Capricornus (AKA 57) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 70 of the 1957 volume:

I i THE U. S. S. CAPRICORNUS A Salute to the Cappy Salute to a Ship ! Salute to a ship that worked and fought all over the far-reaching extremities of the Pacific as a front line warrior in the U.S. Navy. Wherever the Cappy went she did her best - and her best was so good that she earned four battle stars for slugging it out with the Japs on Okinawa and in the Philippines. Mostly the Cappy was a behind the lines worker, delivering her cargo where it would do the most good. She was good at this too. So good that she earned a record of battletorn Leyte Gulf for discharging cargo. Launched in Oakland, California, in 1943, the Cappy is named for the constellation Capricornus. When her crew came aboard, they de- cided on a shorter, more fitting name - and thus was born the Scrappy Cappy. Decommissioned after the war, the Cappy came back into service in 1950. A peacetime operating schedule - new to the Scrappy Cappy - followed her recommissioning. She sailed the Eastern sea- board on reserve cruises, training cruises, gunnery shoots, and many and varied independent ship exercises. Every day brought new train- ing, every week new ports, and every year a new Commanding Officer. The Cappy again proved herself worthy of her reputation, when, while steaming from Portland, Maine, to Norfolk, in November 1955, an urgent radio message sent her swiftly to the assistance of the burn- ing USS Searcher (YAGR-4). Upon reaching the scene, rescue parties from the Cappy boarded the stricken vessel and fought the flames for five hours, battling the reflashing fires with foam solution. Her fires smothered, and her firerooms and amidships section charred black, the crippled Searcher was taken in tow by the Cappy and led into New York. The skillful seamanship and prompt action of her crew earned the Cappy a richly -deserved Well Done from Commander Eastern Sea Frontier. After distinguishing herself in 1956 as being the first foreign warship to visit the new Republic of Morocco, the Cappy walked off with one of the highest grades given a PhibLant ship during the refresher train- ing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Spring of 1957 saw the Cappy headed for the Med, and five months of exercises and good liberty. In Naples, the crew met their adopted daughter, Carmelina Russo, and threw a whale of a party for her - so strengthening the President ' s People to People program, and earning for herself another Well Done. Now, under the tutelage of her new skipper, Captain Don W. Wul- zen, the Cappy is carrying on her proud tradition of getting there the fastest with the mostest. NORFOLK MOREHEAD CITY, N. C RHODES PIRAEUS, GREECE CARTAGENA, SPAIN PORTO SCUDO, SARDINIA CANNES, FRANCE PORTO SCUDO, SARDINIA NAPLES, ITALY VALENCIA, SPAIN PIRAEUS, GREECE TARANTO, ITALY GIBRALTAR MOREHEAD CITY, N. C NORFOLK T. H. MORTON, Commanding Officer D. B. PATTON, Jr., Executive Officer OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT The operations department is the eyes, ears, and voice of the ship. Here is the brain of the ship, with nerve centers in CIC, Radio, and the Signal Bridge. LCDR. LEE S. BARTON Operations Officer NEWS FROM HOME NAVIGATION DEPARTMENT The Navigator makes sure we get to the right places at the right time. The stars are his signposts, and his road maps come from the hydrographic office. He ' s the man you ask how long ; how far ; and , which way is Norfolk. LTJG DON MARTIN, Navigator Bali Hai ? . . . THE GRANDEUR THAT WAS GREECE. ' DEVOURING TIMH. THAT MAKETH DUST OF MAN ' S GREATEST ASPIRATIONS. . . TUMBLING DOWN THE EDIHCE OF HIS PRIDE LEAVING NAUGHT BUT BROKEN STONE AND DANK AIR OF ANCIENT LORE. . . 11 . . .AND GHOSTS OF THOUGHTS THAT ONCE WERE LAW, AND GODS WHOSE MUTE ORATIONS SHAPED THE COURSE OF CIVILIZATIONS, A FAREWELL TO GREATNESS, THEN. THAT ONCE WAS. . . AND NOW IS ONLY A COLD. COLD MEMORY. 12 i ' ' THE QUEEN ' S GUARDS ' HUP, TWO, THREE, FOUR. - ' ' H H H i i HB ' :. H 13 WHICH TWIN HAS THE TONI? SOCRATES AND FRIENDS HAVE BOAT WILL TRAVEL 14 THE ANICENT WORLD LOOKS DOWN ON MODERN ATHENS TWO WAYS OF ENJOYING THE SCENERY 15 QUIET RESPITE ON RHODES ST. SOPHIA ' S ORPHAN ' S PARTY COLISEUM OF RHODES 16 DRIVE-IN THEATER. . .200 B.C. O.K., WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS? 17 Buiaa EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES THIS IS WHAT IS KNOWN AS PUTTING YOUR FOOT IN IT? TO THE VICTORS. . . WHAT ' S ELVIS GOT, THAT I HAVEN ' T? TEMPLE OF THESEUS TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS 19 Land the landing force --and the deck department goes into ac- tion, offloading our main arma- ment --the boats. Aside from the boats, the deck force keeps the exterior of the ship nice and shiny, cares for the ground tackle and mooring lines, and operates the booms and winches that enable our ship to do her job. [no_smoking_ They chip the paint; and fire the guns; and run the boats; and make life miserable for the shore patrol. 