McMorris (DE 1036) - Naval Cruise Book

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T«£ GRAY SHAFT No. 1, Vol. 19 Other ships get newspapers at sea--all we get is the SHAFT 26 April 1972 NEW NORTH VIETNAMESE DRIVE SAIGON(AP)-Spearheaded by tanks, a North Viet- namese division smashed the Northern defenses of Kontum City in the Central Highlands Monday and drove South Vietnamese forces as far back as 15 miles away. New air and sea battles erupted deep inside North Vietnam, in the Gulf of Tonkin, and the Gulf of Siam. The Highlands defence line of Tan Canh and Dak To to 25 miles North of Kontum crumbled under the Communist onslaught and a new line was being formed 10 miles North of the provincial capital, said to be the ultimate objective in the 26-day-old North Viet- namese offensive. Not since the opening day of the offensive, when thousands of North Vietnamese troops stormed across the DMZ to attack Quang Tri province, have the Communists made such advances. NEW B-52 STRIKES SAIGON (UPI) -Ten waves of U.S. B-52 bombers struck at Communist troop positions in embattled Komtum province overnight in an attempt to halt a North Vietnamese offensive there, spokesmen said to- day. The giant planes, in flights of three to six planes each, dumped at least 900 tons of bombs behind South Vietnamese troops retreating from a string of major bases in the province about 280 miles North of Saigon. The senior U.S. adviser in the region predicted intense fighting for control of South Vietnam ' s midsection. APOLLO 16 HOUSTON SPACE CENTER(UPI)-With the rockets blasting on the back side of the moon, the Apollo 16 astronauts hurtled out of lunar orbit toward home last night, their mission a success despite the loss of a se- cond experiment due to human error. Before the two minute, 50 second blast on the big command ship engine, astronauts John Young, Charles Duke, and Thomas Mattingly cast off the empty lunar lander Orion and launched a tiny satellite named Li ' l Mo. NUCLEAR WEAPONS AGREEMENT HELSINKI, FINLAND(UPI) -Expectations for the first partial agreement limiting nuclear weapons stockpiles grew today among observers as Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) entered an intensive phase. The American and Soviet delegations were scheduled to meet at 11:00 AM today for the 120th plenary session, called off twice last week, at the American Embassy. Last week ' s twice weekly sessions were called off because Soviet delegation chief Vladimir S. Semenov went back to Moscow for Con- sultations. The expert groups, however, were hard at work all through the week. Todays plenary was impor- tant because Semenov was expected to face the American chief delegate Gerard C. Smith with fresh in- structions from the Soviet government because of President Nixon ' s coming visit to Moscow is so close. Smith said in an exclusive interview that I would ex- pect something very good to come of these meetings.

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A frequent evolution- refueling. Westpac bargins are stowed aboard. Relief is here-USS Claud Jones.

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FAN TALES As the days continue to blend into each other we find ourselves still underway. The question in everyone ' s mind is when will liberty be granted and where. It is so bad that a certain sailor that frequents the Signal Bridge almost daily is beginning to see things. The conversation went something like this, Captain I have a contact off the port side, believed to be a PG , the Captain nods his approval, Captain this thing has a car on its fantail!! No wait a minute, it is a helicopter!!! Not believing this guy he strolls over and takes a look. After careful study he walks away shaking his head. Another bystander the Doc (another permanent fixture on the bridge lately) is watching with interest. Hey Doc , shouts the CO, Take this guy down below and check him out. Sound impossible or unreal, believe me it happened today. It has come to our attention that the Chief finally had his day the other day and pulled that first fish in. It cost him a fin (no pun intened) to EN3 MALLONEE but Dad thought it was worth it. About time Chief! If IC3 CANTWELL continues to blow it like the other night when he showed the Party on the fantail a crash course in Motion Picture School will be offered. This guy just couldn ' t get it all together and kept put- ting the wrong reels on. That ' s o.k. Dave we all have our days. Still no word on the mail situation. It looks like this issue is almost a dead subject. All the Chiefs are sweating the E8 9 advance- ment results Seems the word is out but due to minimize and lack of mail it might be sometime before word is received on the MAC. Lots of luck to them all. A Shellback list appeared on the ship ' s bulletin board with names of the trusty shellbacks. It ' s amazing how many certificates showed up the very same day for people not listed. If you are a shellback and your name is not on the list drop by the ship ' s office for verifica- tion. Offical word has not been put out about the cross- ing of the line and won ' t be until later, but the Ship ' s Office wants to be ready just in case. MAC FLAP says, behold all you slimy pollywogs if we do cross. . .