Midway (CVB 41) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 84 text:

6 Max— POIMSMOUTH, II{(,IM o:nn -Irul.Twm l-.r N..rf..lk Na il lil|ituril. OVI.i-(alioull Mfxir M Ixrlli WSY l ' »rl ini ulli. „ Tlic ( iiiiii of I lie Sciif.. a [iroiid lli|l «illi an ii|uiill |ir iiicl rcw. i no. ) ' !! iiiln liir Ixrlli in iIk- S , I ' ort.-nioutli. Her -marl .i|i|)(aranre, after four months in llif Miili- lirranean, was a credit to her crew. A welconiini: l ? i committee from the FDR. alias Buihlin ' : 42. ' was on hand. It has been rumored that the Foo Dee Roo lias been tieil u| for so Ion £ that she lias become cenienteil to the pier and caii t be pried loose.

Page 83 text:

5 Mav— NORFOLK, VIRGINIA 084.i— Quarl.TS for Musltr— Fliflil l),-,k } arailc riic Air (Group ' s gear is already to be off-loadtd as tlic iniii of the MIDWAY fall in for (jiiarters, a happy task now, just a few minutes from the U. S. A. You couM ahuost see a rainbow-like span forming ' in tin- sky, made by llii anxiety and love of those on shore, reacliini; out lo nicit the happiness and desire of those returninK home.

Page 85 text:

u . .T - ' PoaJa WHEN ih,. U.S.S. MIDWAY left Norfolk. Vir-inia. for its iq:.2 Mediterranean cruise, it traveled as part of Task Force 87 to its first port of calk Gibraltar. From that time on it became an intefjral part of tlie L. S. . ixtli Fleet eni;af;cd in the historical task of showiiif; the flat:. Commanded by ice Admiral M. B. Gardner, the Sixth Fleet is the Navy ' s largest permanent operational fleet on the high seas today. (Con- sisting of several score or more ships manned by approximately 20,000 officers and men, it makes continual visits to important ports of the Mediterranean area. These ports may range from Suda Bay, Crete, to the French Riviera, and in all of these, it is the individual sailor ' s task to find a means of rapport with the civilian populace. The success which has attended the mode of operation is shown by the fact that the Sixth Fleet is com- monly known as the Friendly Fleet.