Lee Coffman
USS Helena CA-75
Whaleboat Racing
Whale boat crew salute
On Thursday the company was introduced to rowing whaleboats, these boats commonly used in the Navy for many years before power boats came along were made of wood painted Navy gray. They were 20 feet in length 6 feet wide and they weighed 1000 pounds! It took 12 oarsmen to propel the boat with one coxswain in command. The Chief instructed us on the technique of rowing and steering the boat and then divided the company into crews. Our crew had Hebertson as our coxswain and he did a good job because he had experience rowing on a crew in college. The trick of rowing was to get all the crew rowing at the same time in rhythm to be most effective in propelling the boat. It took a lot of practice but most of us did okay after two hours practicing up and down the five-mile channel that ran on the east edge of NTC.
When the company was finished with practice the Chief said, "Every Saturday whaleboat races are held between competing companies and it is a great honor with special privileges given to the winning crews. Are any of you men interested in forming a whaleboat crew to compete in the races?" Hebertson held up his hand and so did I and nine other men. The Chief said, "That is eleven men, we need two more to form a crew, you men talk it over and come up with two more men and we will have a crew.'
The Chief took us eleven men aside and told us, "I mentioned special privileges for the whaleboat crew. The crew will not have to stand watches, after the whaleboat races every Saturday you will be given liberty until 2400 Sunday. You will practice two afternoons a week. Men, this whaleboat championship is very important because it bestows a special pride on our company and a winning whaleboat crew gets to carry the Battalion flag and that means our company is first in the chow line and in battalion formations. Practice hard and let us win the Battalion flag!" We all shouted," Aye, aye sir!" Moreover, of course having a winning whaleboat crew would put a feather in Chief Graham's cap too, that is why he was pushing it so hard.
On Friday, the company had fire-fighting class. In the morning were instructions on different types of fires that might be found on a ship combustibles (wood and paper), chemical (gasoline, diesel fuel), munitions and electrical, there are different techniques used on each type of fire. Water is used on combustibles in stream of mist, foam is used on chemical fires, and foam is used on munitions, CO2 is used on electrical fires. In the afternoon, we had practice on extinguishing each type of fire with the 'grand finale" being a huge 20-foot in diameter tank of diesel fuel set ablaze and crews of men putting out the fire using a high-pressure hose that squirted out foam. We were all dirty and sweaty after our full day of fire fighting and we marched back to the barracks to clean up before evening chow. During the meal, some of us on the whaleboat crew talked to some of the other guys about joining the crew. I told Monson and Bills about the special privileges that we had and they both decided to join the crew.
Fire fighting drill
That evening the crew got together and discussed our up-coming whaleboat races. Hebertson was the coxswain and directed us in techniques and terminology. We were all excited about our crew and the possibility of winning the Battalion flag. Our crew had the following men: Hebertson (coxswain), Flanner, Ridgeway, Appleyard, Bellinger, Banglos, Hansen, Monson, Berg, Bills, Conrad, Coffman and Parrott. Hebertson asked the Chief if the crew could practice every Monday and Thursday afternoon and we would start practicing next Monday.
Saturday we had liberty again, Chuck and I went to town and had an enjoyable time, and of course, we took in a show at the Burlesque Theater. Many of the guys did not go on liberty because it was the fourth Saturday since payday and they had run through their money. They envied Chuck and me and we told them, "See, if you guys would stay away from the booze you might have some money left." Chuck and I both had about half of our pay left because we did not waste it on drinking or buying junk. This time we made sure that we got back to the base by 2330 in order to avoid another run-in with that same jerk CPO at the gate.
The following Monday afternoon the whaleboat crew marched to the docks by the north end of the channel, across the channel to the east was the Marine Corps Training base and sometimes the Marines and us sailors would get into a shouting match and hurl insults at each other. They would call us swab jockeys and worse names and we would call them jarheads or gyrenes, but it never amounted to much, just inter service rivalry. Hebertson instructed us in handling and maneuvering the heavy boats. Once we practiced, it became easier to make good headway, Hebertson sat at the stern facing forward and all the oarsmen faced aft and pulled the oars in unison to gain maximum power. Hebertson set the cadence and rhythm calling repeatedly, "Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke, etc." It was strenuous work and I could feel my back, shoulders and arms burning with the effort but it felt good and exhilarating.
