Bunker Hill (CV 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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seven days out of Norfolk , the ship was rigged for canal passage, and the crew was decked out for a brief liberty. Scrambling down the brow and toward the gate, liberty-bound sailors found rows of taxis Cvintage, 1922- '27j waiting passengers. Every cabbie got a full load that night as they took the boys into the city, where was staged a ding-dong, jumbo- size liberty, compressed into a few hours. The next morning the Canal passage was started and throughout the day, navigation experts cropped up minute by minute, The big blue-gray carrier bumped, slid and sweated her way from Cristobal to Balboa with several inches to spare, thanks to the unerring eye of the canal pilot who had a special bridge built out over the flight deck from which he did some of his trickier conning. After a one night stop at Balboa we headed out into the Paciic, a three-ring aerial and Naval circus descending on us as we pulled out. Army lighters made sizzling passes at the ship from all bearings and angles, PT boats raced madly about, churning the water and laying smoke screens. No one was qui-te clear as X M ff fx? ff lei 3 .f N5 Q e, 45' ri? X9 AQ: . 'L' XX' V -.if 'r' , S 'Q J. 5? a '.,f-I 1 V N 1 I' fu Q., 4 H! ,.l1,!, kv!.. m y if f A in I 1 'T ' X im? Q , 5 f ' 1 X 65 4 . f if 'ii' K t' J f a f ' I X K' i W 1' V X to whatirn hell was going on, but the effect Was startling and impressive. Most of the planes managed to Hy under the deckedge elevator at least once, convincing uS that the pilots had at one time or other been Man- hattan cab drivers. After we had Wearled Of craning our necks and gaping, the, Plfmes formed up and Hew off in a more dlgmfled manner. The PTs executed a few fancY turns, blew off a little smoke and raced by, the crews waving us good luck. 'We had one more States-side stop, San Dlego, where there was a last chance to get 2. good drink of cow's milk, make a few phone calls and do a little shopping before the honeymoon ended. Our first taste of war Caine immediately in the persons of the CBS, W o turned the carrier into a transport, Camping cheerfully on the hangar deck, so we all settled down to a showerless voyage and got jolly well stinking together-lbut literally. One pleasant morning, Oahu loomed over the horizon, a mess cook dashed below, and in five minutes everyone's whites were ready! The thin bright line of the beach became more distinct and soon we were pointing out Diamond Head as though we had seen it before. Leaving the swept channel, we slid slowly into Pearl Harbor, picked up the pilot and solemnly gazed at scarred Hickam Field, found our berth, got lines fore and aft and the bull-horn dismissed the tugs. The gang- ways were rigged and began disgorging the CBS. Away they went, their hands no doubt itching for bull-dozers. Everyone longed to dash madly ashore, sprint out to Waikiki Beach, ride in on a twenty-live foot breaker and spend the after- noon drinking rum and cokes under a palm tree, observing the pretty ways of the natives. It was later that we learned the bitter truth. One day a carrier force slid in and we gazed at the veterans of a RAID! Now no one could keep up with the scuttlebutt. We did finally leave the enchanted isle, our stay productive of an accumulation of various articles made of native print cloth depict- ing the lives of the natives who Hacpliarently did little but dance the hula and d e away the day riding outrigger canoes. Someone carpingly pointed out that much of the stuff was made in Hollywood, but he was un- doubtedly an isolationist. We left, feeling not too badly about the Whole thing. Underway, the watches settled down to routine periods during which one must re-

