Dyess (DD 880) - Naval Cruise Book

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After a hasty peek into the Gulf of Aqaba (from a safe distance) we proceeded to Massawa, Ethiopia for our first taste of Afro- Middle Eastern living. Few found Massawa more than a rest from long days at sea. However, we were not in port long enough to tire of the sand and intense heat there but were directed to steam to a designated area to be ready if needed to evacuate Am- erican citizens or to protect U. S. and allied interests. However, the intensity of the man-made ' ■storm subsided and after a quick drink of oil in Massawa, DYESS rounded Saudi Arabia and steamed into the Persian Gulf. Heat and dust did little to improve our opinions of this corner of the world, but the DYESS ' ' can do morale never slipped. The picture was not all dust and humidity. Bahrain was quite tolerable, with softball games daily and several pool parties in the HMS Jufair pools. Some of us also visited the Arab market place, Suq, in the course of our three visits to Bahrain. ' ' Then I was only this high '

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Most of our trip through the Suez was uneventful with the desert interrupted in spots only by a small oasis or a canal way station. Entering Port Suez we found a scene similar to the one encountered the day before at the northern end of the Canal. Thousands of people ran aldng the shore, yelling and waving shoes as their comrades had done. DYESS officers and men were very glad to leave the Suez Canal behind. - Til Canal Way Station Little did we know that one day later it would be closed by bombs and sunken ships, cutting us off from the Sixth Fleet and making DYESS the last warship of any nation to transit the canal, as a member of the last convoy to make it through without mishap. Long hours watching sand Silent figures aU Military buildup Port Suez and more jeers

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Bushehr and Bandar Abbas, Iran offered little in the way of liberty, recreation, or port visits due to the fact that our anchorage was nearly six miles from land in each of the two ports. A few of us did go ashore in Bushehr, however, to answer challenges by the Iranian basketball and volleyball teams. Few will forget the memorable tug boat ride back to the ' ' Steaming Demon in a sandstorm one dark night. We found fantail cookouts and picnics a pleasant break in the routine while steaming around in the Persian Gulf for days at a time. They also proved to be a pleasant means of entertaining official Iranian guests who motored out to visit our ship. Basketball, yes -Volleyball, No Pork chops ? ! ' 100 knots( give or take 70)