Hank (DD 702) - Naval Cruise Book

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4 f JWMMM f 7f ffffffff XZWQQZ ,f +o wwfmwwwm rrtrt ff pax! VXZTIZZZQ IZMIR TUB At Izmir, Turkey, the tender Arcadia was awelcome sight. Besides Med- iterranean liberty once again and boar hunting expeditions, the Hank's officers gain- ed softball revenge for the threshing handed them by the Chiefs and First Class at Livorno. However, two of the loser's mainstays were still in casts and crutches nursing injuries from the original game. 14 .I or Q ODES It wasn't Venice Q change 7 my Op-Order had seen to thatj but all things considered, Rhodes WaS 2 pleasant place to pass a few days. Remember the view from the old Roman Temple at Lindos ? And the Kit-Kat and Babie's Club? But we never did see the Colossus... Wff ffffff 5

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The monotony of the Hank's stay at Bah- rein was broken by shopping tours , beer parties , smokers aboard the ship, and a brief visit to Basra, Iraq. Going to Basra called for steam- ing 85 miles up the Shatt-al-Arab River, which is formed by the joining of the Tigris and Eup- hrates Rivers just above Basra. From Basra a few rugged individuals drove ten hours over a boiling desert to see the ancient city of Ur, while several archaelogically minded members of the crew journeyed to -Bagdad and Babylon. Returning from the Persian Gulf the Hank stop- ped at Massawa,Eritrea, for fuel and one night's liberty. lt was at Massawa that the thermo- meter finally soared above 130 degreest Four daysafter leaving Massawa the Hank was again in Mediterranean waters and the crew had glad- ly stowed away their shorts in favor of long pants . Y nnsuzwwfwfm-yffmiw ,.w,,rs-,,.w,ss r , 2 . r ,, . .. , .,

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MESSIN ICILY Messina, Sicily, is a rare blend of the new and the old of Europe. The waterfront is lined with mode rn structures and broad avenues, but just across the way stand old, but elegantly traditional buildings , among them a clock tower with dozens of animated figures springing into action each hour. Life travels a leisurely pace in,Messina, where open fish markets are just a stone's throw from an escalator-equipped department store. Tl-I AY BAC After Messina, we spent a final Week of operations with the Sixth Fleet, then our destination was Norfolk. There was a final stop at Gibraltar to take on as much fuel as the Hank could hold in hopes of a non-stop trip across the Atlantic but rough weather spoiled the plans and the squadron pulled into Bermuda to fuel for the last leg of the long trip home. '