes when it strikes its target. The record of the 8 inch gun established during World War II and the Koiean Var will not easily be forgotten. The gunners-mates of the First, Second, and Tliird Dixnsions are responsible for the care and upkeep of the turrets. Yes, that ' s a sign of obvious pride you see in the faces of the men in First Di-. ' Ision when their copper mu le hands re- mained secure when Turret I fired. Be- side shore bombardments, the 8-inch can be used as a surface-to-surface : eapon against enemy shipping and in unusual cases it is possible to fire a nine-gun air barrage at approaching enemy planes be- fore they come within ten miles of the ship. The antiaircraft battery consists of five dual purpose 5 38 mounts and seven twin 3 50 mounts. With increas- ing emphasis on naval air the A. bat- tery has become more and more import- ant as a defensive weapon. Condition Three is not new to any of you who man one of the direc tor radar control stations or the mounts. You got a chance to show your stuff a half-dozen times. There was the balloon target and then, of course, the drone shoots. The drone unit came aboard for the Mediter- ranean Cruise in order to service MA- CON and the other ships of the SIXTH Fleet. You ' d watched the drone laimched from its platform on the port side of the fantail and saw how quickly the director officers slewed around and centered the target in their binoculars while the radar operators and trackers locked on. The Drone Officer gave you a practice run down the port side and then came in on the port beam for the firing rim. Strike nut 15 rounds of non-frn; ! Load hoppers! Air Action port! Stand by! Commence jiring! . These were the familiar commands which pre- ceded that blaze of firing as you homed in on the drone for a perfect hit. You felt good now; that two hour GQ seemed worth it after all. if ' ' - ' rcl ?3! High line LTJC; B. A. Nkrriam AA Control Officer ENS R. P. Whur Ass-i SWA Offic Cape Porpoise, M. Today ' s Navy can fire all the big and little guns by electricity and it is the business of Fox Division men to operate this electrical equipment. This is what is meant by Fire Control. Fire Controlmen man Sky Plot, Main Battery Plot, the Directors and the Radar Rooms. In Plot the various batteries are set up on the fire control switchboard so that the mounts and turrets are connected to the desired fire control directors. During the Mediterrajiean Cruise the MACOX also carried the Regulus I missile as reserve strength. Our missile was quite a novelty in the Mediterranean for MACON is the only Atlantic Fleet cruiser equipped with an operational Regulus I. The test missile version of Regulus I resembles a conventional swept- wing jet fighter about 30 feet long. It is turbo-jet powered and has the capability of carrying an atomic warhead. Because of the approximate quarter of a million dollar cost of each missile the Navy has developed a highly skilled means of recovering the Regulus I missile. Guided missilemen of G Division handle the whole procedure aboard ship. Right up till firing time the missilemen are making adjustments in the missile ' s control mechanisms to insure a successful mission. In the case of the Regulus, where aircraft are employed for the flight control and recovery, the missile must be completely controllable by the chase aircraft. Long before the missile is readv to fire it is hoisted aboard ship by cranes, placed on a cradle and taken below on an elevator where a small group of experts give it a thorough going over. A scheduled firing will bring it on deck. The jet engine is started. The jet assist take-off (JATO) bottles, one on either side of the missile— blast off leaving a dense white smoke cloud, providing the initial thrust necessary to put the missile in flight; then the turbo-jet takes over. With the missile airborne, chase aircraft assume control and guide the Regulus to its preselected landing site, using their controlling equipment to land the un- manned missile. Once the missile ' s retractable landing gear touches ground, a parachute opens automatically, braking the Regulus to a gentle stop. Since Regulus is a long-range operational missile, used against ship or shore targets, It IS one of the Navy ' s prime surface bombardment weapons and extends the warship ' s range more than ten fold. The helicopter which crowded the fantail during this cruise was MACON ' s own air force. The helo got a real workout both underway and in port. It was used for guard mail runs, transfer of personnel, tracking drills necessary to keep our antiaircraft battery properly aligned, and, most important to the Cruise Book Committee, those important hops for aerial photography of our ports-of-call. Not all of the Gunnery Department ' s work is with guns and missiles. You anchored out in many of the ports visited. This meant that liberty boats were necessary. Under the supervision of the First Lieutenant, the deck divisions kept in top shape four utility boats, two motor whaleboats, the officer ' s motor boat the gig and the barge. There were those long days when high lining was followed by replenishing and replenishing by refueling. Replenishing is usually an all hands evolution but the deck force is up before dawn for the necessary preparations. There is the refueling. This is an intricate evolution which involves almost every deck division. Regular scrubbing and holystoning of the decks, the eternal battle with the rust, and the shining of bright work, chipping and painting from bow to stern, from the waterline to the masthead. This is the deck ioxce-backhor e of the Gunne)-y Department. X CUD E. D. M.,l,k Kire Control Guiiiie Wimhroj). Mas . 1st DIVISION Akins. J ' .hii R Doiihester 25, Mass. Baltiacd. Joseph L. New Brighton. Pa Bt, -secm..ci, Paul J Cnmlon. R. I. Film fi. MKh ,, |„icpl, M. lliM. . Willi:,m R, Jr CMS CMSN Ncsfopeck, Pa. Slu|.iieml utg. Pa. Doug:ai. George E. Foster. Stanley L. GMI SN Brooklyn 8. N Y. Brooklyn, N, Y. Isf D(v. prepares s ) p for a foc ' sle frolic Givens, Thonus F- Crjfhth. VVMlis C SN BM -i Forest City. N C- FrederKktown, Md, m ti Hern SN Hughes, [ohn M, Fair jrove, Mich. South Norwalk, Con a ' ' i M 1 1 Huiinn, Rirh.ird D mterman, Charles L. Mann, Daniel R SA SN Denver 7, Col, Auburn, Mass. KiOR, Richard 1 Dannis, BM3, shows his skill at fancy work ' m fiiiii ' niiii McCage. Kenneth R SN ' Maiieiis. Okla l„„rtk loseph GM2 Saugus, Mass Langlitz, BM2, touches up the waterways :.rlh. Gene I CM2 Davlon, Ohio Zaoaf. . Cre8 r I BMI New York 1. N- Y, DIVISION r ND Maidjville, W, Va. Fall Rjver. Mas V % Galcv. Car.iM G 2nd DIVISION South Bmtoo fj. McHuph. EdiN.iMi M - r r„nr. Rol,.r. F Powclt. Paniel T. lilh. Kenneth G. l.n.lcr, R..l,c.i I. Kinpn;.,.. |n ) Wadsworih. Ohi ENS S. Steed ' lid Di isi()n Ollitei ' iiiteison (TB) N. ' . D I V I S I O N J Now this is the way it ' s done M TjINirioosa. C.v Coic, Cvland F. Caribou, Mair Hukory, N C. II New orl;. N.- V. Who said there was only one Arle ' tgh Burke 4 1 Siaien Island. N. Y. Newcastle, Penn. Venable. Lawrence C. SN Oklahoma City. Okla. ' ] V . ' dM Fiicl.ljcirs. Nrai H..irii.glon. Mc 4th DIVISION 1- 1 JC J- N- FiclJ hh Dimiciii oriiicr Marljichead, Nfass. Cleveland. Ohio HrU |„l.n I. Hiiuliins. Lduaid 1 H Uon, Jxiimy D. SN Warrior Mine, W. Va Endicou. N. Y. 4 th DIVISION L.I Buunn, Rmce F. Lawrence. Ma ' Miller Lonnie | Piitnian. EaniMt L, Ahoskic. N. C I ' ..iihre . Ne,il R Sabclla. Fr itik A. Brooklyn. N, Y. S.iiiic. Billv L. S Pniiland, Me. Malden, W. Va. Snodgrau, Jerry O, SN Junction Ciiy. Oregon ,T.„,|„el.c, M.diig BetklfN, Wew ' a. Porl Chciici. N. V. iA rill t;h;irlcroi. Pit, 5th DIVISION RutlMid, Vermont Scotia 2. N Y Morg;.nir.wn. W. g bs. J« A c, H.™ 1 BM2 Shenandoah, Pn. ,,„. M.,, C;„m,l,o,„e. N, J. •a -!? Ti And the inevifable GQ D I V I S I O N f% M Sterling. Clondo FPO. N V . X. Y. M Junction Cily. Ohio A h AM Fc.ler. R. i.,.UIC New Kciiiinglon, Pa. X Sonienille 43. Mais 4 4h 6th DIVISION NrcDonakl. Gei.ild L hM Zoinltr. U..n.,t.l H Ken V,.rili. Tcn: LeiTO.iir Furnace. Pa- Rochttter. N. Y. DIVISION LTJG J. D. McDoug iU 7ih Divi inn [O Waliham. M-iss. I Fisliui. R. L SA .11. S. IvicsUtb. Fla. Ccorg,. J, N CMS Puisbiirgh 37. Pa. ■• ' r 7th DIVISION Ct msion 9 R I nmilplian. Mo, Thom.is. H H Syracuse 10. N. Y. REPLENISHING Lift thaf bail I V I S I O N Benraml. Lvle | iT Y BIAc. Riclijnl I) Clcvclanil 2. Ohir Bmoklyn. N. Y. Snuih Groveland, Mass. :3s ' Commence firing! Myler, Frank A. YNSN Quetns, Ntw York Putnam. Francis M Naumin, Williain L. FTSN New Millord, N ], Randall Howard E. GM2 Old Town. Me. FOX DIVISION Ringer. Terence 1 - Schumarhci. Hnrnld 1 Somcrville, M, Siniawski. K. C. SN Marlboro. Mass. Spedick. John M FTSN Trenton 9. N. ] Tomichek. John A FTSN Dciroit ' 8. Mich Weber. William C. SN Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. Sullivan, Albert J. FT2 Quincy. Mass. Wvalt, navid I, FTS Washingion 24. D, C i ' .- .-■ V ' D V S O N i m%w lohniton. W I) SN Culver City. Calif P %. jifft.L ,V v - i MISSILEMEN Pitisburgh 26, Pen Liule FalK. N. V. Johnson. J. C. NWS BellinRh im. Va h. DIVISION :m ' Sputnik DRONE Wdleott. Geoi Pendleton. Oregon ' We receive them and we retrieve them ' ' E r . 4 ntragon. Paul H MARINE DETACHMENT He ' s the man with the sparkling brass, the spit shine that looks like glass and the neatly pressed uniform. He ' s a Marine and proud to be a MACON Marine, whether he ' s standing a routine watch such as guarding access to oiu missile, the hanger deck where it is kept, or as Captains Orderly; whether he ' s exercising on the foc ' sle or marching on the pier, acting as guide for foreign guests or forming an honor guard. The MACON Marine Detachment has several distinguishing factors. For one it is the only detachment in the Fleet where all the men wear the campaign hat ; and where else will you find an English bidldog mascot for a detachment afloat? PFC Slugger Slopshoot O ' Bannon started as a buck private; he now holds the rate of PFC and is properly adorned with uniform, stripe and medal. Slop- shoot observed port and starboard liberty along with the Detachment and the rest of the ship— yes, he has his liberty card to prove it. Rumor has it that he ' s gun shy; he seemed to miss quarters just those days the saluting batteries were in action. Nevertheless, he usually maintained the exemplary bearing of his contemporaries which makes us proud to have the MACON Marine Detachment a ]3art of oiu ship. , AJ.n, C. . ],- lien ,„. Phni.p J.. J,. Chriitel. Roberi E. Dar ncls. Peier F. ActCpl PFC AclSgt AclCpl in. Nrv, York o i t Riclfte, Tcnn Morris Plains. New Ters«y Proiiden ce. Rhode Island Vv mm Farrar. Richard M 4 d Fanmc™, James Callani. |ohn J George, BiaRK. Anthons Herring. Reginald L Ac.Cpl ActCpl AclCpl PFC Piltsdeld. Mail Hewict, New Jci«y Netcc ing. Nesv Jersey Roclingham. N. C. i ii (land. Edssard C Jank aoskas. Gerard ActSgl PFC arrington, Florida W.nfi eld, Ncsv Jersey Williamsion. S C. Klink. Richard Kohlhaler. Charles PFC Ballimore, Md. Laizure. George W. A Laurmburg, N C Lang ion, M,.x 1- RockTiLirt. Gs, M,,Hc . BuJiun A PFC Collingswood. N. [. iSi Mcvcr. |..l.n R Doiilicsiei. Mj Brockioii, Mass. Lancaster. Pcnna. Ri er . Albert H, ActSgi Sanford, Fla . Waynoville. N C. 1 Crecnvilk. S. C- ihticaio. William E PFC Btctkion, Mais. A Redden. Douglas H., Jr. AciCp! Philadelphia. Peniu. MARINES Slopshoof O ' Bannon Glen Cove. N Y n i s iB Dorchester, Mass. New London. Conn. ,-,]|iams. Waller L AaCpI Natick, NCass. FRENCH RIVIERA Cannes Nke MimUCaiiti Mi ftaei lilllll . ;l |!tf llllltl ) Your ship had anchored out at Cannes, one of the garden spots of the French Riviera you had heard so much about. Incomparable Cannes offers so much to en- joy. Renowned for