LST (491) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 47 text:

l 6 Mediterranean Adventure On july 17 we sailed from Penarth, Wales, for Falmouth, England, where we joined a convoy which was enroute to the Mediterranean. The convoy con- sisted of 28 LST's, 35 LCI's, and the escort- 7 Ameri- can destroyers and the Flag, The Cruiser Marblehead. On July 24, we arrived at Gibraltar. Gibraltar was quite impressive to most of us. We had studied in school about this great fortress, and we realized that the Strength of Gibraltar was now a concern of the United States, as well as that of Great Britain. The third night out from Gibraltar was a hectic one. An emergency turn to port had been ordered by the Convoy Commander to get clear of ships approach- ing ahead. One ship turned to Starboard and collided with the Commodore's ship. fThis was the LST 504, not the USS Marblehead, as the Marblehead had left the convoy to enter the port of Algiers that aftemoonj All ships were under dark ship regulations and soon the convoy lost its neat formation and became some- what scattered. It wasn't until sunrise that we all re- gained our assigned positions. This was the only excite- ment during the trip and on july 27, we arrived at Bizerte, Tunisia. It was a difficult job entering the ' 29

Page 46 text:

THE OL, DOUBLE TROUBLE and it was much appreciated. The Red Cross sponsored a ball game between the ship and the Repair Base Per- sonnel. The Navy provided a truck and everybody was taken out to the country to play ball. After the game all had hamburgers and Coca-Cola, which the Red Cross girls provided. And Oh-yes, the Repair Base team won the game. 28

Page 48 text:

THE OL DOUBLE TROUBLE port as the Germans had scuttled many ships in the channel. Our stay in Bizerte was short. We unloaded our cargo and sailed for Naples on August 1. It was 3 beautiful August 3rd, the day we arrived in Naples, the sun was very hot and rain had not fallen for quite some time. This historic old city looked beautiful from the sea, but on coming closer the scars of battle were distinctly visible. Poverty, filth, and disease were in abundance. G Our first week was a busy one, especially for the LCVP boat crews and davit crews. We were at General Quarters CBatt1e Stationsj and Condition One Tare QStations for lowering of boatsj, several times each day. We all sensed that something was coming oif, but we didn't expect it to come so soon after our arrival. By August 12 we were loaded and ready to go. We had about 36 LST's in our Convoy and Commander W. S. Blair, USNR, who was our Group Commander Qand aboard our shipj, was the Commodore in charge. It was a great surprise to learn that none other than the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. James Forrestal, and Vice- Admiral Hewitt were paying us a call before departure. They took a quick spin about the decks stopping here and there to chat with a few of the sailors and soldiers. They seemed to depart with a feeling satisfied that we were ready and that our mission would be successful. By 1500 that same afternoon, we were formed-up and on our way. As we sailed west towards the setting sun we all looked back to see beautiful Mt. Vesuvius, 30