Capricornus (AKA 57) - Naval Cruise Book

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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.

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THE U. S. S. CAPRICORNUS

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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