at the
Re-Opening of the Suez Canal 05 June 1975
The Suez Canal seen from the Little Rock
Two of the ship's crew check the sights.
Little Rock passes an Egyptian military
post.
13 June 1975 Edition
ROCK ATTENDS SUEZ 'REOPENING'
LITTLE ROCK made history
recently as it participated in the re-opening of the Suez Canal, which
had been closed since the 1967 six-day Arab-Israeli War. The SIXTH FLEET
flagship was the only non-Egyptian vessel to take part in the opening
day ceremonies.
After being greeted in Port Said, at the gateway of the Suez, by small groups of fishing boats carrying what seemed to be impromptu welcoming committees, LITTLE ROCK joined a procession of ships down the canal.
Headed by an Egyptian Navy Destroyer, carrying President Anwar Sadat, his guests and dignitaries, the procession made its way down the canal to the port of Ismailia. Here, LITTLE ROCK anchored for the night and observed from her mooring the festivities on shore.
U.S. Navy ships and (SIXTH FLEET/TASK FORCE SIXTY FIVE) personnel participated in clearing the canal, which took more than a year before it was reopened.
The joint service task force trained more than 1,500 Egyptian military personnel in explosive ordinance clearing.
During the year-long operation more than 200 tons of unexploded ordinance and 686,000 land and anti-personnel mines were removed from the canal and its banks. Ten sunken ships were also raised from the canal bottom with the help of Navy salvage teams.
After being greeted in Port Said, at the gateway of the Suez, by small groups of fishing boats carrying what seemed to be impromptu welcoming committees, LITTLE ROCK joined a procession of ships down the canal.
Headed by an Egyptian Navy Destroyer, carrying President Anwar Sadat, his guests and dignitaries, the procession made its way down the canal to the port of Ismailia. Here, LITTLE ROCK anchored for the night and observed from her mooring the festivities on shore.
U.S. Navy ships and (SIXTH FLEET/TASK FORCE SIXTY FIVE) personnel participated in clearing the canal, which took more than a year before it was reopened.
The joint service task force trained more than 1,500 Egyptian military personnel in explosive ordinance clearing.
During the year-long operation more than 200 tons of unexploded ordinance and 686,000 land and anti-personnel mines were removed from the canal and its banks. Ten sunken ships were also raised from the canal bottom with the help of Navy salvage teams.
From the Naval Historical Center
(http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-l/clg4-l.htm)
(http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-l/clg4-l.htm)
On 5 June 1975, after having been closed since the June 1967 war between Egypt and Israel, the Suez Canal was formally reopened for business. USS Little Rock, flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, represented the United States at the ceremonies, which were held at Port Said. According the the 1976 "Naval Review", she was the "only foreign warship in the official flotilla that sailed down the canal to Ismailia" on this occasion.
Much damaged by direct military action in 1967, and especially in another war in October 1973, as well as by the neglect inherent in its long inactivity, the canal had required considerable effort to remove sunken wrecks, clear explosives and return its banks and channels to navigable condition. Its closure had produced serious disruptions in international commerce, as eastbound shipping from the Indian Ocean area and the Far East had to make a long passage around Africa instead of taking the relatively short route via Suez and the Mediterranean. Some of the expedients adopted at that time to improve the economics of a non-Suez Canal environment, among them enormous supertankers for transporting Persian Gulf oil to Europe and the Americas, survive to this day.
What did the U.S. media have to say
about the U.S.S. Little Rock
at the reopening of the Suez Canal ?
Galveston Daily News
Friday, June 6, 1975
(UPI) In pomp and pageantry befitting the
pharaohs, Egypt ceremonially reopened the Suez Canal Thursday as
"a gift to the world" and the cause of peace in the Middle East. While
white doves flew overhead and cheering crowds chanted his name, Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat officially declared the canal open to international
traffic for the first time in eight years. Then he boarded an Egyptian
Navy destroyer which snapped a thin metal chain at this port on the
Mediterranean and sailed into the canal on the six- hour voyage to Ismailia
mid way along the 102 mile water- way. The ships of more than half a dozen
nations followed, including the flagship of the U.S. 6th Fleet......
