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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOld Waves Tales - Book 24 Boot Camp was everything I had expected it to be and after learning all the rules and regulations, I found my life well adjusted to the routine, but some of the happenings were most amazing. For example, early one dark morning on the way to chow at about 0620, the WAVE officer in charge called, "Halt!" Then, "About face." What goofs could we have made at that early hour? I wondered until she finally said, "At ease. . . Now, look up at that beautiful full moon over the tops of the buildings." When I see a full moon now forty years later, ust wish I could remember her name. still think of her. It was my wedding day and as ! awoke, I could hear tinny sounds of reveille drift across fog.shrouded Treasure !sland and foghorns warning ships anchored in San Francisco Bay. Downstairs, pacing back and forth with hands behind his back, was my fiance, an ensign in the Supply Corps. Upon seeing my roommate and me, he rushed over and took charge of the luggage. What a thril! it was to sign out with the MAA: Destination: u.S.S. Copahee, Aircraft Carrier, Hunter's Point. Reason: Wedding! We settled in a jeep with an enlisted man at the wheel for the short ride to Hunter's Point. The fog lifted and sun rays crept along Oakland Bay Bridge as the jeep joined early morning traffic. A gust of wind ripped through the bridge supports tearing open the box containing my lovely wedding gown -white satin and lace. Like a gigantic smoke ring, the veil drifted up and out of the jeep with all of us madly snatching for it. Brakes began to squeal. Traffic slowed as drivers watched the veil drift ahead of us, a wraith touching a bridge strut momentarily, then capriciously flying over four or five cars. The sailor stopped the jeep and jumped out in a dead run after the veil. Suddenly, horns began honking and smiles appeared on the drivers' faces. A few people pointed toward the sailor as he stood a block or so ahead of us triumphantly holding the veil aloft. All's well that ends well. Damage was minimal and noone noticed the few tears in the veil as we marched down the flight deck under crossed swords of my husband's fellow officers. Moonbeams ~. - ~-~~ HEAD c.. 25 kDCJ Reason? Wedding . proved to the navy that you could put on a Mae West, upside down. It all began because I was excited about prospects of a ride in an SNJ (legal or not, I did not care). I had been only two weeks at ACDUTRA at NAS Sand Point at a time when air squadrons were a hundred men-and me. In my hurry to change clothes for the flight, I barged into the lIead. The sound of rolling toilet paper made me suddenly realize that I was not alone. Two pilots were there. making nil sorts of noises to wurn me. Later we made an agreement about sharing the single Ilend: lIthree hy five card with his and hers told of the current occuplln!. Embarrassed? Of course, but I WllS milch 100 (~xdlt:cl nhollt my ride in the SNJ where I was told to "throw the hntch hnd," on Inlldill!). If you have ever been at Sand Point, you willlmowll", plnn.. Hklrts In over the water prior to sitting down on the rllnwny. Ildtl cOllld ewn dnhhlc my fingers in the water as we churned nlollbllll'I'lnU Ih" low i11'I'les below. But, back to my upside.down Mne W"sl. I ,,1r1ll'I'NI Ih" Imec board so tightly my foot went 10 Hleel'. I.nl." , un., 0111", pllol. In the Ready Room who was with me II1Mt dl1Y told lTle I fllClVI.d 41 Mile Wl:~l could be put on upside down. lIe hnd qllldly Hllpl''''! lilY nllns Ollt 01 the wrong straps and got me dress"d "plop.,i1y" whll" I WI" "xcltedly giving my identification to the OD. This Side Up me. It was a very gratifying experience working with 26 27 these patients. The latter part of 1943 at St. Albans Hospital someone donated several television sets. Television was very new and we all had to have special "training" to operate the sets which were used by the patients on wards that were considered "shut-ins." I had to serve on special duty every third night and operating one of these sets was my duty. I was assigned to the neuropsychiatric ward. This ward was locked and guarded by MP's. Even the nurses station was in a cage. The patients looked forward to this" outing" very much for it was like going to the movie for them. Every time I reported for duty, all the patients would be sitting around the television set, waiting for me. On the first center row would be an empty chair with an apple or orange for TV for NP's , Machines and I have never understood each other. This fact was further evidenced by my mechanical aptitude score when I enlisted in the WAVES. But as a brand new RM I Ie on Treasllre Island, my commanding officer assured me of the pride I too would feel one day as I told my children stories of taking over el1ch and every duly of the sailors "who found ashore their man.slzed chore" WtlS done by the Navy WAVE. One of these duties WtlS wl1xlng lll\d sqllt,egeelng the decks by members of the midwatch. It was with some misgiving thtlt I nlll1ched the squeegee for the first time. Putting down my earphones, I Jllllstered l1l1lhe coumge of which I was 'capable and turned the switch on. Olher memhers of the "D" watch looked on in stunned fasclrllltion "" I !Jl1l1oped ucross lhe room behind the squeegee, despefl1tcly trying 10 11Ill\bl on. And with a sickening crash, the commander's desk Wl1S demolished. Ills favorite lamp lay in fragments on the deck. The SfI"eel1''': f1l1ve 1II10ther wild lurch and turned in search of new lllr{lets, hilt IIllscnlclllllted and ran over its own cord which was cornpletdy seve,,:d. ^ 1I111nl shlldder and the huge black squeegec lapsed 11110 slIlI,y slh,lIce, IIIllII IlIto shock. Our technician, slumberlll{l hllssfully ill IInother room, was summoned and his eyes widened In cOInplete dlshelld liS he sllrveyed the wreckage. "My God," were II", ollly WOlds he cOllld litter. Numbly I anticipated a court.mnllllll thlll I l<lll:W must surely come. In the meantime, my poplllllrlty with Ihe other opeflltors grew by leaps and bounds as It hecllrne IIppnn:nl thlllll new policy was in the mill. The commander's desl, wns rcplllced, IIl1d nlllgiclllly, an almost identical lamp apreured. Ilowever it WIlS only wl",n word came down that WAVES werc forev", """Dved lrorn sqlleeoeelng duty that I was finally able to hetlvc a sl{lh of rdld. = Man-Sized Chore III 28 n those early days of women in military service, their enlistments contained a clause which specified that should they marry a man in the same branch of the service as themselves, the woman would be automatically discharged. In the course of time, it led to the loss of many women so the navy finally quietly forgot about discharging for this reason. One WAVE in San Diego found herself assigned to duty with a WAVE officer who was making life very unpleasant and she wanted out. She remembered this clause in her enlistment, wrote a letter to BuPers and in two weeks found herself a civilian. The news spread over the country and such requests flooded BuPers. An ALNAV issued in May 1944 specified that all women who were eligible for discharge on this basis and wanted to take advantage of it should have their request in by a certain mailing date. After that, tough luck' 29 , 1.1-% , , .,.- " \ \ ' ; (rL I ' ,l;..-. ,"Y" ...J,;:==- "t ... Automatic tactfully explained that I could get a room for him but not his enlisted men. They would have to go to another hotel. Enlisted men usually had to forge for themselves. The colonel staged a sit-down strike and it soon became apparent we couid not get rid of him easily. Finally I did persuade the Fairmont Hotei to take the whoie crew, enlisted men as well as the colonel. It was not until later I learned who the colonel was. Pappy Boyington. By 1944, lhere was little need for gunnery specialists to train seamen on lhe science of firing guns, so I was lucky enough to be able to live off base and work in the office for billeting officers. Three of us were selected for this duty and we were given ten days to find appropriate quarters in San Francisco, otherwise we would have to live on base at Treasure Island. We had little luck until a wonderful Irish lady came in to list a vacant apartment. She was a bit taken back and said she really had not considered renting to women_ She relented, and to this day, she is one of my "favorite people." We became quite used to "characters" at the billeting office, so when a colonel came in with his collar open, his emblems crooked and a drink in his hand, it did not phase me at all. The colonel insisted he t1nd his crew be given rooms at the Fairmont Hotel and "nowhere else." Discharge "'y Wl:ll: I net.'1 y, be on a torpedo bombe, The mechanics were working on the wing so I sat and waited. I wish had not asked what the trouble was because they replied: "We cannol get the wing to hold." I do not know now why I was not frightened, but then again could have been youth, new experiences, excitement-or bell<:vi nothing could go wrong. Finally the pilot, radioman, and I boarded. I was uss11lned 10 gunner's turret, glass.enclosed, above the pilot and radlonlllll, WI view. They gave me a set of earphones, and we took 011. I could communicate with the pilot and radlornnn, nlld Wt' very low to the water at one point. I asked, "why?" TIr<:y '''pll,,, I' wind over the Long Island Sound was strono nnel sin,," II", wi not on too tightly, it was safer. I wish I hnd :v<:r ".',,,d. Our next conversation was the view - It old about a heater. They instructed me to 1'1111 , did. But nothing happened so on second the red one on the other side. I did. They shouted back, "No No No No torpedo bombardment door." To this day, I do not know II y' wn~ " II 01 ey t, II y II 'w Ill, WI h pappy tloYIrlgwn . Exciting? I had the duty over Thanksgiving and was reslll ) staying on the base. But mid.afternoon, the D.O. said I COln<l [10 home-from Boston to Avon. I anxiously awaited my first flight fron Mustin Field, because I had never flown before other than lhe cI attached toy planes at the amusement parks. arrived at the field and found I would PUll the Ked I hrottlet Ii 30 From NATTC Norman, Oklahoma: Aggravation. In the mornings, the squawk box would come on: "WAVES socks-far-the. day, white." After a few minutes passed, we heard, "WAVES socks-for- the. day, black." Later, "WAVES socks.for-the-day, white. . ." We figured that If the navy had so much trouble deciding what socks the WAVES should wear each day, we should begin wearing one black and one white. Incident: Inspection uniform-of-the.day was dress Blues for 1,000 WAVES, 4,000 sailors, and 5,000 marines who stood at attention in the dusty Oklahoma sun for hours. Many passed out because of the heat. Shortly after one such inspection, I hurried on my first liberty to Oklahoma City and by the time I arrived, I could hardly see. My eyes were swollen shut. The Shore Patrol took me to a physician, then back to the base. Diagnosis? Allergic to that Oklahoma dust! ~ ------ II ~ 3 ;:-- ::- ;;:~~ - -=-- .111 Oklahoma Dust transportation. We called this ferry trip our "sea duty." It was fun and I think, unique. At the San Pedro dock, we landed and then walked a block to catch the red streetcar which traveled around the bay to Loog Beach. ? ',0 J " { .. Whcn I decided to join the WAVES in 1944, I was working in a defense plant-"Rosie the Riveter," working on Douglas small fighter planes_ After Boot Camp, I was stationed at the naval prison on Terminal Island, located between San Pedro and Long Beach, California. In the morning we were transported by bus from the barracks to the prison, the barred gates were opened, and were locked behind us after we went in. At night, they were opened to let us out and locked again behind us. My job was compiling and typing case histories of the inmates. Believe me, I learned many things a sheltered country girl had never heard of before. Later our offices were moved out of the actual prison, and we felt a bit more free. At that time, Terminal Island had only one bridge to the mainiand. It was a floating bridge that opened to let ships pass through. To take that route to town meant paying a cab, so this was rare and expensive. The only other passage to the mainland was a ferryboat that went to San' Pedro This was my-and most other WAVES' -usual A year after duty at Bainbridge and occupational therapy school at USNH Philadelphia, I reported to the USNH Norman, Oklahoma. ^ directive came out the next summer that hospital personnel were using too much toilet paper, and they were directed to conserve Ils use. One night, several WAVES took a roll of toilet paper and hung the individual sheets on the ciothesline with two clothespins each. Since the WAVES barracks were close to the main gate of the hospital, that clothesline was very, very visible. Nothing was ever said and the paper disappeared from the line. All the pins were piled in the M.A_ 's office for us to pick up_ There were no more directives to conserve toilet paper. Sea Duty Just Follow Directions 32 My friend and I decided to visit the popular Stage Door Canteen in San Francisco because our hospital corpsmen were members of the Oak Knoll Rhythm Doctors. We wanted to heartheir music. The Stage Door Canteen was located in a rather unimpressive building, and we walked back and forth two or three times before approaching the burly marine MP standing in the dim light near the heavy wooden door. "Can't you read da sign?" he asked with a sneer. "This place isfor serviceMEN. You know we don't allow no WACs or WAVES in here." He had never been confronted by two very determined women in the navy, however, and finally agreed to ask "da captain". Reluctantly, he returned and said we could enter if we stayed in the kitchen. We peered wide.eyed from behind thick curtains and saw familiar corpsmen and patients dance with admirals' daughters, secretaries, shipyard workers and Powell Models. Fellows we saw every day in the chow line looked like strangers as they laughed with the beautiful young women in dainty pinks, frilly blues, and soft pastels. We really did not mind being in a restricted area because the kitchen help seemed to keep the very best cakes and pies for them. selves_ Not only that, Captain Muller came backstage and welcomed us aboard. We returned to the hospital on the navy bus with the Rhythm Doctors. One of my first duties as storekeeper was to go with the disbursing officer to the United States Treasury in Washington, D.C. to pick up payroll money. I wore a.45 pistol and the thousands of dollars we brought back to the