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various sizes, ranging from something resembl- ing a bowie knife to a smaller piece of cutlery that would have looked better in the kitchen. No one who could lay hands on anything remotely resembling a knife was going to stand by and watch this display, and so it developed into a sporting event. Now the high points ran to the man who Ahad the most original or outlandishly bizarre knife handle, custom built, with plastic as the favorite material. Into this savage atmosphere our extremist friend one day brought a native machete, in a huge leathern scabbard, and it hung to his knees, making the other deck-edge commandoes look like small fry! He wore it for several days, just so that there would be no question as to who had the most rugged hunk of cutlery aboard, but it must have gotten the better of him as it is seen no more. We often wondered how in hell he got through a hatch scuttle with it on. jj, -N yfama.. 1 V -......,,,,E-5 iv d f i ,Q ffxwfhma fl . .. r J' A J if vi C ,ff fgfi A! 'C' . I X n ,-. .,, , 'f i Q TT., A ml f-B ,A .433- ..'1,Tiv'A K swim 3? g'M '-Nw Q .1 W Avi -i-...ll . H u.....--f'---.,,c,...... i ,Me wdmg ,,, tk M, M, 'H-If-.--5' ' 'E-ff 4'-M -..-f-' , A fl i ri illfl . , If . -M-as . sf ' :A -I - ' ff' Aw ' K - , pq. Aj, I 1' ' Q , . . K i ,Jw ..VQil,L13-, .H 4 - +..-- Q ' x , I ,lA ,A - . twig,-'ff ,,7,,... A .V ,, L I , .1 - , ag: VA. 45, Ah., - 1 - I , , ' K, HQ . ZX ::, ,.f-as ,' 'AA .'-A-nw: 'A'--its f 1 4. -L, A A I s.aAv.v.-i :sew-'Pfrr-A AA . .A - X , I-'..2:QY.f,:, 235Zli5,:3g3i5gg'th uigr'-ffSM:+5, ,,Q5, fr. -' , , W . 4 wHH5'?Zi ..'g:'1'2EiFAWf ,i 1, ff' A- A A 4 ' ..,,.f A A 1 'rf ' x .,i,S-49.2, A :--f ' C., , 4 ' ,,. i.As2A,3?f1zg- Q W 1 .wifgxi-Pff'AA ff' 'fav' .f v ws ...L ,,yf7:gqi-,gym .,,..f-P. .. '.,f,fAs:n, 1g.,1'. ' A' ' A f - P i il-. ,L'.Y:1g', f'iE':7 . . -- '. .1-ah, ,lx - '-- - ,. A, , if. VA- Y: , .A ,,i..'-,:,-r.-A33 .A warm Q N 'r 'fi' ' 1 ,. r, i..,'5gz.v'1'f:wgA A .l jf ' ' jAz ,Aff Q Soon the requisite time for operations was up and we left the quiet, green island of Trinidad, gliding out through the same chan- nel that Columbus had used four centuries before, more recently frequented by German U-boats to the extent that it had become South America's Torpedo Junction. Headed now toward the States, the ship was ridden with a strange malady of the sea known as channel fever. Symptomatic of this disease is an immoderate urge to sunbathe, a pro- nounced hoarding of currency, a remarkably cheerful mien, and a sudden concern over the cleanliness of one's blues. Once again Boston was the field of opera- tions, this time the stay to be short. Some of Fortune's favorites got home on leave but it was the briefest of leaves. Each liberty was carefully spent, and it may be said that the crew of this ship made a name for itself in Boston. In spite of the excellence of Boston as a harbor, as a liberty port, and as an excellent place in which to execute one's task of conl suming a certain amount of the world's bottled goods, the time came for our Hnal departure. There were, of course, those who were loath to leave, some intimating that we needn't be in such a bloomin' hurry, this was going to be a long war, etc. But it was farewell Boston, and Salem, Roxbury, Field's Corners, Quincy, Scollay Square, good- bye to more Irishmen than there could possibly be in Eire, to the cab drivers, those stout fellows, and to the Navy Yard workers with their fiendish pneumatic chisels and burning torches. No more would we borrow ten and end up at the Ship's Galley at the end of Summer Street, watching some ass put the fiftieth consecutive nickle in the juke box for the inestimatable delight of hearing I've Heard That Song Before. Assign this ship to what home port they will, the Bunker Hill will always be connected with Boston, at least as long as there is a sailor that lived aboard her in those entertaining days and can still tell lies about the liberties that he threw there. ' So off we were, to the wars. At Norfolk, our Air Group came aboard quickly and with- out fuss, and once more we headed down into warm water, not to leave it for more than year. Gperations at sea now were routine, ,every man I-it into his job. There were some nCW faces, some of the old were gone, and WC whiled away the time as we headed for the Panama Canal. Arriving at the city of Colon, .-r i sf..

