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This page will be for short stories, and trivia:
I will start by telling about the time on my first ship in Atlantic, A CVE(Escort Carrier hunting U boats), someone swiped a case of scotch out of sickbay.The offices said it was for Medicinal purposes???? Sure.. They searched that 400' ship for two days, nothing! The second night I had the Mid Watch,
midnight till 0800. The radio shack was right under the flight deck. In the middle of the night, I was standing in the hatch, and a gunnersmate I knew came up. I said Hi Tux, and he said Hi Verdy, and when he went by, whew...he reeked:) I followed him, and he knew I would never tell on him, so he told me. He went up a forward ladder with the scotch, went to to a life raft in the catwalks next to flight deck.
Of course it was pitch black, we didn't want a torpedo from a German U boat. He took the water jugs in the life raft, dumped the water, poured the scotch in, and threw the bottles over the side. No one ever found out. 20 years after the war, I spoke to my old skipper, Capt.Gallery( then an Admiral), and said:
Skipper, your remember that case of scotch? He said," Did YOU do that?" No Sir! But it's 20 years later, so I will tell you. And, WHY we liked him! His remark he made: " But, what if the ship went down? The guys on that life raft? What a Happy bunch!"
He was a great Skipper!
Lt.Fellabom was a good friend! We both gave tours at Patriots Point, as Volunteers, for over 11 years,
before he died. He was an Officer and a Gentleman in every way. I wanted to put his Bio here, for you to better understand him!
MILITARY PROFILE – ED FELLABOM In 1942, while attending college, he joined the United States Naval Reserve V-7 program. After graduation, he attended the U.S.N.R. Midshipman School at Notre Dame University where he was commissioned an Ensign. Following orders, he reported to the four stack destroyer, USS BELKNAP DD 251, at Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia. While assigned duties in gunnery and communications, his primary function was a First Lieutenant and Damage Control officer. While underway, he stood regular O.O.D. watches.The USS BELKNAP performed convoy duty in the North Atlantic, along the east and gulf coasts and the Caribbean. While he was aboard, the BELKNAP served with BOGUE (CVE9), CROATON (CVE25) and CORE (CVE13) “hunter-killer” groups in the Atlantic. The BELKNAP received the Presidential Unit Citation for service in “hunter-killer” TG 21.12 (BOGUE group) in 1943.The BELKNAP was converted in 1944 to APD-34 at the Charleston Naval Shipyard and transferred to the Pacific theater. The ship transported and provided fire support for UDT (underwater demolition teams) as they secured beachheads on various islands. At the Leyte invasion in October 1944, the ship provided anti-sub screening for the “old” battleships in the Seventh Fleet. While providing shore bombardment and beach reconnaissance at the Lingayen Gulf landings in January 1945, the BELKNAP was attacked by three Japanese kamikaze planes. Two of the planes were shot down by the BELKNAP, but the third plane crashed into the stacks, crippling the engine, killing 38 men and wounding 49. The ship was inoperative.He headed up a skeleton salvage crew that remained on board, obtained tows, effected temporary repairs at Manus Admiralty Islands, Pearl Harbor and San Diego, and ultimately, with a full crew, took the ship to Philadelphia where it was decommissioned in August 1945. He then received orders to report to the destroyer escort USS ELDEN where he served as executive officer until December 1945 when he left the USNR as a Lieutenant.While serving aboard the USS BELKNAP, he became eligible to wear, in addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, three battle stars for WWII service.
before he died. He was an Officer and a Gentleman in every way. I wanted to put his Bio here, for you to better understand him!
MILITARY PROFILE – ED FELLABOM In 1942, while attending college, he joined the United States Naval Reserve V-7 program. After graduation, he attended the U.S.N.R. Midshipman School at Notre Dame University where he was commissioned an Ensign. Following orders, he reported to the four stack destroyer, USS BELKNAP DD 251, at Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia. While assigned duties in gunnery and communications, his primary function was a First Lieutenant and Damage Control officer. While underway, he stood regular O.O.D. watches.The USS BELKNAP performed convoy duty in the North Atlantic, along the east and gulf coasts and the Caribbean. While he was aboard, the BELKNAP served with BOGUE (CVE9), CROATON (CVE25) and CORE (CVE13) “hunter-killer” groups in the Atlantic. The BELKNAP received the Presidential Unit Citation for service in “hunter-killer” TG 21.12 (BOGUE group) in 1943.The BELKNAP was converted in 1944 to APD-34 at the Charleston Naval Shipyard and transferred to the Pacific theater. The ship transported and provided fire support for UDT (underwater demolition teams) as they secured beachheads on various islands. At the Leyte invasion in October 1944, the ship provided anti-sub screening for the “old” battleships in the Seventh Fleet. While providing shore bombardment and beach reconnaissance at the Lingayen Gulf landings in January 1945, the BELKNAP was attacked by three Japanese kamikaze planes. Two of the planes were shot down by the BELKNAP, but the third plane crashed into the stacks, crippling the engine, killing 38 men and wounding 49. The ship was inoperative.He headed up a skeleton salvage crew that remained on board, obtained tows, effected temporary repairs at Manus Admiralty Islands, Pearl Harbor and San Diego, and ultimately, with a full crew, took the ship to Philadelphia where it was decommissioned in August 1945. He then received orders to report to the destroyer escort USS ELDEN where he served as executive officer until December 1945 when he left the USNR as a Lieutenant.While serving aboard the USS BELKNAP, he became eligible to wear, in addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, three battle stars for WWII service.