station were well protected as we rode in an armored truck followed by a police car with two armed guards. Sometimes the guards at the Treasury would sing "Pistol Packin' Mama" as I entered the building. Although my practice with a gun consisted of two or three target lessons at a local police range, word got around that I was a "crack shot" and could really handle a pistol. The story was never disputed, but at times that.45 seemed a little heavy when carried by a 5' I" WAVE! Stage Door Canteen 33 came from a small town in Ohio and had lived on fmms purt of my growing up years. I soon found belnu in the WAVI~S during WW II quite exciting. I was one of the few women who hecurne electrlciun's mates (EM 3/c) and was stationcd at Key West, al the Naval Air Station. My duty varied bel ween overhaulinu generators from airplanes to rigging and packing parachutes. Another WAVE and I were invitcd to goon a practice "hop" where the sailors would send flares and practice machine gun shooting. We were thrilled over the prospects of the four.hour flight. The plane would go straight up. Then straight down. Most of the time, my friend and I went down as the plane went up-heaving into a paper sack. I wonder sometimes as a country girl what would I have done with my life if I had not joined the WAVES. I will vouch forthe world being round because I am now right back where I started: Avon, Massachusetts. I saw the poster "Uncle Sam Needs YOU!" He seemed to be pointing at me. From the day Pearl. Harbor was attacked, I had participated in all programs regarding the war, even to serving as an air raid warden. Being the oldest of five girls and no boys in our family,l felt the challenge to be one of the first. I registered myself as the hundredth person from Avon to enter the military and was sworn in during September 1942. Even after all these years, I remember when I was assigned to the Rec. Station in Philadelphia for SKD Distribursing Payroll work, where ships would arrive and depart. I was known as "Mrs. Anthony" of the Payroll Office, and made a member of the LSM 201. I had coast.to. coast broadcasts of my duties on Women in Blue. Humorous? You bet. Remember the day 200 of us wcnt Into uniform? Should the brims of those silly little white.topped huts he up or down? Uniform.of-the.day was black flat. heel lace shoes and lisle stockings that made our skirts crawl up becausc of static eleclrlclly, I was 5' 10" tall, so most people could not see tire U.S, Nilvlj on my hatband and when we put havelocks on-wow. Some I'eol'le asked if we were in the Salvation Army. That First Hop Pistol Packin' Mama Uncle Sam Needed Me! I ; \ .. 34 o \ o I o )13')1.NOO .U13911G 35 went over to Hawaii on the Lurline-lIrst clllss? As if I had a choice! It really was not all that elegilnt. I hlld iJ very nice cubin that I shared with eight orten other WAVES. Uul ilt leilst wegollhere. When we docked, a huge group of sailors WllS on blllld 10 greellls with flower leis before a party at the pavilion on the beach. After the war was over, I was in the first group to have enough points to go home. Not on the Lurline, bllt in Ihe hold of a grimy old rusty hospital ship. We were below the waterline and in lhree.deck bunks, but the unbelievable part was the Head. We had about three showers, three washbasins, and the john consisted of a four.foot lrough with water rushing through all the time. There were three or four little planks to push up to sit on to fit your bottom. This is the honest truth. My grandmother's outhouse was more refined! o o o u o o \ o o o o o 0 o 0 (: Grandmother's Outhouse am one of those WAVES who happened to have an exciting first experience while stationed at NAS Pensacola, attending Aviation Medical Technicians School. This in itself was a "first" because women had never before been assigned to the school. While there, our class went on several field trips and one happened to be to the local swimming pool which had a machine training device called the Dilbert Dunker. It was used to simulate a small plane ditchiog and turning over. We had five WAVES in the class including me, and I was the brave one and decided to try out the machine first. They gave me some huge men's dungarees and a large shirt, then strapped me into the cockpit. The cockpit went down the ramp and turned over, leaving me strapped in, upside down in the water. Alii had to do was unbuckle my safety belt and swim to the surface. Simple enough. But I could not find the belt release because of the large.size dungarees. After fumbling around, I located the release and was helped to the surface by one of the divers. This was not the navy way. but I was running out of air and had to come up In a hurry-or drown. Not many WAVES, new recruits fresh from three weeks of Boot Camp, were as lucky as I was to be given Storekeeper 3/c rate and access to a navy station wagon. But when the