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When I was on active duty
with the US Navy I was really slim. Waist size was 29 and I weighed
between 125 and 130. When the Whitehurst was in West-Pac in 1961 and 1962 I was
airing bunting one
day and discovered that I could squeeze into the flag bag rather easily. I also
discovered that with all
the flags hanging in the flag bag there was plenty of cushion on the bottom.
This made the flag bags a
great place to grab a nap, something every sailor looks for.
I usually took my nap just after noon chow in the Port flag bag because there
was less traffic on the
Port side of the O-1 deck and therefore quieter. One day, for reasons unknown I
decided to take my
afternoon nap in the Starboard flag bag. I had been asleep for about a half-hour
when voices woke me
up.
I recognized the voice of our Chief Master at Arms and he was ordering every one
off the weather
decks
and inside the skin of the ship. I thought this was rather strange, as it was a
beautiful afternoon. I
soon
discovered the reason; they were holding Captain’s Mast directly below the
Starboard flag bag.
Now a flag bag has
a large number of half-dollar size holes in the bottom for the purpose of
drainage
in
the event of inclement weather. For that reason I could hear everything that was
said during the
Captain’s
Mast quite plainly. The enlisted man for which the Mast was being held was
brought before the
Captain
and the charges were read. The sailor was from the engineering division and I
wouldn’t mention
his name
even if I could remember it.
The poor fellow was
being charged with masturbating in the shower and was caught by the Chief
Master
at Arms himself. I don’t know what Navy Regulations say about that sort of
thing these days but
in
1962 it
was a serious offense and you could lose your stripes if found guilty. The
Skipper, a most fair
man,
asked the
sailor if he had anything to say in his defense. The sailor replied; “It’s my
dick, I’ll wash it
as fast
as I want to.”
I had to hold both
hands over my mouth to keep from giving away my position, and I swear the
Skipper
let a snicker slip out. The Yeoman laughed out loud and the Chief Master
at Arms didn’t even
crack a smile.
The Captain gave the fellow a six months suspended bust; he was a third class
and
remained so. After the
Mast was over I crawled out of the flag bag and returned to my duties, every
once
in awhile I would burst out
laughing and everyone wondered if I had gone over the edge.
Timothy Dorgan (Seaman at the time)
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