Today we were going to take a walk to see the superstructure from my grandpa's ship he served on, but I got sick. So, instead we are inside our hotel as I guzzle down orange juice, drugs and try to sleep off this head cold that's pounding through my skull. I was hoping to make a post about actually seeing the navy ship, but instead I will have to do my remembering for Memorial Day a different way.
This is a book that my Grandpa showed me when I got so excited about seeing his ship... well, part of it anyhow. The ship itself has been scraped, but he mast like thing, the superstructure, and the bell, both reside in Biloxi, Mississippi.
These are all the battles that the USS Biloxi was in.
This ship was a lucky one because there was a Japanese suicide bomber that crashed into the side of the ship and left a large bomb that did not go off. The right side of the ship in this picture is where it hit.
This is the bomb that did not go off. They proudly had it up on display. You can also tell how old this book is by the wordage on this page....
This ship was also known for it's captains making the environment on board a little more merry than other ships. They knew that by having happy men, they were more likely to hard workers and they would work better together. I can imagine how easy it would be to get sick of the people you had to work with, day in and day out, in a confined space. This is a chimney they put together around christmas time with some sailors pretending to warm their hands by the hearth. Hohoho, Merry Christmas!
Everyone standing at attention for inspection.
This ship was also special because it was chosen to have a camera crew take pictures of what life was like on board to show the people back home what their sailors did while away.
Obviously, it wasn't all hard work. They got to have some leave time and relax.
This is the library on board.
The boys swabbing the deck.
It was very exciting to get mail from family and friends and they often traded fuel and ice-cream for US mail. This was one of the things that the captains worked really hard at getting for their men on board to keep up moral.
One of my other favorite stories (that doesn't have a picture to go with it) is that the men liked to go swimming in the ocean. In the morning they would have time to jump off and swim for a while before things got started. This became a problem when they moved into shark infested waters. But no worries, they still got their swim time in. They just had a few people up top, watching out for sharks with guns in hand. They said that they hardly ever needed to use the guns. The sharks knew what was up when they pulled out the firearms and didn't give them any trouble. I can just see those sailors positioned looking over their fellow crew members, gun in hand. Just so that they could have a good time swimming around. Makes me smile.
I think this photo is particularly fun. They are ironing their uniforms with these fancy irons. There is a press for the collar, and there's one for sleeves, even a super long one for pant legs.
I'm sad that I can't make the walk into town to actually see this piece of history for myself, but I will be back to visit again. I know I wont be able to stay away from Mississippi for 5 more months... even though the weather here is more than enough to make me stay away. I actually feel like I'm swimming rather than walking everywhere I go.
I hope your memorial day has been more eventful than mine. Although, I can't say that spending a day with my husband in anyway could be bad. Best sick day ever.
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