Tarawa (CV 40) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 17 text:

ju? Al I 1 l -+ reau, 'fihe saH ' They. c0x::n3nxereshn9 W5 HIP Our ball field below the rocks to the west of the town developed many a sore arm and many a bruised spot. Baseballs mixed with rocks in the outfield fthe military who formerly camped on that site didn't have it too goody. February rain, snow or sunshine made soccer an appropriate game too, and failed to slow the pace of either. The hills above us figured prominently in local history. When Palermo was scourged by the plague in the 17th century, a hunter passing the cave where hermitess St. Rosalia had spent her days was promised by her vision that the city would be spared. The One can see small flowers scalfered across 'rhe alhleiic and recreafion freld bu+ some of +ha+ whife is rock. Only 'fhe sure foofecl and lucky had fheir fun will-roul' scars. The Keeper of the Calacombs. Once am whaf was0:h9 'the' Hrsf fam-I. elr ,qnesf i IISS gf P . I d 5,6 v1ewff,e1a'1Y.fhey forrgmg and arrayed . smg sighfseers solemn fury people did as she instructed them and the city was saved. A church in the hill and a yearly procession from the Palermo Cathedral pay homage to her today. The liberty party was stranded ashore when heavy weather stopped boating. Many had prospects of glue-like Italian coffee and those balloon tire doughnuts for breakfast but the destroyers moored at the dock managed to supply most of the chow and after two days of their crowded accommodations all T men were back aboard ready for sea. f L1 .. T GO ri -fr f' A g We-S 'H'lQ,l SHALL I 'mes RYNowskn -ro Suck BAY , Suri?

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Movie house H, I. Palermo, dedicjfgzfl i'l:Yle- on one Q-F-H16 . , Garibaldi' HIE. :ke many ofher bumiam squares of I one who unifed 'Phe If-algafizfggn Gino ll PALER 0 , l The rebuilf, postwar harbor area made an impressive fronl' for a raiher ordinary ci'l'y. KING'S PALACE, a good but rocky athletic field, some rather Excellent new port facilities contrasted strangely with architectural l grisly catacombs and a terrific chunk of history demonstrating monuments dating back 800 years and embodying both Byzantine Sicily's strategic role in the development of the Mediterranean, and Norman features. The Sicilian cart hauling everything from l were all ours in Palermo-if one could iind all this in the rain coal to carrots, and the horse-drawn taxis hauling all hands made and bad weather. traffic lively. l l . Left: Thev auard 'rhe Parllamenl House of 'l'odav's Sicilv. H' was once 'lhe palace X I I , l 5 l l l l l I Years after +l1e dea'l'l1 of i San+a Rosalia, in her her- mifess gro'H'o lbehind ihe door, righl' baclcgroundl, she appeared +o a hunier searching for game lduring 'Hue Black Plague epidemic of l560l. When lhe fown people fulfilled 'lheir prom- ises io her, the plague left 'lhe city. x l I 1

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f 39 92 M MEX 0 . gem, -- Bluff f f2?sfi'g 4 fi 4 Q. ff' 'pi' iw fs f-1:42-Q3 V25 5 W Y, is-15' aff . ff log 1',,,.9 i AWTWX' ,V ' :mf .Xi 1 af f , f 5 fl 'QM ff f ff AY ,ef V: On our way 'ro liberly we saw +he yachis ai' anchor in the small basin. They were casual as well as eleganl' and seemed +o sei' lhe lreynole for wl'1a+ we were fo find in Cannes. EACHES AND BIKINIS, sunshine, and sidewalk cafes made Cannes the ideal liberty port of our entire cruise. And yet a way of life and an individual integrity of the people who lived there made it something more. A few of us had been to France before, but all of us were curious and eager to visit this place, Cannes, on the famous Riviera. For to us, Cannes was France . . . and we were headed for it. Days before we arrived long-forgotten French textbook phrases were tossed around and persisted on through our visitg this, de- spite the fact that these remarkable people understood our English better than our French. It would be diflicult either to enumerate all the things we did in Cannes or to state what it was we liked most. Unquestionably there is no French beer that can compare with the product that made Milwaukee famous, but no one could dispute the merits of enjoying a leisurely glass of wine at a sidewalk cafe. For that matter it was a pleasure to simply take a walk in the sunshine on the streets of Cannes. Some of us found our way up steep Winding streets to places like da Boutteau's where meals were cooked in full view of everyone in an open hearth-like arrangement. And savory seven course meals that included dishes like minestrone soup, fried artichoke, delicious sirloin steak, and true French pastry were served under the watchful eyes of Jean- Francois. CANN A+ the Winler Casino you could find roulefle fables, bu? downsfairs on lhe dance floor fhere were rousing Latin rhylhms. augur...-.-...,.....,.............m ,