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l main awake. At night, the fact that the human constitution needs eight hours sleep kept raising its ugly head, but night rations and hot coffee helped fend off the insistent arms of Morpheus. Phone talkers soon found that there were other talkers on the line and lively conver- sations ensued, keeping everyone on the line awake. They talked, they sang to one an- other and to no one in particular, and they profaned the pure night air with stories, laid in Boston. They insulted one another, they screamed incessantly for night rations, for hot Joe, for time checks and for their reliefs. The Qookouts specialized in subtle insults and good natured griping. The throttlemen were more sociable, but then, they had light to work with. They read books aloud, quoted poetry and semi-clean jokes for the benefit of the other throttlemen. They too, sang, altho the less said of this matter the better. For some time, the impression was created that Number Two Throttle was host successively to a medicine show, some trained seals, and Information Please. When' any of the foregoing diversions proved dull, there always remained the classic dispute involving the relative merits of the Hellcat and the Corsair. Friendships were broken, ugly words flew, new alliances were created, in the heat of discussion. None of the impassioned disputants knew a damn thing about aircraft, but the battle of the air in the Pacific was won and lost twice every mid-watch., . During these lonely, dark vigils, the radio gang sweated and pounded' away at their mills in the radio shack, which is not a shack at all but a hollow, in a mass of radio equipment. To stay awake, they made gal- lons of coffee fit only for the digestive tract of a bronze gargoyle, laughing bitterly when spoons dissolved in the poisonous black brew. Meanwhile, the Officer of the Deck scanned hell out of things with his glasses and ex- changed gentlemanly lies with the Junior Officer of the Deck, who in turn scanned other things. Finally the blessed relief arrived, 315111 groggy from the soggy heat below.. The mid-watch eased wearily below, tired, hungry, banging and stumbling slightly into their bunks for an hour or two before GQ. ' No fiend of the Inquisition ever devised a, torture more exquisite than that experienced by a man hearing with painful unbelief, the Hrst cheery notes of reveille. Holy Mack- eral-it can't be, it was only ten minutes ago . . . Somehow he does, or doesn't manage to stay awake, and when GQ is secured, stumbles below once more, faced with a problem that has no adequate solution. If he goes to sleep, he misses breakfast and he is possessed of a hunger that no mere words can describe. If he eats breakfast, he will be unable to get back to sleep with all that food inside. So it went, with variations onthe theme, the theme being four on and eight off, with a few extra-curricular activities thrown in to relieve the sheer monotony. One fine morning the lush smell of vegeta- tion was wafted out to us and some time later we anchored and were welcomed to the Channel Society . It boasted a recre- ation island, with cold beer. At one time the going rate of exchange was three ice creams for one beer, though I have no doubt that this ratio could be bettered. The place was a success as a South Sea Island and the lads collected everything from coral forma- tions and cocoanuts to a baby octupus. We all ate ice cream, drank beer, swam in the salt water, and played baseball, returning aboard in a hot, sticky sunburned mass. On a nearby island dwelt crafty CBS, Wh0 made many odd dollars by fashioning native grass skirts and selling them to the natives, who in turn sold them at somewhat increased prices to the crafty sailors, who packed them to take home and exhibit, telling the most outright lies about how they got the skirts. Then, son, there is the story of the wierd and unusual manner in which I spent the Armistice Day, 1943. No parades or speeches, no having a 'day off.' We were on our WW