chaplain learned I had a teacher's certificate and had taught several years in an elementary school, he insisted I was well qualified to set up base libraries in the Providence, Rhode Island area. After I saw some of my friends crying because they were assigned to DP or 9uard duty, I jumped at the chance to be a real navy librarian, qualified or not. One Sunday, I was filling in as librarian in a BOa. After the young officers found out I was really from Arkansas and I always talked "that way" they teased me endlessly about my slow druwl. I was one of the first women in Arkansas 10 enlist. After my husband died, I had begun teaching school in l3atesville, Arkansas. When I read about women being admitted into the navy, I slipped away from my third-graders and went 10 Little Rock to see what it was all about. Before the day was over, much to my surprise, I had signed up "for the duration and six months." My very staid in-laws, proper First.Fmnlly of Vir!Jinia type, wcre shocked, but when the navy sent tI slatioll wfl(jonlo Batesville to pick up the WAVE recruits in that area, they agreed thilt it sounded exciting. And indeed it was! Where's Dilbert? That Arkansas Accent 36 While stationed at the NAS Minneapolis, I used to get all dressed except for my skirt before I made my bed in the morning. That way, I kept all the lint of the blanket from getting on my skirt. One morning I must have been in a hurry because when I got to the Mess Hall for breakfast and started to take off my coat,l discovered had forgotten to put on my skirt_ Forget unti dock. I stood on the ramp aod watched the stretcher bearers bring down the severely wounded. I was in complete shock, until I heard their laughter and saw the happiness they seemed to feel from just being home. They seemed glad we were there to welcome them. At that momenl, I was no longer a "kid" but 20 years of age in the navy. And I was proud to be wearing my WAVE uniform. I was attached to the dental department at the Naval Hospital In San Diego. When they announced that a hospital ship was due to arrive, everyone was called to get beds ready for the incoming wounded. We made hundreds of beds, readied gurneys, and waited about 4 a.m. for the ship bringing wounded from Guadalcanal to 37 We went up the ladder to , M,,"" 111111 wi ,Ie" we,e nOlle' to the deck with benches attacllCd. When n !ielll II iJrolluh1 Ollt II stack of toast, he set it at onc cnd of II", IlIhl<,. 'II,,: ship pitched IInd the whole stack dealt itself out like so many plllyinU cnrds. My letters home describing wl,"t we SIlW In Ilawllli were filled with holes cut by the navy censors. I returned on the U.S.S. Consolation, tI hospital ship. It was so very different from the wartime crossing. Rules were relaxed, we couid let our hair grow out and wear civilian clothes. Such luxury. While waiting for our ship in Sa :'rnndsco, WI' W keeper lower his flag to half.mast. He stood lhell~ 11 rllorllt'1I1 told us that President Roosevelt had died. A few days later we sailed-wtlilla tril'l Onl 10;'\1" w'",. .Iow, the hold of the ship, and $0 were we. WI: WI!lt: ~n 1111 Ill'lnw d,'c1( this troopship that we could hear the WIII<:r 'n the hllll'" W" showers at designated times with spccll1l gnltwnlt~1 tllHlp. I hl~ll~ WI blackout curtains ~nd no smoking rC{lulntlolls WI~I(' Iill'll,'d 011 dflU, each night. Weird I!ghts swung overOll!' tllll:e.(Ic.'('I) IJlI111(li, AIHI wf.IHHI to go up two decks to the Mess Hall. But few 114:opll,: nil: OlllVl'Illlll'd 10 go topside. 1 had thought seasickness was II f1UITWllt 01 l~ 11l1l1Ull )1\ nlld I really did not understand why peopl" llllned II ,^ I<,w '" dy souls made it past the marine uumds whu w(~r 'ovl 1 01 cans. Something? ;I ill " Growing Up thousand workers picked up the harmony. It was the most beautiful sound I ever heard, as voices echoed throughout that huge hangar. the engmes. Later at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, I well remember one time I was busy honing cylinders and singing, "Down by the Riverside," when the colored fellow next to me started to sing, too. Finally, two My second assignment was in A&R, overhauling Stearman hiplanes used to train navy pilots. I ran carbon tet and ion oxide over crankshafts, shot bolts of electricity through to check for cracks, then I ground valves, polished pistons, and put on new rings. I also ran the soup tanks where all metal parts of the fuselage were put through hot chemicals to remove paint. We had no test stand for engines when we finished overhauling, so they were put back in the plane and my job was to start up at 0800 and mark the test-check sheets while rewing Soup Tanks? Bilge Water IV' G ~ ~ ~t: .... ..... --"" 38 When we arrived at Ford Island, we were introduced to the rates we had been sent to replace. I met a Pharmacist's Mate 3/c who had been away from home since 1941 and had been there during