Roanoke (CL 145) - Naval Cruise Book

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A Greek photographer in Athens waits patiently to taken Roanoke sailors Then there was Suda Bay. Located on the north of the island of Crete, the Bay offers a perfect place for the Fleet to rendezvous for reprovisioning, re- fueling and the practicing of amphibious landings, lt is also a good place to go if one Wants a rest. Hiking trips into the surrounding hills occupied the time of those who Went ashore. At dawn of the first day away from there, the Fleet Marines, loaded With full packs and equipment, landed from all the ships upon which they had been embarked, and took a beachhead near Suda Bay with full air and sea support. The realistic conditions under which the landings were staged must have confused the Cretian shepherds no Roanoke group lveing Ntakenl' before the Parthenon, in Athens i ' MW mfg: 3 3 Q - 2 E it f-IQ-'ggi-J' .., .,,,,' My 150- fi,-43 ,Tsai A -es-Sf'i'l'-w.J- .ff :xg A -M,,n..K0 W V ,ag Ji' ' -,A A p ' .. N, 'Q .clk ' gl ' H- - -vi A 199 s...,fr Qi , i sf --1. up-. .- '-K , ir ann' ' , A ' A H412 ,av 'EQ'b-L' , H., M 'Yin -f' isiff 'QA Fiiwrw 74-v-fe. f

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scribing with great pride the days of Helen of Troy, was even more emotionally dramatic than our Sicilian and Cyprian guides had been, but we decided he dial have more to Work With. Again it was a thrill to stand at places that had only been names in a book to us before. The spell of ancient Greece was well woven about us as we descended from the Acropolis, but, in Athens as happens so often in our own country, the spell of history was soon broken by irreverent hawkers selling plaster facsimiles of the Parthenon, post cards and American type ice cream. We thought how pleasant it must have been to sail around the Mediterranean with Ulysses before the days of the American tourist. Athens is a modern city today, with streetcars, busses, subways, nylon stockings and daily rush hours, all subtly fused with the beautiful landmarks of its glorious past. At twilight the sidewalks around Constitution Square are crowded with Greeks, interspersed with the many American repre' sentatives of ECA, strolling about engaged in the ancient privilege of arguing politics, pausing oc' casionally at tables on the square for cups of bitter coffee or for a glass of the native drink, Quzo. Since it was expected of us, being Americans, we tried Ouzo, but shortly decided that since we didn't plan to live in Greece we would prefer not to get used to it and quickly reverted to the local beer or Coca'Cola. With little time to practice during our busy Mediterranean cruise, the Roanolcis basketball team played several club teams in Athens, winning the majority of games except much to our chagrin one with a girls team which ran away with them on the basketball court of course We soothed our masculine pride over that one only bv remem beting all the good will we left behind us Costumcd Sentry Uuarls tht tntran to Kina Paul 5 Palate Atlicns The Parthenon tlcrucs mmlt 0 its ar lntt tural magni cfnce rom optical illusion Athens a modern my of strtct tars ruslt hours and nylon stoclcings 3115? C . . , . i f' ff fl f

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fnwhqzgQ,.gK - 1 H ,.:, .1 I f,- f, 4.5, ,, Sutla Bay, Crm, scent of rctcnt ahtluttion aj Julict hx' Qfrctmi Ranm- end as they watched the hardfhitting Marines take not only one of their beaches, but a hill beyond it as Well. just as rapidly as they had beseiged their objectives, the Uleatherneclesn withdrew to re' embark aboard their respective ships, leaving the Softhall and flnitricnn lwtr lirln 'Ll green hillside to its frightened sheep and goats. These grazing animals niiiy he interested to know that the entire operation was an outstanding suc' cess, demonstrating the eljtective coordination of land, sea and air forces of the USA Navy. Q smiles to rl rlirision tram bm Q Q