COFFEE WITH THE ADMERIL

COFFEE WITH THE ADMIRAL

I was stationed aboard the USS NORTH HAMPTON CLC1 from early 1959 until August 1961. Aboard the ''SNORTIN' NORTON'' we carried a three star admiral in charge of the SECOND FLEET of which we were a part. I was in the communications gang. We had the largest communications gang afloat number in excess of 130 enlisted men. At sea we ran two section watches or War time status. My first duty when they moved me to the secret message center was messenger. I delivered the messages from the crypto center to various officers aboard the ship.

Also my duty was to encrypt and decrypt messages..

We were at sea between nothing and nothing and on mid watch about one thirty in the morning my teletype machine gave the alarm that an EMERGENCY MESSAGE was coming thru that required immediate attention and action on our part. LTjg Malaose was the ''watch officer'' and he told me to ''break the message and let him know what it said'." I decrypted the message and he looked at it and determined that the admiral should see this right away. I reminded him that it was one forty in the morning. He ripped off the ''rough copy'' and told me to take this to the admiral for possible reply. The admiral had a Marine orderly stationed outside his door and when I approached the orderly wanted to know what the ''heck'' my business was at the admirals cabin. I informed him that I had emergency traffic for the admirals eyes only. He told me to give the message to him and he would take it in. I said ''not possible'' you dont have the clearance for this. He went inside and woke the admiral. I was ushered inside and handed the message to the admiral. He propped on one elbow and read the message by the light of his bed lamp. He mumbled something and wrote his name on the rough copy and requested a copy in his ''jacket'' in the morning. He handed me the rough copy and turned the bed lamp off. I went back to crypto and informed LTjg Malaose that the admiral just grunted at me and sign the rough copy. About thirty minutes lapsed and my teletype machine jumped off the deck again. More emergency traffic coming through. Same story. I broke the message and the Lt. told me to take it up to the admiral for response. It was now about two thirty am...... We woke the admiral again and he was not his previous ''pleasant self'."

He growled at me, signed the message and threw it back at me. About forty minutes lapsed and guess what????? Yep, we got another one for the admiral. It was something after three am and I figured I would be keel hauled but I just came away with a dirty look and another growl. At four oclock it happened again. I told the LT that he could take this one up the the admiral because I was sure I would be shot at dawn if I woke that old man again. I trudged up to the admirals cabin and was let in by his orderly. The admiral leaped from his bed and demanded to know who the ''heck'' I was as he snatched the rough copy from my hand. I sounded off in my best Navy fashion while standing at strict attention. He demanded to know the ''watch officers name'' and the phone number for crypto center. He had some choice words for Ltjg Maliose and then he flopped down in his chair. ''If you got those other rough copies in that folder give them to me and sit down right over there'' I sat down as he looked over the papers.

He barked at his orderly to bring two coffee's, one for him and one for me and went back to reading. The orderly sat a cup of coffee in front of the admiral and one in front of me. Navy coffee is hot, black and strong. I sat and sipped as he read over the messages. Twenty minutes later I was rudely dismissed from his presence after he reaffirmed that my name was Cecil, seaman first class. He also told me that I would not have the pleasure of waking him again because he was simply going to ''stay up'' for the rest of the night. We got no more emergency traffic for the admiral that night. Some time later I was showing the new crypto messenger around when we happened to deliver a message to the admiral up on the flag bridge. Strangely enough he recognized me.

''Hello Cecil,,,,,, have you had occasion to destroy anyone's nights sleep lately?'' ''No sir admiral, I believe in letting people sleep in sir''.........
Burkett, the guy I was breaking in said ''Holly s---, do you know the admiral personally?''..........'' Naah, but we have had coffee together''......

Seajay the sailor man......