While waiting for an assignment in Brisbane, Australia, my father wrote of memories of the trip from home in Springfield, Massachusetts to Brisbane.

USN Repair Unit Navy 134 Sept 25, 1944

Brisbane, Australia

"Memories of Things Past"

Good times in Milwaukee: Milwaukee Roof, Red Room, Polish dance, Town Club party. Night with Addison, Andrews, two girls, looking for place to drink in downpour.

Last night with Cohen getting gloriously drunk. Fighting to get on liberty trains. Eating spaghetti with Harry, Spider and rest of gang. Eating at U.S.O.. Sunday with Cohen, Andrews, Addison, eating free meal in Schuster Hof. Getting thrown out of beer joints, underage. Last night in Red Room.

Chicago: Wandering around the Loop. Wild, gay, everyone comes to Loop. Crowded cafes, small bands. Lipps Lower Level, good food. Getting room for Addison's honeymoon, in Palmer House with old Armstrong. Sleeping on hard bench in Railroad Station with Mike Chanda. Night that Churchill, Chanda and I took girls home in cab and rode rest of night on streetcar. Dance at B.O.D. Nice U.S.O. Last night I met Betty. Mad rush to catch train home on 66 hour leave. Hours spent on trains in all kinds of positions, most uncomfortable. (Ed. Note: train from Chicago to Springfield Massachusetts, 1000 miles...)

San Francisco: Bay Bridge, wonderful view. Alcatraz Island in distance. Walking streets of Chinatown, looking for excitement, usually finding it. Chinese nite clubs down dark stairways. Queer sounds and smells from Oriental shops. International Settlement with bars, nite clubs and doormen each trying to tempt you inside. Girl who played piano and sang while drunks applauded or didn't. Burlesque shows and Italian section slums. Knob Hill and mansions and Embarcadero and waterfront dives. Steep hills and cablecars. Pepsicola Center and Stage Door Center. Day spent at Golden Gate Park riding bikes with Cohen and laying on sandy beach. Boat Basin near Golden Gate Bridge. U.S.O. in Oakland. Wolfing in park in Oakland. Dancing at Sweet's.

Last night at Golden Gate Park. Riding amusements with Vlery, Zelke and girls. Trying to forget its our last night. Eating downtown with the girls. Last goodbys and catching last train back. Loading aboard transport. (Ed. Note: Lurline, former civilian liner) Last look at Golden Gate and then feeling swell of the sea and a deck under my feet again.

Wondering where we're going. First land sighted: Australia! Long ride up bay and river, then disappointing view of Brisbane. WAC's going ashore with band playing. Navy going ashore with no band playing. Getting dope on place and looking curiously at money while waiting for truck. Rushed into receiving barracks. Watching movies in tropical downpour. Assignment at last! Seaplane base, left for duty. Wonderful fresh water shower! Good chow and peaceful country mornings. First liberty in Brisbane after special pay. Wise, Wilcox, Finch making first "pub call" and feeling pretty good. Seaplane base dance and drunks. Wilcox meeting girl and losing his heart he thought. Meeting (sister) Doris again at Number One Post Repair Unit. Sleeping in tents sweaty at daytime and freezing at night.

Riding trains for "tup pence". "Digger" hats, curious houses with red roofs. Girls in old-fashioned dresses, low shoes, bare legs. Barefoot kids. Red Cross dances with Seventh Fleet band and "Mob Nine" bands. Trocadero and Coconut Grove dancehalls. Drunks on back streets buying cheap grog. Killarney and San Joy. Chinese food at Cafe Cathay. (<- it is still there) Beautiful Chinese girls. Carnival in the Valley. Sunday at Red Cliff with Stone and bottle of gin. Rattletrap trains. Sunday at Ipswich dead as church yard. MacArthur and Allied Headquarters. Crain, Osbourne at Central Cafe. Victoria Bridge and skating rink by river. White women with U.S. negro troops. Cremoine vaudeville shows. Holland Park train and "Sunny". Scrapes with Aussies over sailor. Waterfront streets and darked out Chinese shops. Lights over freighters going down river at night. Deep whistles of ships coming up river at night.

Tugs busy towing transports and liberty ships in stream. Watching movies under moon with wind blowing in off river as lights of an incoming ship move slowly by. Trying to sleep with drunks tearing around the hut. Mess cook duty with Eddie and Stone. Evening spent at Mary's house, good to sit in front of fire in easy chair again. Long walk down road in rain from tram line. Making "dungaroo liberty" to "Ascot". Wilcox meets another girl and is disillusioned again. P.A. system on L.S.T. tied up to gas dump dock calling someone to quarterdeck. Tanker coming up river through rain and mist while standing guard duty on gas dock.

It has been some time since I have added any to this collection of thoughts. Sent to receiving ship to wait for "Dawn" -- everyone wondering what she will be, meeting Capt. Perron who brought mail. First sight of ship, not too bad, expected worse. First watches in fire room, everyone new and plenty scared. Engineering Officer standing by to help at any time. Finally taking on cargo at gas docks and Exec giving speech about danger of cargo (100 octane aviation gas) Stood first underway watch with Patten, going down river to bay.

Laying all night in bay discharging bad fuel oil. Mess in fire room, deck plates covered with black fuel oil.

We make the long run to Hollandia alone and it is wonderful to be at sea again. Firing practice. We couldn't hit a barn.

Hollandia: (New Guinea) Went ashore with working party. Hot, dusty, no water. Take on stores. Alongside "Dobbin" (destroyer tender) for repairs. Take cargo from merchant tanker. Shove off as convoy leader for Philippines. Passing British flagship coming in. Rough passage. Oil drums loose on deck. Several L.C.T's lost. Nearly rammed in convoy one dark night. Arrive Leyte Gulf. Drop hook near Samar Island. Go ashore on Samar and investigate native village. Shove off for Lingayen. Warned of bad passage, second convoy up. A few scares and we arrive in Chuye Gulf one morning. Proceed to anchorage and start discharge cargo immediately. Nightly raids by "Charley".

Plenty scared.

When being cooked in an ancient non-airconditioned tanker, it was wonderful to receive these kind of pictures from home!

Corky, his dog

His sisters, Doris and Ruth

More cooling words on the back of a photo from home

What is a sailor?

By sheer luck, my father's sister Doris was on leave from New Guinea while he was in Brisbane (she went through some terrible times in New Guinea, as one of the first nurses there) She came to the gate of the camp, and the guard sent word to my father: "There's someone here who claims to be your sister, heh heh!" My father went out, and Aunt Doris exclaimed, "Oh, Bobby, you've grown so much!" The guards looked at one another... "Hey, maybe she really IS his sister!"

The same view today! (Pic located by Josephine T., Mt Gambier, Australia)

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