Friday, August 8, 2014

'Chaplain's Call'


Here’s another great one from the ‘Preacher’ that happened many moons agoooo… I hope you enjoy!!!

You mates put your TL29’s and multimeters away and sit right down; Preacher has a story and this just plain ain’t no shit! We pulled into Subic but the day before, they ran us down to the messdecks in relays and one of them Protestant Chaplains showed us a VD movie!!!

Then they gave us the story about not giving our wives or girlfriends a disease or bringing shame upon ourselves… yadayadayada… you know the story! So… the word gets passed over the 1MC for ‘Liberty Call’ and I’m all tricked out in a shiny clean set of trop white longs and off I go across the bridge!! I had a fine ol’ time at one place and then another (hadn’t really found a fave yet) but in this one club I was suck’n on a barley pop and happened to glance off to my left!! Low and behold… who did I see with a honey-ko on one knee and a honey-ko on the other with a shit eat’n grin from ear to ear?!? You betcha… The same Chaplain that gave us that Pep talk earlier in the day!!!

Just then he met my gaze and I gave him a big ol’ slow wink, then turned away and headed off as if noth’n had happened!  The whole damned evening I was think’n about that instant and chuckl’n away to myself!! I knew no one would believe it so I kept my yap shut and never mentioned it!!!

Twe days later I went down to fresh’n up my mug and my squadron Chief came puff’n over at me…

“Hey Bradford… Chaplain wants to see you… on the double!”

To be honest… at the time I was afraid someone at home had answered to the ‘Last Muster’ and didn’t think of it any other way! So I hustled down to see what it was and it turned out the Chaplain who was look’n for me was the one I’d seen at the club!!

“Sit down son! I wanna talk to you!”

...Then he says…

“I’ve been hear’n great things about you… work hard, your shipmates like you… and you have good quarterlies! But do you know what your best quality is?!?”

... me puzzled…

“No Sir?!?”

“You keep your eyes open and your mouth shut! Your gonna make a swell senior PO one day!”

He gets up… gives me a big slow wink… (just as I had done to him) and slips something into my dungaree shirt pocket!

“Go on back to work, and have a good time on the beach, son!”

“Aye, Aye Sir!”

… And Off I Go…

Part way down the passageway I check my pocket and there’s a fifty!

“Hmmmm…

Okay Lads… remember what the Great Logbook says…

“By the fruits ye shall know them!”

Nice guy, that sky pilot! And I never spoke his name in a negative light!! Hey Shit Happens Right?!?


8 comments:

  1. I recall a lad in a club halfway down Magsaysay Drive buying a round for the whole bar and yelling "Chaplain's buying, boys." Wonder if that was Preacher? This would of been the summer of 1966.

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  2. That Might have been the Tri-V and it Might have been me. But I just honest don't remember. Asawako always says the nights you don't remember are usually the best. Preacher sends...

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  3. I remember when we were in Subic back in '80 one of the chaplains off the Midway had his wife down from Japan while in port. At 1000 one morning two of the local beauties approached him. He said, "Can't you see I have my wife with me." One of them replied, "That's OK, she can come too."

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  4. HaHa... Navy Life sure was a different animal back in those days!!!

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  5. Our chaplain on the Prairie (AD-15) sent his khaki's to the ships laundry and the guys were only too happy to show everyone what they found in his pockets. Enough condoms to last a WestPac cruise.

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  6. We took care of each other and kept our mouths shut. Ship, mission and what happened on the beach stayed on the beach. No shit....can you find that in the civilian world? Hell no! Any dweeb who thinks otherwise never really understood the word "shipmate". It's so damn sad people can't aspire to that in today's world.

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  7. Once had a young Machinist Mate striker who was a bible thumper from Iowa onboard. Kid never had a drink, smoked a cigar and certainly never enjoyed the company of a lady. He gets to Olongopo - he sinned - and when he sinned, He sinned big time! - on the beach every night still stinking drunk for quarters in the AM. Spent his whole paycheck on the finer things in life and all the girls in all the bars knew him (in the biblical sense!) - then once back out to sea he'd be reading the Good Book asking the Man upstairs for forgiveness - only to do it all again the next time we pulled into Subic Bay!

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  8. Pulled into P.I. 1983 my ex had sent divorce papers for me to sign about 3 months before. Well it was my B=Day while we to be in port so I took 8 days leave got me a Honey Coooo and headed to the mountain ...2 Days later the squadron was having a party and it was my B-Day....I woke up with 3 girls so after we had our fun and ate we headed to the island for the party. I got off the landing craft with 3 in tow and one of the guys from my shop starts singing....If you can't be with the one you love , Love the one's your with.....If the Maintenance Master Chief joined in ......

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