Milwaukee (AOR 2) - Naval Cruise Book

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EN3 Dean Swisher and OSSN T. ]. Sago enroute to MILWAUKEE from the Rotterdam train station. Air Department ' s LT Ferguson leads a group of MILWAUKEE sailors on what he calls a lesson in street training in Amsterdam. There were no casualties, except for hangovers the next day. Chiefs Lawlor, Oinonen and Williams cruise through Rotterdam.

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ROTTERDAM Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the world ' s largest free port, was the MILWAUKEE ' S second liberty port. MILWAUKEE became one of hundreds of ships that pull in and out of Rotterdam daily. Completely leveled by German bombs during World War II, Rotterdam was literally rebuilt after the war. Home to a culture hundreds of years old, Rotterdam is a sparkling city of glass, concrete and steel. Her streets are lined with stores and houses, and her people are generally friendly and open towards visitors in their country. Although Dutch is the national language, English, French and German are largely understood. A view of one of the many canals criss-crossing Amsterdam. A center of World travelers, the city has people from all over the world, many of them making their homes in boats along the canals. The Netherlands, otherwise known as Holland, is a country bound in contradica- tions. On one hand, it is an old country, thick with customs and traditions ihal stretch back hundreds of years. On the other hand, it is a country dependent on high technology for its national income. The differences between Rotterdam and her sister city Amsterdam show these contradic- tions. Where as Rotterdam was leveled in World War II, Amsterdam survived largely uns- cathed. Many features of Amsterdam are much the same now as they have been for centuries. Amsterdam is a marvel of city planning. At one time, Amste rdam was to the world what Rotterdam is today. The city is built around a series of five pentagonal canals which run evenly throughout the city. In the years when merchant vessels were smaller and made of wood, instead of docking at a warf or pier in a harbor, the vessels could pull right into the center of the city. Getting out and exploring the cities Rotterdam and Amsterdam is an experience that few MILWAUKEE men will ever forget.

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STEEL BEACH PICNIC Can you feel it? One break during the North Atlantic Cruise came on our way back to Norfolk with the Steel Beach Picnic. Dining on gourmet quisine (charcoaled hamburgers and hotdogs, with plenty of free soda) the MILWAUKEE ' S port helo hanger hosted such world renowned greats as Michael (Cornbread) Jackson, the pink striped-punk folk of RMS Carrigan and Johnson and We ' re Not Milwaukee ' s Finest, But We ' re Not Bad Band. f- ' i