Grand Canyon (AD 28) - Naval Cruise Book

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UNE. l 0 'ron GNT! ' A man I guess never realizes how fortunate he is or how wonderful life can be until he has his own home, his own quarterdeck on which to walk. Funny, the fantastic ideas and memories that creep back into your Daddy's head justwatching the dancing, tapering, multicolored flames in the fireplace. Must stop this dreaming! I'm living now, not in the past. Don't you youngsters have any homework? What is that you're reading, Jimmy? An old Navy book of mine? Which one? The what? Ohl Oh! The Grand Canyon's cruise to the Med in 1956 - 1957. A sea story, eh? You know your Dad always has time for another such story. I was once a student of ancient history just as you are today. And, it was as difficult for me as it is for you, To remember all the fabulous characters who walked across the stage of life, played their parts, spoke their lines fsome of which have echoed through the corridors of the centuriesj oftimes seemed impossible. For example: 'the men of iron who sailed the ships of wood' it is still hard to believe, - ships propelled by either sails or rows of galley-slaves chained to their oarlocks, As a boy l was fascinated by these stories recorded in our history books. The Phoenicians - men of the sea, the sea faring Norsemen - the Vikings, what menl And, in your Dad's day, the intrepid crew that sailed the Mediterranean in a ship called the Grand Canyon. This is the log or journal of that cruise. We travelled over the same sea lanes of routes which saw the earliest sailing men R h proceed on voyages of conquest or discovery. - The people of ancient Carthage, ome, t e Egyptians, the Greeks, the Goths, the Saracens, the Franks, the Italians and Spaniards. It was all a series of wonderful stories. Why? You ask? Why bother to fill your heads with such things of a past longdead, when the world is resentin so many new and wonderful things everyday? Dreams of 20 or 30 years ago P S which are today realities, I know are of much more interest - space ships, earth satellites, ' d . H wever, commercial flights which exceed the speed of sound. Yes, these are modern won ers o l' d for et all such wonders are the results of the trials and errors of you must rea ize an never g the peoples who lived long before our time. What people? Euclid, Archimedes, Plato, Socrates, ' ' ll have DeMedici, Pasteur, Newton, the Wright brothers, our own research laboratories - a contributed a fair share to the present mechanical progress of the world. Why, it seems only -2 ' 1 e earch corporation whose show yesterday, TV was new to us then, that accrtain arge r s n appeared for one hour weekly had a slogan, Progress is our most important product. x , -s I ' L: 4,113 ':,, we ms, -' Z: , K: jr ,

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This was the 8th Mediterranean Cruise of the Grand Canyon, touching 3 continents and 6 countries, repairing and making seaworthy, ships of 6 Destroyer Divisions, 4 Submarines, etc. All in keeping with the ship named in honor of the seventh wonder of the world. From Gibralter to the Suez to Piraeus and from the Riviera to Barcelona to Palermo shesuccess- fully carried out her mission as the Flag for Service Forces Sixth Fleet, Fleet Tender and an ambassador of good will from America to the peoples of the 1,000,000 square miles of the Mediterranean. With the best wishes of DesLant upon de- parture, we have, we believe, fulfilled his wishes and maintained the finest traditions of the Naval Service. This journal, then, is a tribute to its splendid crew. v . 1-., ' - - 7 - .-., ---, ' n - P' 2 .r ' T l l 4