. Breakfast could be hot cereal , Powdered eggs , corn beef hash , baked beans Wednesday and Saturday morning. The Boatsawin mate mate would sound “turn too sweepers man your brooms clean sweep down fore and aft “using his boatswain pipe. Every one reported to their duty station. Mine the fantail. The division boatswain (bos`n) Kelly a short stocky Irish decent who may have feared god but no one else held roll call. Sweep, swab the deck. ( Not mop the floor) shine the brass work. Twelve to one lunch break. Just enough time to wash up , through the chow line, eat and have a few minutes till back to duty station for muster again. Might have fire drill, general quarter drill. Knock off at five. Take a shower. The shower was a room about 10 feet by 10 feet. A master at arms stood guard as ten were let in and given one minute to soap up and get out and another ten were sent in. First group of ten sent back in for another minute to rinse off. The ship made the fresh water so had to use it sparingly. Even in the mess hall if your cup was hot just coming from the scullery and you cooled it from the scuttle butt would get you KP duty or in the hot scullery. An aircraft carrier is like a queen bee. Always surrounded by smaller protective ships. Some were DD’s Destroyers and DE’S destroyers escorts. Carriers only had light armament and stayed as far as possible away from an invasion or ship to ship battle. Depending on their planes to protect them. Our protective ships had to be refueled and resupplied as they were unable to carry much of each To do this the ship would come along side and match our speed. A projectile was then shot over the ship carrying a one quarter inch line. A larger line would then be tied to that and a larger one. It was tied onto the small ship and on our ship it was run through sheaves but not tied as it would have broken as the ships moved . We would as the ships moved close and apart take in the slack or relieve it. A pulley was sup pended from this holding a boatswain chair . A back yard swing affair and a person would be transferred from ship to ship. A large hose was sent over in the same manner to refuel the small ship. Coming into Hawaii the first view is Diamond Head then The pink Royal Hawaiian hotel where Ms. Barbara and I spent our 58th wedding anniversary at $675 a night.. We went on into Pearl Harbor. I asked what kind of money was used here. Port had the first liberty so had to wait another day to see Honolulu. The crew is divided equally into port and starboard watch as to half the crew aboard at all times. Next day I road a small train which was used in the pineapple fields into Honolulu. Walked the streets with Scott (the boot who offered the barber $ 5 not to cut his hair) and Fletcher as we didn’t drink.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 11:16:20 +0000
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