Well, we’re all settled down and ready to go to work. We got to Midway Friday afternoon, on a World Airlines plane. We left from Hickam Air Force Base, Honolulu at 10:30 Fri. morning, and got here about 4:00. They served a pretty decent “TV” dinner at noon. It was a smooth flight, but I sure had some trouble with the pressure.
There were a few people and the Base band at the field to meet the plane. After we got off somebody gave us a little introduction to the Island. There are two islands, inside a large round coral reef. Sand Island is the main one, the one most everything is on, and the other one is Eastern. This one, Sand, is not very sandy, has a lot of trees. It has quite a bit of recreation including; a 5-lane bowling alley, roller rink, gymnasium, free movie 3 times a day, hobby shop and a pretty good EM club.
Almost everyone here has a bicycle, which they call “horses”. I don’t know if I’ll get one or not. It’s not really necessary.
The chow hall here is open 21 hours a day, and for the evening meal, petty officers can wear civilian clothes. I’m standing watches at the Comm. Center now, and it’s pretty good work. Good people to work for, too.
There’s a softball league here, of 16 teams. Radiomen play on the “Admin” team. Today just the radiomen played Air Ops a game, just for fun. I pitched the whole game, and we lost, 2-1.
I’m listening to the radio station here on the island. They get programs from the Armed Forces Network, and play records the rest of the time. They have a TV station here too, but it’s broken down now.
I’m playing softball for another team now, the one from Eastern Island. We play or practice about twice a week. I pitched all of our last game, and we won 5-3 in a real good, close finish.
It’s pretty warm here now, so warm that it’s a relief to go on watch at RadCon, where it’s air-conditioned.
One of these days our zoo will be leaving. The gooneys will be leaving, and when they are, the beaches here will be closed. The birds take off on the beaches and because there are so many young ones that can’t make it, and fall in the water, the sharks gather round the island and wait for them.
First of all, don’t be surprised if I don’t get out next June. You heard about Kennedy asking for the power to extend enlistments for a year – well, to try and keep that from happening, the services are asking for voluntary extensions and re-enlistments. Well, they’re not getting very many as far as I’ve heard, and I’m not one of them.
We had a real close ballgame last night. “Air Ops” was ahead of us 5-0. We fought back to tie the score in the bottom of the last inning, and in the extra inning, we won 6-5. We play again tonight and I’ll be starting pitcher.
I just started on 72 hrs. off, and tonight we had another ballgame, played the “Seabees” and won, 4-2. We can’t win the league now, but we should keep 2nd place with no trouble. We have a lot of fun and I met some good guys. Next Wednesday, our team is going to play a Japanese softball team, kittenball I think. We’re playing their rules, which are quite a bit different, so it should be a riot! They’re off a Japanese destroyer squadron coming in next week.
The Midway All-Stars are in Pearl Harbor now, playing in the All-Navy softball tournament. So far, they’ve won 2 and lost 1. Not too bad!
Don’t tell anybody, but we’ve had a U-2 in and out of here for the last week or so. Don’t have any idea what they’re doing, and haven’t even seen it, cause they don’t leave it sit out in the open for everyone to look at.
Today is Labor Day and was supposed to be a big day of celebration here on Midway. The “Holaleiia” was planned for today, but was called off last night because bad weather was expected. Sure--- today was gorgeous! A perfect day. Well, the weather is generally good here, so it should be held tomorrow anyway. I doubt if I spelled the name of it right, but about all it is, is a parade of decorated bicycles and a few floats, and a few games, etc. They did manage to get a band from Pearl to come out her and play in the Enlisted Men’s and Officer’s Clubs. They’re called the Barons of Basin Street, play Dixieland, and have a girl vocalist, and that last part will go over big here!
I guess I forgot to mention that we had a free show in the theatre not long ago. It was similar to a USO show, but was not one. It was very similar to the show that Donna’s dancing school put on when I was home on leave, except that the girls were a little older. It wasn’t a spectacular show, but it was completely volunteer, just a bunch of people from the State of Arkansas who are doing this for two year for no pay, and I think the guys appreciated it a lot more because of that.
A couple of guys got in a fight in the barracks the other night, or rather I should say that they got in several fights. We tried to keep them apart, but it started over again several times. One of them had 6 stitches taken over his eye, and I was the other casualty. No, I wasn’t in the fight, I was trying to separate them and stepped into one myself. It just chipped a couple of my front teeth.
