Solly, unable to contain himself as Hamp spoke, did not laugh outright, but the broad grin that he failed to contain while listening to Hamp spoke volumes about his sense of humor.
“I congratulate you, Mr. Hampton,” Ash said, “for being more than forthright. Political considerations, then, played no part in your decision?”
“I regret to say so,” Hamp said, “but no, not until I learned what my grandmother had been up to. I was having too good a time at Lafayette.”
“I’m afraid that you have me at a disadvantage,” Ash said.
“Two weeks before I signed on the dotted line,” Hamp said, “my father informed me that my grandmother had been shipping chemicals—lubricants, if I am not mistaken—to Germany since January of ’38. American neutrality, as far as my grandmother was concerned, seemed to be nothing more than a convenient ploy for making money. As a result, I have to live with the fact that my family seems more or less to have helped grease the wheels so that Hitler could roll into Poland and France, and for me, that became the tipping point.”
For Ash, Hamp’s straightforward admission suddenly pulled back a curtain to reveal a nasty but not unknown fact about the war. Other American companies had done exactly the same thing, disregarding the morality of their actions while rushing full speed ahead to supply Hitler with whatever he needed and reaping huge profits which they then, generously, passed on to their stockholders. During the Battle of Britain, even as Goering pounded England day and night, a major American oil company had continued to ship Hitler as much gasoline as his fighters and bombers could absorb, not to mention whatever diesel went into fueling their U-boats. Ash knew that he despised the people who facilitated such arrangements, the war profiteers, but he also knew that they were a brand of lice who were ever-present, that a war was on, and that he could do absolutely nothing about changing a system which had been in place for centuries.
“It’s not much to say,” Ash said, “but I sympathize, and I think you made the right decision. And rest assured, Mr. Hampton, no matter how much your gut feeling might try to tell you something different, you are not responsible for your grandmother. Now, turning to that other subject and discounting the discarded or avoided debs, I take it that like Solly, you foresee no personal or emotional attachments that might interfere with your duties here.”
“None, Sir,” Hamp said.
“Good enough,” Ash said, as the waiter set down a plate of the New England boiled dinner in front of him. “Let’s eat, and while we do, I’ll tell you what I have in mind for you.”
Though Ash had never been a fan of corn beef, much to his surprise, as he tucked into the meal, his suspicions of the night before were proven correct: The Jarvis House chef knew a thing or two.
“First things first,” Ash said, showing both men a grim expression. “While the three of us sit here eating, Hitler’s U-boats are sitting right out there, not 10 miles off the coast, hunting and torpedoing whatever they can find. How many of them are out there, we don’t know, but they are sinking ships and killing merchant sailors right and left, and it is going to be our major concern to try to stop them. What I’m telling you is top secret, so you and the crew are not to breathe a word of it to anyone, anywhere, at any time, because Uncle Sam is dead set against throwing the civilian population into a panic. Absolute silence about that is to be the rule. Understand?”
Both men looked back at him with shock, their mouths agape. Then, snapping their jaws shut, they each firmly nodded their agreement.
“Solly,” Ash then said, after swallowing his first few bites, “you are senior on the Navy List, so that makes you the executive officer of Chaser 3. That means that you are going to be responsible for administration, personnel, communications, and finally, with your engineering background, engineering. I think you have a more than qualified technician in Chief Stobb, so give the man his head, let him manage the plant and the crew in the hole; your job is to administer, supervise, and support, but I don’t recommend getting your hands dirty unless something turns up that you know how to repair and they don’t. That seems unlikely; Chief Stobb has considerable experience.”
“Understood, Sir,” Solly said. “Same arrangement as in the plant I managed ashore.”
“Good,” Ash said. “Hamp, as third officer, you will be responsible for supply, welfare, weaponry including guns, depth charges, and sonar, and with all of your financial background, the miserable job of being our mess treasurer. Not much to do as mess treasurer other than adjusting our monthly mess bills into the accounting for the crew’s mess. To ease the cook’s work, we will eat aft with the crew rather than in the wardroom. If one of you ever does bring a guest aboard, we could suspend that routine for a night, but I see no point to making a mess cook lug our food to us when we can easily take meals with the men.”
