Everett Larson (DDR 830) - Naval Cruise Book

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®hr Aurintt fHarturrs From left to right: Kimmerly, T. F , Breton, R. A., Richardson, R. H ., Bush, I A , Jr., Harford, H. S, Hyder, N. B ., Parker, G. (n), Bunch, A. G. (Particular note is made of the service of Breton, R. A , GM2 who is now in his 8th year on board the Larson ) Ancient Mariners whose faces do not appear in the picture: Zeloms, Leonard J., QM1 Guski, William O), Jr., GM2 Baisates, Andrew J. O ' Donnell, E A , GM1 Stokes, E. L W , TN Dollhopf, R M , SN The heart and backbone of any crew are the old hands. Others come, stay a while, contribute something or take something away, but these remain. Captains, Execs, De- partment heads, the Ancient Mariners have seen them come and go. Some were hard, some easy, one wanted it done this way and another that. These men can tell you about them all without bitterness or enthusiasm, like a story which they have watched unfold, year after year, until even the most unpleasant parts become mellow in memory and yarn spinning. Meanwhile the ship goes on and they become a part of her and, beyond any doubt, the ship a part of them. Several are now in their eighth year on board. Certainly they have had opportunities for transfer to larger ships or to soft billets ashore. But no, they preferred to remain. The ship is in their blood. Though few would perhaps admit it, the ship is their life. Someday they will leave, of course. Orders will come which cannot be changed. But others will take their places at setting the example, squaring the new- comers away, and telling the old sea stories of things that happened even before they came on board. So the tradition of a ship is handed down and passed along. These are the men in the Larson who have been aboard for a full cruise or more. They are the unofficial custodians of unwritten tradition. Aside from their experience, and reliability, they are responsible for more good things in the ship than could ever be measured. FLEET RESERVE LOUNGE

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ENGINEERING Engineers are a strange breed, a race apart. It is hard to explain how a man gets to be one, and since they appear to be unable to explain it themselves, the matter remains shrouded in mystery. The normal human beings who inhabit the pure air of the upper decks re- gard them, when they occasionally emerge from the depths, with amazement and curiosity. For though they look and move like other men, they are distinctly differ- ent. Their eyes blink continuously in the unaccustomed light of day. Their skin, when visible beneath oil stains, has a curious pallor like that of some ancient cave dweller. Their walk, too, tends to be stooped and shambling, suggesting an earlier and less attractive stage of evolution. And as for their uniforms . . . So runs the opinion of uncouth Deck Apes. But operating and maintaining the Engineering plant of a destroyer is not a matter of opinion. It is the primary job in any steam driven ship and even more essential in a destroyer. For a destroyer must not only be capable of high speed. Destroyers, more than any other ship in the Navy, have to be ready to go at all times. They are the race horses of the fleet who are also the work horses. And the responsibility for keeping them going, whether they have to shoot, chase submarines, patrol a harbor entrance, or deliver guard mail, falls entirely on the Engineers. If they fail, everything stops; all motion through the water, power for lights, radars and coffee pots, guns, pumps for fire mams, etc.; the ship, though still afloat, effectively dies. Which is not merely an Engineering Officer ' s nightmare. It can happen. In this connection it may be interesting to note that the Larson has not failed to meet any operational commitment how- ever small for the past two years. And that her Engineer- ing spaces have been the showplace of the ship at all inspections. Perhaps the Engineers do seem a mite strange to topside idlers. They just happen to be busy with making the ship run most of the time. l v T

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THE MASTER AT ARMS FORCE QUOTE FROM LAWS OF THE NAVY Now these be the Laws of the Navy And many and mighty are they. But the hull and the deck and the keel And the truck of the law is — OBEY THE SHERIFF AND A PAL