its beaches and sini, its sports and gaiety, its fashion and food, Cannes lies in one of the most fascinating corners of France. Since its rediscovery over 100 years ago it has been a favorite playground, both winter and summer, for all nationalities. With its palm-lined Promenande de hi Croisette, casinos, and varied programs of entertainment, you expected, and loiuid, a veritable vacation paradise. The Riviera is a land of contrasts. Near to its sunny beaches lies a hinter- land of skiing resorts. Close to the most recent creations of modern life and comfort are old villages, perched like eagles ' nests on hilltops, untouched by the centuries which have passed them by. You caught glimpses of these as you traxelcd along a ribbon of mountain highway designed purposely for scenic over- looks. A turn in the road would open up a view of St. Raphael, scene of hard- pressed landing operations during World War II, or St. Tropez, world famous haunt of the rich and famous young people of France. Its reigning queens were Francoise Sagan and Bridgette Bardot who come to while away many an hour in one of the quaint little town ' s artistic night clubs or cabarets. From Cannes you took many of the short tours to nearby villages such as Grasse, home of the famous Molinard Perfume Factory, where you observed the actual making of first class perfumes of the highest quality and were shown the different phases and processes in the manufacture of powders, creams and soaps. Monaco — A modern fairyland ■nfd. Boats - No liberty: Liberty - No boafs You drove along the coastal road through Juan-les-Pins and Golfe Juan. Then you were in Antibes. This coastal village is dominated by the medieval castle of the Grimaldi family. In the Chateau Grimaldi on permanent display is an expositio n of Picasso works. When you reached Nice and drove down the Promenade des Anglais you knew this was the premier city of the Rivi- era. Since the first landing of the Phonecians on the sandy shores of the Paillon River, Nice has been the favorite anchorage of successive Medi- terranean civilizations. The Greek winter resort of Cemenelim be- came the Cimiez dear to Queen Victoria ' s heart and later Nice, city symbolic of the gaiety that characterized the beginning of the 20th century. During this century the reputation of Nice has become throughout the world a synonym of the surviving Eden, offering the thrilling experiences of both hectic pleasurable living and relaxation amid sunshine, vanilla colored beaches and mul- ti-colored flower gardens. A two mile long array of palatial hotels and sumptuous villas faced the palm lined curve of the Promenade des Anglais and one of the finest beaches in the Mediter- ranean. You sped past the monument to the French who died in World War I, the Port of Nice, heart of the commercial life of Nice, and soon were in Villefranche, homeport of the USS DES MOINES (CA-134) , flagship of the Commander SIXTH Fleet. Passing sunny semi-tropical Beau- lieu, you arrived in the principality of Monaco. Cannes — Beautiful even at Christmas time Presiding over the fabled city of Monte Carlo, from a high shrub and villa-covered hill is the palace of Prince Ranier and Princess Grace. The city of Monte Carlo seemed a many roofed monument to the unrestricted building and decorative whims of people who could af- ford any indulgence. Within easy riding distance was the Oceanographic Museum, a genuine storehouse of marine history. The Exotic Gardens offered a midtitude of sub- tropical flora placed on a steep slope with winding paths and bridges and small waterfalls. The most fascinating item in Monte Carlo was the famed Casino, a structure resembling an opera house. Actually opera is produced in one wing of the building. Inside the glass entrance doors you learned that there were two large game rooms. In the first one, the average toiuist comes to try the rotdette wheel or the Baccarat odds. The second room differed from the first only in that it catered to the more monied set. Well-dressed clients hunched over the tables while they placed fortimes in the hands of Lady Luck. And for those of you who only came to look there were the irresistible one-franc slot machines which, you learned, were not the kind which paid off easily. Never- theless, you enjoyed Monte Carlo, even though you left the Casino without a franc and had to borrow money for the bus ride back to Cannes where your ship was anchored. PARFUMERIE A GRASSE U.S.S. MACON AT CANNES HARBOR r PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES 1 MOMENTS OF WORSHIP LCDR R. M. Pattee, Engineering Ollicer Swan ton, Vermont LTJG T. A. Kellelitr. jr. Main Propulsion Assistant Salem, Mass. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Power to get the ship underway and keep it moving is the responsibility of the Engineering Department. Everywhere aboard ship, 24 hours a day, the men of this department are producing steam, electricity, heat, refrigeration and ice, or are at work on some type of equipment essential in keeping the MACON in top operating condition. One of the department ' s divisions, the A Division, maintains and operates the ship ' s hydraulic machinery, steam heating systems, refrigeration equipment, diesel engines and many other types of auxiliary machinery. In addition A division engineers maintain the boat engines and keep the ship ' s vehicles running. Water into super-heated steam for the power needed by a 17,000-to man-of-war. This is the important task of B Division, the men who tend the boilers. Working in temperatures usually about 100°F, these men light off the boilers, control the water and check the many gauges. The water evaporators are an additional responsibility of theie boilerman. The generation and distribution of electricity for the MACON is the duty of the E Division. The uses of electricity, are just as numerous as the tasks assigned to the men of this division. Maintaining the lights, batteries and movies are only a few of the many jobs skillfully handled by E Division. M DIVISION is responsible for furnishing the main propulsion necessary to move the ship. Their spaces house the mighty turbines which produce power that can move MACON at speeds in excess of 30 knots. Every phase of propulsion from the main steam valve to the spinning shafts is the domain of this division. The fifth and final division of the Engineering De- jjartment is R Division. It is responsible for another important mission of the department — damage control. Damage control amounts to doing everything possible to keep the ship afloat, and to preserve her water-tight in- tegrity before and after battle. There are many varied skills among the members of R Division. Metalsmiths, ]3i])efitters, carpenters and damage controlmen are in- tluded in the peacetime function, mainly as general builders and repairmen keeping in practice on those skills which could me n life or death to a ship during time of emergency. LI I.. G. Hohiiberg Damage Control Officer Minis, Mass. CWO E. B. Moye Ship ' s Carpenter Bedford, Mass. LTJC A. E. Keegr DIVISION CWO J. W. Queel Cenicrville. Penna Excelsior Springs. Missouri Clark?, Eward J. Salem. M.1S1. Lakewooil I!. Califc Waikins Glen, New York H rcn, F L I.r.(l TC.in. r R Huddy, Kenliicky A DIVISION A Albion, Iowa Sheffidd. Alabama D I V I S I O N LTJG P. W, Britt B Division Officer Ha?leiAn, Pcnna. Jl Plii Klelphi.1 9. P. P.inna 29. OJi Rjdin . n l. Ind Davloii S. Ohio ' A ' J5r «- East Weymouth, Mau. Twin Fall!. Idaho Oitoiia 68, N. Y. Hnll..«.i , C. M.„v,i,, J H MMFX Oakdalc. Calif. Evcrelt 49. Ma . M.Guiif. E J BT3 Baltimore. Maryland B DIVISION J ' i ENS n A, n.. i £ nivision OtfiM Pcik till. N- V. DIVISION J CWO N. R. Bill H mbleton, Duane T- Ham|.a. Rnnald V. EMS Bell, Nforuanj HuichbetL. RudoU Bavsidc. N. Y. r M E DIVISION 1 ..le. R.di;] rd I). U.M., |.„„rv . t. , Jr. V.,1, Ii Will. .nil I FA EM-1 EMS EMS Shreveport . La. J;.ck o,i. Missi Mlppl W:ii. ;rlniry. Com., Bla.kwell, Okla. wm St ' I DIVISION I ' .irk. r;inl.,nd : m ji MNtFN lew Bcdu.r,l, M:. Haincr. R C MM5 Springfield. Mai r lT iA M.rcJiil,. H M DIVISION Pcli...n R.i|)i.|s. Mil M Kli on Lake. Minn. MM Bronx 62, N. Y. D 1 V 1 S 1 O N l.I|(; R K. MiilLily l-..ui Vlll(■. Kv- Roscd.iic 22. N. V. S|wn;n.h.nK. S. C. Crarion. W. Va. Meilina. N. V. Hj.kniA. N C Hnun.i K,.«.k, N I Fjtkins. F C. DCI nincku.ii. Masv Li.lll. Ch.i.lcs P. FN E|.|..ng, X H K.iniai City, Mo. Maiihcw-s. R. W. . ± Romnev. A- E R DIVISION a nftfc fl i«« ' The first Med liberty is over, the first Med at-sea period is behind you. Now you are offi- cial veterans of the Sixth Fleet— and qualified judges of Med liberty and duty. It is now that you Med moor one morning in the harbor oi Cartagena, Spain. It doesn ' t take very long ashore to realize the tremendous dif- ference in liberty ports— from the cold and wet, glamorous, expensive frenzy which is Cannes, to the quiet peacefiUness of a small city in Spain. This time there aren ' t the bars and night clubs. Instead there are sidewalk cafes; people, unused to tourists, who go out of their way to be friend- ly; small stores, selling handmade Spanish gifts we ' ve never seen before. Here is where you also got your first taste of history, for Cartagena was founded long before the birth of Christ. It began as a great Carthaginian trading center, and later was taken by the Romans. Then the Moors ar- rived, making their vain entry into Europe, and the ruins of their civilization still guard the city from the hilltops. Finally returned to Christianity it soon became a great naval base when the Spanish Armada ruled the Seas. Wandering through the city ' s back streets, and looking out over the ancient city from the hilltop ruins of the Moorish temple gave you ammuni- tion for daydreams of life 1000 years ago. Cartagena provided you with your first ex- perience in general visiting, too. It seemed as if half of Cartagena crammed fleet landing trying to get on board, and when they did they asked hundred of questions— all in Spanish, of course. This was the first real chance to show off your ability to talk with your hands, and you found it much harder than it looked! But there wasn ' t any need of hand-waving when the little Sisters of the Poor came aboard with their orphans. It was obvious that they needed any help you could give them— and gallons of paint and lots of old clothes pleased them immensely! ORPHAN PARTY SPANISH NAVY OFFICERS WERE GUESTS ABOARD LIBERTY AT CARTAGENA, SPAIN ICERS ' PARTY, YACHT CLUB, CARTAGENA, SPAIN. St ValtN ' U.S:S. MACOJsTRESCUES MARIA AMATA ON FIRE AT SEA ' Taps Iiad , one at the regular time of 2200 on the night ol 19 January 1959 and the AIACON steamed unhurriedly between Cartagena mid Valencia, Spain. Unbeknown to itiDSt ol the per- sonnel on board the signal bridge had sighted an unidentified object at approximately 2215. The .object sighted on the horizon about 12 miles from the ship was soon determined to be a binn- ing ship. Station the Rescue and Assistance De- tail! These were the words which began a once- in-a-career ex]xiience for many of MACON ' s of- ficers and men. MACOK closed the scene at flank speed as ihc pitch of excitemeiu rose. With- in thiitv miiMiKs after first sightint; the buniiiig ship, oui kip|H 1- had brilliantly maiuics cii-d the MACOS alongside the Italian nici c li.niini.in. MARIA AM AT A. We soon learmd th.n the crew of the MARIA AMATA had kli ilu- sliip and were standing by in life bo.iis iioni ilie MARIA AMATA and the .Spanish men h.iniman CUIDAl) 1)1. OVIEDO wiiidi u,is in Ilu- vi cinitv. The Master ol the MARIA AMATA was in the eyes of his burning ship. MACOX closed MARIA AMATA, coming alongside with bows touching at an angle in order to permit