discovery island of S S 1 . it 2 into the Atlantic. By ihgI18iht,11idOr1Q-and commited OP her leaden Atlantic coloration. if Ifgritngvgf FSU hqdiurned not sufficiently moderate the pe 1 t' if Warm Gulf ter For the first time in G Year fthe rg llighdamp chill of a North 11 I 1 I e ' eqvy foul weather gear from head to fodlfcarifisraljlecfggltirkirid thilfnf . I V, Sudden cold, he hoped the rapid tem 1 - - Cm S ore enduring rather than to lay him low.pem me Vcmcmon Wculd make he gray morning punctuated with raw ra' f th 1 chess returned exactly one year after she hald Csaileil ffgdh Cghlrebruclry' Hampton Roads, and Norfolk. The Lady found Hamptoli? Rocidgpiifblfi than ever in 1944, even when the bi convo ss ' - J way through a forest of ships' masts gdtnd loogin1gV?1rr'?c1?dfn . Plck- .Shallow beset Hampton Roads, and finding the deep draf+' Gnchglcross the Old Girl finally had Uto drop hook hard by Newport Nkews-5 from the Navdl OPSTUUHQ Base. The-.Gray Lady stilled her screw lpropellerl that had driven her through 82,180 miles of water. All hands prepared to rest qlang with their ship. X 'L As is often the case with adversity marking the way of the sea, the wind blewup and commenced pushing ships about like toys in the crowded anchor- ages. .The men of the fleet were called upon to look a1ive as each ship was Closely flanked on all sides by other ships or by treacherously shallow mud flats. Once again, the Dutchessmen manned their sea watches and started turning the screw preparatory to getting underway if the Lively Lady dragged anchor or if any of the dozens of other ships were blown down on her. All hands were experienced enough now to understand the old nautical adage that the safest place for a ship was at sea. As the wind accelerated to 40 and 50 knots, the ship control personnel fervently wished the 98 was at sea. Other ships. reported dragging anchor, but with devoted attention on the part of her people, the Constant Lady successfully rode out the blow as she had done many times before. I , With the dawn and calming weather, the Dutchessmen looked about them ar the low tidewater land and the distant smoke pall of Norfolk, and realized that they were in the States for good. Most of the Gung 1-lo men would never have the United States again. Voicing this view was apt to provoke some- Whqf humorously contentious discussion in the compartments by some of the more facetious as to whether the local area should be considered in the States 01' not. The final concensus was expressed in the view that as long-as.any lo- 1Y in the United States could be reached by telephone from a district, that region could be considered continental. S Dutchess now had to accustom herself to -East Coast practicesg wherelrl dncisco separatees were debarked in 30 minutes and customs clearance mfflediate, three days were required before the Lady 'was able to SGCUT'-9 clearance and debark the 19 men of Demobilization Increment Ten-V 011 February 22. 1 Lady made her onerous trip threading through the crowded anchor- buary 22, moored to Pier 4, Naval Operdfing Bflsefbcind Conggingig ng process of off-loading all the consuma e Sup , . t. For a week all diversified gear that the Dutchessmen hdd assembled during the past year .went ashore.uggie 1013 :SSE giaaii r dx of the LCMS' The Cargo bcoms of me Sel 't d'nous as mcludin ammunition small arms life wickets gas mas if' Q mejn ming and small stores, Welfare gem' medlccfl eqmp i . . ti u 1 1 lnglng into the waiting. box cars and barges gf mil 1, r , lkslj M n ' . ' . i . C617
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renderedboating across th ' if i T ' V' T' 1 During' those weeks of Qpgl' foqdstssd Urea 1'10ZC11'do1isF . DTS t . . shore-going desire was allalifilglqg-gnfhgnsnsolfeg Wfllllflg. the fe were just ahead, Dutchessnfen Stayed Gb Wde, 99 that leave maintained that Uonly married m 'd Om uf, droves- The Wray ashore through four miles of bone-cRllliR3fsaClffsmfqiO?1S 'Would beat dryland Wet and bedraggled for a liberty in Norforlk YTl'CfoSmHY dumber that were successful in rea h' ln SR rugged ln' d 1. H1 d C U19 S ore found that the liberty Situq had improve a 1. he ue to the reduction of s 'l ' ' ' - ' ' reatianal facilities. The old timers, whoclhopieilwfilnicihe gngiruilrl- t cized from lt N f Q ' Y PS G eil os ra dpcgl 1 e or ollq society, deemed the postwar situa- siderably improve ue to the continued 0 1' - eded war-born service irganizations-USGRC-gsrrliflluiftyhgsgrjggogig societies-and the apparent effort on the o t f th ' - - towards enlisted personnel. p If O e resldems to exittbtt However, to enjoy the East Coast equivalent of San Francisco most Dutch- men conserved their money and hardihood for alternate week-end fora ' gghare to the big cities of the Northeast+Washington, Baltimore Philadel T fgnd New York. ' ' p ' ' ' The Dutchessmen found realization of being permanently back in the f - States difficult. During the year that the Gung l-lo men had spent on the high f lfr seas, they had been relatively isolated and impervious to the currents of if fthought and feeling on the beach. As they now commenced to return to the V v mainstream of the nation's life, they found considerably more discontent and -disquietude ashore than aboard ship. The labor turmoil and problems of T .inflation at home and starvation overseas had their precedent in the aftermath .-of World War lg but now the security-shattering fact of the atomic bomb had 'T created mass apprehension. Particularly the planning and organization of funds for the Naval Serv- r ice seemed to be held in abeyance pending the atomic bombing of a fleet in the 'Marshall Islands in operation HCrossroads. With Congress failing to authorize expansion, with various groups pressing merger of all the armed - forces, and with' the nation's fundamental antipathy to military life reasserting itselfmin apathy toward the armed services, the Navy was sailing close-hauled Q in Shoal waters. However, many of the young in spiritfelt that this period of Turmoil might be the smelting furnace from which would 'emerge a revitalized W.rbrOade,r-thinking organization that would be of greater service to the whole HG'f1OI1, and possibly all nations. gk, 1 The ultimate effect of these factors was a scaling down of the Navy's am-- billOu.s expansion program and incidental curtailment of enlistments. Some Dutchessmen who had been postponing the day of decision were caught un- res when transfers from the Reserves to Regulars were suddenly prohib- lied in most rates. The total of seven enlisted Reserves who had previously lfdflsferred to'the Regulars plus the 28 Regular Navy men felt comparatively UFS: but not as secure as did their counterparts prior to 1940. .y 'F . r r ,AP A V x f-5, . 4 5 is H , Q. , , . X' , 1 fs 'S 'r . . Hi' nl lDfGparation'for the dispersal of the crew, the .COTl'lIl1CI1'1d Gfiempled to for the proper. utilization and welfare of the 1rgd1vrdudlcli15liDl:S31jJh to decommission and removal from the Dutc ess 1ur1s - h 35 re ular service schools were requested for -candidates from T G ndg f to f th h ' f ssional qualifications ln order to PTCV1 9 of ur er t eir pro e . - d t .kers CG - on of their services, non-rated men who serve as s ri .gp d certified T, ' th ' their service records an were me deslgnmed as Sue lfq th 'r s ecialty. Enlisted men who had , f637, , , , X, udlified for the rate o 91 it 1
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