Tarawa (CV 40) - Naval Cruise Book

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M ., - :.itf7pxQg4 ,xv ft was r r 'S . X M t.,j7f ey.,., V 1 WA X V .sz , .t . ' ax ' nw! wr M M 4 A Wei. ,rollin , K ir Quainily spireci and gablecl S+. Moritz absorbed 'l'l1e sun of early spring and sailors turned fheir backs upon fhe sea. ITZERLA s W , hw Two ' l . girucloreglake in Q and their pargzgnoi we ski run. s he view if om We WITZERLAND, long envisioned by crew members to be a land of snow- capped mountains, secluded green valleys, bright sunshine and peaceful herds of grazing sheep and goats, was all of that and moreg we had reckoned without the extreme friendliness and exceptional hospitality of the Swiss people. Tours to the Land of the Alps visited Geneva over the Christmas holidays and later in the cruise went to Lucerne, Berne, Engelberg, and Interlaken. The piece de resistance however, proved to be the four-day jaunt to St. Moritz. St. Moritz is located high in the Alps just north of the Italian border in the Austrian section of Switzerland. Renowned as a winter playground for notables the world over, it lived up to its reputation despite the fact that the TARAWAites mushed in on the last day of the season. After the first day the village resembled a rest home for disabled mountain climbers. Sprained ankles, wrenched shoulders, and assorted welts and bruises testified to the doubtful skill of the TARAWA's skiing enthusiasts. The slopes were covered with floundered swabs and the price of kindling wood hit a new low.

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i ROM PARIS, each group made a tour to the Palace of Louis XIV at Versailles. Here we saw a work of art where time has left its mark without doing any harm and where some of the most important events of the free world have taken place. Built in the eighteenth century and resplendent with all the grandeur Interior ot one ot the many enormous rooms at the Palace ot Versailles. lnterior of the Church ot St. Genevieve, patron saint ot Paris. of Louis XIV's monarchy, it is the product of master craftsmen from all of Europe of that time. To its unsurpassed magnificence is 'added the part it has played in the lives of free men. It was here that two treaties recognizing the independence of the United States from England were signed and it was in this palace's Hall of Mirrors that the treaty ending World War I was completed. Tarawa tour parties wallrecl with awed silence through the vast halls of the Palace and then hurried out to the courtyard where they waited quietly, but with less awe, for a group photograph. F e...-1-w-efn- l l

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X Solemn dignily caplured in sfone. A shrine 'I'o Si. Helena in Geneva. H ERSONAL DAMAGES did not, however, deter the lads from making the y rounds of the local pubs in the evening. Booths made from old wine casks, 5 heavy hand-hewn tables and benches, knotty pine walls decorated with stags' heads and cowbells and broken skis, earthenware mugs brimming with the F finest beer in the world, Tyrolean bands and cheery voices raised in hearty l boughl' one of +hose a1'ln+erlaken! Excellent meals in copious quantities were served three times a day without exception. Late evening snacks of cold chipped beef dried and smoked in the open air, sweet sausages and spiced pickles washed down with tangy beer satisfied the ravenous appetites engendered by a day in the mountains. At midnight small cubes of steak skewered on sticks of pine and broiled over charcoal saved everyone from starvation until morning ham and eggs. Thoughis of home were in all hearis ai' supper Chrisimas Eve. 3 German drinking songs all blended to make every evening an unforgettable 5 experience. The Swiss found the swabs to be as fun-loving as themselves and T laughter and gaiety were the keynotes to good cheer. l .I Berefed and becaped Swiss +roops found fas+ friends in fhe firsi' American sailors ihey had ever seen.