This handwritten caption, 'Part of the Shellback ceremony, Crossing the Equator. The devil on the left is Ray Smith,' comes from the USS Petrof Bay (CVE-80) photo album. It references the Navy's long-standing 'Crossing the Line' tradition, in which sailors crossing the equator for the first time were initiated by costumed 'Shellback' veterans in an elaborate shipboard ceremony. Project: 218455