Columbus (CA 74) - Naval Cruise Book

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Escorted by Mr. PIO, welcomed by four sidegirls, Miss Christian was piped aboard Back on the fantail, Linda autographed while Santa distributed presents

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£o ta £ eac After a month at sea, a trip through the Panama locks, a lightning good-will visit to the Land of the Incas and a painful initiation into the mysteries of Shellbackdom, we arrived at our new home port, Long Beach, California. Our first days were spent exploring the town: the married men had their hands full resettling their families; the bachelors had their hands full convincing the local female population that men brought up on a diet of Boston baked beans were the world ' s best lovers. We were fascinated by the thousands of oil wells around town that looked like prehistoric birds bobbing endlessly up and down, pumping money into somebody ' s pocket. We checked our own pockets, found it wasn ' t going into them, and, as usual, sweated out payday. Two paydays came and went; the green stuff they hand out on paydays came and went; Santa came and went; Old Man Nineteen Fifty Five just plain went, wetted down with a generous sprinkling of sundry brews; the new babe, Nineteen Fifty Six, arrived and when he was five days old we kissed our wives and sweethearts goodbye and cast off all lines. Pearl, Japan and six months in the broad blue Pacific lay ahead. A long mission. And, we hoped, an interesting and worthwhile one. Just before Christmas Santa and Linda came to wow the Columbus kids

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The duty sections got some Xmas and New Year ' s entertainment Keep your feetdr y Good-bye Long Beach, Aloha Hawaii