Coral Gables Historical Archive
Coral Gables Riviera
Friday, May 23, 1941, page 2 (of 6)
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The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
PAGE 2 THE CORAL GABLES RIVIERA FRIDAY, MAY 23, 1941
PAGE 2 -THE CORAL GABLES RIVIERA- FRIDAY, MAY 23, 1941
Ralph White Writes of Exciting Times As A. U. S. Gob, but Wishes He Were Back
Pearl Harbor, T. H. Dear Mrs. Johnston: My only wish is, that I might be attending dear old Ponce once again, for I miss those wonderful times I had with, not only the band but all other functions, which gave me so much pleasure. However, if I had stayed in school I might never have had the experience and traveled the many miles that I have in the past year. In September of last year, out of a clear sky came orders for me to be ready, to leave for San Diego, Cal., the next morning. And when the next morning rolled around, we boarded a train for San Diego. I forgot to mention, that there were 150 counting myself that were to make the trip by special train, and after three days of travel we reached our destination and were immediately put to work on some destroyers for the British. I worked at the destroyer base for about two months and then was shipped to Long Beach, for active duty aboard the U.S.S. Louisville. Two days after boarding her, we sailed for South America, which, as we thought was to be a pleasure, or as the officers would put it, a “good will” cruise, but I will explain about the catch later. We cruised through the Panama Canal and docked at Pernambuco for two days, to take on supplies for our long cruise southward. Some of the less interesting ports in South America were Reelife, Dantos, Rio Grande and Bahia. Among the larger are Rio de Janerio, Montevideo and Buenos Aires. When we reached Rio, our whole division, of which I am a member, took a trip to the “Monument of Christ” and Sugar Loaf mountain. To reach the summit of Sugar Loaf, we had to catch a cable-car. And to make the ride more interesting the officers with us, had to tell us that the cables they were using were the ones that had been used in the Swiss Alps and deemed unsafe for further use, but luckily, it didn’t break with us. We reached the summit just in time to see the lights of the city flicker and a few minutes later spot lights were turned on the “Christ of the Andes”; it was the most beautiful and picturesque scene I have ever seen, or ever wish to see. From Rio we continued southward to Montivedio, where as you probably remember the “Grafp Spee” was scuttled, so I am happy to say I have photos of the scuttling. Our next port in South America was Buenos Aires, and a wonderful time was had by all in this beautiful port. The city is spotted, throughout with lovely parks, which were modeled after those in Paris. The sailors staged a “Fleet Wide” dance for the “Louisville” and to our astonishment the girls turned out to be English and French, instead of South Americans. We finally said goodbye to our South American friends and headed for home, but were not headed in that direction long, for less than 24 hours we were headed for Simonstown, South Africa, to pick up a mysterious cargo and transfer it to New York. This port out of port we ran into one of the worst storms I have ever seen, and in the sudden upset, we lost a man overboard, but due to his own skill in swimming, we were able to rescue him from a watery grave. It wasn’t so easy to leave a warm climate and enter New York during their mid-winter season, even tho we were glad to see our home land once more. We were in Brooklyn Navy Yard for two weeks then headed for Honolulu, Hawaii in a round about manner; for we stopped in Norfolk, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Panama City and last reached Long Beach, Cal. After taking on supplies we weighed anchor for Honolulu, for fleet maneuvers, and I will say, that “there are about 1,000 men who would like to be back in the good old U.S.A. again”. I will have to admit that Hawaii is very beautiful and picturesque, but there is no place as beautiful as home, especially when you have been away some time. This letter will leave the U.S.S. Louisville the same day as it’s written, with but one exception, the letter is beaded for Guam and Saipn. I am reluctant to say is headed for submarine duty in the Far East, or in other words, China. So in closing I wish all my old friends and class mates all the success and happiness, that is in store for them, and may we all pray that our country, the land of the “free and the home of the brave” will never again be in conflict with other nations, as we did in 1914. May the world soon find the peace and happiness, that they have been seeking for so many years, and may war be left in the forgotten past. Sincerely Ralph. (Editor’s Note: The above letter from Ralph White, son of J. H. White, 2225 Alhambra Circle, to his former teacher at Ponce de Leon High School, is reprinted by permission of Mrs. Johnston because of its timely interest.)