Procyon (AF 61) - Naval Cruise Book

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If , UPON ARRIVAL f W fr f fb? FINAL SEA DETAIL U.S. CUSTOMS C11 I Q, 't uf - 'X f11 T,,C 'A .M lg - - ' S' 'WM T QT 1 ,. T f-'fff W 755 Q: CQI1' If fx- A S I nk 3 , .L WY if 6 A .-Cv?'?F'f DEPENDENT5 . . . DEPENDENTS . . . DEPENDENTS . . . C.O. GREETS MRS. A FIVE NEW DEPENDENTS JOINED THE PROCYON CLAN DURING THE CRUISE. CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER FOR THE PROUD PARENTS. THEY ARE: THE MOORES, THE BULACANS, THE STUDERS, THE VALDEZES, AND THE MCFARLINS.

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RED, RIGHT, RETURNING STEERING COURSE O87 FROM COMSERVRON SEVEN TO USS PROCYON INFO COMSERVGRU ONE WELCOME HOME. YOUR SUCCESSFUL CRUISE IN FOREIGN WATERS IS NOW BEHIND YOU AND A WELL DESERVED REUNION WITH FAMILIES AND FRIENDS IS IN ORDER. MAY YOU HAVE A PLEASANT LEAVE PERIOD. CAPT GENTRY

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CRUISE SUMMARY All in all, the cruise has been a unique one. It all started with a bang back in CONUS fContinental UNITED STATESI when the UNITED STATES successfully blasted The moon shot the day prior to our depar- ture. It sort of set the stage for,PROCYON to blast out of San Francisco at her MACH .OI9 speed headed for Yokosuka, Japan. After our first four days underway, another unique historical episode came to pass ...the TONKIN GULF incident. We all knew that The on-coming crisis would mean increased responsibili- ties and work load for Old PRO and some of us guessed it would mean an extended tour in WESTPAC. Our NSC Oakland loadout contained another unique feature: Fresh Frozen Milk for issue to the de- ployed fieet! No AF had previously transported This item to WESTPAC due to limitations of the reefer plant capabilities famong other problemsi. The fresh frozen milk cargo required -the PROCYON reefer plant to work at peak efficiency to maintain a temperature of 5 degrees F. or less in number 3 hold until the milk could be off-loaded to the customer ships. The plant withstood the test, thanks To Chief Turner and his A-Division men who pampered the cargo reefers day and night throughout the cruise. Our one-day replenishment of a complete task force is a feat no other AF has yetaccomplished or is expected to accomplish in the foreseeable future. A record total of 415 tons of food was transferred to Task Force 76 during a period of twenty consecutive hours. The Force, made up on I9 amphibious ships, was replenished as it steamed in the South China Seas carrying a detachment of 7000 combat-loaded Marines. Another unique feature of the cruise was our double extension in Hong Kong, B.C.C. Normally, one extension in the Pearl of the Orient is a once in a lifetime occurrence PROCYON was extended twice Once by ComServ Pac for additional well deserved rest and relaxation and once by ComSeventhFlt while our Captain spent some time in conference aboard the USS MOLALA About the time we departed Hong Kong we were informed that our cruise had been extended for I4 extra days lthis was our itll cruise extensloni as a result of TONKIN GULF activities The extension came as no surprise most of us expected it The surprise extension came a month later as PROCYON lay berthed in Yokosuka Japan poised to belch forth a puff of black ieconomy hazel smoke and lurch out of the harbor for home No such luck our relief the USS PICTOR had belched forth some black smoke of her own Cwhich was definitely not economy hazel a few days out of San Francisco and it was reported that she was wallowing In the ocean at a much reduced SOA Ispeed of advancei She was ordered to limp into Pearl Harbor for repairs and PROCYON was ordered to remain on station to maintain maximum 7th Fleet support capability During this second extension four Olympic Yachts Call medal winnersi were loaded on board as part of our cargo loadout from Yokosuka for transport tothe States To our knowledge no AF has ever gone to WESTPAC with fresh frozen milk and returned with Olympic yachts After I7 days of being held in the constant suspense of not knowing when we would leave the word finally arrived that the PICTOR had been fixed by Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and that PROCYON would be allowed to depart Yokosuka at II00 on 23 November and steam for San Francisco thus bringing to a happy end a most successful cruise As a post script tothe cruise we would like to make It known that the officers and men of PROCYON are extremely proud Cand rightfully sol of The following CRUISE ZEROES ZERO COMMITMENTS MISSED ZERO OPERATIONAL CASUALTY REPORTS ZERO SERIOUS SHORE PATROL INCIDENT REPORTS ZERO COURTS MARTIAL ZERO SERIOUS PERSONNEL CASUALTIES ZERO MESSAGES MISSED BY THE RADIO GANG ZERO PORTS MISSED BY NEW NAVIGATOR AND CHIEF QUARTERMASTER ZERO DEGREE TEMPERATURES MAINTAINED IN NUMBER 3 HOLD ' 1 ' I 1 . . I . V . Q . , . f Q ' 1 1 ' ' My . , . , I I 0 I l I I .. . . In . . F' . I I I . II Il o , . , . I A . . 1 ' ' .I S I. , 2. , 3. 4. - 5. 6. 7. 8,