After another dreary flight, i was taken in a military vehicle to the USNS Geiger (T-AP 197) berthed at the quay wall berth at Akasakicho, which was located the west-south-west of the US Naval Base proper. Thus began a year like no other in my life. There are enough stories, wild and crazy enough to fill an entire book by themselves. It also would be somewhat of a confessional for me to write about some things of which i am not particularly proud.

So, i will address that year separately except for describing where a great deal of that year’s frolics stook place and what i’ve written about the ship i rode during the first six months or so. The Geiger, the USNS Upshur (T-AP 198), and the USNS Barrret (T-AP 196), which was in the a long maintenance period back on the West Coast, were built as ocean cruise ships for American President Lines. Before they were completed, the Military Sea Transport Service bought them and converted them into troop and dependent transports operating between the USS and Europe and the Western Pacific. All of the existing spaces from the first deck and above remained in their cruise ship configuration for the dependents and officers. Most of the cargo holds were converted to troop compartments.

This LTJG, who had just spent 18 months sharing staterooms with one, two, or three other junior officers on the Hawkins officer quarters, most the size of a large closet, was in high cotton. My temporary quarters were luxurious compared to the just adequate BOQ quarters i had during my transit, and the XO stateroom, which i would occupy for a year, was beyond my imagination.

The “Town Club” was the Naval Officer’s Club, just not on the base. It was a sprawling complex with about six BOQ rooms upstairs. It was where the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto planned the attack on Pearl Harbor — and that’s a writer’s delight in irony. It had a huge swimming pool in front to the side of the main entrance.

Immediately to the right was the “Chocin” room, an elegant dining room with a teak lattice ceiling, a large bar to the left of the entrance, and booths for dining along the walls. The waitresses all wore kimonos. Their hair and makeup gave them the appearance of geishas.

Further down the long hall on the left was the “game room,” simply a rook chock-full of slot machines. Across the hall was the stag bar, one of my favorite places on earth. The floor was a darkly stained teak, above the well appointed bar was a painting depicting a Japanese woman lying on her back facing away from the artist. She was naked and the painting was tastefully erotic — i later found out the woman was the girlfriend of one of my commanding officers who had been CO of a mine sweep home ported in Sasebo. There was a juke box (of course) and a shuffleboard against the wall to the right.

Down the hall to the right was a huge dining room, complete with a stage. I think it sat about 300 and was the site of many USO shows. The food was exquisite, the service matched the food.

In the basement, was a Japanese restaurant that served sukiyaki (the enlisted club’s was better).

There was a short order diner downstairs as well, plus a hot tub, spa, and sauna.

It was the perfect place for a wild and crazy year.

My sea stories took a couple of years of rest. After the tour, i became a sports writer and eventually the sports editor of The Watertown (New York) Daily Times. When my salary situation made it difficult to support my wife — i married Kathie Lynch, the daughter of an Army artillery colonel upon conclusion of my tour as XO; i met her in Pusan, Korea — i applied to return to active duty. i was one of six line officers accepted. Our daughter Blythe was born July 7. We moved the two of them to their parents’ home in Paris, Texas, and i flew to Korfu, Greece to meet my new ship, the USS Stephen B. Luce (DLG 7).

The sea stories continue…