The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-03-23

darkness aheao, i've nad three VIII
Number One" was the first lieu
tenant OF the British destroyer
Echo, and "up here" meant Arctic
waters where the sun never shines
for months,
In one month on the destroyer, !
heard no stronger complaint than
that from the men who daily patrol
the North Atlantic and the Arctic
Ocean, on the lookout for German
planes and submarines and the
heavier surface ships which slip out
occasionally from the Norwegian
fjords.
II the ship lurched ana flung these
men across the wardroom, or
wave surging over the decks
(lrenched them from the waist down,
they swore o little and probably re.
marked, "What q helluvR way to run
q railroadw But the Arctic by now
was commonplace to them, so much
so that, when I tried 10 find out ex-
actly when we would cross the Arc.
tic Circle, I found some Of the on
GERS q little hay about Its location
Before I had tracked down the Cir
cle's latitude, we were well over FIVE
degrees north Of II, and keeping q
lookout for Ice.
DlScomforts were accepted az
routine in the "Blue Nose" region,
Clothing for example, had two draw
backs. you can't wear enough on
duty to keep warm, and you can't
take OIL enough at night when land
~ you sleep, because Of the pos
sibility OF action stations at o Sec
ond'S notice, AS q sample, here's
what wore above the Arctic Circle:
Correspondents OUTFIT
Double. thickness heavy under
wear, o sweatsuit with O second
sweater for added warmth, two pairs
Of heavy socks and thigh.high sea-
boot stockings; over that, tucked
into knee-high fieece-lined boots
an overall-type suit Of kapok de-
signed not only for warmth but 10
keep the wearer afloat for ~ hours;
finally, a trench coat or oil-skins, a
fur-lined cap with earfleps, and q
piece Of rope.
The rope, most important Of all
had two loops woven In so as to
hang from the chest and between
the shoulder blades when tied under
the arms. Why? When o destroyer
Is sunk, there Is often oil on the
water covering the survivors so
thickly rescuers can't get o grip. The
loops In the rope can be caught by
boathook or, II the survivor Is
still conscious, tied to @ thrown line,
One Of the officers on board, sur
vivor Of an earlier destroyer sinking,
owed his life TO such O rope. He was
so thickly coated with oil that for
mer shipmates who rescued him did
not recognize him until the oil had
been scraped from his face.
All this clothing, added to my nor
NAL width, earned me the nickname
OF 1.-THE Giant Panda" from one OF
the sub.lieutenants, and made n0vi-
CATION OF ladders and matches diff
cult, but II didn't sufiice to keep me
warm for much more than an hour
on the bridge. The ships company,
however, carried on with regular
folir-hour watches no matter how
far north we went.
Couldn't Keep Dry
II was almost impossible TO Keep
dry. Many ships Of the Blt.e Nose
feet are specially fitted out with In.
sulation, special steam fittings and
extra electric heaters 10 combat cold,
but little coluld be done TO combat
dampness. "Dampness" Is o gross
understatement, for with tons Of
water crashing down on the decks,
with spray dashed OH every inch Of
the ship and waves Swirling over the
low quarterback from following seas,
a good proportion Of the water was
bound to find Its way below.
Above decks, salt spray stung
shaven faces and crusted deeply on
eyebrows, mustaches and boards.
The destroyer had only one bearded
officer--the first lieutenant-who
watched me licking the salt out Of
my mustache and advised me: LET
1t dry. Then you can brush 1t all out
at once"
The motion Of the ship naturally
seemed a discomfort to me as q
landlubber, but 1t annoyed the ships
company only when 1t flung them
or their food about extra violently.
At one meal after crossing the Arc.
tic Circle, first my food went all
over the table during q 40-degree
roll TO one side. Then the midship.
mans slid OF the table to the floor.
The Suh-lleutenant decided TO eat
In an armchair by the electric CRATE,
Another roll and his went all ever