Mount Olympus (AGC 8) - Naval Cruise Book

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1-us ExcEu.sNcY, me unmao smres Mumsmn 'ro ICELAND, comes ABOARD REYKJAVIK , ICELAND THEN CAME THE STORM. MR. E.B. LAWSON AND RADM. ROSE I I V ' , 1 L' . jim y,fy.vsNg'. ,,,., -. ,A.......M!'

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Q- :QQ f 1 tag' .fpbv :Q K , -Xl - . A - .llwmva if f O 0 o O O Fl? . ?f, 51 in g w M? gf 3 October . . . After a rough, cold four-day trip from Oslo, we dropped the hook at 0900 just outside the breakwater which forms Reykjavik's harbor and under a bright sun which lit Iceland's snow-dusted mountains. Of Iceland's capricious weather we soon were to learn more. Lusty winds made peacoats and gloves welcome to the liberty party, who found the small city crowded. The Althing, Iceland's Par- liament, was in session. Prices were extremely high, the girls very pretty and the men noncommittal. To avoid any possibility of a clash with the city's expand- ed population, liberty expired early at 2300 on the dock. 6 October . . . , On Saturday - 4 Oct. - sudden high winds caused cancellation of boating, and Reykjavik could not accommodate the 130 stranded men of the liberty party who waited in the cold wind. Most were without money, so . . . After it became ap- parent that boating could not be resumed at all during the night, the Shore Pa- trol Oflicer contacted the Air Police at Keflavik Air Force Base, about 35 miles from Reykjavik, and requested assistance. The Air Force went to work and two and one-half hours later busses arrived. We were on our way on the bumpy, narrow, and in places almost impassable road. Rain and wild Icelandic driving - all horn and no brakes - made the trip harrowing for those who could not sleep. Arriving at the base, we found the buildings we were to occupy, popularly known as Hassel's Castle or that old red Quonset on Operations Hill , cold and too small to take us all. We were finally housed in the Air Force hotel, some of us thankful for even a warm spot on the deck on which to stretch out. Sunday it was learned that the ship had dragged anchor in the high winds and was required to get underway and ride out the storm at sea. After learning this, the Air Force decked out their new gym with 130 completely equipped beds, and the Red Cross furnished toilet articles. We were then free to visit the clubs or movies. or hit the hay. Informed that the ship would return Monday at 0800, we held reveille at 0430 and b 0600 were on our wa back to Re k'avik H so fx Y Y Y J - Making sure all personnel were safely on board, we heaved sighs of relief at being U back on the Mount O , for there wasn't a , 5.f man jack of us who wanted to be left ashore in Iceland. 'nsi fn, . . a erson, r. Gu Q 0060 6October.FyE g F S P tt J ri Admiral Rose left this morning to fly to Naples to join the planning staff. Soon after, ,,, ,, .. . . g. .... the Mount ..0,f gOt under way for the Med- ll . W A W s A s iterraneang first stop will be Augusta Bay, Sicily, then on to Naples.

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Underway For the Mediterranean 6October... With Iceland dropping astern beneath cold grey skies, we headed south to- ward Gibraltar and the warmer climes of the Mediterranean. Of our forthcoming operation, Exercise LONG STEP, we will touch three continents--Europeg Africa, at Bone, Algeriag and Asia, at Istanbul, Turkey--if present tentative plans are not changed. Our first port in the Med will be Augusta, Sicily, where we ex- pect to arrive 16 October and stay until the 20th. There we will reprovision and take on a few marines of the landing force and some of their equipment. 12 October . . . ' Today dawned bright and sunny, and Chaplain Lindeman took advantage of the favorable weather to hold an impressive service on the veranda as we steamed through the Straits of Gibraltar, with Spain and the Rock to port and Africa to starboard. Gibraltar doesn't look as we had expected it to, but we soon learned that the familiar view in the insurance ads is that seen from the mainland, not the seaward side. There is much shipping converging on the straits--merchantmen, liners and warships--and we have been in sight of other vessels all day. On the trip from Iceland, no ships were sighted. The warm sun has attracted both sun bathers and camera hounds topside, and general amazement and satisfaction is expressed by hands new to the Med at the change in climate since passing the straits. All day the coasts of Spain and Africa have been visible. 13 October . . . Our good weather continues as we sail along the North African coast, always in sight of both land and other ships. Some tiny swallows landed aboard today, so tired they could be picked up off the deck. The ship is being made spic-and- span for our entry into Augusta Bay. 15 October . . . We are a little ahead of schedule, so our course has shifted slightly north- ward, bringing us late this afternoon in sight of the islands off the west cape of Sicily. We are now off the south coast of Sicily and shore lights can be seen. 16 October . . . We sailed through the breakwater into Augusta Bay this morning and an- chored in the midst of a great fleet of U.S. Naval ships of all types. These are some of the ships which will participate in LONG STEP. To the north, cloud-crowned and misty in the distance, is the smoking cone of Mount Etna, Sicily's famous vol- cano. Sicily and its off-lying islands were colonized in the fifth century before Christ by the Greeks, and later became Roman colonies. Much of the action of the Punic Wars took place around Sicily, and the islands were the home of many mythological characters--the Cyclops, Scylla and Charybdis, the Sirens, and Vulcan, Greek God of fire. 15