I made three Med Cruises during the ‘50s and never saw what you describe anywhere (except in roman ruins) even though the war damage was still existent. But then I liked to drink, went to bars and avoided avoided slumming in the cheap whorehouses. Things must have really gone down hill after I left.
I made three Med Cruises during the ‘50s and never saw what you describe anywhere ...
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Congrats on your service and three Med cruises.
I was on CVA-42 (FDR) at age 18-19 on mine. Being a carrier, we were limited regarding what ports we could access, unlike smaller ships.
The three places I mentioned earlier were Palermo, Piareaus and Livorno (Leghorn). .........Had duty when at Tripoli and didn’t go ashore when I had a chance, because of feedback from those who had gone earlier. ....Nice and Cannes France were great and Naples was pretty good, too.
I was on the Saratoga in the Med in ‘64 and ‘65. What I recall are the gangs of little boys that octex mentioned and I only really recall them in Italy. They would try to grab a watch off your wrist, grab your cigarettes etc. One of them startled me and I reflexively reached out with my right hand and pushed him with the palm of my hand. I am tall and he was so little that I was reaching down and pushing outward with my palm on his chest. It was purely a reflex action, like swatting a mosquito when you feel the bite, no time to think. I was amazed when he seemed to fly through the air and land several feet away. He was so skinny that his body seemed to have no weight. I felt kind of sick about it but there were gangs of them as octex says and there was nothing I could do to help the situation. I never felt really threatened, they were just little kids, half starved, begging in the street and quite ready to steal anything they could grab. I was twenty years, six foot four and 215 pounds, raised on the farm. Had I wanted I could literally have picked up one of them and used him as a club to beat the rest of them off. They really were pathetic. My eyes tear up now thinking about the condition they were in.