Smalley (DD 565) - Naval Cruise Book

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Gzbmlfzzr Mediterranean Sentinel The New Year was four days old when Des Div 302 entered the sheltered harbor at the British rock fortress of Gibraltar. From the sea, the town looked clean and white in the bright morning sun and the red tile roofs of the houses gave depth and distance to the scene. The town crawled tortuously about half way up the southern side of the Rock and faced across the Straits toward Africa. Fortress town 47 Our stop was to be a short one and we remained only long enough to fuel. However, the few hours ashore were suflicient to peruse the town. A sentry standing post on top of the Rock could have seen a column of white- headed black ants suddenly swarm ashore and proceed toward the center of the town. Liberty had commenced. For the next several hours the neat, narrow little streets, flanked on both sides by two-story buildings, some with color- ful facades of tiled mosaics and Spanish style open balconies of wrought iron were crowded with the sailors of Destroyer Division 302. For those who had money left from their stay i11 France and had intentions of discovering bar- gainsf time was of the essence, for it was Saturday and in Gibraltar that means a half day. The camera clubfansv took things more leisurely though, and commenced photograph- ing everything in sight. At 1400 the Smalley began spinning her main engines and a few minutes later got underway. She was followed out of the harbor by the remainder of the Division. h

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i 3 1 3 is 'l i A 6711141455 Cotc D,Azur New Yearls Eve on the Riviera! Tliat's bet- ter than Times Square. You could even forget that you had been away from home for seven months. Real French champagne, plus gam- bling casinos, European jazz and can-can dancers-that was for the Smalley. When our liberty boats first passed those sleek sloops and private schooners in the Cannes yacht basin, close to our anchorage, we knew we had hit a port where people really knew how to live. Cannes offered a few cafes and restaurants, but its grandeur was mostly proclaimed by its exclusive hotels, such as the Martinez. Nearby Nice reigned as the most cultured French city of the Cote D7Azur with its ritzy shops, well- kept parks and intimate night clubs which most of the Smalley sailors hastened to enjoy. Some of the crew went directly to the beau- tiful ski resort of Auron which was nestled in the snow-covered Alps which could be seen rising majestically in great contrast to the bar- ren desert of Arabia which we saw only a few weeks before. Even though it was mid-winter, the sunny Mediterranean afternoons permitted pleasant tours around the famous Cote D,Azur. Bou- langeries, epiceries, perfume, and clothing shops were seen everywhere filled with an easy-going clientele which included school children, farm folk, sahled demoiselles and professeurs. After two days of sight-seeing, Smalley men were ready to celebrate New Year's Eve. Cafes and night clubs in Nice and Cannes were brimming with high spirits and good cheer. Le vin-superb, la musique-torride, les fem- mes-mais oui! Fun was expensive, but after payday in France-clcst la vie. XV hen we weighed anchor on the second day of january and headed for Cibraltar and our last leg home, we realized we were leaving one of the best ports of the cruise. To be sure, everyone had a whale of a time on the Riviera. NEW P K limit: XP . 'Sill lg l lv ix i ,g Q crsi sf BON lf. 46

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U15 ,tllflnfzk-111111 ,Hume The Old Wforld had been left behind and the New VVorld lay 3,000 miles over a horizon of angry gray windswept ocean. Once out into the Straits of Gibraltar, the Division formed a line abreast to starboard and our course was set to follow the sun. lVe had been following the sun since leaving Newport eight months before and now at last it would lead us on the final leg of our journey home. It was an eight day cruise to our next stop. Bermuda, and the underway routine of daily life soon settled down over the S mulley. There was a difference from previous times at sea though, for now a certain electrification and feeling of anticipation was in the air. The winds could howl and the sea stand the ship on end, and it would matter little at this point. The crew of the Smalley could stand it all, for Newport was only three thousand miles away. The days alternated between bright sunshine with brisk breezes and cold gray dawns which unleashed torrents of rain and howling winds against the ship. We pitched and rolled and the mountainous sea broke over the forecastle, and sent sheets of solid water cascading down upon the open bridge and banging against the bulkheads of the pilot house. The ship would falter for an instant under this onslaught, then slowly raise her bow high and plunge on to repeat the process. Nights like this were the worst of all for those who had to stand the bridge watches, for up there-there was no escape from the cold. But it was not all like this. There were days of calm and nights when Sk its tln' inoon nntl stars slum n elear in the heavens, 'l'lien tln' :noon uns like at seiinitar slice out of the lilat-k slit-ll ol night :intl the stars like a niillion pin holes. lfroin the silxer crescent the moonlight shot and xyayen-cl across the surface ol' the sea like niolten silxer poured from the ladle ol lienxren. Un these nights, the sea, deep and dark. rolled and swislit-tl gently against the hull and lullecl the oil'-wateli to slumber. Night alter night through storin and calm, the little ships ol' the Division rode on across the impenetrable and inserutable sea, ever onward, hoineward. Until one cloudy morning there loomed a green wooly shelf between where sea and sky met. lierniuda was on the horizon. llere we relfueled and moved Oli. Now only two days and the ever-pounding sea separated us from Newport. The boredom which had haunted us throughout the cruise and the adventure which was always fresh were finally forgotten with the intense antici- pation of home. YVe knew that our farnilies-mothers, fathers, wives, children and girl friends-would be waiting for us. The DesLant band would wel- come us with a fanfare from the decks of the USS Cclscufle. The Newport Mayor and Com- DesLant would laud us for a long job Well done. And so it was . . . we were not disappointed . . . on 15 january they were all there. But more important we were there too. The cruise, the experience, eight months and sixty-five thou: sand miles were behind us. At last we were home. Sir Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill. l ll R. il., . S. l l 48 X