The 1950 Spinax Med trip was a real experience for this, at the time, ENFN from Pennsylvania..

Glenn L. Duncan

Two stories come to mind.

I was on the Port lookout one afternoon as a foriegn merchant came over the horizon. As they passed close by down our port side, a crewmember scurried to the stern to dip their colors, and a flashing light signal came beaming from the bridge, H-I-Y-A. The OOD called to the conn for the quartermaster to come to the bridge. Boats Granet came to the bridge and he and the OOD were having a conversation about the message. After a minute Boats said OH Hell!, got on the light and gave a dash. The OOD said what did it mean? Boats said he was saying HI YA. Probably the only english he knew. During this same Med Cruise we were told to leave Pireus, Greece, because of complaints the local elections were being held under the US Naval guns. The Spinax was sent to Ismir, Turkey. We spent a lot of time snorkling enroute to Turkey. I did not go ashore in Turkey. Our next stop was a very warm Sfax, North Africa, but the uniform of the day was dress blues. I had purchased a bottle of Channel #5 for my mother when in France and evidently the bottle had fallen over in my locker and the top leaked during snorkling to Turkey. My blues were saturated with the perfume. I dressed to go ashore in the perfumed blues and when I got on a bus sat next to a young lady in the first seat. The sun coming through the bus window evaporated the perfume in my blues and I began to really smell like a walking French Whorehouse. The young lady took one long look at me and moved as far away as she could to the back of the bus. Then two other ladies moved to the bacck of the bus and I had the front all to myself.

Glenn