Renville (APA 227) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 15 text:

Af A The transit through the canal brought those with cameras onto the decks. At the narrow locks they clicked the electric cars on tracks on either side pulling the ship with thick wire cables, and they clicked other ships in adjacent locks, and the waving people standing on the neat grassplots on either side. After the first locks, jungle and dark quiet lakes, and more locks that let us down once more to sea level. The Renville stopped overnight at Cristobal, Panama, at the mouth of the north end of the canal, then went on north in the Caribbean Sea in formation with the other ships. uElectric Mules for pulling the ships Guiding Light Nature's beauty in the Canal Zone

Page 14 text:

On the morning of November 5th the Renville, in line with the other ships, made the approach to the Panama Canal. Near the entrance, before a clean silver arch of steel bridge, a young couple stood on rocks at the ' ' h ' l 1 thes balanced on the ed e of the water. The young darkeyed, darkhaired woman stood in brig t troplca co g slope of a rock, While the young man stood nearby quietly. Suddenly a cheer went up over the ship, and . Q k the men's faces relaxed and the young woman was waving demurely. She was standing on the roc at the 9 water's edge waving, and the men cheered and forgot war and remembered other women. i l 9 PANAMA CANAL One of six locks '9Renvi1le coming through locks Canal Gateway'

Page 16 text:

Might enmassedn The Renville was there The formation reached an area south of Jamaica and split up, the half with the Ren- ville commenced patrolling, while the other half dispersed to liberty and upkeep ports. Around and around a small designated area the patrolling force cruised in the gay Windy steel blue sea, the monotony broken only spas- modically by the Welcome arrival of a heli- copter with a few bags of back mail.