bringing the topside fires under control. MACOX was then swimg parallel and close alongside as the hoses were brought to bear from forward aft. MACOX personnel valiantly fought the fire for o er two and a half hours. As many as 14 hoses were in use, playing either water or foam on the fires. The MARIA AMATA was totally disabled. F ' he alter hold and midships section of the Ital- ian ship were completely gutted and fires in the paces leading to the engine room, inside and below deck in the amidships superstructure and in the after peak tank spaces blazed unrelentini; ly. Side plating abreast the afterholds buckled from the heat and MARIA AMATA ' s list in- creased to about 20 degrees. MACON ' s fire parties did not hesitate to board the binning ship when the Executive Officer gave the word. On board the burning ship the were able to pierce the outboard bulkheads ol the deck-houses to allow water from the hoses to escape. Pump suction could not be gotten into the holds because of the cargo. The Master uf the MARIA AMATA was ex- tremely concerned about the safety of the MA- CON firefighters. He told your skipper that the fire was now burning around fuel tanks and ad- vised him to f)ull away. The danger of explosion was iininnwnt and concern for the icelfare of the crew led Captain Wylie to withdraxu our fire parties and follow the advise of the Master the MARIA AMATA. Soon after this a series of explosions rocked the ship and uncontrollable fires spread to the forward section. For nearly seven hours our ship lay to close by the MARIA AMATA. When the Spanish man-of-war SARMIENTO DE GAMBIA arrived, the Master of the MARIA AMATA and five of her crew were transferred to the man-of-war to await the arrival of tugs from Valencia. The MACON took the remainder of the crew to ] ' alencia. Even though MACON firefighters were nut able to put the tire out, the ship was saved. 1 In next day you got to see the giuted frame of tlu ' ship tied up in J ' alencia. And, though MACOX had not been able to comjsletely extinguish ilu fires, all hands remembered the sweat and hopes of that night, the excitement and valor of the once-in-a-career fight to save one of its fellow- ships at sea. MACON and its crew had earned the ■■JVell Done! ' ' from COMSIXTHFLT. ■I FRANCE POLLENSA BAY, MAJORCA !i vAfJ PORT DEPARTURE DATE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 1 DECEMBER GIBRALTAR, BC.C. 9-11 DECEMBER 1958 AUGUSTA BAY, SICILY IS- 14 DECEMBER 1958 CANNES, FRANCE 18 DECEMBER 1958 to 5 JANUARY 1959 CARTAGENA, SPAIN M - 19 [ANUARY 1959 VALENCIA, SPAIN 20 - 23 JANUARY 1959 GENOA, ITALY 2 ■ 9 FEBRUARY 1959 MARSEILLES, FRANCE 11-21 FEBRUARY 1959 POLLENSA BAY, MAJORCA 1 - 2 MARCH 1959 BARCELONA, SPAIN !t 10 MARCH 1959 TOULON. FRANCE II -17 MARCH 1959 TARANTO, ITALY 21-24 MARCH 1959 DARDANELLES TRANSIT 27 MARCH and 31 MARCH 1959 I.STANBUL, TURKEY 28-31 MARCH 1959 ATHENS, GREECE 2 APRIL 1959 MALTA 5-11 APRIL 1959 LEGHORN, ITALY 2S - 26 APRIL 1959 VILLEFRANCHE, FRANCE 27 APRIL 1959 NAPLES, ITALY 29 APRIL lo 5 MAY 1959 SUDA BAY. CRETE 17 MAY 1959 GIBRALTAR, B.C.C. 21 MAY 1959 NORFOLK, VIRGINIA 28 MAY 1959 ARRIVAL BOSTON. MASSACHUSETTS SO MAY I9S9 LIB , S TARANTO •t ' r F 8 1 H 2-p r VUGUSTA BAY JJ I Art. A suDA BAY CKJE 1 ri f m SEA EGYPT - - • ab k mWz : SX ' V-J A CRIS ' I ' OFORO COLOMBO LA PATRIA ii nn By the time you pulled into 0inoa you had become real experts on the Med and what it had to ofiei. and you knew exactly what you were looking lor. As the MACON passed through the Mole, it seemed as if this city had just about everything you wanted— except for some warm sun. It was another cold and windy day, a day on which there were certainly warmer things to do than stand at quarters for an hour. In spite of the weather, you were able to get a good look at the city at quarters, and what you saw looked fine. At first sight the most im- pressive thing was the gigantic and never-quiet port. Seven centuries ago Venice finally con- quered Genoa which soon became the chief city of Italy, but you wouldn ' t realize that from the harbor today. It is Italy ' s, and the Mediterran- ean ' s, chief port and the never-ceasing water traf- fic is certainly reminiscent of New York. Rising behind the waterfront is the hilly city, dominated from your icwpoint by the statue of Columbus. Wandering ashore you found it was similar to most of the nther Med ports, for it had it ' s old winding section contrasting sharply with the modern area— an area which could easily be the heart of any . merican city. GENOA w jmmwm EN of Genoa had H:ial meaning iw jolt ' ilibugh, because it is fi H with memo- iits nt tlic city ' s famous explorer Hen like John i. chill and Christopher Coiwmb Bved and left ,hnin hcie to bring America w m the known ' Vurld, and history such as that isiiKt inating for ■anv )ue if discover. There was mui li more for you Ixfsidc ; history in Genoa. It w.is yoiu- first tjsie of frjlian cooking, your first time at an Aipej a. There was a huge cemetery, so ornate that lt •deemed iike a city of tiny moniunents rather f mausoleums. V ' T f ' ST MARKS CHURCH Venice — what could be said about this city that has not aheady been spoken? Fielding calls it . . an absurd and wonderful dream . . . staid and somber citizens many centuries ago carved for themselves a slice of the sea and proceeded to erect buildings on top of the waves. Venice — it never really exists at all. Before you go, and after you have retinned, and often while you are there, Venice is not real — it is a state of mind. Vho can stand near a palace Ct centuries old, a magnificent church 9 centuries old, in a city built 1500 years ago; who can ab- sorb all this without putting himself back in the day when Venice was king. In those times a large part of the old Roman empire vas under her control. Her fleets ruled the Mediterranean, bringing back treasures and tradition from the East. The city was young and splendid, with marble palaces and enormous homes; it had hundreds of shops for jewelers and merchants, decorators and tailors. In your imagination, what could be a better time to live? ST MARKS SQUARE lllfl ' m Venice has chan — dirty, and oftei mains, as it alwa) change. The sam still remain. The heritage, even if tl with their history. The fancy gondol, torized ferries, the pair, the Bridge tourists — but stil in one ' s mind. TIk be present. Just and he will recrea This, then, is V new, rich and po some its an ama art, to others it ' s in your state of r ufflH ' :d now. I Her — far older poor. BuiHffll tradition re- will. The old city can not canals which t ave it fame eople could not escape their y wished to do so. They live ind constantly keep it alive. have been re)jlaced by mo- buildings are in need of re- Sighs is now aossed only by enice is unchanged, if only aura of gl riHm will always any citize H e your guide, that life fo u instantly. ice — a city at once old and fantastic and common. To ng and f ascinf iting work of of watec ldirt — it is al nd. Ve BRIDGE OF SIGHS VENICE • LEGHORN • PISA From a single castle in the tenth century, Leghorn floinished until today it vies with Geona as the leading port of Italy. Leghorn is the home of the Italian Naval Academy and War College and still maintains its traditional heritage of religious and academic freedom for all. From Leghorn we scattered in many directions with Pisa and Florence as the main places of interest. The city of Leaning Tower fame, Pisa, bor- ders on the province of Tuscany which is re- j)utedly the most colorful section of Italy. The Leaning Tower is used to summon the towns people for services in the sparkling black and white marble cathedral and ba]Jtistry which stand nearby. The structure, began in 1174, be- gan to settle in the soft terrain before it was completed, and despite builders ' efforts to com- pensate for this, it now has a 12 foot inclination. Nearby is the city of Florence. Florence is ART! She is a city indescribably opulent in all art forms. Florence mothered the Renaissance and many of the men whose creations comprised the finest art of that period. Florence is indeed a find to all who care to see and enjoy the works of such masters as Cellini, DiVinci, and Botticelli. Here also you found the famous statue of David sculptured by the twenty-eight year old Michelangelo. You also were impressed by the towering dome of the Cathedral of Florence and the structural perfection of the Palazzo Vec- chio which served for many years as the seat of the municipal government. s u p p L Y LCDR |. W Holmes Supply OHicci WesC Roxbury, Mrfsi. The Supply Department supplies everything from Mup to nut The job ot feeding and clothing the crew of over twelve hundred men i, no MinajS task, nor is the job of handling nearly seventy-five thousand dollars c.uh b monthly payday, hundreds of gallons of paint, thousands ol spare eWtronic ordnance parts. These are some of the jobs of ' ' SupjjtyOoyiji- the live divisior which make up the Supply Department. J vV Theie are many shops on board the MACON which c!m7 a ' varieiv of jiieithaiii dise and which are manned by S-1 Division. There ' s the Siatiouaiy Store oflice supplies, the Hardware Store for nuts and hojts, the Elettvonits Parts ' Shop and a Store for the tons of gear used for cleaning. l.ate at night you smelled the odor of fresh pasteiics and earlv in the nintniiig the odor of freshly baked bread. These distracting nasai attractions came from the bakery i roducts being prepared by S-2 Divisiox. Daily vou jKisscd through the chow line past the salad bar of tasty, fresh s.ilad egefal les and on infjj one of MACON ' s six messing compartments. Thcic ihiifylivc lumdicd meall are served a day at a cost of approximately forty tcius .i[)iC(c. And if you didn ' t like a particular meal-what k. do? Why just walk riglj- on down the port side of the second deck to the Sod.i FouiUain where vou ' ll Ini ' ice cream, drinks, and other lorms of gedunk. This is one of the Shij i s(r ic provided by S-3 Division. If vou need shoes, there ' s ilie Clothing and .S ' ninli Stoie ; and if you only need your shoes repaired, you can visit the Cobbler Shop. MACOi IJersonnel get their hair cut at either the Officer ' s or Crew ' s Barber Shops. Ani then, from time to time, there is also that portable Barhei Shop on tlie avii;,uic i firidge for the Captain. If that uniform doesn ' t fit i necd.s repair Iheie ' s th§ tailor shop. When that uniform gets dirty, there ' s that iniUspemable laundr the twenty-loin-hom-a-day plant on the third deck thai liclps keep ou sqiiaiect away. The Ship ' s Store takes care of your personal needs such as cj aieitesi stationary and they also have for that girl back home foreign mere li.mdise siui as French perfmne, Spanish lace and Italian leather gl DEPARTMENT The .S- Division nrans the ship ' s bank. Twice a moi amoimts to over a million and a half dollars a year. Maus ivjits of mrienrv :ir handled - francs, pesetas, Italian and Turkish lira, Maltese poumls and juo.st unportant of all the American greenback. But you had von choice when th Disbursing Olficer paid that Shore Patrol advance so baUIv needed bv thoses going on Shore Patrol. ' . The stewards who run the Wardroom Pantry and fffJev and insure .sntooth sailing in feeding the Officers and Warrant Officers arc members ol So Div ynrf They are the men behind the scene who prepare for those fot ' sle receptions um| Vardroom buffets, those birthday and retirement panics. The cleanliness ol the; officer ' s cabins and staterooms is due to their constant toil. Their exira (oiireru ' J with the ajjpearance of the Wardroom has evoked ni.nry a woul ol praise fioiiW the hundreds of foreign guests entertained on board. Yes, these divisions make up the Supply Department; these men arc the pro- viders of the things that make possible the continuetl smooth iupctioniug of the, ; internal life of the ship. s 1 LTJG M. Greenrield S-1 Diviiion Officer Dorchester, Mass. South St. Petersburg, FU urn Crjmlon 5. R 1. ' An age-old Naval tradition is revived. S. 2 DIVISION i n DciKiit 8. Midi. i i Roxbun 20. Masi. r,;i.ia,ure. Fia. Gjifield Hl „ Oliio Ejil Haven. Co, DIVISION I ' nul March 1959 DMiii.ii Odicrr ( tar 59)« N. Quincy 71. Mass. From March 1959 iiddeford, Msine S3 DIVISION u..u iiic. . c:. Diiliiili. Minn. ENS s H (oscs S-4 Di i-i.,n iKIicer Wmdi..ier. Mass. D I V I S O N i - ' - L:.aaii. P E DfLSN PoUdam. N, Y. m ii. Edivnrd J. DKC Somersei, Nfais. - t . S 4 DIVISION LTJG P. D MiDcvi S-5 Division Officer Medford, Mass, DIVISION Fall River, Mas Brown. F. W. C.ib.ig..ii.g. I SDI TN [acksonville. Florida s.o.iai. l li,lii.|. • t. Roxl.iiry. Mas ' . L ' -. . i , •■■• cr,?. ' I Lift ; a (i)§id: : fTTtrT f f I y 7 r I f f f ' n r I F R A N C E ' I ' H ' ' n ' ' •T ' r:TT ' i «f th ' . « .. . W Hf  ♦  C,.Q . MayeiHei I M M-: Marseilles, you were quick to note as we ar- rived there in mid-February, is a major Mediter- ranean port. It is France ' s second largest city and its cliief port, serving the industrial Rhone River Valley, Switzerland, and as France ' s link with North Africa. The history of Marseilles dates back to the founding of the Greek colony of Marsalia, founded by Asia Minor marines about 600 B.C. A coastal empire was established by the Massa- lists which spread from Monaco to St. Martin, Spain. When civil war broke out in Rome be- tween Poinpey and Caesar, Marseilles supported Pompey. Caesar captured the city which was later successively occupied by Visigoths, Franks, Nor- mans and Arabs, a few among many conquerors. rxvxx Marseilles passed to the French c:)ini ' n in 1486 under whose sponsorshi]) the city was rebuilt in the late KKlO ' s. Mar- seilles supported the French Revolution and had its commerce ruined by the Na- poleonic Wars and the Continental block- ades. But with the conquest ol Algeria and the construction of the Suez Canal prosperity again came to the city. World War II and especially the year 1944 saw heavy allied bombing o£ Marseilles and much of Southern France. Today you found a large pier-studded harbor which had been almost complete- ly cleared of the many ships sinik there during the last World War. The Old Port you found to be a large rectangular shaped harbor with a long open seaward side. Leading from the Old Port is the Boulevard La Cannebiere, the main avenue filled with shops of every descrip- tion. Overlooking the city in all its splen- dor you found the beautiful cathedral, Notre Dame de la Garde. From your high altitude observation platform you scanned the coastline and your eyes fell on the Chateau d ' If. From the piers at the Old Port you paid 200 francs for a twenty minute boat ride to the famous island immortalized by Diuuas as the prison of the Count of Monte Cristo. Riding back from the island you scanned the horizon of the entire city ' and wondered just what pleased you so vmuch about this maritime metropolis. Your French guide met you at the ship in Marseilles as you all piled into the bus which was to take the tour party to the train station. His name was Albert, and he assured you that he knew everything about France and especially Paris. Later you learned just how true this was. You ' d heard a lot about the 6-man couchette you ' d be riding in and attempting to sleep in, but it turned out not to be too bad after all. The train pulled out, and, since taps were being sounded back at the almost forgotten ship and your shipmates were turning in, you decided to turn in also. Most of you slept, but come early morning all eyes were open— staring out the win- dows at the haze-covered countryside for those first glimpses of Paris, the City of Light. Finally, you were there. Occasionally you had the feeling that you must be travel weary, but these thoughts were quickly dispelled when you set down to an American ham and eggs break- fast at your hotel. You found the food excellent,- so were yoiu hotel accommodations and the service. The sun was out now— the haze had been binned off and Paris was basking in an almost spring-like sun. Your hotel was just off the Champs Elysees. that broad tree-lined concourse bounded by the Arch of Triumph and the Ttiile- ries Gardens and Louvre Palace. For this morn- ing you were content just to window shop. Soon it was evident why Paris is the fashion center of the world, and it was also obvious that the wom- en who wore these fashions were no less exquisite than the clothes. You were impressed by the architectural splen- dor of the city whose origin dated to four cen- turies after Christ. How Paris maintains the new- ness of a carefully planned city and at the same time the splendor of a city whose history is also the history of the western world remained a mystery no matter how hard you searched for the answer. Soon it was lunch time and again Paris proved that French food deserves the praise it is so generously given. You left the hotel in the afternoon for the tour to Versailles and, immediately, you knew the day was going to be a good one. Her name was Nicole. She was your blond and petite French guide who spoke with an oh-so-slight British ac- cent. You were amazed at the wealth of inter- esting facts she revealed about Paris as the bus sped by the Arch of Triumph and out the Ave- nue de Neuilly through the suburbs which soon had you wondering just where Paris ended and Versailles began. Then you were in the city known as Versailles, a city which grew from a few country houses that existed before the Palace of Versailles was built. In fact Louis XII had his hunting lodge here in the 1630 ' s and 1640 ' s. Gradually the fabu- lous palace was completed by Louis XIV and the 2600 acres of gardens were added. Standing in the cobblestone courtyard of the Palace and looking toward Paris you were reminded of the Windsor Palace with its miles-long boidevard to London. Here, and there, the great men of Europe had come to witness the glory of some of France ' s most colorful kings. Upon entering the Palace you were impressed with the magnificent rooms which had once been filled with the royalty of France and thousands of servants who physically maintained the splen- dor known to all of Europe. The Palace today is still one of the most magnificent show places of Europe. The gilt decorations, scidpturing and painted ceilings bear the touch of the brilliant era of royal splendor. You passed through the Salon de la Guerre and en- tered the Hall of Mirrors. This is flanked on one side by seventeen mirrors and on the other by seventeen win- dows which open into the exquisite gardens which have made Versailles famous. The Hall of Mirrors, you knew, had its place in modern history for it witnessed the birth of the German Empire in 1871, and it was here that the Versailles Treaty was signed in 1919. You were just a little proud of your own country when you learned that like WilUamsbuyg, Virginia, Versailles owed a great deal to the Rockefeller Fuiindation. For here was so much to preserve. Here across these once marble and now inlaid wood floors had walked princes, diplo- mats and generals from all over the continent who came to bask in the glory of the French court. Here also passed thousands of common folk who came daily to gaze on Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and their children. For Louis had an almost paternal feeling for the people of France and wishcil for them to share his glory. The immense and beautifid gardens have a vast dis- play of terraces, flower beds, artificial lakes and marvel- ous foim tains. The 2600 acres of gardens had been beau- tifully laid out by the famous Lenaurt. You remembei on the grounds the Petite Trianon made famous when Marie Antoinette all but moved there — for this was where the German-born princess spent her happiest days as Queen of France. When you again entered the great Versailles court- yard, you recalled that here on that fateful day of Octo- ber 5, 1789 the angry Parisian mobs had been allowed in the gates of Versailles. Only one day later Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had left Versailles for ever, for both were beheaded shortly thereafter. Gone were the glorious days when princes and nobles would come to bask in the reflected glory of Louis XIV, the Sun King. Here indeed, French National History had been made. The French Revolution, the demise of the monarchy, the age of democracy, all were inextricably ])oinid in the history of Versailles. As ou dio e back to Paris along a modern super higliway it was difficult for you to reali .e that this was Versailles and Paris 1959 rather than 1789. Leaving the hotel again with your very lovely French guide, Nicole, you turned up the Chumps Elysecs, stopping before the Petite and Grand Palais which were built for the Paris Exposi- tion of 1900. You continued down the Champs Elysees, that most famous of all Paris ' many boulevards, to the Place ' de la Concorde where you stopped to view the obelisk which was brought from Egypt and is a sister of Cleopatra ' s Needle in New York ' s Central Park. You caught a glimpse of the grandeur of the Tuilcries Gardens, but not of their flowery beauty for it was still February. Crossing the .Seine via the Alexander III Bridge you drove past the French National Assembly. And along the Left Bank of the Seine until there, in all its majesty, you sighted the edifice which probably symbolizes Paris more than any other structure. It was, of course, the Eiffel Tower, which you learned from your guide, was built for the Exhibition of 1889. You simply refused to believe that Paris had not been carefully laid out by an architect when you looked through the base of the Tower and viewed in perfect symmetry across the Seine the Palais de Chaillot, 1948 seat of the United Na- tions. Close by you found the Palace of the Invalides, built by Louis XIV as a home for cri]3pled French soldiers. You visited this magni- ficent building which houses the tombs of Na- poleon, his brothers, his son, and Marshal Foch, French World War I hero. Napoleon ' s tomb is centrally located in a majestic, sculptured crypt and the pale blue light from the dome makes a scene of solemn and impressive grandeur. Up the Boulcx ' ard St. Gerynain des Pres past the student restaurants and caves, you drove down the Boulevard St. Michel to the Luxembourg Palace and on to the Pantheon, the imposing temple which holds the tombs of Zola, Hugo and other great men of France. You were now in the heart of the Latin Quarter with its many colleges. You caught a glimpse of the most famous of these, the Sorbonne, which is a part of the University of Paris and is comprised of the College of Letters and Arts and the College of Science. Then the visit to the island in the center of the Seine between the Right and Left Banks where you viewed with awe the grandeur of Notre-Dame, the most famous of France ' cathedrals. The flying buttresses on the outside and on the inside the beautiful stained glass windows with the original glass of the twelfth century left an impression which will not be easily forgotten. Driving along the Left Bank with its picturesque book stalls you passed the court- yard of the Louvre Palace, now a museum of world famous works of art, among which you knew were the famous statue of Vetius di Milo and the Madonna of Leonardo da Vinci. You drove through the Place Bastille, site of the notorious prison which was torn down during the French Revolution, past the Opera House, and caught a glimpse of the Church of St. Mary