Zellars (DD 777) - Naval Cruise Book

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April 18 we made a brief fuel stop in Bodo which is notable only for the goings-on up in the Signal Shack. SM2 Merrill got religion from some pamphlet he read down on the mess decks and commenced preaching love and the good life to those who had the gullibility to listen. He called the strikers son , Said that his old cohort in piracy SMI Roberts was beyond saving and even admitted that CSLW wasn't the only kind of music. People came running out of the shack as if it were on fire. He has recovered and at this writing is again his evil old self. April 23 underway midway between Norway and Iceland started as just another lazy Sunday. ZELLARS and EURYALUS were steaming together on the last leg of Operation Quick Pursuit and each was working with her respec- tive ASW helicopter. Maybe it was the beautiful day or Spring Fever or just looking forward to Newport, but the DASH went berserk and crashed. LTJG Cost sorrowfully regarded the pieces floating by while one of his technicians was commenting, Well now we have some room in the hangar. The EURYALUS' skipper felt constrained to come up on the net and say That was pretty good. My bird can't do that. The Ops Boss, LT Stakel was even moved to write a poem. A ship a she A DASH a bird lt seems to me A crash was heard. The ship still floats The DASH does not It seems to me To cost a lot. But what is cost And who is Cost For in the end They'll both be lost.

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On the Fourth of April, the Squadron crossed the Arctic Circle with the temperature a balmy 44 degrees' It was no use hiding: although .the Peak Tank seemed a likely POSSlb111tY- Everyone trooped dutifully up to the focs'cle and had their noses painted blue while newly arrived Ensign Emmenderfer did the hOHOI'S OH the bullnose. RMI Sullivan went around i fm ff W A ,, ,,,,,,m swabbing the late sleepers, and those who had lost their old cards also got nailed--yes even ET1 Pappy Turner. Other old men in the line included SM1 Roberts and FT1 Hensler. The Chiefs all hid down in CPO land and would have eaten alive any funloving fool who tried to paint them. Sea Detail above the Arctic Circle. Harstad and Bodo are medium sized fishing villages which lie at the foot of the mountains lining the northern coast of Norway. The people are as friendly to strangers as they are in other parts of this land,and the night that passed without a dance was the exception. In Harstad, several from ZELLARS tried their hand at cross country skiing, which is the bread and butter of Norwegian sportslife. Among them were Lamie, Ramsey, Serrell, and representing the of- ficers, LT Anderson, LTJG Cost, 0 ' Q t ,QM L y H-W Wf-f,,,, ., I I 'f ','Aff,3fH 2 H 4, ,f ,, f A it A ,G ff W , LTJG Noe, and ENS Wilson. They can all testify to America's need for more emphasis on physical fit- ness. ln a land where everyone over the age of five is doing every- thing but flying on skis, AmericanS generally finished the course looking slightly asthmatic. Captain Erikson satisfied a secret life long ambition by racing a forty Plus knot Norwegian FPB. Here again the Norwegians were in better shape, but we gave them quite arun.

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1 I l 4 i I ICELAND Aproud country, whose citizens will tell you that they have the world's oldest democracy, Iceland was given great advance publicity by Captain Erikson who insisted that anyone who went ashore must visit the old Leif Erikson farm. The big flail in Iceland was the mysterious disappearance of two bags of mail. As a result, the ship received scores of angry letters from wives asking where the money orders had gone, from official sources beefing about overdue reports, and from loan agencies. Some people have all the luck Leading Seaman Buza on the run into Rekjavik Leaving Iceland, the squadron headed south towards what we on ZELLARS thought would be OUT 1aSf Stop, Newport. In and-transit, h0WeVe1', we received notice that ZELLARS would continue, through the entire cruise. We took time out for the serious business of choosing the worst sea film of the trip, and while Devils of Darkness and Captain Providence were strong contenders, Yankee Pasha WaS given the nod. In this beauty Of 3 HIC, ROTY CH1hOun, humble frontier trapperp, exchanges his coonskin cap for a turban tO flghi Pirates and unscrupulous white slave trading Calllilhs for the girl he loves. Mamie Valn Doren came on very stronginasupporting ro e. I I 28 X ll g g A