 The enemy shore off Korea. Those mountains are alive with guns, ammunition and supplies on their way to the Communist front. Our ship is here to see they don't arrive. In the moment before the big guns start firing, there's always a certain tenseness, reflected in the quiet attitude of the men at general quarters. With the guns moving into firing position, I take my station on the bridge, feeling as every battleship captain at times like this the responsibility of command. Or this is a war in which every broadside must count. It's when the guns are firing efficiently like this that you can be proud of your crew down below. It takes men with Navy know-how in the turrets to feed those big guns, men who've learned their job through long hours of training and hard work. Coordination and teamwork move the shells smoothly into position. And that's TNT and powder bags which must be handled delicately and surely. It takes six of those charges to hurl a shell deep down the Communist throat. Those guns must be aimed properly too. For this job my officers are at work in the main battery plot. These gunnery officers are tackling the fire control problem of the action we call interdiction. The destruction of enemy supply lines and rear area facilities. Our mission of Korea is to halt the closed supplies which keep the Communist armies fed and equipped. Mostly we concentrate on the coastline railways, bridges, supply dumps and depots. But we can shell targets as far as 20 miles inland when necessary and planes off our carriers can take care of targets farther inland. In the Korean emergency our ship has been put to work in shore bombardment. My men like the job. They call it exporting steel to some tough customers. I call it making a battleship captain feel pride in his command. But elsewhere at sea we're still engaged in our traditional job with the fleet. The floating fortress which provides anti-aircraft and heavy gun protection for the carriers and smaller ships and forms a nucleus for offensive action when required. But there's another side to this ship when the guns are stilled and the battle's over for a while. That's when she comes to mean something more than a fortress. Something a lot more personal to her men aboard. Something all hands can call home. Of course you've got to keep a home clean and here are some of my boys doing homework. To make the varsity on this ship you have to be a member of the scrub team. Cleanliness is a personal thing too and we hold inspections often enough to keep the ship and her crew in trim. Tons of clothes arrive in the ship's laundry during the year. Dungarees and whites receive the full treatment in the tubs until they're hauled out limp but clean. What makes a ship happy? Part of the answer is having all the facilities of a hometown including a well-equipped bakery. It takes 850 loaves of bread a day to feed our crew of 2,700 men. But the specialty of any bakery is their cake. And here a baker cuts his masterpiece into enough small pieces to satisfy the crew. Of course life isn't all cake and neither is navy chow. What this cook is cutting in case landlubbers don't recognize it is beef. Good juicy inch thick steaks. Hungry? The steaks won't be ready until tomorrow but meanwhile there's good news on the grill. Sizzling ham tastes as good as it looks and the men are happy to stand in line to prove it. Chow down, floor and aft and the crew starts attacking that chow with the zest it deserves. In another compartment the marines are bored or having a birthday celebration. The admiral is on hand to join in the festivities. But the high point of the affair seems to be the dessert and that's real eating. On a ship as on shore, you can't keep up with the world without a newspaper. We publish our own in the print shop and get to read it after the editors finish admiring their own work. There's a ship service where you can buy everything from watches to soap. Not as big as the corner drugstore but just as well supplied for navy needs. At the ice cream fountain the star attraction is the big dipper and the crew seems to appreciate it. Medicine for all the crew's ills comes from this compartment, the pharmacy. The formula this hospital corpsman is mixing looks rather mysterious. In another medical compartment our eye, ear, nose and throat specialist looks a little mysterious himself. Skilled navy doctors are on board with modern surgical equipment to handle any emergency in the operating room. But for some of the sheiks of the crew the real emergencies happen in the barber shop where a short clip can be the unkindest cut of all. The mail room is the most popular spot in the ship. By this time most of the crew have learned that the only way to earn their letter is to write one. And these are going out by air. A waiting helicopter is ready to start them on the first lap of their journey across half the world. Below decks the activity of this mighty ship is ceaseless. In the engine room the black gang is on the job keeping the propellers in motion. The machine shop is the mechanical repair center of the ship. A combination of skilled hands and modern equipment, grinds, molds and refits gears for use. The electrical shop is the maintenance center for the miles of wire on a battleship. Here an electrician rewinds just a few feet of it. Mechanical spare parts for almost any emergency line the shells of this shop including pipe fittings, boats, shackles and grinding stones. If you want to get the word this is the place to go. In fact the ship's library stocks millions of them written by the world's finest authors. This man high up the coast of Korea takes a moment off to read about more glamorous regions down under. Sooner or later almost every man needs legal advice of one sort or another. A legal officer is aboard to give expert advice and aid when needed. In this shop are the men who keep the Navy from coming apart at the scene. A skillful use of needle and thread applied with modern sewing machines keeps uniforms as good as new. Shoes take a feeding on the spacious decks of a battleship and sooner or later they all end up in the cobbler shop for repairs. Among other qualifications a cobbler has to like the taste of nails. So another day off the enemy coast of Korea has passed. Our ship has grown one day older than the crew and myself one day wiser in the ways of battle in these far-easted waters. And now at Sunset one of my men steps up to make an announcement. Now hear this all hand silence for Sunset prayer. This is Chaplain Kappelsinsky with the Sunset prayer. Oh my God as we prepare for rest tonight we place our souls into thy hands giving thee again our last thoughts on this busy fighting day. This is the hour that you always occupy the first and main place in our lives. We thank thee for thy loving care and protection during this day of peace in us, oh Lord. Faithfulness to our duty, preparedness may keep our country safe. Be with us when we are lonely and miss the dear ones that cause war to cease. Breaks again in these waters and briefly in the morning quiet a kind of peace seems to reign. Yet those of us aboard this ship captain and crew know the day may bring battle and turmoil along with its daily ration of work laughter and just plain living. When it does we'll be ready for this is the life you ask for when you serve aboard a battleship floating fortress of the nation's fleet.