Solant Amity - Photos and Stories

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 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.

The Acrobat (.pdf) files may be viewed on your computer immediately if you have an Acrobat Reader 'plug-in' installed as part of your browser. Or, you might downloaded and read the files offline and at your leisure. If you do not have a copy of Acrobat Reader, one may be obtained FREE at Adobe's homepage at www.adobe.com.

( To view full-sized version "Left Click" on any photo. To save a photo "Right Click" and "save as." )

2-6-2 Mess Hall Camp LeJeune, NC 1960	Trinidad, BWI	USS Graham County Shellback Ceremony 1st Sergeant Perkins & Gunny Lykens	Equator Crossing USS Graham County LST 1176	Equator Crossing
Equator Crossing	Equator Crossing	Equator Crossing	Equator Crossing	Photo by Richard Landry
Recife, Brazil Christmas Eve, 1960	Recife as seen from Olinda, Brazil	Nightime in Recife	Olinda, Brazil The church of Our Lady of Carmo	Olinda, Brazil The church of Our Lady of Carmo

	USS Graham County LST 1176 Well Worn Lighter Provided by Jack L. Oaks Former Crew Member	Shellback Certificate, Which Was Really More of a Shellback "Card."	USS Gearing DD-710 "She was a tin can, a destroyer, the lead ship of the U.S. Navy's Gearing class... " Home Page	Leaving the Gearing and returning to the Graham County
	Capetown, South African Demonstration Landing of Helicopters at Woodstock Beach	USS Graham County LST 1176 After Conversion to AGP-1176 [ History of LST-1176]	Capetown, South African Demonstration of Parashoot Landing by Recon Forces at Woodstock Beach	Minicone's Shellback Certificate Why were two kinds issued?*
USS Gearing DD710 Abijan, Ivory Coast Sailor: Herb Gray Marines: Meredith Phillips & Ed Shea	Pounds from the British West Indies 1960	Point Noire, Congo	Capetown, South African Landing Demonstration at Woodstock Beach For Story Click Here	Ed Shea January 1961 Monrovia, Liberia
Pfc Arthur Busbee & Pfc Meredith Phillips	Bathurst, Gambia	Schmidt & Teklits Rota or Cadiz, Spain	Francs from the former French African Colonies 1960	USS Graham County's***** Solant Amity I - Travel Log**
"Landing Ship Dock" LSD-34 USS Hermitage	Cape Point, South Africa	Cape Town, South Africa	Cape Town, South Africa	View Cape Town from Table Mountain
Chaplain Kingsley and Lt. Carver provide a three month's supply of milk on behalf of the United States, in Cape Town, SA in March of 1961.	Troops pass in review for Monrovia's President Taubman in Monrovia, Liberia in January of 1961.	Joe Teklits & Ed Shea LST-1176 Off Cape Town	Another great photo of USS Graham County LST 1171.	Photo of Entire Company G - 2 - 6 ** [ Click for display options]
Squad Leader's Notebook Record	Your Stuff Here	Officers & Staff NCOs G-2-6	Your Stuff Here	Brazilian Cruzeiros 1960
		Gary Fusco & Pete Greco Graham County -LST 1176	Sgt. Bailey at African Orphanage
United Nations Medal Deserved Yet Denied	Entire USS Gearing Solant Amity Cruise Book Published in Acrobat [ 7.1 Megs ]	Mameluke Sword	[ From WW I to 1987 ]	Solant Amity I 3rd Platoon's Travel Log****

* Provided by Rocco Minicone, ** Provided by Douglass Carver, *** Provided by Steve Fetterly, Corpsman
****Third Platoon Log furnished by George Bitsoli;