Madeline which was planned by Napoleon as a temple to the glory of his armies, and patterned after Athen ' s Parthenon. Now your tour of Paris was drawing to a close. You drove up one of the twelve boulevards which begin with the twelve pointed star on which the Arch of Triumph is built. You stopped to view this world famous monument, built to perpetuate the glory of Napoleon ' s armies. At the Arch, the French parallel of our Unknown Soldier ' s Tomb, an eternal flame burns beneath the granite space upon which is recorded the great victories of France. To you it symbolized also the glory of Paris. Yes, you were impressed. Later when the sun went down in Paris, the lights came on and there to behold in all its neon splendor was Paris by night. Lido, Latin (hiarter, Moulin Rouge, Folies Begeres, Eve. The Blue Note. Caveaux Hniichettc, these are only a few of the night clubs and cabarets that have made Paris the city which lives by night. You saw the Apache dancers, the beautitul English girls at the Lido, the striptease artists at the Eve. Paris, you knew, h:ul c erything and you wanted to see it all in the short three days and nights tlie tour provided. You were content that you had when you returned l)y train to Marseilles and the MACON. k 1 1. l viUit Toulon is the oldest naval base in France. It had its beginning in the Sixteenth Century when Louis XII built a circular bastion known as the Grasse Tour to protect the Grande Jettee. It was known as Tholon and may still be seen at the base of the Grand Jettee. It was from Toulon that the Admiral Comte de Faing sailed to aid the Americans dm ing their Revolutionary War. Toulon is today France ' s chief naval port on the Mediterranean. It has ex- tensive port facilities and Has a popula- tion of about 125,000. It is a city of many industries including shipbuilding, lace making and other commercial industries. During World War II, in Noi ember of 1942, the French scuttled their fleet at anchor there to prevent its falling into German hands. Subsequent to this Toulon was severely bombed during the war until it was finally libcrnlcd in August of 1944. Surrounding the harbor of Toulon, both on the rocky beaches and above it on the rugged hills, are to lie found many picturesque villas. In the center of the city you found a large mimicipal auditorium where such leading French entertainers as Jacqueline Francoise are frequent guest stars. Yes, you were in France for your third and last visit. You ' d enjoyed France with its beautiful girls, cafe au lait, French pastries and fine cuisine, and Toulon was a pleasant stop before leaving France for the last time. LT J- E, Butler Meilical Oflicrr Louisville, Kentucky MEDICAL M DEPAF IB I Located on the third deck forward of the FIRST Divi- sion Compartment and aft of the Warrant Officer ' s Mess is MACON ' S hospital. With Dr. (LT) James E. Butler as Resident Surgeon, ably assisted by a well trained staff, we are capable of handling almost any medical emer- gency that might possibly arise. The M. CON is proud of her operating room which is one of the finest afloat. This operating room contains many pieces of the latest surgical equipment of which the Resuscitator, Anesthesia Machine and the X-ray Ma- chine are good examples. On this cruise we were lucky not to be required to use this equipment of which we are so proud, but ii was with a feeling of relief that we knew the latest surgical discoveries were known and would be used if necessary. Besides the operating room MACON has an up to date Sick Bay ward that will accommodate 25 pa- tients. Unlike the operating room the Sick Bay was used extensively for everything from pneumonia to broken legs. sID DENTAL MENTS Attached to the Sick Bay we have the pharmacy which has on hand for emergencies everything from the ever present APCs to the latest in medical research. The pharmacy is capable of conducting eleven different types of clinical tests. Another section of our medical department is the den- tal office with Dr. (LT) Maurice Westcott as officer in charge. We jokingly call this modern well equipped office the Bicuspid Repair Shop and the dental technicians who ply their trade with a flick of the wrist or a turn of the drill, Molar Menders, but we were all glad to have them, particularly when we had those sudden pains in the jaw that sent us running down to the dentist for aid. AM G,.,u. Jj, A, DT2 Newark. N. J. Ballslon Lake. N. Y. DENTAL DEPARTMENT POLENSA BAY Pollensa Bay is a fairly large bay in Mallorca, the largest of the four Spanish islands which make up the Balearic group off the coast of Spain. The steeply sloping brownish hills, sparcely covered by small bushes of the same dusty brown, gave no indication that this is one of the most popular vacation spots of the world, nor did the grey overcast sky, which was reflected by the greenish waters of the bay while you were there, suggest to you the wonderful clear summer days which draw tourists from every continent. On 1 March 1959 Task Force 24, which COM- SECONDFLT had brought over from the states, and Task Force 60 completed Exercise Big Deal and entered Pollensa Bay for a critique of the exercise and turnover by the carriers and many of the destroyers. In the early light of dawn and the majestic line of he ivies— MACON, ROOSEVELT, NORTHAMPTON, DES MOINES, FORRESTALsteamed into the bay and dropped anch- or, followed closely by the destroyers and auxiliary ships of both task forces. Soon the barges, gigs, and various types of boats from all the ships— carrying their men to and from conferences, visits, and probably a few joy rides— gave the impression of water bugs between the heavier masses of the ships. The massive FORRESTAL and ROOSEVELT; the ugly, unusual NORTHAMPTON; the familiar MISSISSI- NEWA and DES MOINES were surrounded by the de- stroyers, many of which were old friends but including the new units from the states. Leaving the fleet after two days, the MACON sailed at 1800, bound for BARCELONA. For many of you, the lasting impression of Pollensa Bay was the majesty of the United States Fleet. So many different types of ships so alike in everything but detail gave an impression of strength and unity and purpose which is not often seen. aiit ' ' ' ' but the feeling Is was still there. old Sixth Fleet , The Forrestal, mes by now so s — were headed n, back to that ■ home. There Barcelona lay t far off; spring best of all, the ' as past. It was This was the way you pulled into Barcelona. Not sad, but lonely. And what could have been a better port to cure you? The second largest city in Spain, it is as American as any European city could be. There are beautiful churches and parks, restaurants and night clubs, stores that had unbelievable arrays of anything you would want — and more, and of course the ever fasci- nating Spanish girls. Here you also made that very short and very costly telephone call back to the States — but it was worth every dollar! liiiiii ' liiiiii ii.id iiuuli t(i (illci .in iinc ivlici t.iiecl to Icxik. Tlu- (il is ninie llian ])1()1k1 oI ils iiislDiA, Kciausc it .is lioni lu-ir that Coluinhtis sailed to discoxcr the Xew W ' oild. Mil- old snlioii hasn ' t (handed imuli since liis da . and as a rnithfi ' leniindei ol liis dis(o eiies the most ini])iessi e sit;lu as on etitei the haihoi is a .yis anlii statue oL C.oliiiiilnis pointing to tlie sea. In diastir roiitiast to almost aniiei ' it hisioiv, licn e ei, .n e the lemnants ol an ei a slatted l) otie man — Ciatidi. lie huilt a ilnndi topped liv loiii spites and a Chiistmas ttce; buildings deioiated hv led and t ieen and ello - and oianoe tile; a wieid paik whidi leseinhles a laii tale iiioci hi cad hotise Avith a nitilti-( oloi ed liont lawn. Coming to en nioie model ii times, tlieie is the sniiw .i . on wliic h on lould lake a tide withoiil ,t;ettiiit; lost - a le.il almost inihe.ird of in I ' .osloiil rndoiiiited- ly the most impiessixc sit lit in liauilona, lio ' e ei, Avas the biilllit;ht. ' 1 his light was spiilig liaining loi the mat. idols, lull lor those wlio had ne ei seen the spectacle helore — and it is ,iii .mii iiiL; spect.ule — it Avas one ol the most fascinating sights in F.itKipe. There was nioic ' , too - the lloleio. ll.mieiKo d.incers. the R.mililas, ihi ' tiny l)ack streets. I he .dl Icll an impiession whiili will leniain longer ih.in that of almost any othei city. It as an excellent pott. BARCELONA ilfiiuilLi I.M ' ' -1 iHr ,JS i Depaittment CDR V. . . Operations Deparir Plympion. Mass, The Operations Department is the e es, ears and voice of the ship. Nearly all contact with the other ships of tlie fleet is made by this department — the air controllers directing a protective fighter cover, radio sending out a request for supplies, radar searching for enemy subs, tactical signals being delivered by flag hoist from the Signal Bridge — all are the Operations De- partment at work. The Combat Infonnation Center (CIC) is one half of Opera- tions, and is charged with the duty of gathering, displaying, in- terpreting and disseminating information. To do this men in the air conditioned darkness of CIC hunch over radar scopes, calling bearings and ranges to bogies or skunks while still other men, writing backwards, plot the targets on status boards. And ECM operators, in their shack on the Ol level, report electronic emis- sions from other contacts, at ranges greater than radar can reach. Officers and men standing over plotting boards draw their lines, measure off distances — and speak quickly into microphones, sometimes to the Captain on the Open Bridge, sometimes to others who are hunched over similar boards on other ships. Thus is the information gathered, displayed, interpreted and dissemi- nated to those who must know in order -that the MACON be at all times a fighting unit. F. C rcCra Mpcclive CIC Offic Norfolk. Virginia LT|f. I (, L,K,ra,e, III ssi Miii CIC Onkcr Wtsioii 93. Mass. iH I.TJG F. W .Moiil Coiiwsvilk. Pa. To the uninitisited, CIC looks about like an eight year old boy does to his grandmother — always squirming, always trying to go six differ- ent directions at the same time; babbling inces- santly (and often incomprehensibly) , forever asking questions, never anything but loud and noisy. In summer he runs all the faster and gets too hot — in winter he revels in becoming as cold as f ossible. Slo vly the antits of CIC become less confused and more meaningful. Rotating from job to job for a few eeks makes each duty come alive to you. When the radar scope operator yells to you the ranges and bearings of ten skunks every min- ute, it ' s plenty hectic! You move on to the sur- face plot, where you mark the positions of the ships detected by radar on a big piece of plexi- glass. This job doesn ' t look hard, either, until the P. O. says that to do it properly you have to stand behind the board and Write backwards! Finally you are taught to read a radar scope, and then vou ' re a real radarman. The other half of Operations is Communica- tions. hich is concerned with information which usually does not reqirire such rajiid handling. Here are the men who time the radios and use patch panels to connect the transmitters and re- ceivers to the microphones used in GIC, on the Bridge and in Flag Plot. But Radio also handles , the l e .lL;cs wliiih mo c in an inicnding stream lo and hoin the ship. Not radar scopes Ijut the teletype machines dominate radio, copying the lleet broadcasts which give us nearly all of our incoming messages. And there is the endless dot- dash of the radio operators sending and receiving Morse code. Here the classified messages are brok- en out of their code, and then written up. Dupli- cated messages are collected by the messengers and routed to the people who must see them. A voice from the squawk box suddcnlv shfJut W e ' re getting a loud Ijackground scjiieal and in- terference on circuit 2, and you know you are in Radio Central. The supervisor miuters some- thing under liis breath ( vhich can ' t be cjuotcd here), pushes down the button and says, We ' ll check it. Then he calls Radio II, where the transmitter man is standing his watch, and tells him to check bra o. In this case the transmit- ter man is lucky, for he can stay in II to do it, rather than having to dash up to Radio IV. He tries to find the trouble — unsuccessfidly — and then calls Radio T, -where the supcr isor calls Combat and asks them to try it again. As the supervisor tells Combat that the trans- mitter is fine on circuit 4 and that it is properly connected to the antenna, the messenger comes in with a board full of messages which all the officers concerned have seen. Then he picks up the copies of the messages which have accumu- lated in the time he has been gone, and starts again on his unending rounds of the ship. Mean- while the signalmen are watching for the blink- ing call-up from ships in company, or issuing a tactical signal from COMCRUDIV-2 by hoisting signal flags. This is Communications — writing up mes- sages, checking the FOX (Fleet Broadcast), send- ing out messages, setting up freqs, logging and filing — and trying to get Combat to turn down the volume on that circuit 4 receiver so they won ' t get feedback and then blame it on them. CIC and Communications are, together, the Operations Department; the eyes, ears and voice of the USS MACON. tNS I w, n.Hi Regisieicii Pubs C.. i Memphis, Teiin, LT|r. R F Maic Diviiion Olfic CWO G. F. Ml. 0£ Division JO Cjiiibritlge -12. Nr.iM ™ DIVISION ,ni£lwxmff ' r II _ MM liiiiliriiilV. V: ll..l.l K... AUi. IJimi.KKl, Cm k-k m VKiL. | nle R | .. l iLcii. K. I. Gul.lsboro, N C Ci Willim.iniu. Cunn. l ' hil...lfl|.hi.i. Pel Ream, D E RDSN :, PM of New York. N. Scotl. M.t L, RD3 SA SN FInrirl;,, N V Sipoj. W- G-. Ir. SN M mJK BtK Kl W..II, Ronald R, Wyadl.iinl. J M RDSN RDSN Highlind. California Hubbardson. Mass, g| Olloui. F- A. RD2 Long Island Ciiy. N, Y. Rodgers. D F- SN Momgomery, Ala. Sloddct, W. F. SN Canlon. Penn. Tapia, J.. Jr. RD3 Elmhiml. N. Y. Hl 1 rrl Lr ft ' ' - . M ' ■ • DIVISION C inbrKlgc. (ai mm MM CbrI;, J.■ u■ L RMS Nonh Tonawimda. N. V. ' n, f«- . s ith Bronx, N Y. Johnson. Hilary F. SN Hvi!e Patk. Mass- r( [.lh.n1. RMSN- Bhgliion, Mas Soiiung Edward N, Huntingion Siaiion, L, I„ N. Y, Clie uinc W M Svr.ieuse 9, N, Y- OR DIVISION Gditheiibuig, Md, Deljiuiiic, lo OS l)nn,...i Oil,, New York. N V. ThoTiiciile, Mj! OS DIVISION Bergenfield. N J Detroit 15. M.th Husion, A R l Jl Ji Chelsea. Mass. R hn. R H SA Pittsburgh 36. Pen ,. ■X i-t ' J -- V ' ' u-:g: e S fe 8 S jT m litattUl ' ou ' cl steamed an intricate course through the Aegean Sea, catching tleeting ghnipses ol the many Grecian is- lands so famiUar to the modern world through history and legend. Then xou saw land ahead and a mile-wide seawa) ' . Ahead on oin- left ■as Euiopean Tini;e . on yom- right was Asian Tinl;e and di iding these two, the famous and strategic Dardenelles. When you ' d trans- ited the Dardenelles and arri ed in the Sea of Maiiuaya you observed, from your jjort side observation platform, a mosque filled skyline. ' Sou knew Istanbul was a modern city but yom- first glimpses of the city ' s monimients, )xdaces, mosques and public baths confirmed ()in- sus- picion that it was still evocative of the Legendary East. Istatihul. the largest city of Turkey so rich in historic and artistic resources and offering such a beautifid di- versity, natural or otlierwise, is a city where East has met West for centuries and the only city in the world astride two continents. IsldirlniVs diverse history dates back to the Ninth C en- tiiry B.C. The Myarians lollowed the advice of the Oracle of l)(lj)lu. and in 658 B.C. built a city which was named B z(iiiliiiin. Because ol its strategic location the (iiv l(c- (anie the oijjett ol nunicroLis attacks and invasions. Tlie (ity then began a tng-ol-war between combating em- ])ires; lirst it was the I ' osiint Kiihj Dniiiis who dominated the city in ortler to light the Scythians; and then, in Liter )ears. the city became the cause ol conflict between Alliens and Spmla. Ii was i)esiegetl by I ' liiliji i Maii ' - (li.tna in . ' WD X.., and then lell into (he hands ol ,J ( ' . - audc) Ihr C,if il. When By--a)itiinn became the capital of the Ranuni Empire on 1 1 May 330 A.D., it was renamed Constanti- nople after the Emperor, and when the Einpire was split in two it became the capital of the East Roman (Bv an- tine) Empire. Constantinople was plagued with sieges and attempted sieges for centuries, but even increased lortifications and walls tlid not prevent the e entual Moslem seizure in 069 A.D. The Crusaders passeci through the city during the Eleventh and Twelfth Cen- tinies and with a fleet assembled in Venice dining the Eourth Crusade Istanbtd was taken in 1203. Latin King- doms were established and Istanbtd was largely destroyed. The Otloinan Turl;.s began a two-century attempt to seize Constantinople, and were finally successfid in 1-153, at which time Sultan Mehmet made Istanbul the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The city grew into tire greatest centei of art, cidture learning and commerce in the Islam- ic leiirld. Istanbul remained imder the ride of the Sultans until 1921! when Kemal Atatuih, Turkey ' s great leader, led a quiet revolution of westernization which swept away many of the old laws and customs. Ankara became the capital of Turkey and Constantinople became Istan- bul, the name by which we know the city toda . Today the revolution continues to produce strange parado.xes; modern trucks speeding past plodding hamals (men who carry great loads on their backs); modern buildings near ancient market blocks; the business man in his Cadillac anil the ]jeasant on his donkey. 1 he ship had passed the Golden Horn, a famous inlet on the European side of the Bosporous, which was so named in ancient times because it curves like the horns of a bull and glitters like gold under the setting sun. The Golden Horn is spanned by the Galnta and Ataturk Bridges which link the two main districts of the city — Old Istanbid and Beyogli, both of hich are situ- ated on the European side. The ship had aiuhoied in the entrance of the Bos|)i)ion ,, the 17-niile long strait ol water which separates the two parts of; Turkey and joins the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea. Hardly had yoii anchored before the bum boats had come out to take a look. ou also took a look over the port side and yoiu ' ie v •as dominated by th2 Dobnnbachr Palnic. This beautiful stnuiuie is one of the royal residences whiih adorn l:)oth shores of ilie ilos- porf)us. Later, when ytyi were inxiletl I | lj)iir ihe eililid . vnu loiuul .1 mixed architeclSu-al style ancl ' int ' Pit cl cofayVn (.1 por- phry, crystal, and othe||such precious materia Crossing the Golden |-Iorn by way of the J |I fe- Bi iTlgp you were in the district knowli lodav as Istanbiij whicTiconsiituted in the old days the vital core out of which the city grew. It is here nu found the ' old iiioiiunifnls—Byzniitine, Otioindu-pdl- aces. ki ishs, cimrclies and ini sques. The Mosque of Sultan Ahmet, or Blue Mosque as it is better known, you fpuiid to be the most beautiful. It is the only one in the world Vf minarets. Constructed between KiOO and 1616 it is a nTCTslei ece of Turkish architecture. The ad- jecti-.e blue comes from the priceless, colored tilework that adorns the interior. Yo.u ' d shown your respect by removing your shoes before eiUerhiffj Lhl mosque and hearing the strange re- ligious chants. ||us f)ii ' t this beautiful mosque you found the Fountain ofSttltan Ahitiet, built in 1712. This graceful foiui- tain is one of the Jasi, specimens of the Turkish |ococo st le. ' ' m caught gliii the Mosque of Suleima the M.ignifi- cent, ihe Hippodt lfr f Museum of Tuikish antfl ' Isl uiiic Vrt. Then QU)}ft; m the Comi|iei(ii1 ii i of tlie oM lrh The street endois hid evcilv waje ' uul nou ve e the Vi k with mone to buy the copp£|i bi jdiid ij ' ir l ' J tV«Wil l mg the capitd | ri« cntei of c ominMAl lflc ol le OtHmiarrl mpire has been equipped i uli t pic djWiVija il uj a - ' f T cjiflM 1 us. One ol tipn is tl C.i md 11 i rf! G(pisisr||Liii )vei 30(5(1 shops clusteied Mflp niMc uid iiaiicf ' t cW | 4fig ,ifie iT )ussion of a hbyimtll Hie ' ' }i ' I Viyh.t-| Ci, i ' iKi ii!lW,iifa 2. meic mtile potpouin of L d() cu ijj 4i e chTrs ' Ssll ;gii|l n su- - ' ' - ' - x ' l(i i ' - ' ' ' ■ KMUtl ul.tjjrg- l K d IS titS,V.( |til,f % spected loi t|ie ini i bargains oiicl This () 1; consti Lic ked Empt iiiK o later aiKL as f The edi,fice vfas con _ _„ after the - COAquest of l ' ? fflH ' % fil ' % WiP and Vis m ide a public museum when Turkey became a republic. The Santa Sophia is remarkable for its harmony of structure, exquisite dec- orations, and splendid mural mosaics representing Christ, the Virgin Mary, Justinian, Constantine and others. When you sailed back down through the Dardenelles xou left Istanbul and its mosques behind but you kept with you the memories of the mysterious city xvhere East meets AV ' est. pOt W ' ' During tliis deployment to the Mediterranean the MACON served as flagship for Commander Cruiser Di- vision TWO, Rear Admiral Laivson P. Ramagc. He was assisted by a staff of nine officers and 47 enlisted men. The roles of the Cruiser Division Commander in the Sixth Fleet are many and varied. One of the most im- portant is Chairman of tlie Sixth Fleet Air Defense Committee, charged with providing leadership in de- veloping better Air Defense tactics and techniques, a most challenging job in this age of supersonic aircraft and guided missiles. In connection with fleet Air De- fense, great emphasis was placed on Electronic Counter- measiues. COMCRVDIV TWO was also concerned with surface and sub-surface operations as well as Air Defense. Acting as a surface raider, COMCRUDIV TWO commanded units of destroyers and the MACON and conducted sim- ulated attacks on attack carrier striking groups. As Of- ficer in Tactical Command, he commanded a fast at- tack carrier striking group. Again serving as Officer in Tactical Command he conducted several large scale fleet replenishments, during which the Sixth Fleet proved that it can remain at sea for an indefinite period of time, independent ot Mediterranean land bases and ports. The (.luticb ol the Cruiser Division Commander were not entirely seagoing, however. Each time the MACON entered a liberty port COMCRUDIV TWO was the Senior Officer Present Afloat (SOPA). As SOPA, he assumed such administrative tasks as regidating uniforms, liberty and shore patrol. Whenever other USN ships were in the same port COMCRUDIV TWO conducted personnel and material inspections to see that required standards were being maintained. Exchanges of official visits with senior nn ' litary and government officials were made in each port and COM- CRUDIV TWO with the MACON officers often served as hosts at luncheons, dinners, and receptions, thus im- plementing the People to People i rogram. Many new friends were made in addition to renewing old acquaint- ances. Upon departure from the Mediterranean COMCRU- DIV TWO and the MACON can look back upon an eventful six months deployment during which time they helped to strengthen the peace of the world. Anclioragc. Alaska :! n Hi.rlescr. L. 11. C.„„,,l,tll, 1 . E Mill Ml Jnhiiion C;ily. Tenn. lUllilelie.i.. I ' .c m m LA G I V I S I O N E New 0 f..i l. V.i liMinklui 7, N V. H.mon. f ■■]■■ Hv.itisxille. M.l Poc.iiclio. I L.