Arkansas (BB 33) - Naval Cruise Book

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':X.A:x1X.1X:XJX.. - v Js.AJxJ vie, ,X and down the coast with every gun blazing almost continuously. New twist to the Arkyas adventures was a considerable number of Nazi prisoners she picked up from one of our destroyers who, in turn, had acquired them from a landing Craft. They trooped aboard, bedraggled, dirty and obviously happy to be out of the war. YVe cleaned them up, x 1x1x1x1x 1x1x1 1x1 5 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv fed them, and later landed them at a port where they were taken off to a prison Camp. The prisoners were interesting, as were the various ports the Arky visited, but as this is being written, the unanimous and most immediate in- terest of all hands is a new type of invasion -- the invasion of a port in the U.S.A. CHURCH FOR THE GERMAN PRISONERS t k,x,x yJx,x,g, x1x1x4x1x x1x1 x1x1 x4x1 Qvvvvvvvvvvwvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

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fi .3 xl ,. if 'Q . if ,Z ii 2 iii 4 l , Q .F 'i ,. V il i i . E 2 3 1 . 4 ,A ,, t Jx lx 1x1g1x1x 1x1 vvvvvvwvvwr-wwvwvvvvvvvvvvvwvv-vwvvvvw li V.-.ef in-.1 fauna-my-nv ,mm-v. ,inxwwvn unc. ,wsu zszwnaa. 2 1-.A-may -' jGhSrEu1wv-Q 5: vaus.,,,',-, -1' COMMENTS OF OUR COMMAND june 77, 7944. Commander Assault Force desires me to express to ships of fire support orce in his Task Group his appreciation for and gratification with the assistance rendered by them ef- fecting the beach landings. To the above I add a Well Done to all hands. A ADMIRAL KIRK. june 25, 7944. Though badly handicapped by poor spotting conditions ashore and serious threaten- ing by efficient enemy batteries, you gave a fine performance of greatest value to the Army at a crucial time. All ships did their full duty. Well done! ADMIRAL DEYO. june 30, 7944. I send to you, all your oflicers and men my heartiest congratulations on the record you have made in this theater. The accuracy and power of your gunfire support made a decisive contribution to the initial assault and the advance inland. The bold and violent attack upon the Oherbourg defenses was a fitting climax toyour visit to France. It has been an honor to command such ships as yours, and in your future operations I can wish you no better luck than that will to uphold the standards you have set in the Battle of Normandy. ADMIRAL KIRK. August 6, 7944. My heartiest congratulations to you and your entire organization for your splendid achievement to date and my best wishes for your continued success. ADMIRAL STARK. August 77, 7944. Successful assigned initial phasesa' of operation have been made possible by excellent performance of duty in actual operation by all concerned. Well Done! We must now bend every effort to land follow-up troops and supplies with maximum rapidity and support ad- vance of Army. The gunnery perfection of BatDivFive produced the heavy punch which assisted materially in breaking the crust. The firing of your command refiects great credit upon the Naval Service. To you and your command a Bon Voyage. ADMIRAL HEWITT. September 5, 7944. We are on our way home after a job well done. When you go on your well earned leave relax and enjoy yourselves to the utmost but don't boast and donit broadcast any information of a technical nature. While these invasions have given us plenty of action let no one belittle the escorting of troop convoys by ships of BatDiv 5. The battle of the Atlantic has really been a battle. You not only saw to it that the troops got safely across the Atlantic but you saw to it that they were landed safely in enemy held territory. That is a record of which we all can be justly proud. After our overhaul there will be more for us to do. The Germans are nearly out of the picture. With the help of BatDiv 5 the Japs will be eliminated. ADMIRAL BRYANT. sk V-,Av v v - - - Y - - v Y v v - v v - - v v v , v - v Js.A.f.1svlXv1s.AvA.1v:K.A.1wx:- JN., -k 58 , vvvvvvv 'A'