SUNY Maritime College - Eight Bells Yearbook (Bronx, NY)

Page 92 text:

. . . Fon IMMEDIATE occuPANcY1 A Town House . . . That morning we went to a museum loaded with magnificent Statuary, and Spent the fe' mainder of the day in making the rounds of four cathedrals. I know there were four be- cause you had to hit that many before YOU could receive the Papal blessing. In one WHS Micheiangeio's statue of Moses. I am glad I am not an artist, for, after seeing that I should go away despondent, sensing my in- adequacy, to throw myself into the nearest river during a tit of hopeless frustration. Mere words and worn adjectives are inca- pable of describing its grandeur and all that it is. While I am not a culture vulture and am the sort of person who is the bane of any artist's existence, the I-like-what-I-like type, I figure you can wrap up all that is Art in that work and cali it a day. The Papal reception at St. Peter's was all that was expected, its traditional pomp and majestic splendor, the concerted feeling of the thronging thousands and their ecstatic joy upon the arrival of EI Papa pail the imagination. Smiling faintly, he acknowl- edged the accolade accorded him and from the canopied altar which marks the last rest- ing piace of St. Peter, addressed the multi- tude briefly in seven or eight languages with- out pause. Then the procession passed out to the thunderous cheers and chants of those present. While not a Catholic and therefore somewhat incapable of realizing the full spir- itual significance of the proceedings, the spectacle was one I wouidn't care to have missed. Of course the Pope and his office which combine to hold titular sway over S0 inany undivided millions proved exceedingly interesting. However, of more interest to me were those about us in whose faces were mir- rored, with intensity and passion, the deep conviction of their faith. It was something most of us will long remember. It was a quiet and rather su of cadets who. ate dinner that night, paul from the emotional impact of th partly from approaching exhaustion, Ting night was spent comparatively quietly at L Booteria which sold the first decent he H drunk that side of the Alps, er Next morning three cadets only of sev- enty-odd in Rome were on hand for the tour, And they were summarily dismissed by us who remained as bucking for rates. For one I figured to take the ten and so remained ig sack. At least Fd live to get them. Such was the sentiment of most of the rest. That noon, upon hearing the ominous rumble of official disapproval, we allowed ourselves to violate the privacy of the early Christians and were whisked through the Catacombs. Later we followed two pretty girls across a field and up a road to the field location of Quo Vadisn where we saw an exhausted Robert Taylor fnot ours, trying very hard to act like a Roman conqueror. We left that night, and in a day or two slid past Capii out to sea again. It was a restful change having to work only twelve or fourteen hours a day. In winding up this episode I will say that I was somewhat sorry to leave Italy and the Italians, a sentiment shared by very few it seems. They have to be seen to be appreciated, and sometimes it takes a good stomach to do so. Few will forget the hosts who would rush to greet us as we passed through the portals of the Nuevo Estazione Maritima on liberty. They were so obtiging, so available for service, and sought to tempt us in many devious Italian ways. Though I grew somewhat fond of them, being basically perverted by nature,,l would sooner follow a steak down a tigers throat than a Neapolitan into a tea parI0T' In no time at all Haifa suddenly emerged on Mount Carmel and we started another social rat race, this time as guests of the FS- raetian Navy. One thing I will hand Iliivles f-they seek to care for their own, and in this instance it was fortunate that they did so' I hit Haifa with two clams in my Oiiskinnand left with a buck-seventy. If I hadnt written a letter home I would have batted a thou- sand per cent. Most of us were in fheusame state and therefore needed no c0II1PulsI0n.toi Hook to the many dances and house Parties thrown for us. Of all the places Wed been' we Probably saw more of Israel than any Y e audience after- A 4 iw' afiam i int Y iii 'U 1 ft in iii i Gimp 5033311 e J i GWB i sith on 4 Biessi i tried ,tiliifl g irhffdfi WHICH: pc iedfiiliim 'I 4 i1 1 Each' . W isnt U1 Q j50UlC S0 2 WC me wel iii with 4 A ie sort ora i i f iiiogue, si lrislie ma iimy hee ,i . to iiaim lie It iitit, I gc A get noi grind ami 1 plum h

Page 91 text:

W C- al ev ed to he d Iv nd m ste nd the xt, nd st fi. tu- , a IH sed me .dy :ep f is his CHC JV- nd IH :rn H8 en- lo- ell io. ds, ily ice he nd ial he try qc. al- ng H- ge. Ch as it doesn't belong to New Jersey inasfmft even a manufactured product of it. not ISL- lVIac's word for it, I passed up a So' ta mg there and went to Pompeii on t 80 chaff Eyou like that sort of thing, Pom- a ' h ' teresting, the Romans having at erm Eegeiiged the art Of good living to a science jtfst recently surpassed bv the guy who Cffn' smleted a seven by seven bed complete with library, bar, television set, and bathroom all huilt in. But even he has to get up and Change the sheets now and then. We saw the arena, a slave pen full of people who had been forgotten about when everyone had hurriedly decamped. We trod the streets, visited wine shops tout of business, , houses of pleasure talso out of businessl, Roman laaths and a house owned, in days passed, by two bachelor brothers in the wine business. Particularly nice were the hand high murals that encompassed several rooms. An artist was copying them, offered several for sale, hut I was down to burlap at the moment. The Rome tour was nothing more than a three day hulturhampf. Inasmuch as rd devoted my first night to unbridled debauch- ery in celebrating the passage of twenty-four grand, glorious, and wasted years, my eyes never did get exactly into focus. Also we'd piclied a sweet time to come what with the temperature 1000 in the shade and sand storms reported in the Alps. As a result, my cathedrals and museums are all mixed up. W The ride up was brief and pleasant. e traveled easily over country the Fifth Army had traversed the hard way. I don't lUt0W how they did it, as some of those moun- tems Seemed nearly perpendicular. In ROIIIC we logged in at a hotel a few FTOHI. a square which overlooked the H ICT CNY- Then we received our instruc- ons F0111 the officer in charge. Be good. getup at 0750, and malce all the scheduled t0l1l'g ' ter 011 time, or talce ten for missing a mus- IWHS crushed. Cocks? had been invited to the 4th of July at the party at the American Embassy, and started Slppfflprlate time we showed. That t e night for many of us. We weren't Y refer t One of thce boys heard one ness scho Fhqur Olltflt as that Bronx busi- Lreath turo ' and H1 practically the same fihboned Rflfof greatly hashmarfced and be- Schoolh arlne sergeant to aslc him what e Cami? from. He was grimly silent, Wen known. LGI' Marines aren't noted for their sense of f6lim0Ti1 ter thagnsome returned to the hotel Re a Fe ETIPGQUC ::IUlil6E'i while others cut out. shagri Olzvns an gured it would be a 9 to IH the glow so carefully nour- ished, so got ourselves involved with some Marines in the bar at the Hotel Savoy. Then we'became involved with some people who kept PT6SSir1g Manhattans and Martinis into our hot, clammy hands. It was a beaut. Somehow we wound up in the Coliseum wondering where the Christians had been kept- L8Stly, We pampered a whim and rode home in the Roman version of a hansom cab. At five in the morning,'Rome is very quiet and restful. f A t Next morning, at an ungodly hour, the telephone rang. Would we please get up? T. P. Kennedy and I crawled from our re- spective beds of pain and faced the dey in dress blues. It was an endless series of tours culmi- nating in a visit to the Vatican for a public audience with the Pope. We got into the bus, were whirled about-while the guide said this was that and that was so, etc. Then we'd get out to talce a fleeting glance before re-embarking to go on our way. ln the back of one bus, George Yatslco died in agony and was buried with full military honors. SAMYZIZ' W . s

Page 93 text:

For 1-wo reasons: tal it is small, com- other' J about one-quarter occupied by un- pfchdiln liens, and tbl we were always es- frlefldyta the touring buses under armed corted Svhen released to water and stretch gum 'J muscles, they took strategic posi- Cfampsml so precluded the possibility of es- TIT: and a Solo foray. It was sort of a death c ll wheels. marCBI3:.,ed with a hot, dry climate, un- bounded hospitality lbut channeled care- fully to advantage, or so l thought, Israel still laclced several vital requisites essential to the ideal liberty port. Namely, feminine women, palatable chow, and a change of pace as regards things to see and do. Also, the drinlcing liquor is in short supply. Each in turn. Due to the hard times the Army isn't too particular about whom it clads in lchalci, and as a result everyone is in some sort of uniform dining wcirllcilirg hours. We'd no sooner tie up in ai a than we were boarded by an officious horde armed with pencils and reams of paper of one sort or another. They then proceeded to catalogue, stamp, and identify us to a man. lwas the mail orderly of the day and had to cool my heels waiting for my identity card. Seelcing to expedite matters, I sought to charm the lady lieutenant who was doing all this. l got nowhere. I always try, I al- WHYS get nowhere: but then practice malces Perfect and who lcnows what the future holds? In any event, as if feminine wife and guile weren't enough, the Israelis also give their womenfollc shooting irons and send them forth to do battle. Mike Wagner spent if bftle' Part of an evening, at a dance, Istenmg to some sweet young thing describe Krsggigllati djfflil, flerf bayonetting of two who shall ereiffesaffire' Another guy' . e ess, was neatly flipped stern over tea-lcettle down a short Hight of Stairs by a lady commando when he sought to become overly friendly. All of which leads me to thinlc that no matter how thin the firing line, more harm than good is done by sending the womenfollc to the front. They seem to talce exquisite delight in per- forming what is inreality a boring and dis- tasteful job. Further, they violate all the carefully precedented rules of warfare so painfully evolved by the menfollc who wish nothing more than to goldbriclc their way to a point where the politicians, once over their pique, will sit down and decide who has won. History will attest to this. The gentry, quality follcs that is, had warfare down to a science in the middle ages. They could en- gage in tremendous and indecisive battles with neglible losses amongst themselves, the scores of thousands of slaughtered peasantry being of small significance and easily re- placeable. Then Joan of Arc came along and loused everything up by actually win- ning a war. Since then there has been no fighting safely or sanely. Better they should remain home well-babied, barefooted, and out of the way before more harm is-done. As regards the chow, I gag at the thought. We were subject to quite a spread in Tel Aviv, a luncheon they had probably gone to a great deal of trouble at the expense of further deprivation to prepare. The thought of this is what bade me finish. But l died. I neawith respect to the flora and fauna, the parts of Israel we saw looked lilce a SOHC to seed Long Island gone further to seed. We WP'