For the Old Navy Guys on the Board

[fatrap]

'Twas the night before Christmas, compartments were still, The sailors were

sleeping, as most sailors will. The ditty bags hung by the lockers with

care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. The men were all

peacefully dreaming in bed as visions of liberty danced in each head. The

Chief in his skivvies, hopped into his rack, Having just came from town and

a quick midnight snack.



When out on the deck there arose such a roar, I ran to the porthole to find

out the score. I stuck out my head and started to shout, "Just what in the

world is this noise all about?" A moon made for boondocking showed with a

glow, It was downright cold out, 'bout seven below.



What I saw out there looked like those Mardi Gras floats, 'Twas a Captain's

gig drawn by four white Navy goats. In the boat was a man who seemed quiet

and moody, I knew in an instant St. Nick had the duty. As quickly as Monday

his billy goats came, He whistled and shouted and called them by name. "Now

Perry, now Farragut, Dewey and Jones, What's the matter John Paul, got lead

in your bones? A little to Starb'rd, now hold it up short, No fluffing off

now, or you'll go on report!"



He was wearing dress "Reds" that fit like a charm, His hash marks they

covered the length of his arm. The gifts to be issued were all in his pack,

The gedunk was ready to leave on each rack. His eyes they were watering, his

nose caked with ice, He wiped it with canvass, then sneezed once or twice.

He opened his mouth and started to yawn, It looked like the Sun coming up

with the dawn.



The stump of a pipe, he held tight in his teeth, and took a small nip from a

bottle beneath. He wasn't so big, but he must have been strong, I figured

he'd been in SEALs early and long. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly

old Tar, Who said "Evenin' Matey, here have a cigar." He filled every seabag

with presents galore, and left us all leave papers, right by the door.



With "Anchors Aweigh" he climbed back into place, A broad smile was creeping

all over his face. One look at his watch and he started to frown, "This mid

watch is certainly getting me down." Then out to the breakwater and into the

night, The gig started fading, the landscape was bright. "Merry Christmas"

he said, as he drove on his way, Now I'll finish my rounds and sack in for

the day."

fatrap

 

[cq]

That is Great, but we had to come up close to the surface and raise the Induction Mast.

cq MMCM (SS)

 

[fatrap]

OH NO a sewer pipe sailor.

fatrap

 

[Mark Jaworski]

Thanks, God to see some NAVY STUFF



Ret AEC (AW/SW/NAC)

 

[cq]

Yea, but we can dive deeper and come up dryer.

 

[Greg J.]

That's a good one! Gonna print that one.



Waterwings

DCCM(SW) (Ret)



I don't jump out of perfectly good airplanes, or ride ships that sink on purpose

 

[fatrap]

cqbaker

Ask me about the time I tried to land a young sailor, who had just drank his dolphins, onto the deck of a Los Angles type sub using a RBI and a 9.9 Johnson outboard. St. Croix, Feb. 1972. A whale has a flatter weather deck than yu all have. LOL>

fatrap

 

[cq]

We were in Greece, moored outboard a target, rough water and the Liberty craft moored to us because it was easier to cross over on round than tall sharp. The young salior stationed onboard the target, that was strapped in a wire strecher, was a different story. Too much Ouzo, don't take a drug test after drinking local.

Sent him up feet first after he tried to bite me. :lol:

 

[Edward Lea.]

Ahh OUZO... I carried many a young'un back to the carrier in a stretcher.... The first timers don't believe what they are warned... must learn the hard way. I was lucky I had SP the first night in some little spit of a town of the Italian coast. After carrying the passed out or convulsing boys back to the boat all night I never had the desire to drink the real OUZO.



Merry XMAS all swabbies and you other military brethren also.

 

[cq]

Merry Christmas to All

 

[Greg J.]

Spent two yrs aboard ARDM-2 docking boomers, and the crew of one boat had tee-shirts that said "Hi Target" on the front, and "Bye Target" on the back, with a surface ship in the cross-hairs. Not a good thing to wear when we controlled all of the valves to the ship services hoses going to the boat . One time we talked a couple of guys off the boat to secure some of the aft hurricane gripes for the side blocks. We didn't have dosimeters to get close to the boat All in good fun.

 

[Dewey Storie]

dosimeters ? there is a word I haven't heard in years .... Waterwings still the DC

 

[Greg J.]

Old habits, lol. Occasionally, I find myself glancing at the inspection tags of the fire extinguishers at stores. I'm just :wacko: I guess, lol.

 

[fatrap]

cqbaker



To finish my submariner story. I had shore patrol and was called to the USO building in Fredickstad, St. Croix. This poor kid had qualified as a submariner and apparently you all have some right of passage where the put a shot of everything behind the bar into a large mug and the poor chap gets his newly won dolphins dropped into the mug. The object of the game is to drink the mug dry and then claim the dolphin pin. I don't know if walking to the hatch was optional or a requirement.

Anyway this kid's mates had hauled him to the USO building for later retrieval. The USO folks wanted what was passed out on the deck out of their place , so I was tasked with getting him aboard his rubber coated sinking sewer pipe.

Got him home and the OOD acted as if this was a normal thing. Sure wish I could remember the name of the boat.

Ah the memories.

fatrap

 

[TIM MARKING]

Very nice!!!Been 3years since I retired.

BMC(SW) Retired

 

[cq]

:lol: