Columbia (CL 56) - Naval Cruise Book

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lowmg the prayer, refermg to the Columbla as a F me fightmg shrp The eeremonles we1e closed wxth the N T S Band playmg Columb1a he Gem of the Ocean Some sage of old once sa1d that man s nature was a soe1al one and smee we eonsxder our selves as men, a soe1al gathermg of some sort would not be out of place Aeeordmgly and w1th the help of the Padre, a dance was ar twenty ezght ranged, complete w1th band, women, and w1ne We shaved showered shampooed and shoved off for the beach, where some of us gathered 1n our dates, wh1le others made for the nearest tavern to forufy themselves for the evenmg But one 1dea meessed us all, to gathe1 toffether at 2030, or thereabouts, and have us one fine dance 'Ihe scene of our past conquests, the mfarnous N - - - n - , ' 2 ' J . . C, . . . . , t V as - - . , N - . a ' a . , -

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that were thrust on us from dusk to dawn a little less on the intelligible side. In the A Division, Mr. Kuhlken presiding, we were initiated into the mysteries of the Ice Machines, the Evaporators, and the Air Con- ditioning Units. One enjoyable feature was the discovery of Joe by one of our number, and the pause that refreshes that all hands joined in on. When the B Division passed before our eyes, it was as something from the brain of Jules Verne, what with the maze of pipes, cables, extensions, lines, and catwalks. Here, too, we were introduced to the art of bilge cleaning, and the undeveloped potentialities of the common wire brush if used correctly and ambitiously. All this under the expert super- vision of some grinning enlisted man. E Division and Electrician Howard's talks- on parallels and bus bars was duck soup for some of us-The EE's. For the rest it was just the former-parallels and bus bars. From the stem to the stem we followed cables that ran from one black box to another black box, through bulkheads, allies, passageways, heads, and the WAVE barracks, and nodded sagely as the doughty Electrician explained how the for- ward generator had to be raised to higher speed to take up the surge. Most of us knew what speed meant. It was in the teeming stronghold of M Division that we learned one of the closest guarded secrets of the Navy-why they need so many men. Two must watch every third man as he accomplishes his task. Careful and detailed instruction in this art was given to each student oHicer when he reported for his watch, and then he was put on a watch of his own- generally watching the pressure gauge of a secured pump. But in spite of sleepless nights, mental anguish, lack of air and light, and a general rundown in health, we were all able to make it through the month, and retained enough vim, vigor, and vitality to celebrate at the end. On the cold morning of the 13th of April, 1946, the Columbia was anchored in Nar- ragansett Bay. All hands were assembled on the fantail to witness the awarding of the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon to the USS

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Newport Officers' Club, looked particularly good that night. All the requisites of a perfect dance were in evidence. The skipper was pres- ent, the women were plentiful, the surroundings pleasant, the band especially good, and the happy water plentiful. The stag line was not too long, but made up in ferocity the lack of numbers. For those who lacked women, there was always the goodly boys from his own school, and we gathered together as the evening wore on, and sang the songs of our respective schools in the manner of old, and felt a warm glow of fellowship that had been lacking for some weeks. The dancing went on, of course, but in the darker corners the drinking and singing when on and on, with all concerned waxing hap- pier and happier as the evening wore on, until at the stroke of midnight, with the bar closed, cutting off supply, we bid a fond farewell to the O.C. and drifted back to the ship. When we first came aboard we purposely avoided the issue of watches because we were afraid that we might have to stand them and we were afraid of what they might be. Our efforts were in vain though because with un- usual Navy efficiency we found ourselves beset by an imposing watch list at each bulletin board. At first there was utter confusion with each relieving of the watch for we sought vainly to find our stations or even the man whom we were supposed to relieve 5 gradually, however, this confusion changed to utter chaos fwe lost at least two men over the side trying to find the motor whaleboat watchl. Finally, as the ship became more and more familiar to us, we twenty nzne