Earl Coombs 1989
“A man must be out of his mind to do this !”
I missed the commissioning of the Swanson by about a week because my ship the USS Gwin was at sea and I couldn’t get transferred in time.
I remember when we got up to Casco Bay how cold and windy it was after the warmth of Charleston. I was so happy to get to Maine that everyone started calling me “Casco”.
I remember the convoys to Iceland and getting up to stand a mid watch with the ship rolling and pitching so you could hardly make it to the bridge and I’d think to myself, a man must be out of his mind to do this! But there were other nights in Boston or New York with a pocket full of money and everyone could pursue his own pleasure.
I remember a night when we were anchored in Reykjavik and I had the 2000 to 2400 signal watch. I was never much of a signalman and I can’t remember where all of the good signalman were but anyway the Commodore, Commander Hungerford brought up a message for me to send to all ships in the screen to get underway at 0800 the next morning. I had an awful time because that harbor was a mad house of blinking lights. I thought I got a “Roger” from all the ships, but the next morning when were on the bridge preparing to get underway, the Commodore looked at all the ships in the screen through his binoculars and couldn’t see any activity on the Ludlow. He immediately sent a message asking why they were not getting underway. Pretty soon a message came back saying they did not receive the message last night but were getting underway immediately. The Commodore wanted to know who was responsible for that signal. I thought for sure I was going to get busted but when he found out it was me he never said anymore about it. I don’t know why but he liked me.
I remember that “Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.” was on one of the ships in our division and one day when we anchored in Reykjavik he came aboard the Swanson to visit one of the officers. He decided to stay overnight so we had to send a message to send a whale boat over with his pajamas.
I remember one fellow who bought an electric guitar. It cost him a lot of money and he was so proud of it that when it was rough he would lock it in his bunk and sleep on deck. I can’t remember his name but maybe Hugh Saine can. They both were into Hill Billy music.
I remember meeting a Scotch girl on our first trip to Greenock. She wanted me to bring her some nylon stockings if we ever came back to Greenock. When we got back to New York I bought two pairs, and it so happened that we did go back to Greenock again. On this trip across a certain signalman found out that I had them. He put so much pressure on me that I finally for an exorbitant price I let him have a pair.
Shortly after our second trip to Greenock I was transferred to the USS Murphy, another fine ship of which I have
fond memories.
The Murphy was with the Swanson, Wilkes, and Ludlow off Cape Fedhala, North Africa on 8 November 1942 exchanging gunfire with the shore batteries and I was on the helm when the Murphy was hit by Cape Blondin Battery.