When neither of the men made an attempt to protest, Ash continued.
“Both of you are commissioned officers now, but even so, I would imagine that both of you know yourselves to be green, so a word about handling the men. All three of us are responsible for maintaining good order and discipline aboard Chaser 3. What that means in practice is that professional, humane behavior is essential. I’ve seen new ensigns who try to throw their weight around with their enlisted people, and in almost every instance, that has led to nothing but trouble. We are extremely fortunate on this ship because the petty officers we’ve been sent are professional, regular navy ratings, one and all. I couldn’t have imagined that when I received orders to this command; I expected to have an entire crew filled with untrained reservists. Our leading people are, much to my surprise, very well trained, so exercise your authority quietly, leave your petty officers to ramrod the seamen and firemen, and conduct yourselves with reason and good judgment. That doesn’t mean that you have to put up with insolence or disrespect. I will not have that aboard. And if it does turn out that we have a bad egg, bring the man to mast, and I will deal with him. Take my meaning?”
Again, both men nodded their agreement.
“Good,” he said, tucking into some more of the corn beef. “We received a consignment of stores this morning, so Chief Stobb and Samarango have been overseeing inventory and storage. In the morning, the three of us are going to have to get down to the yard and turn to with a vengeance. We’ve got an office of sorts down there, bales of reports to fill out, and stores to get aboard as long as Anson gives us the OK to go ahead with them, and we also have a watch bill to prepare. Hamp, as you may imagine, once Teague puts the guns in working order and forms the gun crews, we are going to have to drill those men and drill them again until they can man the mounts, load, and prepare to fire with split-second timing. When we will get a chance to fire at targets is anyone’s guess, but for the time being, I want the drill to achieve perfection. And the same thing will hold true for the depth charges. Solly, when Anson’s people clear out enough for you to start drilling the repair parties, give Chief Stobb the go ahead, and as far as I’m concerned, you can practice shoring up every bulkhead on the ship until the men can do it in their sleep.”
Hamp and Solly paused mid-forkful and managed a “Yes, Sir” before returning to their dinner.
“Finally,” Ash said, “even as you lecture the men and command them to silence about the U-boat threat along this immediate coast—and don’t hesitate to remind them that a prison sentence will go with breaking that rule—you’ll also need to lecture them about water. We don’t have evaporators on this ship, so we can’t make fresh water; we are limited to what we can carry in the tanks. When we are lucky enough to tie up alongside a tender or a pier with shore facilities, the men can take freshwater showers and do their laundry, but the rest of the time, for laundry and bathing, saltwater will be the order of the day. The Navy issues a special soap for it. It won’t be pleasant, and I’m doubtful that anyone will like it, but for better or worse that will be the way of it.”
Across the room, the last members of the crew to finish their meals seemed to
be rising from their chairs and heading for the door to turn in for the night.
“No liberty for the crew tonight,” Ash said. “I’ll lay down my rules in the morning, and then, after we put in a good work day and they take their evening meal, I’ll turn them loose until 2300. I think there’s a pub a couple of blocks up the street called The Jolly Roger. Solly, assign Chief Stobb and Samarango to act as shore patrol. What I’ll hope for is that the crew will begin to bond. What I want to avoid is anyone getting out of hand and starting trouble with the locals. Got it?”
“Yes, Sir,” Solly said. “Want me to go along, Sir, and keep an eye on things?”
“No,” Ash said. “For the time being, it will be best for the three of us to keep our distance. Within three or four months, depending on how this bunch gels, we’ll probably be drinking a beer or two with them, but not at the start.”
