Oriskany (CV 34) - Naval Cruise Book

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fix X it X1 5 ' MN. Gifts for the folks buck home and English woolens cost a few shillings, sometimes pounds, but this was the last chance to buy in Europe. Big glasses of beer, ale, and stout as well as the prospegf of Home in two weeks kept the sailors bug-eyed. f I From the slope above town, residents saw the Oriskany, the Leyfe, and the Siboney, with Spain across the buy. exe XX X X' X'XX X e X MX Mgt is ,XX S X Q, XX X 55X XXV X l SXSX eyes QXVXQX ,XX X l X i X XXNX X X Xff 4XfX X A X X S-XXX X5 X XXQX XXXXVXXLX XQXKQX XXX X XXX Q .XQXXXQXQXYXX QQXXSFXFXKX X Y .ix XXX NQX5 . X X X X X sqprv XX X XX XXXXX X X XX X XXX x Xp . ..x. XXX, XXX X 'XXXXXXXXQ X X XXX .X- XX XXX X X -S X XX X A -X Q X X N Xi 11 I X. st XXKXSKX X XXXX X XXXXX XXX XXX XX Rv XX X W. :X ii X. X N

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and of Europe . . . GIBRALTKRA IBRALTAR didn't look like the drawings in adver- tisements for the Prudential lnsurance Company. 'als that the Rock?,' sailors repeated skeptically when the Oriskany steamed into its last port of the Mediterranean cruise late in September, 1951. The Rock shot up high enough for a reputedly im- pregnable fortress, with big guns pointing over sea and hay. The top was hidden by clouds several days. When the overcast cleared, signal stations and radio towers and other buildings stood tiny and gray against blue sky over the long uneven spine of the Rock. riiiyir A f ' At the foot of . p the slope, barracks n 14, mygx ' and houses clung to the west and south facing the afternoon sun. On the eastern shore, only one village found space in front of cliffs to provide a beach. To the north, a flat isthmus con- necting to Spain served as an air- port. lt was from Spain itself that the Rock looked as it did for Prudential. But few Oriskany sailors man- aged to pass the border. ln the town of Gibraltar, American Navy Officers and men crowded Main Street, with its bazaars and bars. The Sight of policemen in black helmets reminded visitors that the British Empire held title to the colony, con- firmed by several centuries of successful defense. Because there were no duties on imports, manufac- lured goods from all over Europe and Asia were priced almost as low as in the country of origin. Oriskany Sailors bought English razors and woolens, French per- Tlli lrlflsll ruled the Rock bu! the eager suilbfi Gnd MU l 95 wanted only liberty on terra llrma. fumes and silks, Spanish lace, ltalian leather, Indian brasses, Scotch whiskies-on a chance, and American sardines for the long voyage home. Off Main Street, lanes zigzagged up the slope, grudg- ingly giving a few square feet to houses for military per- sonnel and some civilians of Spanish and ltalian de- scent. The sharp angle, however, allowed almost every- one to view sunsets from windows looking over rooftops across the street. Sunsets over Spain shone red and gold, purple and green and blue. At Europa Point, southernmost tip of Gibraltar, a lighthouse sent out beams that could be seen in Africa, 14 miles away. Like every other structure, even this tower seemed built for permanence and defense.

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Where The VERY state-except two--sent sailors or Marines to the Oriskany. Officers and men came from big city, small town, country crossroads, and farm. All told, there were nearly three thousand men aboard the Oriskany, every one in uniform except two civilian technicians. Despite the distance between their homes, they worked together like a well-trained team. Marksmanship records and 6'Well donesn received from Fleet Commanders and observers attested to their skill and cooperation. Some men talked loudly about Home. Others seemed always happy-they laughed so loud that shipmates asked quietly, uWhere's he from? In some Departments and Squadrons, accents indicated a possibly long roster from one section or another, but this did not necessarily turn out to be true, when records were examined. Ship,s records, as analyzed for public information dur- ing the Med cruise, revealed that most Oriskany officers and men came from the Northeastern section of the United States. New York State had the highest representation with 221 oflicers and men on the roll. Pennsylvania, in second spot, sent 180. The two States provided one out of every eight men on board. New England, containing six states, was the home of 252 Oriskany officers and men. The bulk of them, 116, came from Massachusetts, the third state in order of num- ber of men. Connecticut was home to 57, and little Rhode Island sent 30. There were 26 Down-Easters from Maine, 16 White Mountain boys from New Hampshire and seven Green Mountain boys from Vermont. Fifteen Bostonians made the cruise. The largest city in the country sent 99 of its citizens, more than any State except the first four, in one of which its representation was a large part. The City of New York with 99 was exceeded only by the State of New York, by Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Ohio. The Borough of Brooklyn, with its variety of accents, had 35, Manhattan, 29g Queens, 17, and the Bronx, 11. Strangely, a small city in the Deep South sent the second largest number of men to the Oriskany: Jacksonville, Fla., with 43. This was more than half of the total number from the State. The explanation seemed to be that men from Jacksonville lived there mainly because they worked in Naval Aviation. No other Deep Southern state came close to Florida in the number of men, 80, aboard the Oriskany. There were 61 North Carolinians, 58 Virginians, 44 Geor- gians, and 39 Alabama stump jumpers. Despite this considerable number of Deep Southerners, they were out-numbered by Mid-Westerners. Residents of ame From states north of the Ohio River represented the second largest group on the Oriskany's rolls. To Ohio's 104, fourth largest, were added 92 from Illinois, fifth from the top, 66 from Michigan, and 45 from Indiana. The city of Chicago alone sent 24 and Detroit, 14. Other states with large representations included New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, California, Mary- land, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Tennessee. New Jersey ranked sixth with 88 men aboard the ship. The great State of Texas sent 38. From the Far West the ship got relatively few men. California, ranking 16th, provided 36, few of whom came from big cities. The State of Washington sent 11, only one more than the District of Columbia. A small town, Sedro Woolley, in Washington State was known to everyone aboard because of the piercing quality of the laughter of one of its residents, Andrew R. Alaways, SN. Peace be to Sedro Woolley! Oregon sent five sailors to the Oriskany. This book is dedicated to one of them. Wyoming and Idaho, in the Rockies, were the only two States not represented on ship's roster. One man came from Arizona, another from Montana, and a third from New Mexico. Two each were from Utah and Nevada, while seven were residents of Colorado. The civilized State of Maryland provided 35 names. Other Border States with considerable representation were Missouri and Tennessee, 33 each, Kentucky, 283 and West Virginia, 27. The Coastal State of South Carolina was home to 26 Oriskanv men as were Gulf States Mississippi to 21 and Louisiana to 11. In the great plains of the Mississippi Valley. Wisconsin led with 34, followed bv Minnesota with 20. Iowa with 18, Kansas with 14, and Oklahoma and Arkansas with 10 each. Only a handful of men were sent from Delaware, Ne- braska, and North and South Dakota. Two men came from Canada. It probably troubled the generous town of Oriskany. New York, for which the ship was named, just as it troubled the crew when they occasionally thought about it, that no one came from that famous Revolutionary area. Such a man might have been named to all the honors, titles and emoluments that the crew could bestow. The home towns of the two skippers of the Oriskany during the cruise were Sioux City, Iowa, for Captain Lyon, and Washington, D. C., for Captain Lambrecht. The ship herself found her home berth at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. ? -.,r,, ...,.,-,p,,,, ' x E Er Qi 3, Qi A 1 A E Q: 5 5 ii .A