The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1945-04-20
Observations
Life in Navy
Hotel Very
Interesting

Interesting
Old Point Comfort. Va There's
probably another such wartime
hotel as this United states Hote,
Chamberlin close 10 your own
neighborhood wonder ii your
hotel is the kind al which am nov
staying, Is as full Of youth as this
one.
The average age here according
10 my unofficial, uncensOred guess
is about ten and twothirds sum
mers. I've never seen so much
youth in one place in all my life
Certainly not in Washington. that
backwater Of weather-beaten. bat
tle-scarred personalities.
There are weather-beaten. bat
tle.scarred personalities down here
TOO. But the scare are newly made
and the beatings have only scared
the skin Neither has touched the
spirit For this is young Amer.
lea. the boys and girls who are
fighting the var for us
AS for that average age Of ten
and two-thirds summers. I've prob
ably reckoned too high Every
other hotel resident at this charm
ing. completely human place is
child. And half tho children are
babies
The Chamberlin. not the old
Chamberlin OF YOU mothers young
Gays (it burned DOWN, Is now, as
OF course you must know. a Unit
ed States government hotel. 1t
was taken over by the government
not long after Pearl Harbor, Old
Point and its .ueighborhOod of Nor
folk. Newport News and Fortress
Monroe was bound to be an in
creasingly important war and ser
vice center, the government reCk
oned
Bounding by water all these
valuable land bases was Hamp-
ton Roads. the strategic meeting
place OF the Chesapeake bay and
the OtlantiC ocean More and more
naval and army projects would
cluster around the Roads To man
the projects would come many
young officers. Other even young
e. officers would arrive for their
last training before going overseas
1t is military dictum that officer
morale Is higher II the officers
have their families close by In
order 10 provide an agreeable, con
Venient and reasonably-priced set
ting for family life, the Chamber
lin was acquired for the exclusive
use OF officers Of the Army and
Navy and their families.
You cannot get a room or a meal
here unless you are properly iden-
titled. A mere uniform will not
help you az the registration desk.
]. saw an admiral, a four-striper"
and veteran with six foreign ser.
vice marks on his sleeve. hunt up
Identification tags and cards be.
fore being given rooms already
reserved by mail
The place is a sort OF heaven Tor
do | mean hayen?) for the young
service people. Here are lived
little dramas of the war Comings
and goings. leave-takings, long
looked'for arrivals. Tense. appre-
hensive moments. Waiting. wait
ing, waiting and more waiting for
news. for orders Constant uncer.
tainty. for the young husbands and
wives. Today tomorrow. next.
week may he their last time to
gether.
such is the mood OF the hotel.
You hear very little laughter and
there Is a sharp strain on the faces
OF the men and women. Especially
on the faces OF the women. The
ete-nally waiting women. They sit
in the long, comfortable sun-par-
Tors facing the water. making
friends with other waiting women
Knitting. Hemming table linen
Or just waiting. Marking time
for a few days before they decide
whether or not to go TO their girl.
hood home or to some strange new
place and look for job" until
their men come back.
Out in the Roads there Is pass.
ing a continual pageant Of ships
LAUNDERING old ferries plod through
a wide wake Of foam. Two Zero.
cious-looking warships. spiked with
instruments OF destruction and de-
Tense are anchored a little way off
short. Small supply boats are
tearing out to the warships. prob.
ably 20 ask what Is wanted on
board.
And you-why you are mere ii.
william. A kind OF outcast IN the
midst of today's reality.
p. s. wish the Army and Navy
would take over my little home.
/ do like the food and the service
and the flower gardens down here.