Subic Bay Incident

      Of the year I spent in Asia, while in the Marines, about six months of it were spent at sea. Much of that time was aboard the Princeton, the aircraft carrier, which I referenced in my blog yesterday. While aboard that ship in the spring of 1962 we were anchored in Subic Bay, Philippine Islands for some time.
      Announcements aboard navy ships are piped through a sound system throughout the ship. The actual announcement is always preceded by shrill piping from the bosun's whistle. For example; "Tweet,  tweet...Clean sweep down fore and aft." Marines would often make jest; e.g., "Tweet tweet...the captain's going to the head (toilet)."
      It was a beautiful tropical Sunday. Subic Bay was so quiet only a few mild swells rocked the ship The quiet calm was broken by the bosun's whistle: "Tweet tweet...Lower the captain's jig. The captain's going ashore." Having nothing better to do I stood on the walkway just below the overhanging flight deck to watch. The captain's jig, a motorized boat, was swung out away from it's hangers below the flight deck and was being lowered to the water when one of the sailors slipped and fell into the bay. In the perfectly calm waters, with a motionless ship and wearing a life jacket, I erroneously thought "he's in no danger."
      With a man overboard the bosum's whistle wailed again "Shriek shriek...man overboard, man overboard, lower the motor whaleboat, lower the motor whaleboat." The coxswain leaped into the motor whaleboat, fired up the diesel engine preparing to rescue the sailor in the water. With the motor whaleboat's propeller spinning it was dropped directly on top of the sailor. The effect was quickly apparent from the blood in the water from the injured sailor. He was soon picked up and taken to the ship's hospital. Nothing was ever revealed of his condition.
    Were I to go overboard in those conditions, I decided, I'd swim a good distance from the ship before calling for help. On the other hand, a man overboard at sea is seldom found. By the time a ship can turn it could be as far as a mile from where the sailor entered the water.. Finding a person, even floating with a life jacket, is almost impossible.
    Writing the post yesterday re: literacy and life brought this memory to mind.

Takk for alt,

Al