I hope this is ok to post. I wish everyone that was military would share some of their good times and expierences in this thread. All of us that served had things that I am sure the civies and other folks that peek in here would love to read. I had many wonderful expierences in the Navy and most folks find them interesting, especially if they were not in the military.
I will ask that all branches feel free to post their good times and things that you remember while in service to this great country.
Also, feel free to honor a fallen friend that gave all for this country. You are welcome to write as much or as little as you are comfortable in saying.
With your permission I will post the first and then you guys can chime in with your ''SEA STORIES'' .........
DINNER WITH CAPTAIN SLAUGHTER........
We had occasion to pull into Bermuda for R&R and they posted a notice that anyone wanting to go deep sea fishing should sign up. It is amazing how few sailors actually want to go ''deep sea fishing''. I signed up and was soon informed that I had a seat on boat number two when we got to Bermuda.
All went well the morning we were to pull out. a Midshipman and myself were the first two people aboard the boat. My division officer. Lt Johnson and another Ltjg came aboard next then Commander ''something or other'' and the last one on board was our good captain John Slaughter. (oh lovely,,, me and the middie would be baiting hooks and fetching beer I supposed) Everyone on board was dressed in ''undress whites'' except Captain Slaughter. He looked like a clown. He had on a Hawian flowerdy shirt, faded Bermuda shorts, sandals and a floppie straw hat...... He immediatly ''took command'' and advised that there was no ''rank'' aboard this boat and we were all just ''fishing buddies''.. (yeah sure) Everyone introduced themselves and we all shook hands. (no saluting) Capt. Slaughter looked at me and asked if we had met on the ship. I said yes sir, once briefly and let it drop at that ..... We went under the worlds smallest draw bridge and headed out the channel. Capt Salughter said that since we only had four ''fishing spots'' and there were six of us that we should ''draw straws'' to see who gets to ''fish first''. He held the straws and we all drew. Guess who got a short straw. Yep, Capt Slaughter and the full commander. The rule was that if you caught a fish you gave up your spot so we could all 'fish in turn''. We put out the lines and started trolling. I was on the left out rigger and my line snapped out of the clothes pen and the reel started singing. ''SET THE HOOK SAILOR''' ''' SET IT HARD'' .... I laid into the rod and the tuna took off like a torpedo. ''HOLLY SHUX''!!!!!!! Captain Slaughter leaped over to me. He grabbed the rod with his left hand and my belt with his right hand and flopped me into a ''fighting chair'' and rammed the rod butt into the holder. '' NOW SAILOR,, GIVE HIM 'HECK'......
i will tell you that Captain Slaughter was a very large man. Probably six four, about two eighty and he looked like a linebacker for the Greenbay Packers.
I had a nice size tuna on and the captain of the boat said from the way he was running and fighting that there were probably barracuda after him. He said I would be luckey to get the head of the fish to the boat. I finally got the tuna to the boat with one piece of his side missing. They gaffed him and dropped him in the cooler. ''What you gonna do with that tuna Cecil?'' Capt Slaughter asked me. ''' UHHHHHHHH..... I dont know Capt. would you like to have him?'' '' I sure would love that. Nothing better than fresh caught tuna...... I will have my steward cook him up for dinner and if you would like, you can come and have dinner with me. If it is ok with you, I will invite everyone on board to dinner''. (lets be serious here...... I was not about to say NAAAAAAAH......) This was the only tuna caught on the trip. It seems that the barracuda ran the rest of. We did some bottom fishing and caught a couple red snappers and came back to the dock. Captain Salughter borrowed a food cart and went off pushing the cart with the fish in it back to the Norton. He looked like a ''fish monger'' selling his wears........
That evening about six oclock I met my division officer outside the captains quarters and told him that me and the '''middie'' would probably be eating with the stewards in the kitchen. Oh no he said. We will all eat at the conference table in the captains quarters. Everyone assembled in the passage way and we all went inside promptly at six thirty. The captain sat at the head of the table and my seat was on his right hand side. Wine was poured and Capt. Slaughter proposed a ''toast'' to Seaman first class Cecil for providing this evenings delicious tuna dinner. (I wanted to go thru the deck and just disappear)
Everyone took a sip of wine and dinner was served. If you have never eaten fresh caught tuna you have missed out on a real treat. The meat is light and dark colored and it melts in your mouth. After dinner the captain passed around a box of cubans and poured everyone a ''snifter of brandy''.... We all sat around and shot the bull for a while, sipping and smoking. The stewards came in to clean the table and I asked if I might keep the ''place tag'' and the menu for a souvenir. Captain Slaughter looked me in the eye and said he was sure he had met me somewhere but he couldnt remember where. I told him that I was in communications and he may have seen me up in radio 6 sometime. (there were over 1300 enlisted men on the Norton and thats a lot to remember faces and names)He passed around a book and asked us all to sign it so he would have a ''diary'' to look back at when he retired.
I believe this was the best meal I ever had aboard the Norton. I remember it to this day. From then on when I would see Captain Salughter he would call me by name and say that we should go fishing again sometime. I would say I was ready anytime he could get the time to go. We never went again.
So it was on the Norton in Bermuda one sunny day.......
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