The U.S. cruiser Little Rock, based with other 6th Fleet units in the Mediterranean, was in the first convoy to enter the reopened canal. They followed Sadat's vessel, the destroyer “October 6”, named for the opening date of the 1973 Middle East war which led to the return of the canal to Egyptian control. American diplomatic sources said the Little Rock came at the invitation of the Egyptian government. The invitation was understood to have been a gesture of gratitude to the United States for the key role it played helping to clear mines and other debris from the canal during the last 13 months, they said.
The U.S. cruiser Little Rock, based with other 6th Fleet units in the Mediterranean, was in the first convoy to enter the reopened canal. They followed Sadat's vessel, the destroyer “October 6”, named for the opening date of the 1973 Middle East war which led to the return of the canal to Egyptian control. American diplomatic sources said the Little Rock came at the invitation of the Egyptian government. The invitation was understood to have been a gesture of gratitude to the United States for the key role it played helping to clear mines and other debris from the canal during the last 13 months, they said.
Frederick (MD) Post
Friday, June 6, 1975
(AP) Leading a convoy of Egyptian ships
dwarfed by a big American cruiser, President Anwar Sadat reopened
the Suez Canal Thursday after eight years of war and uneasy peace.
Dressed in the white uniform of an admiral, Sadat led the ceremonial
convoy on the bridge of the Egyptian destroyer “October 6”, named for
the date on which Egyptian troops stormed across the Suez Canal in 1973
to recapture part of the east bank. Sailors, teenagers and aging boatmen
in white turbans jammed small boats to follow the convoy. Many hung from
the rigging or perched on top of masts chanting "Sadat! Crowds lining the
canal banks clapped and danced to the rhythm of reed flutes and leather
drums. "I have been feeling very happy since the moment I arrived in Port”
Sadat told a reporter aboard his destroyer. “It has been one of the happiest
moments of my life when we started transiting the canal again after eight
years." The guided missile cruiser Little Rock, a flagship
of the U.S. 6th Fleet, became the first foreign warship to sail the strategic
waterway since it was closed by Arab-Israeli hostilities in 1967. The reopening
was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the June 1967 six-day- war,
which brought Israeli troops to the east bank of Suez Canal and forced Egypt
to close it..............Steaming down the Suez, the USS Little
Rock towered over the two lead destroyers, both Soviet built. "The
sight of the Little Rock in canal waters will make insurance carriers
very (happy) said one American admiral looking on. "But it's not making
those guys very (happy) he pointed to two gloomy Soviet admirals, silently
witnessing yet another symbol of the Egyptian-American friendship that
has undercut Russian influence in this part of the volatile Middle East.
Sadat opened the canal at Port Said, its Mediterranean gateway, before
boarding the October 6 for the 45 mile cruise to Ismailia, the halfway
point.
TIME Magazine
Monday, Jun. 16, 1975
Monday, Jun. 16, 1975
".........As Sadat and his guests moved
by launch to the October Six, a gaggle of tugs, pilot boats and harbor
runabouts sounded horns and whistled furiously. Egyptian MIG fighters
and a pride of helicopters circled overhead. The amplified recorded
voice of the late beloved Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum mixed with the
martial music.
"This is one of the happiest moments of my life," Sadat told Correspondent Wynn on the bridge of the destroyer. Girls blew kisses to the Egyptian President from small boats. Men clung to the tops of masts, beating the air with their fists and chanting, "Ya Sadat, ya Sadat!" He beamed and waved in response. At intervals the ship passed remnants of the old Israeli Bar-Lev Line, now manned by Egyptian troops. Sadat climbed to the destroyer's signal station to return their salutes.........
The biggest warship in the convoy, as it turned out, was not Egypt's. It was instead the 14,600-ton guided missile cruiser Little Rock, flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet. The Little Rock was trimmed with flags, including the Stars and Stripes, which flapped visibly in the hot summer wind. Two Soviet admirals among the guests in the flotilla — Moscow's sole representation at the ceremonies — glowered and gloomed."
