58th year, No. 46
Serving the Nato, Naples and Gaeta military community in italy
Friday, december 6, 2013
Yuletide Spirit Fills the Air around Naples
W hat ’ s I nsIde
By Lou Freed
Christmas warmth and joy radiate in the city with handcrafted Nativity scenes in the historic center as well as in churches and museums all around town. Christmas trees now also twinkle at shopping malls and shops reminding shoppers ‘tis the season for gift giving. On selected dates through midDecember, Verdi’s “Aida” opera will mesmerize audiences with outstanding scenes, costumes and songs to be followed towards the end of month by the holiday ballet favorite, “The Nutcracker.” Also enhancing the joyful season is the opening of the annual “Showcolate” today in Piazza Plebiscito while some Campanian towns are busily planning their upcoming gastronomical events or musical shows.
USS Nimitz Enters Pearl Harbor for a Port Visit Page 6
Presepe Traditional Neapolitan Christmas art lives on To recall Christ’s humble birth, St. Francis of Assisi is said to have celebrated Mass in front of a cave with a manger and animals in 1223. The representation subsequently inspired church clerics and Italian nobles to commission centerpieces for their own use, generating the spread of the art. Today, a favorite Neapolitan tradition you can share is to add a new figure to the family Presepe each year. Nativity craftsmen in the narrow San Gregorio Armeno Street are living proofs of the art that developed in the city during Bourbon times. To date, the Cuciniello Crib in the San Martino Monastery Museum, donated by the local architect and playwright Michele Cuciniello, is the city’s largest and most exquisite achievement of the art. This is a great one to share with your holiday guests. Described by critics as a “theatrical event,” the work features the Holy Family in the midst of nearly 600 villagers and shepherds dressed in traditional Neapolitan costumes going about their daily lives — farming, cooking, entertaining, dining or dancing. See Yuletide Spirit Page 4
Chief of Naval Personnel Addresses Sailors’ Concerns Page 7
Galleria Umberto, with its designer shops and boutiques across from the San Carlo Theater and the Royal Palace, is a favorite gathering point for Neapolitans during the holidays. Last year, many Neapolitans posted their wishes for good luck, health and others on the Christmas tree within the 19th century treasure. (Photo by J. Freed)
Remembering Pearl Harbor An Account of the Pearl Harbor Attack by Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class Lee Soucy, crewman aboard the USS Utah (AG 16) From the Naval History and Heritage Command and courtesy of the Historian, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
I had just had breakfast and was looking out a porthole in sick bay when someone said, "What the hell are all those planes doing up there on a Sunday?" Someone else said, "It must be those crazy Marines. They'd be the only ones out maneuvering on a Sunday." When I looked up in the sky I saw five or six planes starting their descent. Then when the first bombs dropped on the hangers at Ford Island, I thought, "Those guys are missing us by a mile." Inasmuch as practice bombing was a daily occurrence to us, it was not too unusual for planes to drop bombs, but the time and place were quite out of line. We could not imagine bombing practice in port. It occurred to me and to most of the others that someone had really
goofed this time and put live bombs on those planes by mistake. In any event, even after I saw a huge fireball and cloud of black smoke rise from the hangers on Ford Island and heard explosions, it did not occur to me that these were enemy planes. It was too incredible! Simply beyond imagination! "What a SNAFU," I moaned. As I watched the explosions on Ford Island in amazement and disbelief, I felt the ship lurch. We didn't know it then, but we were being bombed and torpedoed by planes approaching from the opposite (port) side. The bugler and bosun's mate were on the fantail ready to raise the colors at 8 o'clock. In a matter of seconds, the bugler sounded "General Quarters." I grabbed my first aid bag and headed for my battle station amidship. See Remembering Pearl Harbor Page 11
Thanksgiving Celebrations Held for Single Sailors Page 13
FRIDAY High 56 / Low 43 Partly Cloudy
SATURDAY High 56 / Low 42 Clear
SUNDAY Image courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command
High 58 / Low 46 Clear