Gyatt (DDG 1) - Naval Cruise Book

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Q W J , ' 2 I I fa :f xxx xxxs N---: s u. s. s. GYATT IDDG-I i XX f ' Care of Fleei' Pos? Office New York, New York 11 After departure from Athens and a week at sea, GIATT entered Naples, Italy. That week at sea was one of our most strenuous periods during the cruise. We had two air defense exercises, several ECM exercises at night, a full day of anti-submarine operations with the nuclear submarine SHARK, and the last two days before being detached to proceed to Naples were spent at General Quarters for gunnery exercises and competitive firing. On the way to Naples we transited the Strait of Messina between Italy and Sicily, and shortly after this all hands got a birdseye view of Strom, boli, the semi-active volcanic island north of Sicily. We entered Naples on 16 October and went alongside the tender, GRAND CANYON, for our first routine tender period during the deployment. We were in Naples for two weeks and everyone enjoyed the visit to this well- known city. There were tours offered to Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, Sorrento, and to the island made famous by song, Capri. Several of the officers azd crew took advantage of a three-day tour to Rome, one of the oldest and most famous cities in the world. Probably the most singularly impressive sight was the Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica, which has been the residence of the Popes and the heart of Catholicism since 1377. Some GYATT crew members were part of a group which was granted an audience with Pope John on Saturday, 21 October. Leaving Naples on l November, we were detached with SPRINGFIELD, SIXTH Fleet Flagship to proceed to the Ceres Missile Range off the coast of Toulon, France for a missile firing exercise. All components of the intri- cate system worked perfectly and our shot was a success. A report on the exercise that went to Chief of Naval Operations called the firing a ncomplete successn. On 7 November we entered Livorno, Italy, often referred to as Leghorn. It is only l2 miles from Pisa and the famous leaning tower and only L5 miles from Florence, one of the most beautiful of the Italian cities. Everyone desiring had the opportunity to visit these places either by themselves or on tour. It was in Livorno that we had the best of many successful parties for children aboard ship, We received a group of thirty underprivileged girls ranging in age from six to ten from a children's home in Livorno. They were aboard for an afternoon and were given a tour of the ship, were shown the missiles, then taken to the mess decks for a cake and punch party. Our band was there and played for them. Their eyes lit up when the band launched into some favorite Italian songs it has learned since being over here. .-.6..

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l sg Sflflt Q J' S 6 n , U. S. S. GYATT IUDG-ll f Core of Floof Posf Omoo New York, New York I D I A Z There was ample time for recreation in Athens with the ship's company enjoying the city including such placcs as the Acropolis, the Stadium, Adrian's Arch of Triumph and many others. Also there were one-day tours to Old Corinth, Daphni, and Elevsis. On 5 September we left Athens for a fifteen-day period at sea during which time we participated in the combined NATO exercises, Checkmate I and II. These exercises are annual SIXTH Fleet training exercises and utilize surface, air, and sub-surface elements of both U.S. and NATO forces. Our participation was basically as an air def- ense ship emphasizing our ability to control aircraft and make full utilization of our missile capability. For this exercise our CIC team received a well-done for their work during sixty consecutive hours of air defense work. At the conclusion of the Checkmate exercise we arrived at our second port, Corfu, on l9 September. Corfu is a Greek resort island in the Ionian Sea considered by many to be second in beauty only to Crete. After a three day visit was completed, GYATT departed for sea for ECM drills, an air defense exercise, and some anti-submarine maneuvers. Then on 25 September we stopped at Rhodes, Greece, for our third port visit. It was in Rhodes that we had our first surprise personnel and material inspection, a requirement of the SIXTH Fleet. We were given four hours notice by Commander Destroyer Squadron TWENTY-TWO to get ready for the inspection. He was quite pleased with us and said we were one of the best he had seen. After leaving Rhodes on 27 September, we had a five-day operating Period before we entered Athens for our second visit to that city. The Ship was there this time from 31 September to 9 October. During this stay in Athens, the Engineering Department made arrang- ements for a softball game ashore between their personnel followed by a steak picnic. Since it was only possible to let half the department ashore at one time, this party was actually held on two consecutive days So that all hands could enjoy it. Also in Athens we had our second personnel and material inspection. This one was by our immediate senior, Commander Destroyer Division SIXTY- TW0. He had seen us at an inspection in Charleston before deployment and made the comment in Athena that he detected a great deal of 1mPP0V' ement, .4y.

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g STAT - USS GYATT IDDGH New York New York xxy xx' Q x l . O I , ' Q Care of Fleef Pos? Office I I I 411 - I On leaving Livorno, we went into a relatively quiet week of operations with the exception of one missile firing exercise with NEWPORT NEWS pro- viding drone services. GYATT successfully fired two missiles this time. On 21 November we anchored off Cannes, France, for a week-long visit over Thanksgiving Day. Cannes is the home of the International Film Festival and one of the best known of the many resorts on the French Riviera It is located within 35 miles of Golfe Juan, Antibes, Nice, Villefranche and Monacog and everyone was able to visit these places taking a grand tour of the Riviera. On Thanksgiving morning we had three French models from Nice come aboard for a fashion show. Everyone enjoyed seeing the latest fashions from Paris, and was amused at the novelty of a fashion show on board a man-of-war While we were in Cannes Captain's meritorious mast was held to award advancement in rates to all those who had earned them during the last test- ing period. GYATT had thirty-seven men receive advancements. The Engin- eering Department took top honors in this as twenty-two of the thirty-seven were from that department. Also, Good Conduct Medals went to five men. Leaving Cannes on 28 November, we steamed to Barcelona, Spain, arriving L December for a week-long visit until the eleventh. The weather was good, there were many things to see and do, and everyone enjoyed the time spent there very much. Probably the highlight of the stay in Barcelona was a bull fight arranged by the city in honor of the SIXTH Fleet visitors. It was the off-season for regularly scheduled bull fights, however, so many people expressed a desire to see a fight that one was arranged for us. GYATT spent the Christmas holiday season from 19 December until 3 January in Bari, Italy. Bari is a town of about 300,000 population on the Adriatic coast of Italy. While there were not so many attractions in Eari as in many of the more famous places we visited, everyone enjoyed the long stay in port getting a well-deserved rest. The highlight of everyone's Christmas came on Christmas Eve as the entire ship's company attended a devotional service and carol sing on the mess decks. GYATT's choir led the crew in the carol sing and all hands were touched by the carols and old favorite Christmas songs. After this many attended midnight services in the churches and cathedrals of Bari. ...7-