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Sleeping
Accommodations for 2,000!
This
crew’s quarters is one of 28 similar spaces designated for
enlisted men below the rank of Chief Petty Officer. They are located
primarily on the three full decks of the Ship: main deck, second
deck, and third deck. All the men in a division were assigned to
the same compartment.
Each
man was provided a locker for his clothing and personal belongings
and a bunk. They were to use the nearest head (bathroom and showers).
Weekly
inspections insured that the crew kept their bedding, lockers, and
personal belongings clean and in order. Since most of the ship,
including the crew’s quarters, was not air-conditioned, the
Captain usually permitted the crew to sleep outside on the deck.
Crewmembers lucky enough to have air-conditioned battle stations,
such as Main and Secondary Battery Plot, would sleep there when
it was hot.
The Ship
was designed so that some crewmembers had bunks and lockers near
their workstations. After the war started, many more anti-aircraft
guns were added so the Ship’s crew increased. With the crew
increase, even more workstations had bunks added such as those near
the laundry and tailor shop (see upper right photograph).
Surprisingly,
the photographer’s bunk hung over the dark room sink and even
the narrow laundry issue room has two bunks along one bulkhead (wall).
The compartment between the shoe repair and tailor shop had room
for twelve men, although only six bunks are there currently.
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Berthing
area as seen today
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How
were you assigned a berth?
When
a man came on board, the Executive Officer assigned him to one of
the Ship’s 23 divisions. The First Lieutenant assigned berthing
by division. Most divisions had battle and duty stations near their
berthing area. The new recruits gathered on the back of the Ship.
Each division’s police petty officer came and picked up his
group and took them to their compartments. Upon arrival, you had
your choice of available berths. If your choice turned out to be
a bad one, you waited until someone was transferred and then requested
his berth.
What
came with a berth?
The beds came with a
mattress, a mattress cover, and a fireproof cover. Men were issued
two blankets and two sheets. At the beginning of the war, the blankets
were white. Later, they were khaki. You were expected to change
your sheet weekly. You had to purchase your own pillow. Some men
folded their blanket and placed it under their heads like a pillow.
"Fireproof
canvas bags were provided and at General Quarters (battle stations)
or when not occupied, the mattress, pillow, and bedding were rolled
up and stuffed into the bag. This was to reduce fire hazards. One
could go from deep sleep to bedding stowed and bunk folded up against
a stanchion to hot footing it to battle station."
- Frank J. Haas
Where are the closets?
The small bank of aluminum lockers served as closets.
Each locker has a number that corresponds to the number on a berth.
The Ship’s command determined how you arranged the contents
of your locker. The locker contained your uniforms, toiletries,
sheet, shoes, underwear, and personal items like books, Bible, stationery,
candy, and souvenirs.
No civilian clothes.
No cameras. You could rent one when on liberty.
No diaries. If you had one, you found a very safe place for it.
Diaries were forbidden for security reasons.
What was it like to sleep here?
"Below decks it was HOT, no air conditioning.
Air was taken from topside (outside) and blown into the living compartments.
At night when you slept in your bunk, you sweat; your mattress would
get real damp. When you got up the first thing you did was cover
up your mattress with a fireproof cover. This would be almost airtight
and after a few weeks you bunk became pretty ripe. First chance
you had the Ship would air bedding; you would take your bedding
topside and air it. I had a large air duct alongside my bunk. I
cut a small hole in it and fitted a piece of a tin can to divert
some air onto me. It helped."
- William R.Taylor
Crewmember Ralph Swift managed to obtain a fan and asked a friend
to weld it near his berth. When another man sleeping nearby kept
turning the fan to his own direction, Ralph had the friend weld
the fan into one permanent position.
Smells
were not usually a problem. Someone cleaned the compartment daily
and men were expected to shower regularly. The Ship’s laundry
cleaned your clothes and sheets. The crew aired their bedding as
Bill Taylor says.
Ship
noises drowned any snoring noises.
There
were no ladders. You removed your shoes and climbed up.
Did people ever sleep somewhere else?
Some men found other places to sleep such as out
on the upper decks or near their work stations, but you had to have
permission from the man in charge of your watch. Someone had to
know where to find you.
Sleeping out on the decks presented risks. While
at sea, sleeping on the main deck was risky because water rushed
over the main deck when the Ship turned. If you slept on the upper
decks, you got wet if a storm arose and, and depending on the direction
of the wind, covered in soot if the engineering gang blew the deposits
out of the smokestacks.
"Routine was to bring your mattress up from
the bunk down below because nobody wanted to get caught below if
we got torpedoed. Sleep up on the Signal Bridge. Every once in a
while you wake up in a puddle. It would rain in on you."
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Jackson Belford
"After we got torpedoed, I was scared to death when we were
out in the war zone. I was scared to death to sleep below decks.
In fact, I had a blanket that I slept on topside (outside on the
decks). I wouldn’t sleep in my regular bunk."
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Daniel Schroll
"When I came off watch at midnight, I’d get a blanket
and a pillow and go up by the forward 16-inch guns and sleep on
the deck until it was time to go on watch again or breakfast. That’s
the only way you could stay cool."
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Ortho E. Farrar
"They let me work in Flag Plot…. It was a small place.
I can remember it was…air conditioned… I was so lucky
to be able to work in there and I even had a little canvas cot and
I slept in there at night."
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Capt. Ben W. Blee, USN (Ret), Combat Intelligence Officer
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