General Leroy Eltinge (AP 154) - Naval Cruise Book

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M4 ' N Suez Canaf T arriving there on July 9th, We had hoped for liberty but there vvasn't achance of it since We Went right on through the canal. It vvas our first transit of the canal so everyone vvas topside to get a good look at the canal itself, its defenses, the alligators, and the thick jungle. We Were a little envious of the three other transports that Went through the canal with us because they Were going to good liberty ports While We Were headed for Norfolk-vve'd never if been there but vve'd heard What kind of a liberty port it Was. The best thing about Norfolk, everyone agreed, Was that We had leave and could get avvay from it. From july 14th to 31st We were in the yards and in drydock getting the repairs and paint job We needed after that long first trip. While We Were in, We found out about Norfolk liberty for our' selves, splashing through the daily cloudburst over to the ginfmills of East Main Street. lt vvas a long Way from being good liberty but at least it Was Statefside-and We always had Callahan Center to fall back on. lt Was also at Norfolk that one ofthe bestfliked men aboard, Captain Wakefield, left us. Captain Blau Was in command When We sailed for Marseilles. The trip was uneventful , We were sailing Without a load and the seas Were fairly calm We passed close to the Azores and, as We approached the Straits of Gibraltar, We Were also able to sight Cape Trafalgar. August Sth We passed The Rock but it vvas a little after midnight, only a dim mass .Dougie Exposure at Port Saial .

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Notre Dame ale fa Garale The CALLEN and We sailed down to Free' mantle and arrived there on the 20th. Here the troops got liberty, too. We Went to Perth but liberty Was only fair, definitely not as good as in Melbourne. From here We sailed on the 23rd and Went over to Manus for fuel, arriv' ing there on june 3rd, TWo destroyer escorts escorted us to Tinian Where We exchanged troops. We spent tWo days there and managed, before We sailed on the 9th, to have a feW beach parties and to get a look at the huge B129 air field. Although the CALLEN Went to Saipan after leaving Tinian, We Went to Guam. While We Were there We saW the cruiser PITTS' BURGH Which had lost her boW in a typhoon. After spending a day exchanging troops, We sailed for Pearl Harbor on the lOth. We stayed at Pearl from the 19th to the 21st, debarking troops and receiving aboard Warfworkers, civilians, headed for the States. Liberty in Pearl Was poor-there Were too many servicemen around. So We Were glad to get back to San Francisco. QThat, by the Way, Was the trip during Which We had baby car' riages on the superstructure deck. Shades of john Paul Jonesjl From the 27th to the 30th We had some of that Stateside liberty and the Market Street commandos Were in their glory. It Wasn't too bad leaving there, though, since We Weren,t going out on another trip but Were headed for Norfolk for repairs. SouthWard We Went, doWn the coast of Central America to Balboa, Canal Zone, Caihealraf at MarSe1'ffeS

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Manhattan Skyline could be seen silhouetted against the lights of Spain. Approaching Marseilles We entered the Gulf of Lions and, nearing the harbor, We passed close by Chateau d'If, the island castle Where the Count of Monte Cristo Was imprisoned and Where, many years later, Dumas Wrote his Wellflcnovvn story of the prisoner. The harbor at'Marseilles Was cluttered With sunken hullcs, reminders of the invasion of southern France. And the pier at Which We tied up the afternoon of August 9th had been bombed. There Were signs of destruction everywhere throughout the city--bombed buildings, wrecked tanks, a line of holes on the Wall of the Church of Notre Dame de la Garde Where a machine gun had raked across. New York Skyline Through Gwfzsig If