Stroke, stroke, stroke----
We were all young, strong husky men and we got more enthusiastic when we realized that we were becoming expert in handling the craft. There was another whaleboat crew practicing on the channel and we challenged them to an impromptu race. We lined our boats up at the north end of the channel facing south, we asked a sailor on shore to give the start signal and soon he shouted,"Start!" We had our oars in the water for the initial pull at the oars and then Hebertson yelled, "Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke. etc." All of us were excited but dedicated to following the rhythm of the cadence and soon we pulled ahead of the other boat and at the finish line three miles away we were about 1/4 mile ahead. We were ecstatic and shouted with glee, it was a high triumphant feeling to have won our first race! After the race we secured the boat and marched to the mess hall for evening chow, we were in high spirits with smiles on our faces and enthusiastic chatter about our feat. That evening all of us ate heartily because we had worked up a big appetite, we all had sore arms, shoulders, backs, and were tired out but it was a good tired feeling, a feeling of accomplishment.
Whaleboat race
Thursday was Thanksgiving but we could not go on liberty until Saturday November 30. As the Chief had promised, the whaleboat crew had liberty after our first whaleboat race on Saturday morning until 2400 Sunday and we were all looking forward to that. The mess hall served a great Thanksgiving meal for noon chow and we all enjoyed it and had the afternoon duty free to relax. We in the whaleboat crew were ready for a big meal because we practiced for three hours in the morning preparing for our big race Saturday. Chuck had a cousin George and his wife Joyce that lived in San Diego, Chuck contacted them, and they invited Chuck and me to come to their home for Thanksgiving dinner Saturday afternoon. The Chief was off base until Monday so the company had an easy time Thursday through Sunday. On Friday the whaleboat crew was all keyed up and excited to be in our first race, we were in very good condition and confident that we would win.
On Saturday morning, the company marched to the boat docks on the channel, when we arrived at 0900 there was three other crews there from other companies waiting for the start of the three-mile race. A Lieutenant was in charge of the race and he ordered the crews to man their boats, the rest of the men lined the channel to watch the race and cheer us on. The crews positioned their boats at the north end of the channel at the starting post on shore; the Lieutenant said he would fire a starting pistol to start the race. We positioned our oars just above the water ready for the first power stroke to get us under way.
The gun sounded, we dipped our oars and pulled hard with all of our strength, Hebertson was shouting, "Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke." at a faster and faster cadence. At first, all four boats were neck and neck but gradually our boat and one other boat pulled away from the others, about halfway through the race we started to pull into the lead. During the entire race Hebertson was shouting," Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke." faster and faster and it seemed as though my arms would come out of their sockets and my back and arms were throbbing from the strain, as I am sure all of us were. The other boat kept up with us until the last 50 yards and then our boat was in the lead and stayed ahead. The men on shore had been running along the racecourse cheering the crews. When our boat crossed the finish line, our company let out whoops and yells of victory shouting, "826,826,826,826. Yahoo we won! Yahoo we won!" The crew was ecstatic slapping each other on the back and lifting our oars in a victory salute, I was tired out and my arms and back ached and throbbed but what a glorious feeling! We won our very first race we are the champions!
When we rowed up to the dock our company and the other companies were there waiting and every men clapped and shouted congratulations to us. Then the lieutenant brought us to attention and said a few words, "Men I congratulate all of you for a great performance, this shows you what teamwork can accomplish and that is what the Navy is all about, teamwork. I present the Battalion flag to company 826. Congratulations company 826, well done men!" With that said, we marched back to our barracks proudly displaying the battalion flag and the rest of the company congratulated the crew all the way there.
Whaleboat crews ready for the start
We got back to the barracks, showered and the men that still had money left got ready to go on liberty. Chuck and I still had some money left so we were two of the lucky ones. Chuck asked me, "Are you ready to go on the beach'? I said, "I sure am, I am tired and sore but I would go on liberty even if I had a broken leg." We caught the bus and headed through downtown and north to a hilly section of the city. At 1300 we arrived at George and Joyce's house that was right by the bus stop. Their house was a two-story older house well kept with a large front porch, nice lawn and flower bushes in front. George came to the front door and welcomed us inside, Joyce was busy in the kitchen but she came out and said hello.
We sat down and visited with George, he asked many questions about our boot camp experience and Chuck and I had plenty to tell him. George asked if we would care for a drink and we said, "Sure, why not?" George fixed us highballs and we proceeded with our conversation. I had never drunk whiskey in my life and the drinks were strong, by the time dinner was ready we had three drinks each and I was feeling tipsy. The Thanksgiving dinner that Joyce prepared was wonderful with all the trimmings, wine and pumpkin pie for dessert. After dinner we had several more drinks and by this time I was feeling drunk and so was Chuck.
