brooklyn with danny and joe

MY FATHER MEETS THE NAVY

BY J.D.WALSH

“Did you hear, we are going into New York City,” Beebe said, “You promised to have a big party if we ever got to New York, and baby, we are going for three days!”

Being a sailor aboard the USS Independence (CVA62) in 1964 was like living in another world, and this world had over five thousand sailors who wanted to go to New York City. My friends wanted a special tour and some home cooking. Months ago I had said that if we ever pulled into New York I would have a party and show the guys around. The first thing I needed to do was break the news to my family and see if some of the guys could stay over for a few days. My Mom said sure but space was a problem, they lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. I assured my parents that only a few guys would show up and they would be happy to sleep on the couch or floor if necessary.

Being a boiler tender (called snipes) on an aircraft carrier my friends were tough and were always in trouble. Our Division Officer never missed a Captain’s Mast; one of us was always up on charges for fighting, and sometimes for coming back to the ship late. We worked hard and played harder.

Coming into the harbor there was great excitement, fireboats firing their hoses and people on the pier waiting for our ship to dock. We were down in the machinery space called “Three Main”, consisting of high-pressure boilers and main reduction gear for the propeller. Snipes rarely got to see the ceremonies; we were busy trying to get the ship into port so the parties could begin.

After the boilers were secured and we were finally allowed to leave the ship, there were three of us. Beebe and John were with me like glue, having never been to New York. Beebe kept saying, “Boy, this is great! New York, I can’t believe it.”

Just before coming into the City, I had to tell the guys some things about my family. My father was a bartender on the weekends at an Irish bar called Slatterey’s….their eyes lit up with that bit of news. I had two sisters, Agnes, who was four years older than I was, and Carol, who was three years younger.

I had to tell the guys about Carol’s terrible accident when she was ten, how she lost a leg and had to wear a wooden limb for the rest of her life. I asked them not to stare at it because it made her uncomfortable. I told them my mom wasa great cook and would make a roast beef dinner for them.

When we got to the end of the pier, there was Carol and two of her girl friends. Chuck and another sailor I did not know were talking to Carol and said to me “You didn’t say anything about a party?” Carol and her friends looked like they were dressed to kill, and Beebe said to me, “Your sister’s leg looks like a real leg.” I asked him not to stare and now there were five of us on the way to my parent’s apartment. By the time we went through the guard shack four other guys joined us and we were now a parade going down into the subway. I had told some of my other friends my parents phone number and was beginning to think this party was out of control. On the subway, we were now nine sailors and three women and causing something of a party mood on the train. We were all in uniform and people wanted to say hello, and Beebe was having a ball telling people how great it was to be in New York. John was staring at Carol’s legs and asked me which one was the artificial limb.

When we got off the subway train, people were waving goodbye and wishing us well, Beebe was in his glory. Chuck said we should stop and get some booze and maybe some flowers for my mom, so all of us went into the liquor store and bought fifteen quarts of booze. Sailors have never been called cheap, we loved to spend money when we had it, and now was no exception. We bought Chivas, Crown Royal, Vodka, Bourbon and wines. The liquor store owner was delighted and gave us a free set of glasses. The next stop was the supermarket and here the guys got carried away. They bought flowers, cheeses, ham, potato salad, fruits, vegetables and ice cream. When we left the supermarket, the people were waving and Beebe said to me “I just love New York!”

When my mom opened the door, her first words were “Oh my God”, and the parade of sailors with smiling faces greeted her and my oldest sister with enough booze and food for a month. Beebe was the first to give my mom flowers and asked where the kitchen was, Agnes was wide eyed and could not believe what she was seeing, my mom said to me, “A few sailors?”

My sister Carol got on the phone and called more of her friends, our next-door neighbor asked if we were opening up a new USO. The party was on and Beebe was making points galore, setting up drinks and creating a makeshift buffet. My oldest sister still had her mouth open and said to me “How many are coming?”

It was getting very warm inside my folks apartment so we opened the door and invited the people in the other apartments to join in the party. It was only two in the afternoon and a full party was going on, people came to see what was going on, and stayed, we were having a ball when my father got off the elevator and froze. His first words were “Jesus H. Christ!” but soon realized that everyone was having a good time and none of the neighbors were going to complain about the noise, they were all at the party. Sailors are strange human beings, here were these very tough guys being so respectful to my family, I almost did not recognize them. “Joe, did you tell John that I had a wooden leg?” Carol asked me during the party. “I thought there was something wrong with my shoes, your friends keep looking at my legs, what did you tell them?” Just in the nick of time my mom asked me to go and get more ice; Chuck and I went down to the supermarket and ran into four more guys from the ship. “How did you get the address?” I asked, “Your sister gave it to us when we called,” said a guy named Silverman, who I knew but not very well, the other three I only knew by sight and not by name. Returning to the apartment house we could hear the music coming up the elevator, things were warming up; I wondered how my folks were handling all the excitement. My mom was sitting in her big armchair with Beebe making a fuss over her; she seemed happy, my father was talking to the neighbors and seemed to be having a ball. My sister Carol and her friends were dancing with sailors and having the time of their lives. The little apartment had never witnessed so much excitement and everyone was behaving themselves, it was a great party.

Most of the guys had to be back for duty on Saturday so the party started to break up about ten, which was greeted with some joy by our neighbors. After everyone had left there was only Chuck and I sleeping over. Beebe had duty the next day so he had returned to the ship with the rest of the sailors. I got the couch and Chuck got the floor, Agnes made up a bed for Chuck with lots of blankets and pillows, he looked happy.

In the morning I got up first and went into the bathroom to take a shower and found Silverman sleeping in the bathtub. While I was trying to wake him up I heard my father yell “Jesus H. Christ!” Entering the kitchen, I saw my father looking under the table and there was Beebe snoring away.

Breakfast was a meal of comedy, we werelaughing so hard that it was difficult to eat. Beebe has left the party and stopped at Slatterey’s Bar to have one for the road, he ended up leaving the bar about two in the morning.

He had wanted to see the bar where my father worked that I had talked about many times. He said he walked the two blocks to Slatterey’s and Pat Slatterey himself bought him a drink and said it was good to have a sailor come in. When he learned that Beebe was a friend of mine there was no paying for any drinks, and the rest of the customers treated him like they’d known him all his life. He stayed and had a ball. When the bar closed he didn’t know where the subway station was so he came back to my parent’s apartment. Agnes answered the door and not knowing where to put him, made up a bed under the kitchen table

Silverman never made it to the subway either, he stopped at another bar and had a great time and came back about one in the morning and my mom made up a bed in the bathtub. Silverman was not in any trouble but Beebe had to be back on the ship at 0730 and he was in big trouble. He decided that once he went back to the ship he would be put on restriction so he chose to spend the rest of the day with us and go back tonight, one more Captain’s Mast coming up. Just as we were finishing breakfast the doorbell rang and there stood John and two more sailors, they were asking about Coney Island. We all decided that we would go to Coney and ride the Cyclone. We called four cabs and off we went, my parents shaking their heads at our spontaneous decisions. The weekend ended and we all returned to the ship. My friend John married my younger sister (after leaving the Navy), Beebe eventually got off restriction, and my father asked me, “Did you tell the guys that Carol had a wooden leg?”