Mississippi (CGN 40) - Naval Cruise Book

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ODYSSEY if A cold, clean and starry night in Decemben somewhere south of Sicily Near midnight, as the Mississippi steamed east toward a rendez- vous off Lebanon, a Ma yda y call came crack- ling over the radio. The Greek merchant vessel Andalusia, with seventeen men on board, was taking water and sinking. The Mississippi quickly came to thirty knots and headed for the stricken ship, as Cap- tain Ta ylor's voice over the announcing system woke the crew and brought them to their neces- sary stations for the rescue effort ahead. By two a.m., we were alongside the sinking freighten and moments later her grateful crew was being hauled aboard by Mississippi men. The cause of the flooding was unknown, and with a cargo of cement, the Andalusia might go down at any moment. Throughout the night and into the dawn both Greek and American crewmembers watched the little freighter as she slowly slid deeper into the sea. Finally five hours after her crew was safely removed, the Andalusia ga ve up her battle, and with a rush of waten she dropped out of sight and was gone. 1 .MA 17

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II. ODYSSEY THE CYCLOPS On the way home, OdySSeuS Bild his men stopped for food and drink at the land of the Cyclopes. The Cyclopes were a race of uncivilized giants with a single eye in the center of their foreheads. Odysseus and twelve men brought food and wine to visit the cave of Polyphemus, the Cyclops. Upon arriving, he was not there, so they walked in to wait for him. Soon the Cyclops returned from tending his flocks, closed the door to his cave and built a fire. Seeing Odysseus and his sailors, he promptly picked up two of the men, killed them, and ate them for dinner, uentrails, flesh, and the ma.rrowy bones alike. The next morning, after consuming two more men for breakfast, the Cyclops left to tend his herds, and locked the survivors in the cave. During that day Odysseus had his men cut off a portion of the giant's walking stick, sharpen it, and harden it in the fire. In the evening the Cyclops devoured two more men, but became drunk when Odysseus gave him a jug of wine. Odysseus, when asked, told the Cyclops that his name was Nobody When the monster fell asleep, Odysseus and his remaining men heated the pointed stick in the fire and then thrust it into the Cyclops ' eye, blinding him. He cried out in pain, yelling: Nobody is hurting me! The next morning, Odysseus and his men stole out of the cave by hiding beneath the sheep as they walked out past their blinded master. As their ships sailed away, Odysseus in his pride yelled to the Cyclops that it was Odysseus, not Nobody, who blinded him. The Cyclops, furious, prayed to his father, Poseidon, the god of the sea, to destroy Odysseus. Poseidon brought storms and disasters upon Odysseus and his men, and his rage made their voyage home even more treacherous. fu 16 f X

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rn in New Bedford. Mas- C tain Taylor was bo Eilfsetts on December 22, 1935. He graduated IZII11 the U.S. Naval Academy in June of 1960. He then joined the USS ABBOT CDD-6292 in Newport, Rhode Island and served as Main Pro- t'l pulsion Assistant, and Engineer' Officer uni March 1963. Duty aboard ABBOT included oper- d ean with ations in the Artic and Me iterran , CENTO Forces in the Indian Ocean and partici- pation in the Cuban missile crisis and quaran- tine operations. Subsequent assignments in the Surface Nuclear Power Program included lead- ing EOOW and Assistant to the Engineer for Training at the D1G Prototype in West Milton. New York. In 1966, he was assigned as Engineer Officer, USS HOEL IDDG-132 out of San Diego and participated in Northern SAR and gunline operations in Southeast Asia. In 1967 he was selected as a Navy Olmsted Scholar. This tour included studies at the De- fense Language Institute, Institute of Political Studies at the University of Grenoble in France, and the American University in Washington, D.C. He was awarded a French Diplome d'Etat with distinction and a Master of Arts in Interna- tional Studies. Captain Taylor then assumed duties as Main Propulsion Assistant, USS ENTERPRISE ICVN- 651, an assignment which included nuclear refu- eling and subsequent deployment to Southeast Asia and to the Indian Ocean. In 1972 he report- ed to the USS HALSEY KCG-231 Precommission- ing Unit in San Diego and subsequently partici- pated in HALSEY'S commissioning in Bath, Maine and deployment of the Pacific. Duty in HALSEY included implementation of the first shipwide Combat Systems organization. He then served in Washington, D.C. as Head, Surface Nuclear Power Branch and Head, Naval Reac- tors Branch in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Captain Taylor assumed command of the USS SEMMESIDDG-181 in 1978 and deployed to the Mediterranean when he was ordered to com- mand of USS MISSISSIPPI ICGN-401. JaE:PSL3lflsyI3fr: married to the former Mary ewport News, Virginia, and they have two sons, Raynor and Andrew, ' .J Captain Ra nor A. K. Taylor , if ,Mi 5 5 A in f . F -i .e 5, - sf . g e g ' 1 42 '- s ki 3' ' A 5 i 'Y , ff' rg Q Q, ' 1,-gg: 3 -w 5 . L AQ .nfs X, E 1, 'E C l -' f- It Q I M K . y i I f , , 4 '- Q 'gifs N K . SS X Q W S . , x ssh X MQQS. . -5 . C - - Q9 I gets, 18 .. N-if S' at M . , I C , Xb'