General Mann (TAP 112) - Naval Cruise Book

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VII 2 QII Goodbye Frisco

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■. • ' - - !• I- , • PART 1 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. TO NEW ORLEANS. LOUISIANA Our skipper. Captain Charles H. Walker, U.S. Navy, and Executive Officer, Commander Robert C. Huston, U.S. Navy, were on the bridge. The pilot had the Conn and was maneuvering our trim seagoing home slowly out of the San Francisco Bay Harbor. The quartermaster of the watch neatly printed in the quartermaster ' s notebook for the day of June 16, 1951, 0809 Passed under the Golden Gate Bridge. The (J. S. S. General William A. Maun, a commissioned Mihtary Sea Transportation Service dependent and troop transport was once again underway. The regular run-of-the-mill voyage to the Orient in support of the year-old Korean skirmish which we had become quite accustomed to making was out this lime. Now we had orders to pro- ceed to the other side of the world — the European theatre, with short visits scheduled for Balboa, Canal Zone; New Orleans, Louisiana, and two and three visits scheduled for New York City and Bremerhaven, Germany, respectively. Late September, 1951, was our estimated date of return to San Francisco, our home port, but old man fate had dealt us a mixed hand as usual with our operation schedules, and our second visit to New York and third visit to Bremerhaven were scratched and the completion of the world cruise was substituted. To those with roots deeply planted in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area, it was going to be a long and figuratively speaking, lonesome trip. But since the majority of us had never viewed the other side of the world we all came to the conclusion that a little change of scenery would not be too bad. Jumping ahead of ourselves and recollecting our happy thoughts of the liberties in Bremerhaven, we must all nod our heads in unison and agree that the change of scenery wasn ' t bad . . . wasn ' t bad at all. We arrived in Balboa, Canal Zone, shortly after lunch on June 23, 1951. Liberty was the order of the day for two-thirds of the crew and the bargain counters, exhibitions, etc., which only the inimitable Panama City can offer, were patronized in a landslide manner. The next afternoon we were again underway for transit through the 51-mile-long canal. The passage through the three locks, Miraflores, Pedro Miguel and Gatun proved to be interesting and educational and the results of one of man ' s great engineering feats shall long be remembered. W ' ith excellent weather prevailing, the entire trip from the ditch to the picturesque port of New Orleans, with its ninety-odd miles of winding Mississippi River and inland waters, was most pleasant. New Orleans liberties were tremendously ?njoycd, especially the gay night life in the French Quarters. The Parisian-type entertainment offered by the reputable (?) establishments on Bourbon Street left a deep impression and many empty wallets — (dollar a beer) — with a large number of us. Departure from the Mardi Gras capital was with deep regret and with the excep ion of the unusual humid weather, the fine praises so often expressed about New Orleans will be confirmed b the members of the IK S. S. (icucral M . A, Afatitt.

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