Colahan (DD 658) - Naval Cruise Book

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The Prnebes get ready to shove off we RE Sune Gemma.- A Loi- oe BOOTTS Aaomzb 1 P dv A ship s crew IS an ever changlng face Thus was especially true of the Colahan Recalled to active duty by the Korean war the ma jorlty of her crew were R serves For a good many of them returning to the States meant re turning to clvlllan llfe Each day the quarterdeck was the scene of goodbyes as those that were stay lng saw off those that were leav :ng These were tense quiet af fairs that consisted mainly of a few words C Good luck see ya J a handshake and then a flnal wave of the hand as the boat pulled away from the shlp After all what do you say to a person that you dont really know and that ninety nlne trmes out of a hundred you will never see agaln Gther portions of the crew dns as leaves went into effect New faces started appearing A pnle of freshly scrubbed creamy white sea bags stacked near the quarterdeck became a familiar sught Empty bunks started fllllng up as the klds straight out of boot camp and servrce schools caught their first shnp The new crew was begnnnrng to form and the old one as always had In herlted the job of breaking them Turner Hennum the Prlebes and Morse take their last boat In Page Fifty three n 1 I lj eu- , A - - I u I I appeared for lQ', l5, 25-30 days, X 1 . S 5 , n , f . ' Ta! if II ll ' w- ' - 5 ll- NK I' I . l - 1-l Y -- ln.

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.--h?-qi The band was gone The crowd, having collected their sallors had dxspersed Aboard shlp the silence was nerve wracklng as the handful of men that had the duty seemed to prefer the privacy that only wrltlng a letter readlng a book or sleepsng could give them Out slde the raln had stopped but It left behnnd a memento In the form of puddles whlch caught the reflection of the many hued neon signs much as a diamond catches lnght turnlng the streets and sldewalks into al ternate patches of shlmmerung color and black concrete Walk :ng up Broadway you ex changed Huya s wath many famnllar faces Looklng IH wun dows now and then you could see fellas from DesDlv l72 nn their favorute restaurants en joylng that thlck steak os cout-Qse :UM Zl caN'T Youxreu. BY We-te new MARKS ' snttnng un a bar enjoying a drunk Tonite cllmaxed months of planning and everyone was doing just what they had planned to do that first night back In the States Top Pncture Lookmg up Broadway from the Top Picture The Plaza Fleet Landmg the lnberty boat side streets are loaded wnth sarlors Page Fifty two ' ll I ' ' ll ' I II . ll -L-. . I 1 . I c I l Q I i ' I I 11 . 1 jj I .- - . . . . . l 1 u - I n ' I I u l 1 A . - - J . - I1 . ' ' II ' ll ' ' ll , or . Bottom Picture: Fleet Landing as seen from Bottom Picture: Saturday afternoon and the

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--- --- i l i l ll il ii l il 'Q 'i ll il ii i I. Sli I l ii i i rl i l l l l l I i Tl l i 1 li il l I 4 l The Captain and Mr. Crook inspect-ing Casey. How's my haircut? Do my shoes look okay? Hey, how about brushing off the back of my blues? How's this white hat look? When you start getting a compartment flooded with those questions, it means noth- ing else but 'Captain's Inspec- tion. Usually held on Saturday morning, it means a Friday nite spent shining shoes, re-rolling neckerchieves, washing white hats. When inspection time ar- rives, as you stand at attention waiting for the inspection par- ty to reach you, there's always that question in the back of your mind, I wonder if they will find anything wrong with me. When they walk on by, you mentally give a sigh of re- lief. Now, if they would only hurry up-l could sure use a cigarette. Page Fifty-four 'E division reaches for a smoke now that it's all over. Di-vision,A-ten-shun! First and Second di visions prepare to be inspected.