Pearl Harbor_ This sums up my whole reason for joining the WAVES: to replace a land sailor for sea duty, or to let someone who had been at sea a long time have a chance to rejoin his family back home. 39 Hawaii was absolutely everyl 19 I J I rrllll-lIn"d. Bellutiful. We were assigned to Quonset huts, und wns 't I clothes was done on the outside in big tubs. I was assigneclto lh" i'ortl)lreclor's office where my job was to type classified lists of ship pllssenyers for 1111 personnel passing through Pearl Harbor. Rememl",,', Ihls WIIS In the dllYs before computers and duplicators, and everythinlJ hlld to be in triplicate. i liked the Quonset hut life, the pineupple fields, the Pali and the rainbows that appeared almost everydllY lifter short IitUe showers. A beautiful sight was a big, fat Hawlllilln woman pushing a broom down the street with about fifteen leis around her neck, singing at the top of her voice while barefoot Hawaiian children brought flowers. From the air, the ocean looked like little jewels was sent to Se"ttle in January 1944 and worked a year on the second floor of the Administration Building. One day in April, the civilian worker grabbed my hand and ran with me to the window, shouting, "There's Mount Ranier." And it was. And I saw the sun for the first time in four months. When Jack Benny came for a program, he found that all the officers were sitting in the front. He refused to perform until enlisted patients were brought down to the stage in front of him. In November 1944 I was accepted for duty in Hawaii. We left on the Matsonia. In the stateroom, we were so crowded, they put triple, triple-decker bunks. One set was in the closet and extended into the room. If memory serves, over ten thousand were aboard, and we had to observe antisubmarine procedure all the way over. We were not allowed lights topside after dark. Almost everyone was seasick and thirty-gallon garbage cans were placed all around the passageways on the deck for those who could not make it to the Head. Just before we left the pier in San Francisco, we had fried pork chops. A couple of hours later, we sailed and by the time we were going under the Golden Gate Bridge, the pork chops were all in those garbage cans! For five days, it was bed, GI cans and once in a while, to the deck_ Seattle Sunshine Pali In Hawaii I was assigned as a dental assistant, and just outside my window was Battleship Row. On the side where our barracks were, I could see a very large Quonset hut with no windows, just screens, and a partially submerged battleship, the Utah. I could see the submarines leave and return. The ones returning would have a broom affixed to the superstructure, indicating a "clean-sweep" of their area. Ford Island was surrounded by the sub base, the destroyer base, the dry docks, and up close, the "foxes," to which the larger ships, battleships and aircraft carriers, tied up. Also on Ford Island was a seaplane base and runways for the planes from the carriers. From my dental clinic window, I could see it all. During the summer of 1945, we were invited to board the carrier Franklin, which was tied up at Ford. About thirty of us went to "sea," and boarded what we thought was part of the deck. When everyone was assembled, the "deck" rose with the speed of lightning. Of course, we all screamed, grabbed one another. unci our skirts rose high above our knees. We found ourselves on the elevator which mov"d plllnes back and forth from the hangar deck to the f1ighl c1eck. All Ie sailors thought this hilarious-and now, I do too! About three days later, the carrier left and wiU a kamikaze plane. The Franklin left with 3,500 ill" 750 and part of her flight deck and 19ar decl< Ringside Seat and Rainbows 1 w"el< was hit by ,llIfI1ed with only )flC. 40 4 The last three manths I was statianed at Aiea lIelghts In Iltlwaii The hospital received men, civilian as well as navy, who. hnd been interned by the Japanese and were sent there first before returning home. This was an exceedingly interesting assignment. All af them had scurvy and mast had dysentery, as well as a great many dcntal prablems. They were treated well and assigned home jusl as soan as possible. The last af November 1945, I returned an Ihe Solllce, a great hospital ship. Caming back we were allowed an deck und were not crawded. There was much less seasickncss. But once I ventured down to lhe Mess Hall and all the portholes were open. Just as I sat down, one of lhose huge waves thai rise mysteriously in the Pacific, roared in. The ship turned, the ocean water came rushing in, and I figured I was dead. I did nal go down to the Mess Hall again all the rest of the way home. ~ERE If IS! Good Duty In classroom instruction for machinist mate, I was asked how male" and "female" fittings worked. I did not have the vaguest idea and was embarrassed when the whole class laughed at me. "You, the only