Fahrion (FFG 22) - Naval Cruise Book

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An Artist Looks H , i .V ' , ■ . -•. ' . » «• . i - f 4 J -- .V '

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LIBERTY CALL! AND EVENTFUL LIBERTY «« T 41

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at USS Fahrion • ■« USS Fahrion (FFG 22), one of the Navy ' s newest Perry-class frigates, re- cently put to sea for its shakedown cruise. Fahrion ' s plank owner crew members, who had trained together as the pre-commissioning team, were on board to take the ship from Seattle, Wash., to its new home port in May- port, Fla. Also on board was Navy combat artist William E. Ryan, along with reserve Lieutenant Commander Thomas C. Pinard who interviewed some of the men Ryan used as subjects of his drawings. A noted marine artist who grew up around water and who has studied and lived on both coasts, Ryan saw the Fah- rion as a self-contained community where the men lived in a world of their own making. He was impressed with the caliber of these professionals. Daily they completed the ordinary tasks re- quired to keep their ship in good condi- tion, while keeping themselves physical- ly healthy and mentally alert. Ryan saw life on Fahrion as condensed, a study in human nature, with the inhabitants cre- ating their own pattern of responses and interaction. With his artist ' s eye and skillful hands, Ryan transferred his mental im- pressions of the Fahrion men into graphic form, infusing his own feelings into his drawings. They are a record of a life that only a sailor understands. — JED ■