Damato (DDE 871) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 80 text:

Ok it ' s home again, and home again, America for me! I want a ship that ' s westward hound to plougJi tlie rolling sea, To the Blessed Land of Room Enough beyond the Ocean bars, JJ ' here the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars. iV T iV it i? -)V it

Page 79 text:

Standing alone as a symbol of strength and security, guarding the gateway to the Mediterranean is the famous Rock of Gibraltar . Towering above the nearby hills of Spain, it stands out, clearly ex- pressing its purpose. Pictured here on this page are views of the special ceremonies in honor of the 25th Anniversary of Bishop Griffin, Roman Catholic Bishop of Gibraltar, which were attended by many of our crew members. Shown in the procession are the Chaplain and Command- ing Officer of the U. S. S. DES MOINES. Also shown, is one of our -staff members. Mercuric on a brief visit to Spain. •Gibraltar being the last port of call before our departure for Uncle Sugar the inbound arrivals of two large liners, softly lighted and vi- brant with living and excitement invited nostalgia which settled ■over the crew and to the last man there were the pleasant reminis- cences of fleeting moments in the -ports that he enjoyed the most. By morning the jnood had passed -and every heart skipped a beat -when the order was passed to Set the special sea detail . The Dama- -lo was soon under way for her -tenth Atlantic crossing. We were 1-1 » ■ -T-T -Gom Home .

Page 81 text:

LEAVE Back in the States again from the Med all the boys are anxi- ous to get home. The leave schedule is ar- ranged to permit im- mediate departure after Customs Inspec- tion, but the short time consumed by these inspections seems like days when all any man can envision is homey dreams of wife, kid- dies, mom and dad or sweet- heart. Well, after a cruise of this sort there is also the large collection of souvenirs gathered from every port visited. This year, the boys brought back over two hundred, four hundred and thousand day clocks, horological masterpieces and timely gifts . Even though the weather on our return trip was not especially suited to the trans- porting of such delicate mechanisms — no casualties were reported. With these added to the leather goods from Tangier; gloves and artwork from Italy; perfume from Grasse; cuckoo clocks from Switzerland; cameras, binoculars and toys from Germany; the ship was truly laden with Christmas Cheer for the crew ' s friends and families. One glance at the pictures tells rest of story. That Homeward Bound smile is strictly a type of expression reserved for this very special occasion.