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Every December when the weather gets cold, I remember this story of my trip.The Kitty Hawk left beautiful, sunny, San Diego in late November. We sailed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and had a good time there. A young sailor named Bo was with our group and we went to a hotel bar in Honolulu that was underground. Behind the bar was a huge glass pane that looked right into the hotel pool. It was amusing to watch some attractive ladies in the pool, who apparently did not know they were being observed. Bo got pretty drunk and left the bar. A few minutes later there was a big splash in the pool and Bo came swimming in full uniform underwater over to the glass pane and was acting like a big fish staring out at us. Hotel security was called and Bo was escourted off the premesis. Word must have spread among the guests, because the next night the bar was filled with people and Bo did his trick again to a cheering audience. Again hotel security led our sailor off the grounds. On the 3rd night the bar was packed, standing room only waiting for Bo. Hotel security was waiting too. Everyone was dissappointed.

We left Pearl Harbor headed for Cubi Point, P.I. and spent a few days there before leaving for Yokosuka, Japan. We were half way there when we lost a boiler. The boiler powered our heating system so it wasn’t a major issue in the mid-Pacific, so we continued on and scheduled repairs in Yokosuka, Japan. The problem came when we approached Yokosuka; Japan is cold in December. As we entered the area, we began to find out how cold it is in December.

I was in a berthing compartment below the ship's waterline. It was so cold down there that all 18 of us had to sleep in full uniform and a Pea Coat along with any blankets we could scrounge. I doubt it was much above 40 degrees down there! We felt chilled to the bone after a few days, from the constant cold that we were not accustomed to. Shaving while your teeth are chattering is not easy.

Someone came up with the idea to go to a bathhouse to get warm and cleaned up. It turned out that at that time bathhouses there were family affairs, Mom, Dad and the kids all were naked in one large swimming pool. Well of course, they didn’t want a bunch of sailors in there but the place we went to gave us directions to another where there were individual baths, so off we went. The new place was interesting. The proprietor instructed each of us on bathing etiquette. Each of us had a private chamber with a steam cabinet. (It felt so good to perspire heavily after the cold). There was a tiny stool over an open drain to sit upon while being washed with soap by fairly attractive young women that worked there. Next, I had three buckets of cold rinse water and then, only then, could I slip into a large bathtub filled so I could immerse up to the neck with hot, hot water to soak in. It was heaven after nearly a week of constant cold and general stink buildup.

We left the bathhouse in a cab and headed to a bar closer to the base. We were all as limp as a wet dishrag. As I remember, it only took two or three beers and were headed back to the ship, warm and very exhausted. We had the only good night’s sleep until we left port after completion of the boiler repairs.

We had spent 10 days in Japan and then went to the Philippines for another week loading up for the next trip out to sea. After all that liberty, it had become difficult to remember there was a war going on just 1000 miles away and that was just where we were headed.

Shipboard life for us in the air group changed dramatically with 12 hour shifts covering all 24 hours a day, takeoffs and landings 24 hours a day. Our workshop was on the 03 deck right below the flight deck and close by the arresting gear room. every time a plane would land we would hear a tremendous crashing sound followed by a horrific screeching sound of the arresting gear as the plane drug out the steel cables that stopped it

. I felt sorry for the guys in the next compartment who slept right next that arresting gear compartment. We did get used to the noise after a while and it wasn't nearly as bad as it was at first.