Aboard the U.S.S. Slater

On Memorial Day Eve, we ventured in to Albany to tour the U.S.S. Slater, the last Destroyer Escort built in WWII that remains afloat in the U.S. A kind Naval Reserve retiree named Art gave us our tour. Carey was the only vet in our group and when he found out she served in the Air Force, there were lots of jokes about airmen living in hotels while seamen stuffed themselves into bunks below the water line. The kids were allowed to sit in one of the gunner positions and relax in the enlisted bunks. It was a stifling metal container with narrow walkways and narrower ladders leading above and below decks. Hard to imagine hundreds of teenagers calling it home for months, sometimes years at a time, as they hunted U-Boats and escorted Destroyers during their Atlantic and Pacific missions. In the height of the war, there were more than 560 of these boats in the U.S. fleet.

In the sonar room.

"Shit on a shingle," in honor of Grandpa Bob.

Just a sweet clock made out of iron and bolted to cover a porthole.

Art was a cook during his service. Four per boat, plus two overnight bakers. 12-hour shifts, overnight and during the day. No windows in the kitchen, just a couple fans and a heavy door that could be opened to step out on the deck. Many of the servicemen aboard boats like the Slater told their officers that it was the best food they ever ate, as a great majority of them were impoverished before being drafted and had never enjoyed three square meals a day.