|i.i M Z.„„1,.,U,. Philippii ' r; J f i a|dtlteAc.geati Kiir liiui [;I()i ii)Lis (Li s ve ihixailed our •a ihiougli ihc oolden ishuuK (il ilic loiiiini ami Ac ' cin Sens cinoiue to Istimli ' il. Risine; like gokkii migt ets liDiii the Ijlue Mcdilei laiicrni tlicse i les seenud to last a spell upon us . . . akin, perhaps, to the Siren ' s song heaul 1) I ' lx.s.sfs antl his noble band. There was Coifii. and lliiiiii. the home ol I ' h sses ivlien he liegan his aihenturous od s- se thai iiu hided liie W ' .iis ol Troy. Ihe t.iU A hile dills ol (. ' (;  • Ddiikiiln. I.iinlh reniinisteiu ol the thalk ilills ol I)o ei. biouglit to mind liie .iiuient legend ol the l.eui .iili.ni I.e.ip. ihe .iii(ieiil (.leek ( 111 e lor lo esic kness. From these ( I ills on ihe a c ( I .r hii . Siij)l)liii. the supreme poetess ol the Greeks, being enainomed b ' PIiiK ii. and linding her lo e scorneil. hurkxl hersell inio the sea aller writing: If dfulh iceif ii In, on. llic all-lntu-awirj, ( ' iiih iciilild hd.-c ( Iki.uii il tiillic) llidit lift ' . When on s.iw ihe Peloponnessiaii IViiiiisul.i it w.is noi dilli- (iill to eiuision I ' .iiis ol o emiiarkiiig li om these shoies with the be.nililiil Ikleii. wile ol [enel.lus, King ol Spait.i. elen. • liosf lnMut I. nine In il a ihoiis.ind ships liom Ciiei i.ni shoies to iv.ii on iio . pio idi(l Homer with ihe m.iteiial loi his epi(s di.it li.i e iiispiifd us lor t eiu -se en (enturies. { ' ..in ou loiget l i li) . liie liiiv isle in the C.ychidrs? It was heie that l.elo ga e biilh to Ajfolh,. god ol light, ol the Miises, of be.iiilv .Mid ol he.iling and his twin Artemis, goddess ol (h.isiii . ihe piotei tiess ol ouiig m.iideiis. In ihe Till ( en I in beloi c ( In isi this is], Old w.is the leligious ceiitei ol .ill Ionia. K ei loui e.iis tin- Alheni.nis sent ,i deleg.ition to be.ii gilts .iiul s.ki dices. K en (,i] il.il punishment w.is sus])eiuled in Alliens uniil the deleg.ition retuined lioiii Delos. It w.is this iistom th.il e. lined Suiales sexei.il mole d.i s ol liie. Do ou remember the bright mornina; the twill suinmits of Skyrus came into vie v? It :is the l)irilipl.ice of Theseus, who carried out the union ol many Attic-communities into a sini le state and extended the territory of Atiica to the Isthmus of Corinth. It was here that Arhillcs. legendary hero of the Trojan Wars, was placed by his mother among the maidens of Kiinj; Ly- (oincdi ' s so that the sinister warning of the Oracle at Delphi might not come to pass. It was here that Ulysses released him from his bondage to join the armies of Menelaus before the walls of Troy. The magnificenf acropolis We strained our e es as we scanned the plains of Troy at the entrance to the Dardenelles, in hope that we might see the ruins of ancient Troy that lay about Si , miles off our starboard bow. Here on this very beach, after ten long years of fruitless siege, the Greeks left their Tro- jan Horse. Thinking it to be an offering. to the gods, the Trojans rolled it into the city and cele- brated the lifting of the siege. Then, in the quiet- ness of the night, while Troy lay in stupor, the Greeks stole forth from the belly of the horse, swimg wide the city gates to the fleet that had returned, and Troy was sacked and burned. Truly, this was a land ol legend and of histoiy. All about us tlie phantoms ol ages Past crowded into the Present. There were times when our ship ot steel almost seemed to become a Grecian galley as we lelt oursehes a part ot some mysterious magic. ATHENS Atlii )i . another u ' t ol jjaradox, trownetl our Argciin atlventiire. it was a giay Aud laiiiy moining in Phaeleron Bay on the seiond ol Apiil. I ' irtieiis -was only a fuel stop but the t-aptain helped us make the most ol it. Three luuuhed siioui; we iiowded ashore into waiting busses to go to Atluns, goldiii tit ol a gokien age. It was no disappnintiiieiu. 1 he iii,igi( was not gone. You lelt as il ou weie ni anoiliei age when sou asceniletl the steps to the A(iopo|is. Da zliuL; be oiul cnn poor jioweis to dcs(iilie. il w.is .j|i c as notliing iiianiman- ou h,ni ever seen (ouUI Ij -. l-. en in its ])iestiu si.uc ol p.ulial Itiin as .1 lesull ol tiirliau (aniiou.ide selling oil a [iiikish powdei iiiat;.i ine in lliS7, it is still L;nainess pel sonil ieil. The gieai gate a ■ liie l ' ij lc(i -- thiough which lan the S.uied Wa to llie I ' m lliriiini : ihe !■ i r, li llicuii) ill vvhiili si, Hues ol (.i((_k maidens act as sup|ioiiing (ohimiis to the i . lol ol ilie em losed poi i h: I he niiiiiaHn e temple ol i lon. lei oiisirui ted in llic I ' hh ienUir , a lilittciint; gem; all (.l.issical C.ieek .11 its best - about l. )(i H,C:. In the (,nl,lri, .l;u- nj I ' rtiilr.. Do ou leineiiibel llie iiilnais leelilii; ol leluclaiuc v ilhiii ou as We l(;ll AiIkiis to letiiiii 10 ihe ship ' - It was alinosi as il ihe i ' leseiil had losi iis 1 liaiin .... lost it 10 the golden m.iL;i( ol centuries past whose tintist is still ali c in the iials ol cjur age. PALACE GUARD Cltapl|ifti Aetintiy ' Pause, if you will, you who must fashion the futuic-pause and look again in your minds ' eye- hack adoss the length and hieadth and timclessncss ot this greatest of inland seas; to Mare Nost- riun, whiih has hut recently been your six-montli home and habitation. In the lands to the east and south of this inhind sea, recorded history tells us man made his first impact upon the planet Earth. Here our religious laitli and heritage took on new me.uung. In this Hasin the ancient Hebrew prophets led their people to a new vision and understand- ing ot the nature of Cxod. This was the seaway over which jomiKved the phalanxes of Alexander, stalking f:, ) ' ? and destiny, giving to the Aferf terra?(r(i;( iror i . its only common tongue, Cireh. which Ijccame the language of Peter and Paul. Here all of us, Protest, ml . Cdtholir and Jeiu, found common groimd in the beginnings of our faith. Hoc our diversity ol worship lound new expression as in our Present we sought our God of the Kutine as did our spiritual forebears in the Past. This was the blue highway across which roamed the Iickks who sought .nid lound ilie treas- ures of Saiiunkinid and the Hind; of the Nile and li -inili inn : ol Cele ,incl Cnldiieini. Hcic loved the mariners of Sliali and Snllan; King and Caliph: Emperor and Doge. Scarcely a league of this sea but has seen its moment of glory and despair, honor and shame; scarcely a league but whose battle-la.shed currents have left their watermark on the pages of history. But there is a paradox too. Here, also, traveled Peter and Paiil-ihc vanguard of a great host to follow -.1 host who man bed not with .sword and sail bm in the (ompaiiv ol the Spnil of llie .Man jioin Sa ' jiielli. who captured the hearts of men with a more enduring Power. Your acts and expressions of worship pictured in these pages-your deeds of kindness to the homeless and helpless who cros,sed our path-Are voin- eyes yet clouded, or does your vision pierce the ha e? Can you see, ])erhaps. . . OFFICER ' S DQU CALL ifc ■; SB l U Sighted dead ahead one April morning just o££ the southern end of Sicily was a Idrge sand-colored limestone island with sand-colored buildings. This — all 95 square miles of its gravel-covered soil — was Malla. Malta ' s present status as a part of the Bjitish Cuiiiinou- wealth is of historical significance. Malta, because of its strategic location, bears record of the many ci iii ations of which it has been a part. Megalitliiorfiemiiins aliound, so)iie of which you saw near St. Paul ' s Cdllirdrtil jn Mdina. ., m Maltese history began in I IQQ-B.C when the PjToene- cians settled in the islands. Then followed successive oc- cupations by the Greeks, C athaginians, and Romans.Jt was here that St. Paul was shipwrecked and remained or nearly three months. Malta later was luider the rule of the Knights of Malta to whonfKing Charles ' of Spain gave the island in 1530. The Knights tinned the archi- pelago into a fortified stronghold of Christendom. A great many chinches, monasteries, palaces and forts are a record of their occupation. - Your first impression was that the churches definitely outnumbered theatres. There are over 300 churches in Malta, or ajsproximately one for every 1000 of the popu- lation. In the towns as well as in the outlying villages, the parish church is the focus and center of community life, arid the annual fiestas are religious instead of social affairs. Many of these, fine churches and other buildings have been rebuilt following the most unrelenting aerial at- tacks ' of anv p lace in the world. From 1940 through jL 45 Malta was bombed Brcilessly over 2000 times by ' i xis airpLiaa ' ffiiese simple island-folk probably under- -Itood littt of the Hemisphere strategy which Malta figured in th ' Sir s well iiow. But these people had an indomi- table courage which earned for the entire population of falta the George Cross. His Majesty, King George VI of England, wrote to the Governor of Malta in 1942: To honor her brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta, to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that xuill long he famous in history. - -f r r r If MALTA i These words are recorded on a plaque in the palace in Valetta, Malta ' s caoital city, which you saw on the hills which towered over your ship lying at anchor in Valetta ' s Grand Harbor. Surrounding you were public buildings and ancient forts in Valetta and Vittoriosa. Some of these forts, such as H.M.S. ST. ANGE- LO, serve as part of the British Shore Establishment. The Limeys had units of their Mediterranean fleet in the Grand Harbor and you obtained a new aware- ness of the naval strength of your tea and rum sailor cousins. Here, too, as in Gibraltar, you came face to face, literally, with the unnerving British left-hand traffic which practice, coupled with the taxi-driver ' s philoso- phical abandonment, made every ride a navigator ' s nightmare — though some- what sobering in effect. For those who had the oppor- tunity of visiting some of the cathedrals on the island, the beauty of the interiors; murals, stained-glass windows and sta- tuary, more than compensated for the drab sand-colored exter- iors. Most notable of these chinches, St. Johns Cathedral at Mosta, has the world ' s third larg- est unsupported dome, with mu- rals that lea e one in awe. ' ( u learneil that this beaiuiful church was built i)y Maltese la- bor and faltese materials ' — that not a Maltese pounil was spont in iis construction. And at Mdina, the ancient capital of Malta, you were in an atmos- phere of qidet antiquity within the walls that enclosed ancient buildings and the beaiuilid .St Paul ' s Cathedral. Of coinsc you must not foigct the major reason for your isit. It was in Malta, along with units from the Greek, French, Italian, Turkish and British Fleets that you observed the lOth anni er- sary of the North .Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was as if all of Malta ' s former masters had re- turned to pay hcimage to the Is- land Fortress it was dining World War II and still is today. Your pride swelled just a little as you sailed from Malta, salut- ing the various national anthems and visiting warships, for you knew that you also were a part of the modern history of Malta, the island which serves as the Headquarters, . 