New Jersey (BB 62) - Naval Cruise Book

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region of the Western Hemisphere to become known to the old world will long remain with the crew of the New Iersey. Many of the men, during their sightseeing, saw the first cathed- ral built by the Spanish in the New World and the tomb of Columbus which lies within. The Alcazar de Colon, or Columbus Castle, con- structed during the years 1510-1515 was the residence of the Columbus family for many years. Other points of interest were the statue of Christopher Columbus and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Dominican Republic. Many of the athletic facilities of the city were made available to the men of the New lersey. Ball teams had the opportunity of play- ing against teams of their Caribbean neigh- bors, providing fine exhibitions for the crowds that came to watch. hh 3 Most everyone whovisited the city spent some of his time shopping in the Mercado-, or central market place of the city. Here they mingled with the people of the city and had an opportunity to learn of a culture and cus- toms quite different from their own. - The Dominican Republic was the first for- eign land to be visited by the New Iersey in 1955 and was only the beginning of a long list of important and interesting countries and cities to which the crew were destined to travel in the months to come.

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if iiwlmi On February 14, 1955, the New jersey steamed into Ciudad Trujillo, capital of the Dominican Republic, for a two day visit during its training voyage in Caribbean waters. Generallisimo Doctor Rafael Leonidas Tru- jillo Molina, head of state, and the President of the Republic, General Hector B. Trujillo Molina, paid a visit to the ship upon arrival and were greeted by a 21 gun salute, honor guard, and traditional ruftles and flourishes. The visit- ing dignitaries spent an hour aboard inspect- ing various parts of the ship and the Marine Guard assembled in their honor. The follow- ing day a reception was given for the officers of the New lersey at the Naval Base in Ciudad Trujillo. The Dominican Republic is one of the two countries on the island of I-lispanola, which Christopher Colurnbus discovered on his first voyage in 1492. The thrill of visiting the first

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w H1 At 1800 ,on Friday, 8 April l955, one long note on the bugle was heard over the llVlC system aboard the New lersey indicating that the first starboard line was secure to the pier at the Basin in Mayport, Florida. The ship had completed a five day operating cruise from Norfolk, during which time we had as our guests fifty boy scouts from the Atlanta, Geor- gia, Area Boy Scout Council and six cadets from the Pennsylvania Military College of Chester, Pennsylvania. Along with the New Iersey in the Mayport Basin over this Easter weekend were the USS Worcester CCL-1443, the USS Bush CDD-873D and two submarines, the USS Burfish and the USS Tigrone. Open house was held at the Basin over the weekend and Saturday saw approximately l2,000 people at the base, 7,000 of whom passed over the quarterdeck of the New ler- sey. Easter Sunday brought an even greater attendance, 20,000 people visited the base and of that number approximately ll,000 visited this battleship. Along with our many other visitors was Mr. W. B. Franke, Under Secre- tary of the Navy who came aboard for an in- formal inspection tour. On both days, the Navy Blue Angels, flying t 't l x it '43-,L 'x