October 1986

THE USO IN HAIFAEd Note. One of the most visible signs ofU.S .-Israel strategic cooperation has beenthe regular port calls of the US. Sixth Fleet inHaifa Since 1984, the USO has been work-ing to introduce the American sailors andofficers to Israel in a most extraordinaryway. We are pleased to bring our readers upto date on the USO facility in Haifa usingexcerpts from the USO newsletter and aninterview with Gila Gerson, of Haifa.

From The USO NewsletterWhen U.S. Navy and Marine personnel

attached to the aircraft carrier U.SS.Dwight D. Eisenhower and the guidedmissile cruiser, U.S.S. Mississippi, boardedliberty launches for a short journey to theport city of Haifa, they had no idea of thesurprise that awaited them at fleet landing.

An estimated 50 school children were onhand to greet the hundreds of U.S. shipspersonnel as they stepped ashore. Singingsongs in English and Hebrew and wavingAmerican and Israeli flags, the students ofHaifa Haron School, dressed in red, whiteand blue handed roses to the arriving crew.

This heartwarming program was or-ganized by USO representative, Gila Ger-son, to celebrate the opening of the firstUSO Fleet Center in Israel and to welcomeits first visitors - the combined crews ofthe two Sixth Fleet ships totalling 6,500military personnel.

Comments from sailors and marinesranged from "Is this for us?" "Who thoughtthis up?" to "This is the nicest thinganyone's ever done for us."

U.S. Sixth Fleet Requests USOThe search for a USO site in Israel was

initiated at the request of Sixth Fleet Com-mander, Admiral Ed Martin. Due to thebroadening cooperation between the Is-raeli and U.S. forces, Israel was becoming aprimary post for visiting U.S. fleets.

Looking ahead to the future, W. ClarkeCook of the USO said, "We've got a lot ofplans for Haifa. We will be schedulingevents and anything that brings theAmerican and Israeli communities closertogether. We (the USO) like to think ofourselves as a cultural catalyst."

The Haifa Fleet Center as well as theover fifty other USO fleet locations in theMediterranean and in the Pacific area areunique in that they are activatedjust beforeU.S. ships arrive. Mobile units are set up asships, including carriers with 5,000 sailors,arrive in port often after two months at sea.

Gila Gerson ContinuesIn a recent interview in Washington,

USO Haifa representative Gila Gersonexplained exactly what "just before U.S.ships arrive" really means.

It was the evening of Rosh Hashana, thebeginning of the Jewish New Year. Unlikethe American New Year's Eve, Rosh Has-hana is a holy day, during which Jewsspend time with their families and insynagogue. In Israel, everything - every-thing- is closed: restaurants, drug stores,everything.

Gila received a call as she and hermother were preparing the holiday dinner.A ship was arriving just then and therewere sailors who needed assistance. Gilawent to the dock along with other USOvolunteers to see what they could do. Ashort time later she phoned her mother."Mom, I'm bringing some company homefor supper -How many'?-I 00."

To her everlasting credit, Gila's motherreplied, "I'm making more soup."

From "Newsview"Commander Edward Simmons of the

Eisenhower attributes "the remarkable ab-sence of incidents" to "the response of thepeople here in Haifa. It's so sincere. Every-thing has been superb. I've never seen amore coordinated and hospitable port any-where. The fleet landing service and theother services provided by the Israeli navywere flawless. But what I feel most stronglyabout is the hospitality, not just of theIsraeli navy. The people here have been thewarmest and most welcoming I've everseen."

Captain Philip Olson of the Mississippiagreed, adding that "being able to walkdown the street and converse with anyoneand to feel the response of friendliness andthe desire to help and a genuine interest inyour well-being - the best way to sum itup is the warmth of the people."

Informal remarks made by blue-jac-keted sailors with their distinctive whitecaps confirmed the opinions expressed athigher levels.

An 18-year-old sailor from "somewhere

in Alabama" grins. "Compared to othercountries'? There's no comparison. This isheaven."

A shore patrolman, strolling Haifa'sstreets, commented "in my eight yearsin the navy, this has been the best port. Ihope we'll be coming here more often."

Gila Gerson ContinuesGila credited much of the warm feeling

toward the American servicemen to thesailors themselves. 'They're such gentle-men. Not only the officers - also theyoung boys. They so appreciate what youdo for them. They wrote thank-you letterseven before they left the port... And theproof of what kind of men they are, eventhe young ones, is that they didn't want onlyto receive from us. They also wanted togive."

And they did give. She recountednumerous stories of children being takenaboard the ships; of special trips for thechildren of Israeli servicemen killed inwars; of visits by sailors to Israeli militaryand civilian hospitals.

In one children's hospital, sailors askedwhat they could do to be helpful. They weretold they could paint a wardroom. Instead

of simply painting, they drew and paintedDisney characters for the children.

The USO TodayIt seems clear that the Haifa USO is, and

will continue to be, a force operating tobring American sailors and marines closerto the Israeli people, as well as providingspecial services to our forces overseas.

The USO is a voluntary, non-govern-ment, non-profit civilian organization com-mitted exclusively to helping servicepersonnel and their families. USO pro-grams today serve almost five million menand women in the U.S. Armed Forces andtheir families.

USO receives no direct federal fundingand is supported through voluntary privateand corporate contributions. The USO news-letter writes of it's Israeli facility, "In portssuch as Haifa, where USO is fortunateenough to have tremendous communitysupport, the possibilities are endless. USOis the place where visiting military per-sonnel can go to get information about theIsraeli culture, tours, and what's happeningin the area as well as emergency as-sistance."

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