I’ve got the mid-watch again tonight, so I just came down to RadCon early, and I’m sitting back in Emergency Radio, just an extra space, and listening to the radio station here on the island, and drinking coffee and relaxing on this letter.
A
funny thing just happened to me here --- as you can see, I’m not typing this on
an ordinary typewriter. It’s a teletypewriter, and if this looks like a
telegram, it’s because these are the kind of machines that Western Union uses.
This is the second time that I started to type this out, and the first time was
what was funny.
I
was typing along, about this far, when the machine sitting next to me started
ringing bells, I got to thinking then, and after asking, found out that both of
these machines are up on a circuit from here to Barbers Point, Hawaii, and that
I was sending my letter over the circuit to Hawaii!!! I was also fouling up the
circuit! The guys on the other end of the circuit said that the letter was very
interesting, but that they had some traffic to send.
A
few nights ago, I went to a party for our softball team, at our coach’s house.
Had a lot of fun and laughs talking about the games, etc. Lots of good food
too! We got to kidding Chief Dunn (coach) about his weight, which he said was
185, and somebody brought out the bathroom scales. he weighed 197, which didn’t
surprise anybody.
I
found out something the other day that will make me feel a “little” better if I
get extended: The Russian services are extending their men too.
Well, you finally got some pictures! Yep, broke down and bought a Polaroid. And the pictures turn out pretty well, don’t they? Here’s what the pictures are of ----
I was just listening to the news, and they reported that Des Moines had an awful amount of rain. Hope you didn’t get in on it! We don’t get too much bad weather here – probably because storms just can’t find this little place!
On the radio now is a show I’ll bet you haven’t heard in a long time, “Johnny Dollar”? Also get “radio” Gunsmoke. And Jim Ameche MC’s a show of music – shortwave from Los Angeles.
I did make 2nd class. Yesterday morning, on our radio station, they read off the names of everyone that made it, and he said “Smith R. R., RM2. I was listening, and heard my name, but I didn’t know what it was a list of. I thought they were announcing the names of the people that got extended, but I caught on when I heard “RM2”.
Needless to say, I’m pleased. It means a pay increase, to about $180 a month, I believe. It also means a little change in my job. I now stand “Petty Officer of the Watch” watches about once or twice a month, and on those, I’m in charge of the fire watches in the barracks at night, making sure they stay awake and stand the watch properly. Only 3rd class stands those watches. 2nd class here stand Shore Patrol about 1 night a month, which is just being a cop for a night, keeping trouble from starting. It’s a tiresome job. I also won’t stand any more ship’s working parties.
All this becomes effective Nov. 16th. Then the extra stripe goes on, and I pass out cigars --- that tradition!
We’ve got 2 freighters in port here now, as you can see by the snaps. The C.E. Dant and the SS Ohio. A lot of working parties! When a ship has cargo to be unloaded, each division supplies men, and work 6-hour shifts around the clock.
Starting in about a week, I’ll be doing exercises about every other day. As a matter of fact, everybody on Midway will be. It’s part of the Armed Forces Conditioning Program. They’ve set standards that everyone will have to meet, and our results will go in our records. Here’s what we’ll have to do ---
15 pushups or 3 chin-ups
6 ft. standing broad jump, or be able to jump 11 inches higher than your
outstretched arm.
Run 300 yards in 60 seconds
35 sit-ups
and a few other things.
I’m still here at Midway, but I’m in a different department, barracks, job and the box number in my address is now 2 instead of 19. I am now a Master at Arms, which is the Navy equivalent of a cop. My basic job is the same as the other 6 MAA’s, which is to insure that the rules and regulations of the station are not broken, and to place any man on report that does break any of them. My second job is as MAA of Barracks A, which is the barracks that I moved out of. There are 4 compartment cleaners to keep the barracks clean, and it is my job to make sure that they do it. There are other jobs, but those are the main ones.
The TV station here is back in operation again, but there’s no place convenient for me to watch it, so I just don’t bother. The weather here is cool and dismal, and it rains off and on all the time
.
We sure have been busy here lately. You see, the Master at Arms’ are in charge of all the barracks, and yesterday we had a big, tough inspection, and we were busy for about two weeks getting ready for it. It was a lot of work for a lot of people, but it was a success.
I’m not in charge of barracks A anymore, instead I am on roving patrol.
