Reporting to The USS Wisconsin

Since this may turn out to be a large entry, I will post it in installments.

This is installment #1

I took a train from Cincinnati, Ohio to Norfolk, Virginia I was a very naïve 21 year old who had never traveled anywhere before my tour of duty in New Orleans. Norfolk is the home base for hundreds of Naval ships. Each ship has a home port that it always travels back to no matter where it goes in the world. It was late in the evening when I boarded a bus that would take me to the Naval Base where the piers were located. I was directed to a pier about a half mile from the base entrance which I had to walk carrying my sea bag which contained all my worldly possessions. I never thought about it before but at that point in my life I really did not own much of anything, just what I could carry with me. It was pretty heavy even though it only contained my clothing. Here’s a bit of trivia most people are not aware of. When you enter the Navy they give you your first set of uniforms, underwear, shoes, socks etc. Unlike other services from then on you have to buy your own on the grand total salary of $75 dollars a month minus the amount deducted for my allotment which was sent home to my mother, The Navy matched whatever amount I sent. If I remember right I could only afford $25 a month and that left very little to buy anything else.

I remember rounding the corner of the pier which was bathed in a soft orange glow of the lights which were dimmed by the thick fog which was now rolling in from Chesapeake Bay. It was an eerie sight as I walked along the pier past huge cranes that were so big they moved along the pier on railroad wheels. I felt as if I were walking in a giant steel canyon as the sides of super ships pressed in from both sides.

And then I spotted it, A large white 64 on the bow of a ship that must have been at least as tall as a five story building. As I walked along the side of the ship I could hardly believe how large it actually was. I came upon some stairs which led to a platform on which a gangplank was attached to the ship. I was a little apprehensive about boarding but really did not have any choice, At the end of the gangplank I paused and saluted the flag which always hung at the stern of every ship and then turned to salute the “Officer of the Day” and say “Permission to come aboard, Sir.” This is a ritual that every person regardless of rank must perform when leaving or boarding a Navy ship. When leaving you must of course say “Permission to leave the ship, Sir”.

I stepped on board onto a solid teak wood deck, it was so clean you could eat off of it as they say. I was directed to a hatch on the port side of the ship where a very old Chief Petty Officer sat, He must have been all of 40 years old. I presented my orders and after noting I was rated as an Electrician told me I would be in “E” Division. Another sailor showed me the way to my quarters as we descended through several decks through a hatch which had many Dogs (handles) on it. We passed the Galley (Ships kitchen) and descended through a hatch near the GeDunk (Ships version of a convenient store. At the bottom of the ladder (Steps) was a huge corridor which ran the entire length of the ship. It was about 8 foot high and 8 foot wide and went by the name “Broadway” It was dimly lit by the glow of red lights which were turned on every night after the evening chow. No bright lights were permitted above or below decks on a Navy ship. There were many hatches which led off the length of Broadway, most of them led to the engine rooms or boiler rooms. There were many other compartments as well. All compartments on a ship had watertight hatches (Doors) with dogs surrounding the edge of the door, when "General Quarters" was sounded every hatch throught the ship had to be latched. We made our way through several hatches and arrived at a compartment with about 50 bunks stacked three high, I found one that was unoccupied that was in the middle of a stack.
There were also lockers for your gear that were very small. All your clothing had to be rolled before stowing it away to prevent wrinkles, Your dress blues were carefully laid out between your mattress and the canvas supporting it to press it. A bunk consists of a galvanized pipe frame, a 30” X 72” canvas with brass eyelets around the edges was tied to the pipe frame with a rope that resembled a clothesline, it wound completely around the frame and through the eyelets leaving the canvas suspended. On top of that was a mattress about two inches thick which was encased in a white sheet bag tied on one end. This was generally used for one week on one side and then turned over and used another week. Remind me to tell you about Bunking on a submarine.


Every two weeks came the announcement over the loudspeakers. “Now Hear This, all men, air your bedding” Your mattress then had to be carried up to the main deck and tied with a rope to the railing. The mattress cover went into the community laundry bag which was done in the ships laundry. All your clothing, linen and towels were stamped with your name and serial number on it with a kit you could buy and make your own personal stamp. I used to volunteer for the job of laundry sorting. When the laundry came back to our compartment it was in huge bags which contained everyone’s clothes all mixed together. My job was to go through it and look at the name and throw the garment on the bunk to which it belonged. The great thing about volunteering was there were always items that someone had just bought and forgot to stamp before putting it in the laundry. No name meant it belonged to me. I never had to buy any clothing from then on.