RECOLLECTIONS

R.J. Kilgas 1987

“From boy to man aboard the Swanson”

Looking back at the six years I spent in the Navy, I have to say , in all honesty, the Swanson was the best.

I hereby testify, that the account you will read to be true, so help me HANNA!

I recall the first letter I wrote to my Mother at home after being assigned to a bunk. (The first two weeks were spent in the forward mess hall hanging from the overhead.) Being as green as all the grass in Wisconsin, I wrote my Mother that I had the middle bunk, that was located directly above tons of TNT depth charges. So, she wouldn’t worry so much, I told her we were seeing plenty of flying fish, kind of like I was on a vacation.

Upon arrival at FEDHALA, NORTH AFRICA, my general quarters station was on a 20mm gun located beneath the bridge on the port sides of the ship. I was assigned as talker for the gun, and wore sound power phones connecting me to the talker on the bridge, gunnery officer talker and other 20mm. I saw a beautiful “splash” of all different colors on the port side - I remarked to the gunners mate – “Isn’t that pretty !” and about that time, felt an elbow in my stomach – and the gunner – say “You dummy – they are shooting at us, then I heard the bridge say to the fire room – “If you want to save your neck, give it all you can, lets get out of here!” The next moment the bow went up and the fantail went down. The next salvo landed 10feet or so aft of the fantail.

The next thing I recall is that Mr. O’Neill presented me with a gift ! “The barber tools”. I grew to like the darn job. One night, with sea rougher than a cob, I began cutting hair in the mess hall, hanging on to the guy on the stool, trying to use both hands to cut hair, using comb and scissors. It was bad enough to watch the barber box and tools slide from one side to the other, then some one switched the cutting scissors with the thinning scissors. I reached for what I thought was the thinning scissors, and made a cut, and the dang thing took a chunk of hair down to the scalp. Good thing he didn’t see it.

Being the Barber, I had an agreement with the Ships Store, that when I accumulated all the silver money aboard ship, I had to return it so they could do business again !

One of the hardest things I had to do, was to wake up the Skipper and give him the gangway reports !