Macon (CA 132) - Naval Cruise Book

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1011 II113.-I1C1 SHS Operation lnland Seas seems likely to be recorded in peacetime Naval annals as an exercise in the realm of the spectacular. Or- iginally conceived to celebrate and dramatize the opening of the Binational St. Lawrence Seaway project, an event of historic signif- icance for both Canadian and American com- merce, the inland cruise of Task Force 47 exceeded its planners' most optimistic hopes and expectations. The cruise to The Lakes opened the heartland of America to major combatant vessels, enhanced understanding of the modern Navy's mission in a land-locked and still widely-skeptical Mid-West, and won for the Navy national notoriety and wide- spread public interest and acclaim. But if the presence of the inland fleet had an impact upon the hundreds of thou- sands who turned out to watch its movements and visit its component ships, the generosity and almost unbelievable enthusiasm of these citizens made an equal impression on the officers and men-the saltiest veterans as well as the fuzz-cheeked youngsters-who witnes- sed it. Many openly admitted fhat seven weeks in the Lakes had represented the sum- mut of adventure and excitement of their career experience. From our point of view, which more neutral observers have subsequently sub- stantiated, the lakeside citizenry focussed their curious attention on the majestic MACON, whose size and sleek grace were unequalled by other members of the force. And just as MACON overshadowed the Task Force, so the activities and skills of its ebullient, acid-tongued, fiery, and proud skip- per, Captain I. C. Wylie, dominated the ac- complishments of other participants. Fittingly, the first and last pictures of this section catch this haughty seaman in familar poses. ln the following pages we have tried to recapture pictorially both the highlights of and the spirit or atmosphere of this seaway safari. From the pomp and formality of every official visit to the abandoned gaiety of the countless parties and dances, from the anxious, tense navigation through tube-like passages to the carnival aura generated by the crowds of visitors in each port, both the occasionally intense anguish and the ample pleasure of this adventure are represented below. We leave to each of you the task to fill from your own vivid recollections of those weeks any inadvertent gaps in this flashback to the summer of l959. 9

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First Port of Call- Quebec 1 Q Hull flu iw l Qin I -an IO