Antares (AK 258) - Naval Cruise Book

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SO LONG U. S. A. by Fa.omAN We bade farewell to Norfolk, Va. the city of peace and contentment, with expectations of a pleasant cru1se.- Our thoughts were soon diminished as C. A. SMITH, SN on the starboard anchor dropped the hook as ordered by BOSN HARRIS. The fog had entrapped us. The special anchor detail stood grimly by and drank coffee made by D. D. THOMPSON, SN. The detail was secured in the wee hours of the morn and we started once more into the vast Atlantic. All Went well for the first few days, all we had to do was put up with the pipes of Boatswain fMates MIZEN, BM3 and BUNYAN, BM3 and their continued supply of jobs they had on hand for us. Then it happened, that dreaded sickness which predominates in the Navy took firm hold of the ship. From the lowest seaman apprentice to the chiefs, sea- sickness took its toll. Many a man took his turn over the bulwark. W. H. HUTCHINSON, SA, J . K. WADE, PN1, C. J. LIMANNI, CS1, and C. P. GIOVANNINI, FN were among the many seen with green faces and hands stuifed with saltine crackers. A few highlights of the storm which prevailed was the shambles it made. of the mess deck. MAA E. G-. NEARY, BM1 and his mess cooks R. A. BARNET, SN and C. W. MILLER, SA didn't like it one bit and resolved it would never happen again - and it never did. Another instance of the severity of the storm took place one night when it seemed everything was breaking loose. The men tossed from side to side not sleeping much at all and it was said that a few people had actually fallen off their racks and onto the deck. LCDR GRAY can confirm this. Everyone came out in fair shape. After the storm had subsided the crew once more settled down to a life lead by the BOSN pipe. Also it should be remembered was the futile attempt by STAUFFER and his trumpet to rouse the crew for reveille. That soon ended and cry by STORY, BM2, - UP ALL HANDS sweep down fore and aft was soon impressed on the minds of all. To pass the monotony of the cruise, kind hearted Boatswain Mates like O'CONN OR, BM2 kept the deck division on the go with plenty of sweeping and scrubbing downs. A continuous chime from the snipes was that of standing so many watches but whenever one was to be found for work to be done, just go to his rack and there he would be in solemn sleep. The watches proved to be exciting for some men. SUTTON managed to find a new mountain in the Atlantic Ocean. Putting duty first he reported this phenomenon to JOOD ENS SMITH. ENS SMITH never confirmed the mountain but SUTTON believes he did see it. The charts on the next cruise may be altered to include Mount SUTTON.

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Men on night watches on the bridge managed to develop an appetite. Rolls and candy were eaten but jam was forbidden after a prominent person almost put his foot in a can of Jam. Murphy and Clarke were always hungry. Of course many of the old salty seaman took the trip in the stride, many a day would go by when you would see J. SIMMONS, SN, MORRISON, BM3, or ANDERSON, SN in a corner shining his boots with that gleam of expectation of the liberty to come in their eyes. Always an added interest to the cruise would be the bull sessions held every once in a while. Commonly seen in the center of such a group would be some- body like Farmer, EM3, or Thomason, SN telling of some old sea story. Bill Price and his violin along with Charlie Williams and G. T. Sammons with their guitar and mandolin respec- tively supplied us with many a happy hour with songs from the south. The only contact with the outside world was the ship's newspaper, pub- lished by our radiomen. The name of the paper changed everyday. The first name was The AN TARES Apparition, next the Blue Streak and so on. The Sunday edition was known as the SCORPION. Chief HYNUM spent a good deal of his time assembling the news and drawing the cartoons. Thanks must be given to C. JOHNSON, RM1, WALSH, and McLEOD for copying the news. The lights of Augusta were soon to be seen on the horizon and the men anticipating liberty, began in earnest to shine their shoes. One of the highlights of the trip was the competitions in the parlorgames held each successive night. The winners in the tournament received cigarettes, presented at quarters by Captain HAN SEN. Pinochle Winners included C. CARTER 8z C. J. LIMANNI and checkers by THEVEN IN. Augusta and Casablanca were the ports where mail was waiting for the ship. JONES received 26 letters in one day. The rest of the crew were content with four or five. TERNES was busy bringing the mail aboard and taking the crew's letters to the post oilice. He was as welcome as Santa Claus when he returned with a bag full of mail. f-AXX 1 gx Kill...- I WONDER IF CRACKERS WOULD HELP BUTTERCUP?