European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 2, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The tempting port of Naples Story and photos by Tony Nauroth staff writer Harlie Carmen wheeled his taxi around the Piazza Muni Cipio in downtown Naples the Plaza waa deserted they be been out at sea of  Carmen said As his meter rang up another thousand lira. You know we like it when the ships come in. It Means More Money. A lot of people Don t like in because it brings in the hashish and marijuana Street merchants too so do you know when the sailors Are coming mixed neapolitan emotions. Tha Navy s Fleet Landing opens onto Tho Plaza. When the Heel s in. Carmen s ship comes in too. So does Jasmine s. Jasmine is a bar girl. Late one hot june night she was working a Neon lit club Oil the via Roma in the red Light District two americans sauntered into the Strobe throbbing lounge. Soft chairs and Booths circled a Hardwood dance Moor there was no one there to dance. A Bury Man directed them to a Corner table where they were immediately joined by Jasmine and another woman it Jasmine had a last name she was t talking about it. She was Beautiful Large Almond eyes Long straight lowing hair delicate Oriental features. She wore a red shimmering Sheath and a red Rose in tier hair. Jasmine who is from he Philippines was Friendly attractive Well mannered and warm. She said . Sailors like philippine women. Why Aren t the sailors coming in rom the America Sha pouted. The aircraft Carrier America was at Anchor in the Harbor. For some reason the usual How of sailors up the Plaza was just not there. They were expected but the lounge was empty. Ii was Only later that she Lound out that the sailors were delayed by anti nuclear demonstrations near the Fleet Landing. Jasmine talked delicately about her relationship with the sailors. I do favors to make them  she said. When the Heel s in i make More sailors  her conversation was warm and charming. To two Light tide and a dark Side in this club. Around the Corner is a stockyard arrangement of dark Booths. Uke the dance floor they were empty. Activity progresses from flirting under the strobes to More serious things in the Booths. And happiness begins at $10 a Beer. For sailors who have been out to sea Lor months the attention is hard to resist. And when they Roll Olf the Landing in their White uniforms a smorgasbord of Lemp Lalion is spread before their eager appetites. Hay Joes aggressive middlemen who sell wares of questionable Worth or who act As front men Lor both Legal and illegal Commerce Otter expensive and sometimes dangerous temptations to sailors who Haven t been tempted Lor weeks. Everything rom sunglasses and City guide sen ices to drugs and sex is thrust at the sailors the older salts do All right. They be Learned to leed the appetite without poisoning the body. But the Young ones Are often no As discriminating or As careful. Petty officer 1.c. Wally Don to Call me Walter Reed stood on a dirty sidewalk near a plastic tub Lull of iced Beer. He s 38 and very Salty. With him were to youngsters. Seaman apprentice David Ritchie is a 19-year-old Pittsburgh we All peach fuzz and grins under a baseball Cap and Petty officer 3.c. Mark Fallaschek 24, from Norfolk a. All three work in the print shop of the America. They gripped Heineken Beers in their Ink stained hands and talked with the Middle aged hey Joe setting them. Most hey Joe a seem to be Young with a lot of energetic Flash or of with bad Teeth and bad breath. Both Model Are chock Jub of Charm Reed Bronx accent Rose from his Throat which tie alternately parched with cigarette smoke than lubricated with brew. I be been in the Navy seven years Lour As a Marine he said. This is the fourth Lima i be been to  he walked about How the hey Joes and prostitutes follow a ship s schedule. When i was a third class. I had this Hooker that followed me from port to port they follow the ships All along the med Mediterranean sea  As the conversation drifted a contingent of spa Lily uniformed sailors and marines came rolling up the Street As it they were still on a moving deck. What s this Parade Reed said in a snide tone. A Shook his head then furrowed his brow. I Don t like to see Large groups like thai. They cause  and what of Lone sailors trouble comes to them he said. Reed is a Good Salt for a tender Vittle to Latch on to. He s a seasoned mixture of fun and suspicion. Rita like Here he lost 10 Bucks to a bad hey Joo. But i went Over showed him a bit of this sexing his biceps and got it  Salty bravado but it shows one Way thai sailors Lake care of themselves. Another Way is through what might be called unofficial and Down to Earth guardian Angels. Senior master chief Petty officer Popeye is a Good example. He s a Good hey Joe. He sets up a stand of trinkets and souvenirs just outside the Entrance to the us on Calata san Marco three blocks from the Fleet Landing. It s his spot. Although not Ever officially connected to the . Navy he remains a Loyal an. He wears the familiar Dixie cup Navy hat with while to shirt and Denim Bel Bottom jeans. All he needs is a Corncob pipe and a can of spinach to cinch the Small often heroic part he plays. During the libyan crisis last Spring lha Shore patrol and Carabiner cleared the hey Joes off this Street for the safety of the sailors who crowd the Uso when a ship s in port. There May have been Good reason to worry. Naples reportedly