Holidays Aboard Ship
On Holidays, daily work was suspended, lunch meals were special, and the men hung out with their buddies. The print shop often created beautiful souvenir menus or ship Christmas cards. Men received cards, letters, and packages from home. The men put on "smokers" consisting of skits, comedians, boxing matches, singers, dancers, etc. During the war, they did not decorate, but after the war, Paul Wieser remembers that they decorated a tree and hung it from the yardarm (the metal extension that holds signal flags).
"Holiday chow aboard one of these ships was unbelievable. There is nothing nearer and dearer to a sailor’s heart than plenty to eat. Good food, pumpkin pie, roast turkey, ham, steaks, mashed potatoes and gravy. Everybody complained about the food, but it was fairly good. They ate plenty of it. Anyway. here comes our big Thanksgiving chow. About 5:00, they started serving. At 5:15, we got contact on the radar, "Hostile planes approaching." Sounded air defense. Everybody jumped up and left their beautiful chow sitting in front of them to go to battle stations. The cooks have to secure their area. All the food went in the garbage. A half hour later we secured from general quarters, the plane didn’t come in. They got ready to serve chow again. More enemy planes coming in. They threw it out the second time. We stayed at general quarters until just short of 10:00 that night. Finally, we opened enough doors so that the mess cooks could get through the galley and prepare battle ration. Battle rations were buckets with a piece of bread, lunchmeat, bread. Bread, lunch meat, bread. Bread, lunch meat, bread."
- Donald R.Wickham
"Here it is December 25, 1942 and we are all a long way from home, some of us feel a bit low but otherwise we are all okay and having a good time. Everyone is having a field day and fiesta on the fantail this afternoon because a little show was put on for the crew by the crew for all to enjoy and have a swell time. They had music, jokes, funny costumes, and very good acting. We all had a ball. As for the chow, it was great and more than we expected, it was everything from soup to nuts and lots of it. This day put me thinking about some one I missed and long to be with more than any thing else, and that was my girlfriend (Italia). Yes, she is sweet and I love her very much and hope that some day she’ll be all mine."
- Louis M. "Frenchie" Favereaux
"Christmas 1943, the Chaplain had collected money, $5.00, I believe from each crewman who had children in the states, and sent the money to Macy’s, and they bought presents for the children and sent them to the crewmen’s families. He also had gotten a group together to put on a Burlesque show on Christmas day. Crewmen in drag, wigs made from manila line, dancers, strippers, comedians, the whole bit. We received orders, however, that we had to get under way on Christmas Day, so the Chaplain put it on Christmas Eve. It was a great show, the guys were great and everyone enjoyed the show. Then it was over the Chaplain asked everyone to remain seated as he had a surprise for them. It was unknown to anyone, but Macy’s had gathered all the children and wives of the crewmen they could find and filmed them and sent it to the Chaplain. Each child and mom would say "Hi" to their loved one, and I don’t believe there were many dry eyes that night."
- William R. Taylor
