Du Pont (DD 941) - Naval Cruise Book

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1r-w----- -S'-f -' 'II I' B' ml K f ' 4 E' I The Crossing the Line ceremonies of today's mod- ? ern Navy have retained many of the traditional discom- forts and are very pictures ue. Althou h the h sical Cl 8 D Y -r discomforts seem uncomfortable, the initiation cannot xr be extremely rough. Most of the inflictions usually af- 'r 1.. fect only one's pride. Those who survive the initiation become SHELLBACKS, the Sons Of NEPTUNE. -. The eldest and most dignified Shellback of the crew is usually selected as NEPTUNUS REX QMMCM ROZELLEJg his first assistant is Davey JONES QMS1 RIVARDJ. The V Court generally consists of the Ro al Bab MM2 RICH gr, ' Y Y C ' -:gig ARDSJ, the Royal Sheriff QMMC FULLERQ, the Royal Bar- .Qm ber fSH2 GORDONJ, and others that suit the fancy of may the party. 1. The night before the shi crosses the line it is the cus ine p ' .W tom that Davey JONES shall appear on board with a QSM message to the Captain from His Majesty, NEPTUNUS .. f REX, and with summons for the Pollywogs to appear be- fore the Royal Court for trial. Often at this time a beau- ty from the crew is selected to make an offering to ap- ,Mpease NEPTUNUS REX. The winner of the first beauty wma contest was SA SKIPPER from 1st Division, and what a M, beauty he was. The Senior Pollywog of the initiation was ' our very own Commanding Officer, Commander CAR- BONE. The Captain showed much enthusiasm and spirit, 3 setting a fine example for the other Pollywogs to follow. j ,

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1 .-4' -11 fa The boisterous ceremonies of Crossing the Line 'iQ are of such ancient vintage that their derivation is lost. Qi It is well known that ceremonies took place long agofg when ships crossed the thirtieth parallel and also whenffli going through the Straights of Gibralter. These earlyrff. ceremonies were of the roughest sort and were to asf! great extent, supposed to try the crew to determineffs whether or not, the novices on their first cruise couldflg endure hardships of a life at sea. Then, as is the customlw of the present time, it was primarily a crew's party. NEPTUNUS REX, the mythological god of the seas,iD5l7f was appeased by the sea and marks of respect werefllm paid those of his underwater domain. It is plausible thatlllm a part of the ceremony grew out of tradition of other W' days, even though sailors had come to doubt the exis-tom tence of NEPTUNE. Nevertheless, NEPTUNUS REX isme553l today the majesty that rules in the ceremonies. REM' Those who have crossed the line and have been ini-foleflll tiated are called SHELLBACKS. Those Sons of Neptunellfmm compose the cast for the present day ceremonies. lleilell is up to them to provide a suitable and vigorous initialilllesl tion for all those who have heretofore not crossed thelllilllyl equator: the lowly Pollywog. glgNver E Wlflllgg

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