Franklin D Roosevelt (CVA 42) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE SHELL The shell is an object which is seen after it has washed upon the beach. It is not a permanent inhabitant. The shell comes and goes with the tide — appears one morning and is gone another. The shell seems to be on an interminable journey stopping only for a short while. It pauses and is then taken by the demanding sea, leaving the shore upon which it was cast. The shell has always been a symbol for a journey. The shell is a proper object to represent the men of the Roosevelt ashore. For like the shell, we are not permanent inhabitants, but visitors coming and going with the tide. We appemr to be like shells for as the shell is taken by the deimemd- ing sea after a short pause we are tetkem by a demanding profession. The shell offers a direct contrast to the ever- ready, potentially fierce Griffin. The Griffin, the ship and the life of the ship represent thai which is unnatural. They are the products of man ' s mind and are necessary protectors of a way of life. The simple shell is a natural object — as natural as a day on the beach. 3

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THE GRIFFIN . s To the men of the ancient world the Griffin was a source of amazement. It was the combination of the bodies and characteristics of two great beings — it had the head and wings and the alertness of the eagle and the body and strength of the lion. The Griffin never existed: it has come to us from ancient mythology and was the product of the mind of man. It was an unnatural beast capable of supernatural acts of defense and offense. Our ship, the Roosevelt, is a source of amazement to the peoples of the world we know and visit. Like the Griffin it is the combination of two great forces — sea- power and aviation. The Roosevelt is the product of man ' s mind, his regulations and his genius. It has been created for neither personal comfort nor convenience, but for alertness and strength — and it draws upon the alertness and strength of each of us to achieve this goal. This strange mixture of man and machine is as unusual as the mixture of lion and eagle, but both have been mixed and both have produced an object capable of supernatural acts of defense and offense. Today the once-real Griffin is a curiosity and has lost its meaning in the modern world. On the other hand, the Roosevelt is a stunning reality and has a meaning to the people of the world. The Griffin was born in an age when men needed such superstitious beings to erect barriers against evil and injustice. Due to the development of man ' s mind the superstitions which produced the Griffin are no longer with us; how- ever, man ' s mind has not yet developed to the point of eliminating other evils. The Roosevelt is a very real barrier against these forces and is the alert and strong Griffin of the modern world.

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The griffin, with an eagle ' s keen eyes, strong wings, and sharp beak... with a lion ' s muscular body, grace of movement, and deadly claws which can be sheathed or unsheathed at will. The ancient symbol represents power, determination, and willfulness. As ancient as Egypt, the symbol has grown awesomely powerful with the rebirth of centuries. From era to era, the griffin symbol has absorbed power from each phase of its life. With the inven- tion of gunpowder, it became potent and deadly. With the development of aircraft, its wings grew strong and it reached out with its power over the distances. When the griffin entered the nuclear