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Yosemite Saga - 9
Ice, Solid Gold
There were two enemies in
the South Pacific; the Japs and the
heat. Those of us lucky enough to be in the ice machines were popular
people. Although our storage locker wasn't that large,
we always kept a few "broken" pieces of ice for an
emergency. Often, late at night, the man on watch
would hear a knock on our watertight door. It would be
someone who needed the ice to keep their still going.
At one time, we knew of four or five
active booze makers in operation. It was a "you
scratch my back" and in return, a favor would be
given. We had a number of unusual treats; cake,
cookies, cigarettes, etc. Once I had a chance to go
down to the garbage grinder for a
"jolt". Well, they had distilled Vaseline hair tonic
and it tasted like castor oil— Phew!.
Mail Call
Whenever we heard the bugle call for mail, it
determined if it was one
of those days that were either great or "otherwise". As the
names were called, it always got tense when it got
down to the last name. My folks had the local paper
sent to me and when it came, it came in multiples. I passed
those hometown papers around the ship like a lending library. Some of
the guys wrote to local girls back home and got a reply. Once I
got a wool turtle neck sweater to keep me warm from
the Red Cross in Syracuse, NY. If you had a box, it
always seemed to arrive in a dilapidated condition. My
folks sent a box of various Christmas treats and it
had been broken into and all I got was a can of salty
kippered herring. We always shared cookies and candy
with our shipmates so anything that got through didn't
last long.
The USS Randolph Attacked at Ulithi
One pleasant afternoon after evening chow, I went to
the fantail to sit and write letter to the folk at
home. There was some activity in the atoll that
afternoon. A large carrier, the
USS Randolph (one of the Essex class) had
anchored about a half mile from us and planes were
taking off and landing at regular intervals. I saw a formation
of six planes pass the USS Yosemite and
head for the Randolph. All of sudden there was a tremendous explosion
on the Randolph. I could see that the deck of the carrier was afire.
General Quarters
were sounded everywhere so I had to leave for my
battle station. Later I heard that a Jap plane had followed
the US formation in and hit the carrier with a large
bomb. The marine gun crews were not alert because they
never expected the Jap to come in. They said the plane
got away and went back to Yap.
Extra Cash
Many of the crew had special services they could render
on the side for extra money. Several crew members gave emergency
hair cuts just before inspection with their own tools they had
aboard. One fellow had been a watchmaker and would
work on your watch for a fee. Others were very
skillful and made watchbands and bracelets. I had my
own
strange activity. I could copy tattoos so the
fellows could show the girlfriend back home what he
had on his body. I had fine grain stationary and made
it almost transparent with hair tonic. Then placing it
over the tattoo, I got a perfect impression. Then I
transferred it and shaded or colored it on a piece of
white paper. The ship censorship committee never did
seem to object. One officer once told me I was quite
the artist. I also wrote a number of letters for guys
who just couldn't find the right words.
The Phantom Strikes Again And Again
One of the topics of conversation on the Yosemite was
the activity of the so called "Phantom". Nobody ever
saw him or had any idea who he was. One of his
favorite jokes was to find a good place to take a crap
and let some unwary person find it by stepping on it.
We heard he was most active in Officers Country. Another thing we heard concerning the Phantom was that
he had a sharp knife. Some seamen slept in the
hammocks that had to be raised high enough so a person
could walk under them. Some said they used to sway out
over the rail of the ship on a stormy night. The
Phantom would quietly reach up and cut one end of the
hammock cord and the occupant would come sliding out
on the deck like a pea in a pod. |
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