This page is confined to photos and stories related to events occurring during the Navy's Solant Amity I Cruise to South America and Africa, November 1960 through May 1961. This is but a part of the story involving the members of the G" Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment out of Camp LeJeuene, North Carolina and, primarily, the crews of three ships of the U.S Navy: The USS Graham County LST 1176, later to become the AGP 1176, the USS Gearing DD710 and the USS Hermitage LSD-34.
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![]() 2-6-2 Mess Hall Camp LeJeune, NC 1960 |
![]() Trinidad, BWI |
USS
Graham County![]() Shellbacks: 1st Sgt Perkins & GSgt Lykens |
Shellback
Ceremony![]() USS Graham County LST 1176 |
![]() Equator Crossing |
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![]() USS Geary DD-710 "She was a tin-can destroyer, the lead ship of the Navy's Gearing class..." Home Page |
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The rows of photos above and below were furnished by former E4 Corporal Ronald G. Van Dunk ( rgvandslp@aim.com ) of the Field Communication Unit on the Hermitage . They represent the efforts and purposes of the Solant Amity Task Force in, first, providing for the evacuation of ill and wounded Guinean United Nations forces from the Congo conflict. And, too, our function in the region as expressed by the Captain of the Hermitage to provide assistance to the famine, culturally and educationally impoverished of the region:
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Then, the Captain continued:
All of which sounds like a great plan for life, whether "in country" or back in the world. |
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![]() U.S. "Mule" & Ambassador & Monrovia's President Taubman |
![]() Archie Fuller atop his wounded mechanical "mule" on the Graham County parked in Point Noire, Congo. |
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Solant
Amity I ![]() Cruise Calendar |
Advanced
Infantry Training![]() Certifcate - Geiger 1965 |
Royal
Shellback Certificate ![]() Lt.Col, Sweitzer |
Plan
of the Day ![]() 9Feb61 ****** |
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![]() Ed Shea - January 1961 Monrovia, Liberia |
![]() Francs from the former French African Colonies - 1960 |
![]() Bathurst, Gambia |
![]() Flag Removed from Russian Embassy in Conakry |
![]() Mail Call on Graham Country Photo by Fuller |
![]() Mameluke Sword |
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![]() Another great night spot! |
![]() My gawd, how many Great watering holes did we hit? |
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CRUISE BOOK Entire
USS Gearing |
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If you've any questions or can add anything to enhance this page, please contact the site webmaster .
To Home page. Meet the 1st Platoon; 2nd Platoon; 3rd Platoon ; Headquarters and H&S Company Personnel or Weapons Platoon. See photos and more concerning the Santa Maria Incident or read the Comments of visitors to the site or a tribute to the Marines aboard the Hermitage or of the Corp's Discipline Problems in the 1970s.
Or, perhaps you would just like to see some recent photos of the Corps' Parris Island Training Center or ad some interesting Military Anecdotes from the 60's .
Then, maybe you'd just like to see recent photos of the Parris Island Training Center or an array of Links and Things.