Moving video of Thomas G. Lilly, Rear Admiral US Navy Ret., filmed by Florent Plana on an original music of Baptiste Leblanc. At Villefranche-sur-Mer (France) in January 2017, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Sixth Fleet's departure, Florent Plana interviewed Thomas Lilly who shared his recollection of his time in Villefranche between [...]
My father was Lt. Cdr. Inslee E. Grainger. Our family lived in Villefranche in 1959-61 when he served aboard the USS Des Moines and the USS Springfield. I was only two when we arrived, so while I have a lot of memories of Villefranche, they are from a toddler’s perspective. The USS Des Moines [...]
Remembrances of Bloody Mary By Jerry Manriquez, Fox Division, USS Des Moines Web Master I served aboard the USS Des Moines CA-134 from December 24, 1958 until September 1960. The Ship was home ported in Villefranche, France. Not long after I arrived in France I was on liberty drinking with my shipmates in one of the [...]
Warmed by the morning sun, I sit on my deck overlooking a wooded canyon admiring the small deck garden my great granddaughter Iris and I finished yesterday. Splashes of red and white Cyclamens and purple African Daisies, red and pink Geraniums surround a sculptured cement bird bath. A pretty garden with plants set off by the [...]
Recalling memories of times spent in Villefranche in the mid-1950s is not hard to do. Each of the five visits I made there during 1955-57 was an adventure worth remembering. Villefranche was the gem of the Mediterranean, unknown to most of the world, and tourists, particularly American, were a novelty. Those in the Sixth Fleet, however, [...]