Half an hour later, as he sank into the easy chair which graced his room and looked back on his day, Ash wondered if he had struck the right notes both with the petty officers he’d interviewed and the two ensigns who had just walked down the hall to their rooms. In the moment, Ash couldn’t help feeling himself a bit of a sham. Here he was, really an ensign with a single year of seagoing experience behind him, wearing the stripes of the next higher rank while trying to sound, act, and think like John Paul Jones, Nelson, or even Dewey before he steamed into Manila Bay. Was he up to it, was he ready? He would never know until he had done it. He could only surmise that every day would throw him something novel and unexpected. The best he could do would be to try to catch it and run with it. And on that thought, he went to bed.
6
The following morning, after Chief Stobb had formed and mustered the crew, Ash himself took charge and marched them to the yard. There, immediately inside the gate, he halted the men and delivered what he hoped would sound to them like the Sermon on the Mount, starting with something of a welcome aboard, then detailing some rules about work and behavior in the yard, and ending with an announcement about liberty following completion of the work day. And then, with all the authoritative force that he could muster, Ash laid down the law about the need for security.
“Court martial and brig time are assured for anyone who breaks the rules,” Ash said, “because It’s a fact of life that loose lips sink ships. Now, with that said and with each of you having committed it to memory, Hill will prepare your liberty cards today, and you must be prepared to show your liberty card and your I.D. Card at all times. Liberty this evening will commence at the completion of the evening meal and conclude at 2300. After 2300, anyone absent will be declared A.W.O.L. Yarmouth has a movie house where, I’m told, a new Bogart movie, The Maltese Falcon, is showing, and I rather imagine that you may find a soda fountain …” Ash allowed himself a slight smile and listened for the snickers before he continued, “… or a pub or two, depending on your interests, but see that you obey the drinking laws, conduct yourselves with decorum, and treat the locals courteously. Finally, if you see one of your shipmates going over the top or getting into difficulty, remember who we’re defending in this war, and get him back to the ship. That’s all. Dismiss.”
As the men dispersed to a wide variety of tasks, Ash turned to Solly and Hamp.
“Check with Chief Stobb, Solly, and bring yourself up to date on what he’s doing. Hamp, see Samarango first, introduce yourself, check out what he has underway, and then go introduce yourself to Gunner Teague and Gomez. Once you’ve brought yourselves up to date on the work that those men are doing and had a good look around the ship, come on up to the office and report to me. I want to be informed about our progress. Then, we’ve got a mountain of paper work to start doing, and my guess is that we may go right on doing it until somewhere near midnight.”
In the office, Bell showed Ash a chart of Casco Bay that he’d tacked down.
“Once we leave here,” Bell said, “I reckon that we can be down there to Portland in about an hour, as long as we make turns for 12 knots.”
Ash studied the chart. Casco Bay seemed immense and well protected. Small wonder that COMDESLANT had selected it as one of the collection points for convoys preparing to depart for England or for convoys returning.
“As soon as we get radio going,” Ash said, “I want Polaski to comb the traffic for all messages showing the minefields the Navy’s laid around the entrances. I’ve seen some trouble with mines in my time, and I don’t want any more. You and Polaski find the messages; then, you and I will update this chart to show exactly where the mine belts have been laid. That way we can check each other.”
“I’ll tell Polaski right now, Sir,” Bell said. “Maybe he can get us something sooner.”
“Good, do it,” Ash said, dismissing the man.
Ash looked out the window and saw what he knew at once to be a gray Navy staff car coming through the gate.
Not already, Ash thought to himself, and then, snatching up his gloves and his hat, he hurried out to meet whoever happened to be descending upon him.
The passenger in question, a full commander, turned out to be congenial. “I’m Commander Fromkern,” the man said, returning Ash’s salute, “Assistant Engineering Officer on the COMDESLANT staff. I’ve been sent up to see how you’re coming along with Chaser 3.”
“I arrived two days ago,” Ash said. “The crew and my officers came in yesterday, and we’ve already received some stores which are being inventoried as we speak. My engineering officer is just now meeting his chief, and my gunnery officer is over meeting the bosun and our gunner. The guns are still packed in cosmoline, but I’ve given orders to put them into operating condition. Mr. Anson, the builder, tells me that we will be able to commission her in about three weeks, and I intend to hurry that along. Once my officers return, we plan to start working up a watch bill and preparing our required reports. My hope is that my yeoman will be able to find a typewriter somewhere in that first consignment of stores.”
