General Leroy Eltinge (AP 154) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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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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Karachi, Inafia A lt was good liberty though, the sidewalk cafes along La Cannebiere, Chaplain Alling's guided tour, the White Elephant and the Pink Elephant, and the CEE LIMITS signs. We left Marseilles on August llth with a load of troops, organized units, bound for the Philippines. They were an unhappy lot until August 15th when we received word that the war was over and we were to change course and head for Norfolk. Everyone felt a lot better after that. The 8-4 army nurses we carried that trip were a welcome relief from the thousands of troops--ship's company found plenty of work to do on the superstructure deck whenever the nurses were sunning themselves on Hatch 5. The nights were warm and the stars were out almost every night on that crossing .... The resistor room .... While we were still six hundred miles out of Norfolk, one of the doggies yelled Landl and three thousand G. l.'s fell for it and rushed to the rail for a look. They were really happy when we actually sighted land and, on August 20th, tied up at Hampton Roads. We had expected to stay Stateside for awhile but after four days spent loading stores, We sailed back to Marseilles. just before we sailed Captain Blau was relieved by Commander Cox, who took us across. The trip was much like the one we had just completed. However this time we passed Gibraltar during the daytime on September lst. Although we arrived at Marseilles on the 3rd and sailed on the 4th we were able to get some more of that good Marseilles liberty . . . Spanish cham' pagne .... This time the men we took home were high point men returning for discharge rather than organized units being redeployed., We carried 180 nurses this time but things were quieter than on the previous trip. We had acquired a twelve piece shipls company band at Norfolk and they gave out with music for our entertainment. . We pulled into Hampton Roads on the 14th--our band was playing, the band on the dock was playing, the troops were yelling, and the people on the dock were yelling back. The troops knew they'd be civilians in av few days and were happy about it. After we unloaded, we went into the yards at Portsmouth again for repairs Qand for leavej. - '