We had an enjoyable visit and now it was getting late so Chuck and I said our farewells and words of appreciation and walked to the bus stop. Chuck and I were feeling and acting very silly and anyone could tell that we were drunk. All of a sudden Chuck just took off running down the hill laughing and yelling," I don't need any crumby bus I'll run back to the base." I took off running after him and I caught up to him about a half block down the hill, stopped him and I said to him," Come on old friend, you had better quiet down. The neighbors might call the cops and throw us in jail." Chuck started laughing and said, "Aw who cares they can't catch me" and he started running and again I had to stop him. I finally managed to get him back to the bus stop and we boarded the next bus. The bus reached downtown and we decided to get off and get a cup of coffee at a diner to sober up a little before going back to the base. After we got off the bus, I felt queasy, I had to duck into an alley to throw up, and after that, I felt a little better and more clear-headed. We had a couple cups of coffee and then went back to the base and got there early at 2200. The next morning I felt terrible with a hangover and the effects of the drunk were with me for two days and I swore that hard liquor was not for me!
Most of the time the men in the company got along very well, there was a feeling of unity and pride in our company. Occasionally there was a fistfight over differences but no one was seriously injured. As a group of young men, there was a lot of horseplay such as towel fights in the shower room, arm wrestling and playing keep away with someone's letter, hat or magazine but it was all in fun. Some of the pranks we pulled I will describe, one prank was to "thread' a man's bunk, our bunks had wire supports suspended by small springs all around the support attached to the bunk frame. When a man was not around some of the guys would unhook the small springs and use thread to attach the bunk support to the bunk frame. When the victim went to get into his bunk, he would crash to the floor. The victim was irate and sometimes this did lead to a fight.
Another prank was called the "water treatment", when a guy was asleep some of the men would get a cup of water and put one of the victim's fingers in the water. Sure enough, the victim would urinate in his sleep! Again, this caused anger and retaliation from the guy being victimized. One more prank was called the "blue flame". When the company had beans for a meal, which was often in the Navy, a guy would lie on his stomach on his bunk in his shorts and when he was ready to fart he would give a signal and another guy would hold a lighted match just above his rear end. A purplish blue flame would shoot into the air some times a foot long! We laid bets as to who could produce the longest and most spectacular flames. The shower rooms were large and 20 men could shower at the same time, there was an adage often repeated, "If you drop your soap while showering, don't ever bend over to pick it up with all the horny sailors in there!" All these are childish pranks but it was a diversion and got a lot of laughs out of the men.
One of the peculiarities about NTC was the noise from low flying airplanes. North Island Naval Air Station was a short distance away to the southeast, planes were constantly taking off from there, and the flight path was right over NTC. In 1952, there were not too many jet aircraft yet, most of the planes were propeller driven, and they would fly very low over our barracks when taking off. After a while, this did not bother us when we became used to it but there was one type of plane that really got our attention, which was the B-36 six-engine bomber. The B-36 was a huge plane with six powerful pusher prop engines, and when it flew over the ground and buildings actually shook! However, I loved to see them fly over they were magnificent to watch with their graceful sleek shiny wings and fuselages, they were a remarkable sight.
Boeing B-36 Peace keeper
One of the men in our company, Robert Flanner, was from Los Angeles the same as me. He was on the whaleboat crew and we got to talking, he said he was going to LA next weekend to see his family and girlfriend and drive his car back to San Diego and he wanted to know if I wanted to go along. I asked him how he planned to get to LA and he said he would hitchhike. This was against the rules because we were restricted to the San Diego city limits and 120 miles was a long way to hitchhike, but he said he was going to do it anyway. I thought about it for a couple of days, I really missed my family and Mary Ann, I had corresponded with them but it was not the same as seeing them and then on Friday I said I would go with him. I called Mom and Mary Ann and told them I would be up to see them on Saturday and they were very happy to here from me. I asked Chuck if he wanted to go with us but he said that he had arranged to go to his cousin's house again, he said he would go with me the next time I went to LA.
The crew won the whaleboat race again on Saturday morning December 6, 1952, this time we pulled into the lead from the start and no other boat threatened to overtake us all the way to the finish line. The crew was getting stronger all the time with practice twice a week, I could feel my back, arms and shoulders developing hard solid muscle and all of us on the crew were in great physical shape. Winning the second race was a thrill but nothing like the first win, we were the champions and it was expected that we would win. After the race the company marched back to the barracks and got ready to go on liberty, the company was paid on Monday December 1 and everyone was itching to hit the beach with a pocket full of money. Flanner and I took the bus to the Pacific Coast highway and started to hitch a ride going north, the San Diego freeway did not exist then and would not be built until the 1960s; California Highway One, the Pacific Coast highway, was the main north south route.
We did not have to wait long before a car stopped to pick us up, in those days hitch hiking was more prevalent and people gladly gave rides to service men as a patriotic courtesy. A couple picked us up in a brand new 1952 Pontiac convertible, they were in their 30s and were friendly and conversational, they asked us many questions about the Navy and the miles passed by quickly.