“Sounds to me like you have things well in hand,” the commander said. “I’ve been given to understand that you were on the Parker.”
“Yes, Sir, I was,” Ash said. “I was one of the lucky ones.”
“On good terms with your captain, were you?”
“I thought he was a good captain,” Ash said, “but I was the most junior ensign aboard and a little out of his league.”
“You might be interested to know that he wrote you a sterling fitness report for the last reporting period,” Fromkern said. “I think that’s one reason you were tapped for this job. I knew him, you see. He was a student of mine when I taught chemistry at the Naval Academy. Promising officer, your captain, and a sad loss for the Navy. Which reminds me, I’ve brought you a new tactical pub and a sheaf of messages, some of them regarding the minefields around Casco Bay. See that you plot them on your charts. The admiral doesn’t want any more accidents, and once you take your ship to sea, instruct your lookouts to keep their eyes peeled for strays.”
“Yes, Sir,” Ash said. “My quartermaster and I were talking about that when you arrived. We’ll be relieved to have the latest updates.”
“Secure stowage,” Fromkern said, “for the pub, the messages, and for the chart when It’s marked up. don’t want anything secret getting into the wrong hands.”
“Right, Sir,” Ash said. “we’ve got a confidential locker in the wardroom; I’ll secure the message traffic, the pub, and the chart myself.”
“Good enough,” said Commander Fromkern. “Now, if you don’t mind, why don’t you show me about your ship. I haven’t been aboard a subchaser since 1918 when I commanded SC-135 on the Atlantic convoys.”
“Obviously,” Fromkern said an hour later as he and Ash reemerged from the wardroom and into the warehouse where the chaser’s office was located, “Olie Anson has built your ship with care. she’s better built than the one I commanded. It’s clear that she’s been given special attention. ’Festina lente,’ I think the saying goes, Mr. Miller; you’re probably familiar with it.”
“I am,” Ash said. “‘Make haste slowly.’ Renaissance men like Drake and Raleigh seemed to revere the idea.”
“Thought you might know it,” Fromkern said. “Well, I’d say that Mr. Anson has put the phrase into practice here, and the results show. Now, a couple of things before I go. Continue to make haste slowly, Mr. Miller. Get Chaser 3 into commission as swiftly as you can, but don’t rush to the point where you leave things undone. It can be no secret that you are needed for convoy duty right now. The U-boats are playing hell with our unescorted ships along the coast, and we are so far short of escorts that we don’t have half enough to go around. Only last night, the krauts sunk one more off the Long Island coast, a tanker riding empty on its way back from Liverpool and headed for the New Jersey piers. No matter how you cut it, That’s a ship lost and our capacity to deliver fuel to our allies diminished. There are no certainties, you will understand, but if Chaser 3 had been available as an escort, It’s conceivable that you might have been able to fend off the attack. That’s pure speculation on my part, but I’m sure you see what I mean. Nevertheless, with regard to commissioning your ship, the other expression you have to remember is ‘haste makes waste’.”
“I’ll keep that firmly in mind,” Ash said.
“So, steady as you go, and see that you prepare your crew. The majority of your stores will reach you this week. Once Mr. Anson gives you the go-ahead, put the ship into commission, read yourself in as captain, run your acceptance trials as quickly as you can, and get down to Casco Bay. Anson will supply you with enough fuel and water to make the trip and give you some to spare, but you will fuel, water, and take on comestibles at Portland. Your depth charges, ammunition, and pyrotechnics will be brought out to your anchorage by lighter. There will be a machine gun in that consignment, but I can’t tell you whether it will be a .30-caliber or .50-caliber gun; both are in short supply, so you will have to take what you get. Do double check to make sure that the ammunition supplied is the right caliber. We had a case a week or two after Pearl Harbor where the depot sent out .30-caliber ammunition with a .50-caliber gun. The men on duty took it aboard without checking, which meant that the ship went to sea with a useless weapon.”
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