Daly (DD 519) - Naval Cruise Book

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' • ' ■ ' ARC nr » - — ' ° = = --op«, MIDDLE EAST OPERATIONS It was a beautiful sunlit morning, the sea like a mirror, that day late in Feb- ruary, 1957, as DALY and GOTTEN ren- dezvoused with FORREST ROYAL and ROAN, in the southern Red Sea. This was the beginning . . . for the majority of us on board DALY, it was our first encounter with a serious mission about which we knew so little, and to the last man we were wondering . . . wondering if the cease fire in Egypt was a reality, wondering what the future held in store for us, and wondering what part we were to play in the disturbed affairs of the Middle East. There was much specula- tion as to just what this new and un- known area of the world, about which we had all read and heard so much, was like. Upon relieving on station, we head- ed north into what were, in the months to come, to become familiar waters. The first week of operating was filled with much excitement and hope. We went about our business in a matter of fact way with the efficiency and dispatch typical of the destroyer Navy. Fuel ec- onomy being important, all our maneu- vering was done at relatively slow speed. We steamed north, past St. John ' s Island. Deadalus Reef Lighthouse and the Bro- thers Islands, until we were within sight of the Straits of Gubal and Tiran, the gateways to the Gulfs of Suez and Aqua- ba. We encounted numerous small mer- chantmen engaged in coasting traffic between Massawa, Port Sudan, Djibouti, Safaga, Jidda, and Port Suez.

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I y The necessity of the situation, re- quired that we alternate our time in port with GOTTEN. This our brief five day stays in Massawa and Aden seemed short enough. Just long enough to fuel, take on stores and indulge in what very limited recreation was available. Daily beer, baseball was the staple item of pleasure for all. Soon we were under- way again. Each Sunday we rendezvou- sed with GOTTEN and engaged in a few hours of tactics and other simple train- ing exercises. These weekly meetings achieved a real meaning for us all as the crew of the other ship was the sole reminder of the Western civilization for which we longed. After the excitement of the first steaming in the Red Sea we settled into a day to day routine . . . shipboard em- ergency drills, routine training. Our worst enemy was monotony. We began to encounter the same ships, we had met earlier. We travelled the same waters again and again. Throughout the long months underway, we all wondered whe- ther we would be permitted to return vie the Canal or would again have to make the long trip around the Cape. After the opening of the Gana I, the merchant traf- fic increased markedly. In April, we entered the Gulf of Suez and journeyed north to within sight of Port Suez, the very entrance to the Can- al. Excitement ran high. Just as we turned south we were looked over by two Egyptian motor torpedo boats. We exchanged courtiesies with them and went on our way. The weather during our entire stay in the area was excellent. Cloudless skies, and tranquil water were a wel- come change from the familair turbulence of Newport weather. The heat did not become unbearable until late in April, Many hours of watching the playful scho- ols of porpoise and flying fish provided a small diversion from the long hours of steady steaming. ' Get hit nam and nationality Those months spent in the Red Sea were more than time underway training and routine, however, for many of us it was trail of separation, and a school in life. Many were the plans made and many were the memories recalled during those lonely night watches, sitting at the rail, gazing thoughtfully over the moonlit water. We also learned to give and take, to understand and appreciate our shipmates, and their problems. We became a well-coordinated team, a char- acteristic that mokes us what we are, Americans. Thus did the months pass, leaving only an unforgettable memory of what seemed a lifetime in the Red Sea. Then in late April, we were fueling in Mas- sawa for the lost time. We were still half a world and many seas away, but at last we were goin ' home. Though our hearts were filled with the joy and anxiety of returning to our homes and families, there was still room for the proud feeling of a job well done.