Hitchiti (ATF 103) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 50 text:

WE MADE THE HEADLINES Crew lips hat to young-looking lady ABOARD USS HITCII1T1 v, hilc deploye i to Hip ■ USS Hitchiti 103) ce! bra led her 34 th lay at Subic Bay, ! ic of the Philippines 78. To mark the ■ officers and crew of Hitchiti decorated Ihe ship from bow to stern with appro priate bunting, signal :inn! balloons. In the afternoon, all hands gathered on the fai a 1 guests and friends and -•i p ' s old youngest crewmeml CW04JamesR. Haynal i hego, California, : ; P. Jones, ol Solma, Alabama USS Hifc Story and photos by J03 J. D. Leipold The day had finally arrived for the crew and officer; QSS Hitchiti [(ATF-103), an auxiliary fleet tug] to • • im and head for her homeport of San Diepo. The 68 enlisted men and five officers makii ip hi r comm; ire than ready to make the loi ing gone over six months on a tour of tin m Pacific. They could taste home. WcstPac t.,ur had started wav back in Hitchiti had stopped in Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines. Taiwan, and Hong Kong. She ' d cruised the swells of over 10000 miles of Pacific Ocean, which was r. t always gentle to her. Yes, she ' d seen it all. Not i Hitchiti left Guam heading east, her mission was over. There was still a little matter involving a ■-lands and atolls ol t) • v ain. roughly 1,700 miles southwest of Hawaii. nly was this 34-year-old. 205-foot Navy vessel going to visit the Marshalls, she was to be the last ATF so. The reasons for such a cruise were threefold. First a nee of each island a id surrounding atolls was king certain there was no encroachment bv other Second, was to ensure there were no rritorial va1 rs: and tl ird was the supplies, utilitarian needs tes, textbooks, and about anv iding sports equipment. iges 8 4 9) cut the take, which was decorated with a replica of the old girl What ' s a birthday I a party Immediately after the cake ■ ceremony, all hands and guests gathered around the fantail and participated in the Throw the monkey ' s fisl in the bucket contest and later Pin the carrier on llilchiti ' s tow rope game Tug Boat whistles were .■ . it lo the small ( hildren while prizes lor fhe winners and a door prize were handed out to the lucky adults Every- one enjoyed tin mselves. h. i made thi i ■ sig lificanl event is thai Hitchili ' s lasl birthda; Hil hiti is scheduled for imissioning Sept 30, 1978. She participated in II r • wars -u A travele ! thousands of mile the ; a yea • To commemorate her serviei tl U.S ■• w I Hitchiti present I ■Mih a pi |ue containing i ribbon she Irs won commi ;: ming rhe skipper : the plaque on behalf of Hitchiti and promised to have it immediately m lunted m the mess deck for all to see ' ■ It! nigh Hitchiti is ne ol the oldesl unil s on active duty today, no one could teli it by- looking at hci She boasts a new coal ol painl nd fi many comments made by mist bystanders, sue iooks j than many of the Navy ' s new ships. USS Hitchiti (ATF LOJ unit of Service Squa dron One and is homeported at San Diego. She is commanded by ' ; id uanl Gar S N ;l Anoka. Minnesota.

Page 49 text:

We I ■ -. and de orated the ship tr..m bow I with signal flags and balloons l

Page 51 text:

TTPI t mi bird watching and look for Libertj looks a little shaki the island I ' m jusl holding it up ' til the gel here. think YOl ' got troubles Lucky I )an ' s Boal Rental licken Rani h Throw in another 2 cartons oi marlboros I ' ll tell you where your outboard motor ' s at. Shutup MEDINA and ict natural Come on out of there, IOHNSON! I ' ll trade you m watch, n hell lill. •