RECOLLECTION

Harry Chester 1989

“An incident on the USS Swanson DD443”

During World War II the ship I served on, the destroyer USS Swanson was in the Brooklyn Navy Yard on several occasions. On one such visit, I was witness to one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen in my life. Bar none! I don’t remember the exact date of this happening , but I do remember the weather was cold, so it must have been during the winter of 1942-1943.

On this particular morning we were tied up alongside a pier in the Navy Yard. The time was around 0730 and the watch section I was in , was getting ready to go on a 72. (3 days leave in civilian lingo) And New York was the ideal place for a 72 or any other liberty. It had everything a lonesome sailor wanted plus a few things he didn’t . Several of my shipmates were in the Washroom or Head, shaving, showing, or whatever getting ready to go.

Our toilet left a lot to be desired, but it worked okay if every man was with the program! It consisted of two metal troughs (one port and one starboard) approximately 10 feet long and about 18 inches deep and walled off into three stalls without doors. Continuous flushing water ran in one end and out the other, and a good sized sluice I might say!

Now at that time of morning those troughs got quite a work out. And especially not a place to idle away time. This morning there were 3 big old fat Navy Yard workman occupying all three stalls on the starboard side. I don’t know what was on the port side as I couldn’t see over there. One guy was asleep, one was reading a newspaper and was smoking a cigar and just staring.

When all of a sudden an old seaman attached to our ship came in the head from off shore leave with 13 buttons already unbuttoned ready to occupy part of that trough, but no room . The man I am talking about was named Pool, with a nickname of Pappy as he was a lot older than most of the crew. He was a character, as anyone who knew or remember him will verify. He got right to the point and told the workmen what he had to do in no uncertain terms, emphasizing with plenty of loud cussing. The workmen ignored him.

All at once he took a roll of toilet paper (I don’t know where he got it) and balled up a good size paper ball, set it afire with a cigarette lighter and threw it in the up stream end of the trough were the water entered.

The fireball floated under each stall as it moved down stream ! I mean he got all three workmen! Needless to say all hell broke loose! There were howls of pain, and some God awful cursing I ever heard. There was also a strong smell of burned hair and scorched flesh, also some more odd smells I wouldn’t care to name.

Those Navy Yard birds would have swabbed the deck with Pool if it hadn’t been for the crew members in the Washroom. A Gunners mate by the name of Ed Visnosky grabbed a dog wrench (a short length of ¾” pipe used to tighten water tight doors) and told them if they didn’t want their heads caved in , they had better move along, as they were not supposed to use our Head to start with, lucky for them, they took him at his word. I myself , never laughed so much in all my life ! My ribs were sore for a week. Though that has been 45 or 46 years ago even today as I grow in old age, I still get a chuckle when I think of that incident!