married WAVE in the class, and you do. natknaw?" the instructor teased. During my first job as dispatcher, I had to give messages over a squawk box that went over the whole base. I wauld pick up the speaker and say, "Now, HERE it is..." Friends would ask, "Where is it?' until weeks later when they tald me hear this..." did not catch on to their joke should be announcing, "Now Now Hear This went overseas on the Malsonia, a luxury liner and returned on the Consolation. At NAS Oahu, we lived in a Quonset hut and I was immediately assigned to the payroll office. I found the personnel had nat been paid for months. All pay records had to be braught up to. date, so all disbursing persannei worked continuously until new records had been completed_ Then VJ Day came. No liberty for us in disbursing for we were busy discharging crews that came through Navy 29 from the Philippine Islands. I became a chief petty officer, after having passed the exam back in Philadelphia, and took the place of the chief on Oahu who retired. Payroll A? Our platoon "dismantled" the apartments near Hunter College when the war ended. Some of us did not get orders right after Boot Camp, so our assignment was to roll up mattresses and tie them. We were supposed to get them downstairs to the truck. Well, I thought the three decks were too far to push one mattress, so I opened the window and tossed it out. My deck was cleared in ten minutes. But unfortunately the chief came down the street. That ended that. Then I started to mop the decks and the dirty water was a problem. I has already cleaned the sinks and Head, so I decided the window was a good place to toss that dirty water, down on the cement square below. You guessed it-the chief again_ 43 twenty men. After the test we had to go into the Iwngllr IInd do 1111 the required mechanical jobs on the planes. Thc fellows hoped I would get nervous while waiting my turn so they all went ahead of me. Well, I watched and listened and passed that part. Then thcy went out to the ramp where a Corsair sat as on a carrier deck and we hud to rig It for takeoff. Of course, the fellows did it first. Then it was my turn. I did so well the cuptain suid if there had not been a hangar right in front of the plane, I could have taken off. One of the proudest moments of my naval career was when Capt. Mildred McAfee stopped by where I was honing cylinders. As dirty and greasy as I was, she took time to chat with me. Heave Ho What parties we had in Hawaii! We were allowed one day off III seven and took the liberty boat to Pearl Harbor gate and then went to Honolulu on the beach, Kaneohe, the Pall. Sometimes, our army friend would furnish transportation, the corpsman who worked in the laundry brought blankets and towels, and I furnished the medical alcohol and grapefruit juice. Between the main gate and our beach destination were a lot of pineapple fields, so we liberated a few along the way. All the corpsmen on special details were allowed one pint of 90 percent proof alcohol "whenever needed", so this is what I traded with for everything. Everyone there had a cumshaw, you just had to know how to trade. Everything was so hard to get, especially meat and fresh fruit and vegetables. My civilian friends would trade avocados and vegetables for meat the officers had given me in exchange for my alcohol. One day just before inspection, a marine showed up with a whole hand of bananas, about sixty small Hawaiian ones. We all tried to find a hiding place in the desk drawers and closets of the dispensary. We then stood by for the captain and his party, but when they did not show up for a long time, we began eating the bananas. When the command "Attention!" sounded, there we all stood with our mouths full of bananas. Proof 90 Percent While striking for advanced ratings, 120 men Ild 20 WAVES took the test. We all flunked. They gave this same test to the officers and they, too, flunked. The questions werc on somelhin!J we had never heard of before so we were given another tesl. I ssed, along with After waiting patiently for my twentieth birthday so that I could enlist in the WAVES, it turned out that the war ended only two or three months after I got in. But the fourteen months I spent as a flight orderly with Naval Air Transport Service were the highlight of my life. I flew all over the country with NATS, but one of my first flights was to Floyd Bennett Field in New York from the Naval Air Station at Olathe, Kansas. And we landed on VJ Day! Needless to say, it did not take me long to get down to Times Square in New York. I had only been in the WAVES for three months, but everyone was grabbing the service people and kissing them and thanking them for winning the war. Times Square in New York City was will remember it the rest of my life. VJ Day in NYC Striking for Rates e placc to be on VJ Dayand 44 Let me tell you something that happened