harbours the largest libyan population outside of Libya. But Popeye stayed because Uso Otic Las vouched for his honesty and integrity. They pointed out that he keeps watch for those who would rip off or harm the sailors he has guardian Angel eyes and he keeps them wide open looking for stupid sailors As assistant Uso director Jerry Shannon said. Shannon had his hands full. The America s sailors were in and the Uso was crawling with men who walked As if the floor was shifting under their feet. The staff was cooking food making phone connections setting up hours and helping As they could. Shannon was running things while elation director Roger Dalton was away on business a tall athletic clean Cut Ligure Shannon has a healthy energetic Perry Como look about him. When the Fleet s in we re packed he said. When it s out this place is a  that s the Way it s supposed to be like a Good guardian Angel. Shannon pointed out that our main purpose is to advise  Shannon know Tow danger that can trip up sailors on Shore leave the dragon Tattoo on his left Arm is a badge of credibility. It commemorates 25 years in the Navy six of them in Naples he said he occasionally finds drugs in the bathroom the residue of bad deals with hey Joes mostly it s fake Camel dung and worthless pills he said. Shannon can Tell stories of sailors who Don t Lake advice who spurn guardian Angels like the one who went up into the gut of Naples where ancient alleys ooze Witt drug deals gone sour he had an italian Contact who took him there robbed him and left him. Shannon said. Although uie Uso is Only one Buck from the gut. Shannon claims i can count on my fingers the number of times we be had trouble to the Uso  in a Way it s a Home base for guardian Angels. The. Entrance is watched by a pair of Shore patrolmen dressed in pure White. They have no wings but they do Check identification cards religiously. And they keep order. Usually a Carabiniero police patrol is Alao near at hand More guardian Angels. Inside o frantic looking displaced dutchman in an International adult boy Seoul uniform tirelessly asks sailors if they need help. He almost makes a peal of himself. He has a narrow face with cracked skin and Large Busy eyes. His hair is As Ihlen As he is and when he talks his false Teeth Jostle loosely in hta Mouth. An armband embroidered with the lags of seven different countries identifies him As a  linguist. John b. Das is a Uso Voru Leer and a member of the organization s local Council he s been at the Naples station for two years helping the boys he said. Das came to Naples in 1957 to follow my destiny which turned out to be a guardian Angel for american servicemen and women. For one thing i talk them Oul of  he said a big hearted eccentric Man Das spent hours underlining warnings and supplying bold exclamation Points to warnings printed in a special edition of Oft duty Magazine featuring Mediterranean based americans. One Story titled Naples Diamond in the  is a survival notebook. The warnings coma with the irs paragraph. Unlike Florence which is Beautiful or Rome which is elegant and dignified Naples appears chaotic dirty noisy and sometimes dangerous in reads. Das Cut appropriate sections from the article and pasted them at Eye level above the urinals in the Uso mens room. You be got to Pul the information where the Sailor s going to see it he said. Das spends hours bustling around the Uso lounge instructing sailors in Sale methods of carrying their Money what to look for when buying from the Street vendors what sections of Naples to avoid and generally doling out heaping portions of Street smarts. Most crime is really temptation Das said. If you give in to it then it s your own fault but Das does what he can to help. Most hey Joes Are particularly adept at fleecing the troops he said. And they do it with great Charm. Forget the Miles Das warned. It s All  Italy s underground Economy is legendary. In the june 30 cover Story of Newsweek titled making Money on the sly Italy was described As the acknowledged world Champion of the Black underground Economy in Naples entire neighbourhoods Are organized into. Vast factories churning out dresses purses gloves and shoes for the Domestic and Export Market it reads. But this part of the underground Economy to gaining respectability As the government recognizes its importance to the country s Overall economic health. Those practices still frowned upon drugs for example or simply fraudulent business practices or shoddy goods find ready markets in the swarms of sailors who walk Tho rail of temptation up the pm a from Fleet Landing. In Italy Commerce is Commerce no matter what the product May be and Lethe buyer beware. These colourful neapolitan Are Ilka Honey to hungry bees who have been starving in the steel hives of ships at sea. Hey said Reed As he pulled at another Heineken cooled in the hey Joe s plastic tub. The vendors Are our Only welcoming committee. It waa a Light Stab at Basic Sailor loneliness. When they come off the ships they become clients even friends of the hey Joes who earn kickbacks from the merchants or prostitutes they represent in this diam Ord in the rough Day of Commerce where everything is for Sale for whatever the traffic will Bear guardian Angels Are my needed. The Sailor a going to Stop prowling its tempting markets just Mac Art old Salt be Reed Naples is a dirty Day he said. Sol hey that s what makes 11 great the stars and stripes