Last night 7 guys killed 16 gooney birds and got caught at it and spent the night in the brig. They will probably have Special court-martials, and get pretty stiff punishment for it, and they deserve the worst. That’s a pretty common offense here, but not too many people are caught. It’s hard to understand why they do it, cause the birds don’t hurt anyone.
We had a pretty good Thanksgiving here, and a real good dinner at the mess hall.
Here it is 1962, and this is the year that I get out! It’s about time, I think. Exactly 154 more days till I become a civilian again.
Starting tomorrow, my job changes again. Back to being a barracks Master at Arms, instead of roving patrol. On the morning of the 19th, Tacron Eleven is supposed to be stopping off here on their way back to the states from overseas, so I may get a chance to see some old friends. Sure hope so.
Guess who is the new manager of the Midway Hotel? Yep, that’s me! Actually, I haven’t taken over yet, but I’m getting checked out on the job. Here’s about what the job consists of. The hotel has 14 rooms with three beds in each and a dormitory with 16 beds. Each 2 rooms share a bathroom with shower. Whenever it is necessary for someone to stay just overnight or for a few days on Midway, this is where they stay. I have to meet these people at the plane and take care of them. Then, twice a week, I meet the new men coming here for duty, give them an indoctrination lecture, a tour of the island, and give them a place to stay. I’ll have one compartment cleaner to keep the place clean.
The gooney bird eggs are starting to hatch now. The chicks are about the size of a full-grown robin, and very fuzzy.
I just finished giving a tour of the island to the new men that came in today. It usually takes around 1-½ hours for the lecture and tour and berthing the men.
A week or so ago, we had a missing person, one of the men in MCB11. The brig force and all of we MAA’s searched the island for him, but didn’t find him. Two days later, his body was found floating. It’s not known how or why it happened. They put the body in ice and flew it to Hawaii.
In the last 7 days I’ve had to berth and take care of 246 different people. That includes getting the spaces clean, etc., meeting the planes, transporting them to where they’ll stay, answer phone calls all times of day and night for them. I don’t ever remember working so hard, so fast in my life. I forgot 12 more - that came in for duty.
First there was a C-121 with a bunch of families, the same evening a C-97 crew and the next day a UF crew. The next day we worked about 13 hours getting the hotel and hangar rooms cleaned up and ready in case we got more people. We did! Just 14 more planes! Got through that night at 1:30 AM. Well, the rest of the week was about the same. Sure hope it eases up soon. There is a Dixieland band out here from Hawaii to play in the clubs. I checked them into the hotel a couple of hours ago.
I believe I’m going to be able to leave here sometime the first week in May, and I’ll go almost directly to the Receiving Station at Treasure Island, at San Francisco.
I’ve been very busy the last few days, but it’s been interesting. We had over 100 Marines here yesterday and the day before. They left this morning after an in-the-air refueling operation. They all flew in here in 6 big takers, and yesterday 18 jet fighters flew high over Midway, and were refueled in-flight by the tankers. I did a few jobs to help them that I wasn’t required to do, but their officers realized it, and didn’t fail to thank me. I met some fine people.
Then, the afternoon of the day that the Marines arrived, a Military Transport plane pulled in with 76 passengers, and had to stay overnight because of bad weather between here and Hawaii. So – I had to put them up, and that took just about every bunk on the island. That was a long, hard day!
That bad weather I mentioned was here on the 15th, 16th and 17th and was pretty rotten. Very strong winds, with a fine, driving rain that really came down hard at times --- a typical typhoon!
Just 30 more days to go here, and the time is going very slowly.
This is the last letter you will be getting from Midway Island. I’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon about 6. Today is Sunday, and my last full day on Midway, and I have the duty! It sure does make me mad to have to stand this duty, but, as they say, you can’t fight city hall. I’ve had my suitcases packed for 3 or 4 days now, and yesterday I carted all my excess junk down to C-Van service, where they’ll pack it in a big box and ship it out, at government expense.
It’s a real nice day here today. I hope it’s like this tomorrow so I can get some pictures of the island from the air. Just in case I won’t be able to, I bought a 16 by 20 color shot of the whole island from the air.
That’s about all that’s new from Midway forever. I’ll send you postcards along the way on my trip, and write as soon as I get settled down and find out anything about when I’ll get out. So, until then, this is goodbye from Midway.