The ship will be in San Francisco for several days, during which period the maximum amount of liberty will be granted consistent with the S.O.P.A. instructions and the proper security of the ship. The visit will not be over-long and some will feel that they could do with more liberty than can be given, but I consider that we are very fortunate to have the visit at all and should regard it in the light of a happy break.

This ship bears a proud name throughout the fleet which it won in battle, and it is my desire that you uphold this reputation under the stress of good times as well as you did when the going was tough. We have the opportunity before us to add one more "first" to the ship's already long line of "firsts", and I am banking on you to put it across; by seeing that we have not one single absentee at the time of sailing.

The proof of the fighting man does not rest entirely upon his ability to carry on during battle, but is in a large part dependent upon his ability to cheerfully meet the exacting conditions of wartime cruising and lack of regular leave and liberty periods. In other words, brave as he may be personally, the man who is absent from his station when the ship goes to sea is no better to that ship than the most craven coward.

I am very proud of this ship and its crew, for I know that there is none better in the Fleet. I feel confident that I can depend on all of you to see that we sail from San Francisco with every man at this station and ready to fight.

Have a good time.

L. W. Busbey, Jr.
Captain, US NAVY
Commanding

More than 97 per cent of all Naval Marine personnel wounded in all battlefronts since Pearl Harbor through March 31st, 1943, has recovered for future war service it was announced by the Office of War Information last week.

Of this wounded personnel, 53 per cent has returned to duty, 43.5 per cent is under temporary treatment for release within a short time, nine-tenths of one per cent is invalided from services, and only 2.6 per cent died from injuries.

Army and navy medical developments, the OWI said, have reached the point where US Fighting men now receive the best care and equipment of any troops in the history of warfare.

Citing an example, one naval hospital ship serving in the Pacific theatre, was reported as caring for 4,039 patients from August, 1842, to March 1943. Of this total, seven died - a mortality rated of .18 per cent.

The USS SALT LAKE CITY, heavy cruiser tied up at the Port of Vancouver's Terminal No. 2, will celebrate Fleet Week in a big way tomorrow. E. B. Erwin, mayor of the city of Salt Lake, the ship's namesake, will present Captain R. B. Coffman, commander, with a silver tea coffee service on behalf of the Utah city, it was announced today.

The crew will be at quarters and will assemble in the well deck where the service will be laid out for Captain Coffman's inspection. The mayor's speech of presentation and the captain's words of acceptance will be broadcast about the ship on the loud speaker system. Mayor Erwin will then be a guest of the ship at lunch.