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What do a lot of us think, in our older years? We remember those days: Thought I would insert
two short stories I wrote, it explains alot. Night Vision Lights
A Story by V.J.Verdolini
The sailor awoke suddenly. Was something
wrong? What was this sense of foreboding? The throbbing of the engines was steady and even. The red night vision lights in the compartment cast an eerie glow.
He was 17, and on his first wartime mission. His ship was an Escort Carrier, on Hunter-Killer duty, seeking out, and sinking German U boats. She was 490' long, with a crew of 860 and 27 planes. She had recently sunk a U boat, and they had only found one survivor. The sailor found himself wondering about the crew of that sub. Did they die suddenly, or did they sink to the bottom of the sea, to suffocate? No, that couldn't be. This area of the Atlantic was too deep. The sub would have crushed at a certain depth. The feeling of apprehension, or dread continued to bother him. He was also thinking of a sister ship(USS Liscomb Bay CVE 56), that had gone down in the Pacific,with over 645 of it s 870 man crew. The ship had gone down in minutes. No ship is ever quiet; the creaks and groans of her metal plates were almost soothing. He could hear the snores and breathing of the other men in his compartment. He jumped down off his bunk and sat on the lower bunk. The guy that slept there was on watch up in the radio shack. Lighting up a Lucky Strike, he thought of going to the shack for a cup of coffee. Nah, he had the watch at 0800, so he just sat there. He tried to relax, but that premonition kept nagging at him. He had never felt fear before, so why now? His thoughts kept going back to his sister ship. Were there any buddies of his from radio school? They would have been in the same compartment that he was in on this ship. Did they get out? Suddenly, with a tremendous explosion, the ship lurched and keeled over on her starboard side. He thought she was about to capsize, but she slowly righted herself. The compartment was in chaos. The ship was twisting. The screeching steel sounded as if the ship was screaming. Men were running for the ladder going up to the hangar deck. Explosions were rocking the ship and there was a noticeable list toward the stern. She was going down! If he made the hangar deck, would the Hot Dogs, the anti-submarine torpedoes stored in racks on the sides of the hangar deck, explode? It seemed like it took an eternity to reach the ladder. He could smell the smoke, and see the flames through the hatch at the top of the ladder. Before he could reach the ladder, the ship seemed to rear up, and he was thrown backwards into the compartment. Dread claimed him. He had thought he was indestructible; nothing could happen to him! No water in the compartment, thank God for that. He clawed his way back towards the ladder, climbing along the deck, grabbing the bottoms of the bunks. Finally, the ladder again. He started to feel the heat of the fire above him, but had to get out of the compartment which he envisioned as his tomb. He was alone! Where were the other men? Had they all gotten out but he? The sailor finally reached the hatch onto the hangar deck, only to find it blocked by the aircraft stored there. They had piled up on the starboard side as the ship listed. He found an opening through the wreckage, and pulled himself, as if in slow motion, towards an opening to the gun deck on the port side. The smoke was heavy, and the fires were casting shadows over the hanger deck. No one else was there. They had all abandoned ship, but he never heard the call. The ship was now on a sharp list to starboard, and starting to stand on end. The death of the ship was very near. He reached a hatch to the open sponson deck. As he finally went through the hatch, the ship took one last lurch. It threw him back onto the hangar deck, amidst the planes, while the ship slipped relentlessly into her grave. He could not reach the hatch again. The cold waters dragged him and the ship into the depths!