20 21 22 23 24 SPAIN CRAZY MAN CRAZY FATHER SEBASTIAN AND CREW 26 TWO LITTLE GIRLS IN WHITE CONGRATULATIONS -- .- BUDWEISER AND BULL FIGHTS IN OLD BARCELONA 27 LIBERTY CALL EYES FRONT 28 ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT LTJG William G. Hine, Engineering Officer Low water in number one boiler! A cry rings out in the depths of the ship, and is all but lost in the pocketa. pocketa, pocketa of the machinery. Our highly trained snipes fly into action and quickly restore the casually with their trusty bailing wire and chewing gum. The chief engineer returns shakily to his rack, and his trusty snipes to their posts --and the great ship plods on imperturbably. 29 ■ !■■ ■ III! 33 MONTE CARLO MES AMI, PLACE YOUR BETS. IS GRACE HOME? 34 ' - viaS tt li . THE PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO 35 AH PARIS! 1 36 1 r ON THE RIVIERA 37 38 SUPPLY DEPARTMENT Grocer, baker, department store, ship supply center, purser -- these are the many facets of the supply department. If you want it -- they ' ve got it -- barrels of it! Lt. JOSEPH SHISKO, Supply Officer 1 • ,1 4 - YOU CAN GET IT WHOLESALE AT SHIPS STORE, BUDDY. 39 40 - , 1 ' • dm. u; ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME 41 42 THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN. k 1 43 SIGHTS OF ROME 44 ALONG THE APPIAN WAY IN THE COLLISSEUM , ' f T •? 45 OUR ADOPTED DAUGHTER . CARMELINA RUSSO 46 There is nothing that gladdens the heart so much as the sight of a child ' s happy face on Christmas Day. One little girl ' s Christmas was made brighter this year thanks to her 260 fathers, whose love and generosity brought her Christmas joy from 4,000 miles across the sea. The little girl I ' m talking about is Carmela Russo, a seven year old Italian child, and her 260 fathers--the men of the Capri- cornus. 47 Carmelina ' s happy Christmas was made possible by a $100 check from the crew of the Capri - cornus, which financed a carload of gifts --along with a Christmas tree and all the trimmings. Brown-eyed Carmelina received toys and clothing, a nd her brothers and sisters were delighted with new coats and jackets. However, Mother Russo was more enthused about the gifts of bedding and staples. 48 Carmelina, who was adopted through the Foster Parents Plan, Inc., lives with her mother, two sisters, and two brothers in a single ground floor room in the little town of Guigliano, near Naples. Prior to the child ' s adoption, Carmelina ' s widowed mother tried to make ends meet by doing wash- ing and farm work, which earned her a bare twenty -five dollars a month. Now, thanks to the Capricornus, Carmelina is assured of food, cloth- ing, schooling, and specific med- ical care, while the family gets a monthly cash grant, and much more- -the knowledge that some- one cares and wants to help. 49 U.S. NAVY 93.03474 Carmelina was Queen of the Cappy one day last July, when the Capricornus was in Naples with elements of the Sixth Fleet. She and her family were wel- comed aboard in the morning by Captain Morton, were taken on a grand tour of the home of her foster fathers. 50 Carmelina and Captain Morton hit it off well together from the start. . . .and Chief Love too. 51 ALL AHEAD FULL ' 52 After touring the iip, Carme- lina was esconed below to the mess hall where a beautiful white birth- day cake in the form of a merry- go-round topped with swan figures awaited her. 53 54 After the cake and ice cream, presents were handed out- -dolls and food from the crew, and clothes donated by kind people in the States. Carmelina was the main recipient, naturally, but there were gifts for each member of the family ranging from toys and tee shirts to mufflers and mit- tens. With everyone feeling pleasantly satisfied after a sumptuous dinner of roast ham and the trimmings, the family was delightfully enter- tained by a special showing of Walt Disney ' s Lady and The Tramp. At day ' s end Carmelina and her loved ones returned home, but left behind many fond memories in the hearts of her foster fathers. It is a comfortable feeling for the men of the Capricornus to know, that wherever they may go, some- where in the world, a small child ' s prayers go with them. 55 MEDICAL DEPARTMENT The medical department, under the able tutelage of Doc White, cures all our ills in the trueHippocratic tradition. Everything from simple hangover to the Black Death is quickly healed through the skillful administration of two APC tablets. Lt. WILLIAM H. WHITE, Medical Officer THE OPERATION WAS A SUCCESS 56 57 58 CAPTAIN, U.S.N. , ARRIVING ' 59 HIT THE BEACH ' m: «! RESPITE- 60 ASHORE FOR AN AFTERNOON BEACH PARTY . . . AND ON INTO THE NIGHT THE PRIDE OF THE SECOND ARMY 61 m- 1 -tt jr,- V. ' i il mm ■ 7 i ; ■ ;: ' ■ yv • •• y ' ■• ' , ' .1 :: -a ' ■ % - x •v W iV. ;, ■ ' ■ ■. V I ... ,. V ■ .:i ;iK ' ' .OV