"This is one of the happiest moments of my life," Sadat told Correspondent Wynn on the bridge of the destroyer. Girls blew kisses to the Egyptian President from small boats. Men clung to the tops of masts, beating the air with their fists and chanting, "Ya Sadat, ya Sadat!" He beamed and waved in response. At intervals the ship passed remnants of the old Israeli Bar-Lev Line, now manned by Egyptian troops. Sadat climbed to the destroyer's signal station to return their salutes.........
The biggest warship in the convoy, as it turned out, was not Egypt's. It was instead the 14,600-ton guided missile cruiser Little Rock, flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet. The Little Rock was trimmed with flags, including the Stars and Stripes, which flapped visibly in the hot summer wind. Two Soviet admirals among the guests in the flotilla — Moscow's sole representation at the ceremonies — glowered and gloomed."
Clearly President Anwar Sadat was the
hero of the day!
The June 13, 1975 issue of “Tiger Rag” stated:
“Posters and banners bearing President Sadat's name and picture were
seen all along the canal route as LITTLE ROCK made her passage. The
“6 October” on the banner is in reference to the name of the Egyptian
destroyer “October 6” on which President Sadat was embarked for the parade.
The destroyer was named for the date on which Egyptian troops stormed
across the Suez Canal in 1973 to recapture part of the east bank.
Note: Ironically, it was on October 6, 1981, about three years after making peace with Israel, that President Sadat was assassinated by Muslim extremists during an annual military parade celebrating the “successful” campaigns of the 1973 Egypt-Israeli conflict. President Sadat was saluting the troops when a small group of them ran from a vehicle in the parade firing machine guns and throwing grenades in the stands.
Note: Ironically, it was on October 6, 1981, about three years after making peace with Israel, that President Sadat was assassinated by Muslim extremists during an annual military parade celebrating the “successful” campaigns of the 1973 Egypt-Israeli conflict. President Sadat was saluting the troops when a small group of them ran from a vehicle in the parade firing machine guns and throwing grenades in the stands.
An obviously overladen Egyptian boat carrying
revelers wave to the LITTLE ROCK crew.
The above photo, and the photo to its left were run in the June 13, 1975 copy of the ship's publication "Tiger Rag". They were taken by PH2 Harry Deffenbaugh
The above photo, and the photo to its left were run in the June 13, 1975 copy of the ship's publication "Tiger Rag". They were taken by PH2 Harry Deffenbaugh
Sixth Fleet Band
A Little Rock shipmate survey's the Suez Canal.
Then we'd like your input.
Your photos and comments are welcome.
Contact Art Tilley or
Woody Donaldson
The full color photos were contributed by USS Little Rock shipmate Dave Sciarretta RM2 1973-76
The following related article was on Page 1 of the June 13th "Tiger Rag"
“UP AND OVER” FOR FIVE
Two enlisted crewmembers and three officers from the LITTLE ROCK were made an indellible part of the historic Suez Canal reopening recently as they participated in re-enlistment and promotion ceremonies.
BM3 Charles Finiak and SH3 Raymond Brown Jr. re-enlisted for six years during the ceremonies held on the Signal Bridge as LITTLE ROCK made her return trip up the Suez. Finiak assigned to the ship’s Deck Division since 1972 will be leaving in July for assignment with the USS FLINT (AE 32) homeported in Concord, Calif.
Brown, a member of the LITTLE ROCK’s Supply Department, has worked in the ship’s laundry since his arrival in 1973. He will leave in July for Pearl Harbor Hawaii and the USS DAVIDSON (DE 1045).
The second ceremony advanced three LITTLE ROCK division officers to the rank of LTjg. Alexander Murray, Disbursing Officer; Daniel Musmanno, Second Division Officer and Nicholas Smilari, Legal Officer strapped on their new rank insignias with the help of Commanding Officer Captain William R. Martin and their Department Heads.