to me-not funny, but very strange. It happened on my way to Hawaii aboard an LST used to take men and dependents on liberty and leave to the other islands, Moui, Hila, Hawaii and Kauoi. It was a lot of fun and I loved it all, whether bad rough trips, or smooth ones. It was about a smooth trip I want to tell you. I mean really smooth. We were not too crowded and the movie had gone very well and with the geotle rocking of the ship, we all settled down for a quiet night. I guess I had been asleep for about two hours when I woke, wide awake, and sat up in my bunk. I leaned out and looked back toward the Head and all was quiet. I felt really foolish, and could not imagine what had awakened me. Finally, I decided to go out into the small lounge area and see if anyof the ladies were silting out there. No one was there, so I turned around and started back to my bunk. As I passed under the ladder to the top deck,llooked up and there about three steps from the hatch leading out to the deck, was a baby. I swear that baby-not a walking baby but a crawling baby-had managed to climb out of the playpen, crawl all the way'~own past fifteen or sixteen bunks, over a ten.inch high setting for the hatch and up those stairs without making a sound. I did not know whether to spank that baby or hug himl Close the Hatch was only twenty years old and straight from college, totally unprepared for the myriad of adventures that lay ahead. Quite possibly I might never have made a career of the navy either except for two totally unrelated events. I was in Hawaii when the war ended and having been in Hunter's first boot platoon and the first contingent overseas, I hud ample points for separation, although I really loved the navy and was not the letlst bit anxious to be discharged. There was no provision to retuin WAVES at that point and the drawdown was progressing mpidly, so I was assigned to a draft for the next available transportation to CONUS, on the Solace, my "chariot of the gods." I returned to college and received my degree ill phllflllUCY. The very day when I took my state board exam, Admiral Nlmitz succeeded in convincing the Congress that WAVES should be Illllde" part of the regular navy. This was summer, 1948. When I went job.seelling, I found that my friend Bill could earn $3.50 while I could enrn only $2.00 per hour. At least in the navy, we received equal puyl As you know, logic is not always the crllerlll for making assignments, so when I reenlisted I WllS sent right back 10 communications and it took two years to convince the Bureau that they needed me in the medical department. But for Captain Joy Bright Hancock's suge advice ("Don't take 'no' for an answer") I might never have been finally commissioned in the fledgling Medical Service Corps in 1950. 45 Equal Pay Miss MRrle Bennett P. O. Box 604 Falfurrias. TexaB 46 47 Sincerely ;yours ~~~~ James Forreatal lifo The best Ooc,d luck! wi shes of No other Navy at any time has done eo much. For your part in these achievements you deserve to be proud as long as you live. The Nation which you served at a time of crisis will remember you with gratitude the Navy go with you into aivil1an It performed the multitude of support these military operations taske necessary It brought our land-based alrpower .i thin bombing range of the enemy. and eet our ground armies on the beachheads of final victory. to McAfee Horton Anniversary Nationu City 1972 Capt. Mildred tit 30th Kansas COIlvcntloll surrenders I have addressed this letter to reach you after all the formalities of your separation from active service are completod. I have done 60 because. without formality but as clearly BS I know how to say it. I want the Navy's pride in you, which it is my privilege to express. to reaoh into your civil life and to remain with you always. You bave served It crushed two enemy fleets only four monthe apart in the greatest Navy at onoe rece! vlng in the world their er troops (rom e Northampton Inn and encountered an unexpected pillA-ed ca n their tine of march, she is reported to have ordered. "L.,dies, lI,e your judgment." As women of the navy. past, present, and (III life, 'I!J wed!,!,I!) our judgment, our patriotism. and our dedicatloll/o e we/fille o( the world. so that we may be entitled to e llilV!)', iI llilIiOIl" 'Well done!' The first time I asked Admiral Jacobs how to do other, he said, "Miss McA(ee, use your judgment. The first time Elizabeth Crandat marched f.:y dear Mias Bennett THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY WASH INGTON November 29 1945 r -, Well Done sorncth ingor 48 ~-U 53~ f}/7J>2 Let You've all played a big part in making Old WAVES Tales come alive after forty years. Use the space below to jot down more old tales that will never again occur. Those Old WAVES Tales changed the whole history of the U.S. Navy. Be proud of it! me hear from you! 1'\'ltsl Hear IYOlD