Humor Tour Sparks San Jacinto Laughter

From Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs

NORFOLK (NNS) -- Stress relief in the form of laughter came to many of the San Jacinto (CG-56) crew Sept. 7 during a visit from four nationally known cartoonists.

According to Cmdr. Rick Potter, executive officer of the San Jacinto, Jeff Bacon, Bruce Higdon, Paul Fell, and Mason Mastroianni, brought more than laughter and humor to ship. "For Mr. Bacon and the other wonderful artists to volunteer their time to visit Sailors and Marines is inspirational to us," Potter said. "I hope they enjoyed their time on San Jacinto as much as the Sailors enjoyed hosting them."

While crew members enjoyed the personalized cartoons and caricatures drawn for them, the cartoonists reportedly took away as much as they gave. Bacon, creator of "Broadside," said the visitors had 'a blast' and believe their visits contribute to relieving the stress from the day to day pressures of military life. It's also, he said, an opportunity to thank service members for their service.

This visit was part of the Operational Stress Control program's Humor Tour that is designed to help mitigate stress through humor and laughter. The visit to the San Jacinto followed a visit to wounded warriors at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and preceded a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Bacon is the creator of Broadside and Greenside; Higdon, is a caricaturist and creator of Punsters; Fell, is a caricaturist and illustrator for Cornhuskers Illustrated; and Mastroianni, is a cartoonist for B.C. These and other members of the National Cartoonists Society regularly entertain troops stateside and overseas.