The sailor awoke, in a cold sweat. The throbbing of the engines was steady and even. The red night vision lights cast an eerie light over the compartment. THE DAY THE SHADOWS MOVED by V.J. Verdolini ****************** Darkness! As I went further down into the depths of the aircraft carrier, I pondered, "why did I come down here, alone, with only a battle lantern?" I tried to reason with myself.. Here I was,a volunteer on a WW2 aircraft carrier turned into a Museum. The curator of the museum, knowing that I was, during World War II, a radio operator on a sister-ship, of this vessel, had asked if I would help restore a radio room, to the 1940's era. I had decided to look for old artifacts in the portions of the ship that had never been opened to the public. But, why in this section of the ship? It had been over 50 years since I had served on this type vessel. The bulkheads had been preserved with a coating of light oil, and they gleamed dully, as my light shown up and down the passageways. I tried to remember where I was. Ah! The crews berthing compartments. There would be no radio equipment in this area, but I stopped, and suddenly the hair on my arms tingled, goose bumps went up and down my spine. Deep down inside, a feeling started, fear? Yes, but something else too! The shadows from my light along the bulkheads seemed to linger , and then, panic overcame me . I wanted to make a dash for the ladder up to the hanger deck. I stood as if he was frozen to the deck. The shadows were moving. I could not call out, my throat was paralyzed. I gasped, and finally managed to almost gurgle out, Who is there? Nothing! But wait, something was happening. The deck was vibrating, the ship was moving. How? This old dead ship was sunk into the bottom of the harbor. Then, as if from a great distance I heard other sounds. Voices, sounds of a ship alive, and underway. The darkness was giving way to light. What was happening to me? I had gone back fifty years to my old compartment. Nothing was clear, but I heard men talking and laughing, and there was the normal card game going on. I even smelled the stale air, talcum powder, and Mennons Skin Bracer. I couldn't help but smile, remembering. We had no airconditioning at that time. There were guys sitting on their bunks writing letters home. Then that dreaded sound, prefixed by a boatswains whistle, "now hear this, all hands man your battle stations" followed by the harsh clang glang clang of the claxton . Men instantly started running to their stations. And then, silence, and darkness again.
The fear started to return, and a cold was running through my body. A voice, calm, with a sense of sadness filled my senses. The fear was gone, and a feeling of almost contentment covered me. Who are you? I asked . We are all the carrier sailors who did not go home. We stayed near our individual ship until they were all scrapped. This ship is one of the last of the great carriers, and is now a museum, a memorial to all of us.
Why are you here? We cannot find peace until we are assured that we will not be forgotten, by history. We have listened to you giving the tours for visitors, and have heard the pride in your voice as you tell them of these great ships, the tone of your voice when you tell them of those of us who never went home. We can see the tears in your eyes, you try to hide, when a memorial service is held. You, and others like you must continue to tell the story, especially to the young men and women. Then they will relay the stories to their children, so that like the story tellers of old, they will pass down from generation to generation. Soon you, and the others who served on these ships will be gone. You must continue to spread the word, and we can at last rest. The darkness closed in again, and I made my way back up to the hangar deck, and the light. Had this been a figment of my imagination? It had to be. Yet, something was there, deep down inside. Several days later, I took a group of people on tour, and among them were several young boys. They were asking questions of me. One young man in particular asked, How did you feel, being 18 years old, in a war. Were you frightened, how did you react to seeing men die around you? I paused , then said, yes at times I was frightened, and saw men die. You might want to remember that those men were not much older than you are now. Those boys are why this museum is here today! It is a memorial to the young men who never came home to their mothers, wives and sweethearts. You may laugh, but I feel deep down inside that this dead ship is not really dead. If you listen, you too may feel the engines throbbing, you too may listen to distant voices, you too may smell strange smells that all ships have. The young boys smiled and I knew that they thought I was a senile old fool. As they continued the tour and I told the stories of life aboard ship, I noticed the one young man, look around with a perplexed look on his face. Then that same young man suddenly asked how he could exit the tour. I directed him to the nearest emergency exit , and the young man along with his friends left the tour. I felt a deep sense of remorse for failing to get those young men to understand, and told myself that I would not, in the future, try to instill my thoughts into the tourists. When the tour ended, the rest of the tourists thanked me, and left the ship. Then as I started back to the Information Desk where the tours started, two of the young boys who had left the tour approached . Sir, one said, we are sorry we had to leave, but we were frightened! We could not say anything at the time, but we both had an eerie sensation that the deck started to vibrate! We did not say anything to one another for fear of ridicule, and then we both thought we heard strange voices, talking, laughing. I guess we panicked, and left. We finally talked to each other and when we knew we both had felt the same way, we knew you were right! This ship is still alive. I felt a great elation flood over me. I had at least gotten through to two, and I knew that those two could not help but tell the weird story of how they had thought they felt and heard ghosts on the carrier museum. At that moment the ships PA system came alive, and the sad strains of a bugler playing Taps was heard by everyone on the ship. It was late in the day, the museum was closing shortly, so no one thought much of it. But I knew that the museum had not set up it s PA system to play the different ship sounds because they could not find a tape to play the different calls. I knew who had played Taps, and knew that if and when I went down below, alone, again, the shadows would not move again. |