Grand Canyon (AD 28) - Naval Cruise Book

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The ever popular mail plane. 5 Jam r . You might say the terrain is rugged in Crete. Suda Bay. That ' s all there is there ain ' t no more. W KB the GRAND CANYON displayed their talent for arranging S MOKERS. We soon found that many among us had liidden talents. It wasn ' t long before we assembled muslL-ians, singers, masters of ceremony, boxers, wrestlers, referees, announcers, judges, and a corp of hard working beer and sandwich dispensers. For three days the GRAND CANYON was host to the SIXTH Fleet and men from every ship put on the gloves, fighting a total of twenty-four bouts for the pleasure of their shipmates. When we li(}ve short at Sl ' DA and made preparations for departing for Istanbid, it could be said that Suda Bay had been rocked from one end of main street to the next and that the Repair force had accomplished another outstanding overhaid period. It had been work, but it was fun. too. B The Fifth Division U.S.S. Grand Canyon lntra«Division Softball Cham° pions, Suda Bay, Crete, 1952. Standing, left to right: Sullivaan, H. E., Monts, B. D., Rusak, S. J., Loupe, L. J., Bright, W., VanHorn, J. B., Battista, R., Pognant, J. L. Bottom row: Ennis, R. L., Doh= ner, J. H., Flanagan, W. S., Lattaweic, W., Scalero, T., Pilote, R. R., Sitz, M. H. The fights were good, the seats ringside, and the beer cold.

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Operations a i)jatlon and 5th Division battle it out tor the ship soft ball championship at Suda Ba . SUDA BAY Suda Bay has never enjoyed that degree of popularity with men of the SIXTH Fleet that is enjoyed by Cannes, Naples or Istanbul. We discovered that this was not due to the people. Indeed, they were as friendly as any we were to meet in Europe. Nor was it due to maritime difficulties, because no better harbor could be found. The cause of this ' Oh no not Suda! attitude was that one couldn ' t leave main street without leaving- the city limits. The approaches to Suda Bay were as pretty as any we had yet seen. The weather was ter- ribly hot when we arrived on 31 March. And so it wasn ' t but a few hours until the balls, bats, and gloves were being issued from the Athletic Gear Locker. Cold beer was broken out and ' ' i» ' ud Middleweight Vinni Lannie scoring with a hard right. Lannie went all the way to win this amateur title, scoring two KO ' s. dispensed at the E I club for fifteen cents a can (Oh me I Norfolk was never like this! » : Ieanwhile. the SIXTH Fleet Athletic Committee was busily planning a Smoker. For nine days we worked hard and played hard. At Suda Bay we overhauled everything from destroyers to the USS CHE WAIT AN. At times we had ships on both sides, ileauwhile, the Supply Department was busy loading stores (ably assisted by one hundred hard working parties. ) But if we worked hard, it can be said that we played hard. Fifth Division and Oper- ations-Navigation Divisions battled down to the wire in the Inter-Divisional Softball Tourney. (Fifth Division won by the way. but wait until next year. ) ileanwhile, the officers and men of Lt. J(i Krank Hughes counts em out as another (irand Can on boxer wins. The tight crowd at Suda Ba . Sold plent beer too. . '

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Shipping in the Bosphorus with Europe on the right and Asia on the left. We are all members of the Mystic Order of the Flying Carpet. Here was real indication that we were sailors of the Mediterranean. The transit of the Dardenelles, and visit to Istanbnl established our claim to having: traveled the Med from side to side and from top to bottom. Istanbul truly does vie with Naples for the honor of being located on the most beautiful site in all Europe. The anchorage at Istanbul gave us a sweeping view of the Bosphorus. The sun- sets were unmatched except by those of Naples and the nights were truly beautiful. More than that, Istanbul proved to be one of the most modernistic cities in Europe. In- variably, we were surprised to discover the great number of American products in nse there. American automobiles, for example, were a com- mon sight on the streets. lixed with the materialistic present was the heady ritualism of centuries. While the women no longer wear veils, the mosques retain One of the fast and ever=moving ferries. Native bazaar section. A view of the European side.