Sea Breeze Souvenir Edition

“Hi Folks: This is the last paper they gave us on the ship.”

The Sea Breeze was the official ship-produced publication of the USNS General Taylor, a WWII-era transport vessel that was acquired by the Navy for use in postwar operations. This is a great example of volume Number 12 for Voyage 35, printed on Saturday March 20, 1954. The team of creators (editor, assistant, printer, artist, typist) is credited on the first page, followed by several helpful words of advice from commanding officers and the chaplain.

An 8-page summary of the trip details the Taylor’s voyage, from debarking Staten Island on March 8 until its return to Bremerhaven less than two weeks later (3/20). This particular example has been heavily annotated by a crewmember, who writes interesting tidbits like ‘everybody got sick’, ‘I had K.P. (Kitchen Patrol) every other day & slept on a canvas cot in a compartment with 40 or 50 other guys,’ and ‘If I never see the ocean again it will be to [sic] soon.” Also of interest is the single-page map of occupied Germany with a small dot labeled ‘I’m here’ near Freyburg.