1 1 i e d F o r c e s Mediterranean. D S T I N G GUESTS S H E D Italian Official Visits. Ji 1 f • s iBv li m , T f hh i Spanish Officials Receive a formal greetinc COR Sfierman explains the fine points of gunnery. Ta anti One of the four major naval bases in Italy, Taranto, in the instep of the Italian Boot, forms the southern anchorage for Italy ' s fleet. Taranto is an ancient city built by the Greeks: Prosperity and hixnrv grew from a thriving trade until, in wars with the Romans, it lost its independence. From 209 B.C., onward, there was a rapid succession of rulers— Romans, Byzan- tines and the Saracens, who finally destroyed it completely in 927 A.D. It later became a part of the Norman Kingdom in Southern Italy, until in 1861 it was incorporated into the Italian Kingdom. A torpedo base was established there in the years that followed providing the beginning of what has grown mto a first class naval base. Once Taranto ' s harbor was filled with the Italian fleet, proud sliips that formed a formidable Navy. But that was before World War II, before the British bombers from the carrier ILLUSTRIOUS flew over the Italian fleet, apparently quite safe in the harbor, and turned Taranto ' s harbor into a flaming mass of sinking ships. This disaster inflicted on the Italian Navy by the British planes broke the back of Italian sea power in only a few hours. The city itsel[ is l)uill cm a rocky tongue ot lanil lii( h ' ,c|ia- laies the ancient inner haii)(ii, Mar Picolo,from the oiiler hai- bor, Mar Grande. Standino out among the other binklings is the castle you observed immediately upon enteiing the outer iKiibcir. Tliis was biuU in the dciailc Ironi 1 i ' M) to 1300 and gives the ajjpcaraiice of inipregnabih ' ix . ' ro(hi) it ser cs as tiie icsidenie ot the Ciovcinor. ' i ' oii hked ihe wide, sun-sphislied cur e nl the Suaila ' ' ittorio Enianiiele, I lie lieautiltd jiromenade along liie waterfront, . long this thi e tlie Itorse-drawn carriages and)le and the European sporls cars — die Fiats, the Reiiaidts and ihe Volkswagens — speed. The Pia . a della VittDila Mill possesses much of its chann wiih its parks all filled with spiiiig flowers. Xearby you b c) ed through busy shops and conkhrt resist spending you. Italian lira in this pictiires(|iie old il . M Do you remember how you anticipated that tour to Rome? The Ancients had a saying See Rome and die. It was as il to say that when you had seen Rome you had seen everything. Well, this trip turned out to be the real thing. The first thing that struck you when you rame into the city was the paradoxical construction of it. The major portion, and you seem always to be siaprised at this fact, is as thoroughly modern as a city-dweller coidd wish. Modern buildings, well-paved streets, with streetcars and buses and autcjs merging into traKic jams as satisfactorily as any to be found in Boston or New York. The sidewalks weie teeming with people winclowsho]jping before excellent stores and simps, lift just as you were comparing some Roman Corso with the doAvntown section of your favorite city, there would ap])ear a square or a plaza with some incredibly ancient building or monument standing between the marble glitter and sleek glass of a modern department store and the undistinguished stolidity of an It.dian bank buildiirg. The contr.ist was conl using and lemained so until you learned to locus upon the old world and to filler out the new. . ncient Rome did not suUer from the comparison with the modern city. c en in its ercxled and rebuilt state. Too, uKjst ol the ancient edifices had been strip[)ed ot the marble and staiuary which had origin.dly adorned their stone work, yet the structures reciuired little imagination to restore them to their original glory. First, there was the magnificent Cloliseinn, and nu were pretty eager to stand in that might stadium and trv to pictiue the l)loody scenes of carnage and m.ir- trvclom which had been its feature attraction in .uuient Rome. Later wlien you looked .it the gaiuU colunnis and arches of the l ' ounn, the Past came crowding in upon ou sluuting out the I ' useiU. () er there in that pla a that seems to gle.im again in marble ]jei lee lion. vas brought the liodv of |ulius Caesar. If vou listened c loselv vou could still hear the echoes o[ M.irk Anlhonv ' s luuei.d oration, We ha e come not to praise Caesar, but to hui him. Here victoiious C:aes,u luid lome to claim his lamels. Here he had p.uaded the iaptinx ' cl wealth and i()iu|uerc(l peoples of a do en piiuces who had resisted his legions. Here a do en emperois h.id procl.iimed their strength or li.icl wornedlv tested the lebellious | ulse ol ilie ui.nrin-the-street. . vanished now. but the stietches ol the Foi urn .ne peopled with the liosts th.it still stroll its liistorv- haiinted square. Kverywiiere in ihe old ciiv weie the signs ol ilir (lioiough-going total war of the Goths and llic Huns who o eii,iii Rome in llie . ' .ill Clenturv in .1 lui of destruction lli.u ii ,iled llie lax ,i-l)oi ne doom ol Pompeii. The Circus Maximus, scene of many Ben Hur type chariot races, is but a glade-Hke valley; the once tremend- ous spread of the Paths of Caracalla have become a ast ruin of towering walls and crumbling gymnasiums; yet, you can ride across an original ' old bridge over the Tiber near the spot whtre Horatius defended a more famous span. The Temple of Vesta, still in excellent condition, bears the soot markings from its eternal fire. You still marveled at the expanse of the palaces on the Palatine Hill. Here in the square of the Capitoline Hill )ou saw the famed statue of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius astride a mighty steed whose strength and grace have been cap- tured in frozen bronze. When you entered the Church of St. Peter-in-Chains, you were probably inclined to ignore the rest of the interior, for here there was one item that captured your attention— Michelangelo ' s Moses. The awesome per- fection of this stern-browed figure— a wrathful father re- buking his errant children— impelled you, like the artist, to minnur Speak! Even to the most iiidilfcrently religious-minded, the churches of Rome, ail of ihem eclipsed by the Basilica of St. Peter, constitute one of the great impressions of a lifetime. The senses are hushed in the silence on behold- ing these results of the combined efforts of a hundred artists, a thousand artisans, who labored lifetimes upon these unparalleled tributes to religious ideals. Strange, indeed, it seemed, that this scene of Christianity ' s greatest persecution should have become one of its greatest si inces of itality. In riding back along the . ppi.ui Way to Naples, tiviiig to sort out the mixed emotions that had been aroused within you, you had just about enough curiosity remain- ing to ponder, briefly, the sentinel-like forms of medieval watch towers— standing a weary vigil. But for what? You couldn ' t fathom it then, except maybe for a feeling that they seemed to be waiting patiently for a glory that would not pass this way again. uiitiiiir iiiuiiiir nmu NAPLES AND Gap III Early in th ' ainmnint; on the 29th of April ivc :niived in the Rav of Naples. It was quite a si ' _;ht. (iapii, lite leE endai island ol the Siicns. stcjod like a silent sentinel on oin vt.iihoaid l)t;ini. S vathed in hanks nl loucK wiyh her peak reaching up to hea :en, smoking Vesuvius brooded silently. The homes on the ascending hills that rose sliarply from the bay looked like coloiful touch shells from the distaiKc. llic (iu looketl good lor another leason. loo. Idiis : as our last port ol (.dl belore chopp ' ing lor home. You remenibd oin liist libertx? ' ou sallied thiDugh the gates fronr the sanc- tuary of the landing into a gestining gainnlet ol some lunidred f)dd local charac- ters: peddlers, pickpockets, hawkers and hatkmcn; salesmen and shortchangers; guides and gyps-all atiempting to sell, sivap or steal— on the basis of dollars, lire, or cigarettes — through the medium ol hcjller, h.iggle, and hand- v.i ing— an inexhairstible sti n k ol cimeos. br.iieleis. je el boxes, atthes. rings, postc.irds. and souvenirs— a ll singing about oii in a ( lamoring se.i of salesmanship through which you plowid ,i lesohiie (oiiise, lea ing a wake ol cheap ic elr , stain, iiy, and niiscellau]@(uis briiabrac. Did your eye flicker inadvertantly to some item thrust under your nose? Shipmate, you were a customer. And woe to him who would squeamishly weaken and hesitate before walking over some enterprising individual who planted himself directly in your path with the winning I giva you gooda price. You probably found yourself later, looking mournfully over a mountainous stack of carved woodwork and conch shell lamps— and an empty pocketbook. Of course, there were the roving escort— Joes, the pilot fish who attached themselves to your party, at a strole or a jog, and unasked became a combination guide, in- terpreter-appraiser who would not be denied. Eventually, perhaps, you could rid yourself of his services; then, and only then, could you pause to catch your second wind and begin to look at Naples. Now, these characters— well, perhaps, it wasn ' t quite that bad, but you couldn ' t recall a more enthusiastic reception committee since we arrived in the Med. Hub of Naples, so far as most of us were concerned, was that glassed, canopied expanse of the Gallery of Umberto. The arcade formed an excellent landmark from which to launch further travels into the city. You will probably recall Naples best as the jumpoff point for several other tours. From here you could avail yourself of the MACON ' s well arranged tours to Rome, Vesuvius, Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri. Primary objective on your itinerary was the crator of Vesuvius, reached by bus or taxi and the funicular, Italian moimtain cablecar. Vesuvius itself, with the origi- nal cone sleeping silently to one side, was impressive in its brooding somnolence, and perhaps like no other single Italian item inspired a hearty respect— along with a fer- vent thanks for the lack of such a natural pressure cooker simmering in our own backyard. From the summit was the most magnificent view of the sweeping crescent of the Bay of Naples that could be seen anywhere. It was a panorama you will never forget. ; : i.%ilal: v Suda Bay u.s.s. MACON OrPh n Pa t ' eS • CARTAGENA, SPAIN • CANNES, FRANCE • BARCELONA, SPAIN - :l A TWO WEEK RESERVE OFFICER CRUISE MACON SAYS FAREWELL TO RETIRING CWO SIMKO ' • ' i«- .iJ FaMiireW °™ Mediteuoiieaii As we left the gateway to the Mediterranean, fond memories of Europe were carried with us. TO BE REMEMBERED ALWAYS NORFOLK, VIRGINIA 29 MAY 1959 U.S.S. MACON RETURNS FROM MED BOSTON - HOME AT LAST I lTi. - STT - A ' ■ ' .I •t 1 ? 0=23 crr rs IGMltafl -CC. ' ' Ai-. 46 r . HOME Muwuf Captain Wylie welcomed home by his wife. Fifiat Wnd It lias been lett to the Cruise Book Officer to say the final word. Our task has been to chronicle by word and picture the months of this Mediterranean Cruise .... to confine within these covers a part of your life that you will long remember. And, if, in the years to come, this book recalls to mind the part you played in a crucial age; and cements the friend- ship with shipmates who made your jour- ney glad; and helps you recapture once again the magic of our Mediterranean Adventure. — ' tSi This will crown our task. It is fitting that here we pay tribute to those men who have made possible this book. Our thanks must go to Ensign Richard Hahn and Ensign Da niel Hardt, the editors of the book, whose creative talent and arduous labor are in every page; to the boys in PIO and the Chap- lain ' s Office who gave long hours in copy preparation and handling the thankless tasks of business management; to Mr. Richard Burton of the Tiffany Publishing Company for so generously giving us the benefit of his talent and vast experience in book designing; and last bin by no means least, to the men in the photo lab who endured the demands that were laid upon them and delivered the goods that make up the book. To thase, and others in lesser degree, must go all the credit for this book. Ralph W. Below