Robert H McCard (DD 822) - Naval Cruise Book

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Hey, Chief! I i A grim note was struck when we were sent to tr to pick up a pilot whose plane had Y landed on the Midway and then skidded over the side. All we could find was a green dye marker and a couple of wing tanks which we finally sank with gunfire. The beautiful weather which had followed us out from Oran pulled a quick change on the afternoon of February and the seas got heavier by the hour. About 2000 a large wave hit us -if Th Aj.. . '2,.L'v-4-,g 'F' , V. 7 ss. lin: H4-' . .- W .li turned the Deck Force to and alter Eve difl of furious work the First Lieutenant was util- hed that the ship was again the belt lookin! destroyer in DesLant. Fleet exercises were coming up and the McCard sorued Ollt of Oran on january 27th to 'oin a task group for a week of ASW, forma- J tion maneuvers, and drone Bring-during which the McCard shot better than anyone else, naturally. Stand by to receive Guard Mail Looking for a downed pilot. ,-f ig., .0 I on the starboard side and receded after having pwrted the forward guy of the whaleboal. ri med off a ventilator. torn up stanchions on Pl the boat deck, knocked off a torpedo ready locker welded to the main deck and left thc ship covered with potatoes ripped loose from the 0l level. The Mctiard was given permission to leave the screen and steam downwind while the Deck Force, Torpedomen. and Shipfitters did their best to straighten things out. That

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I.. .,,.A ,g DEPAR 1- M if ef? 9 igfiia Q , axe: e ?!ixA5l'- 5 '-Q W 0 6' 574 rss 0? more destroyers. Taking the southerly route past Bermuda we managed to avoid rough as weather-for a little while. Then the seas got rougher and every day the word came from the car- rier SEAS HEAVY X CANCEL ALL AIR OPS FOR TODAY. Life on board wasn't particular- ly pleasant for anybody and it was especially uncomfortable for the large number of boots who hadnyt Ye' gomm their Sea legs USOlllCOllC'S rocking my dreamboatf' -and even some of the old hands who seemed to have lost theirs temporarily. Most of the below decks spaces were damp and uncom- fortable, Chief Davidson's Chowburners did their best but couldn't turn out too much on the tilting galley ranges, and everyones hair grew long when Reggi's Napoli Barber Shoppe had to close down for hve days due to rough weather. But no matter what the ship has to .have fuel and the Deck Force, wearing safety lines along with their lifejackets, got covered with oil as they manhandled lines across from the tanker and forced the leaky stovepipes into the fueling trunks. Then, suddenly, there was Gibraltar and the sideboys were snapping to as various top brass came across the bow to greet Admiral Earle. The liberty parties bought a lot of Rolls Razors and, in between beers, tried to hgure out how the British hid all the big guns that Gibraltar the world's biggest fortress. But Gibraltar was just a brief-stop and on the morning of january 23rd we again got underway for an overnight trip across to Oran in French Algeria. YVC were all impressed at how large and modern the city was and everyone got a chance to stare at a real A-rab . Chief Blackman, Palmer, and Paul all After fueling Station Present Harms! ! !

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night everyone had a hard time sleeping as the ship made 28 knots into the wind to rejoin the task group for the entrance into Augusta Bay. No one was really impressed by Augusta Bay although various tours gave us a chance to see other parts of Sicily. A program of inter- divisional softball games was started and helped to make up for the almost non-existent liberty. Our run down to Malta took only eight hours on February 7th and we moored to buoys in Sliema Creek. Everyone felt as if we were on a light cruiser when we compared the size of the McCard with the British destroyers and frigates in the harbor. Twelve days of liberty wasn't too hard to take and nearly all of us went on one of the tours which explored var- ious sights on the famous island. All the New Englanders in the crew felt good about seeing a part of the world that was even rockier than their home states and all the officers felt good after the parties in the wardrooms of the various British ships in the harbor. The ship was host to about a hundred Limev sailors who came aboard for chow and the movies and assured everyone that the Royal Navy never had it so good. The ofiicers never got it so good as when the first class PO's challenged them to a soft- ball game and made up for disapproved chits by slaughtering the Brass 22 to 8. Towards the end of our Malta visit we moved over to a drydock where our sonar dome, somehow damaged on the trip across, was re- placed and all hands treated to the delightful experience of having to hike over to heads on the pier. Finally, on the afternoon of February lflth, the work was done and we were underway for the Riviera! None of us can forget our stay in the tiny Principality of Monaco. Since we were the only ship in the harbor liberty was just like a big ship's party with the Ali-Baba, Cassanova, Cafe f ,I I, tl