Once we set sail from Newport Rhode Island we were off to Argentia (ar-JEN-cha) Newfoundland. Today it’s a Canadian commercial seaport situated in the town of Placentia. The name Argentia in Latin is translated to “Land of Silver”. It acquired its name because of the discovery of silver that was found in a cave on the eastern portion of the harbor. In 1940 this area was picked to become the location of a new United States Naval Base. At the time this area was controlled by the British. 50 U.S. destroyers would be given to Britain to aid them in their war effort with Germany. In return Britain gave the U.S. rights to the land it owned in the Western Hemisphere including the land in which the Argentia Naval Base sat upon. This site was selected because of its close proximity to Britain. Britain was more than willing to give up its imperialized land in this region for the extra Naval power it would need to defeat the juggernaut of Germany during the Second World War. This agreement was called The Destroyers for Bases Agreement which preceded the Lend-Lease Act of 1941. The base was decommissioned in 1994 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

              Heading into the North Atlantic the seas were extremely choppy up in the Davis Straights. Huge waves would continuously crash into either side of the destroyer. This went uninterrupted for hours. I’d watch men run to the edge, squeezing the railing as their stomachs violently contracted, and they hurled their lunch overboard. Some would sit in a chair, embracing a bucket very tightly as if hugging a long lost girlfriend they hadn’t seen in years, trying to refrain from regurgitating the meal they had consumed earlier that day. But usually to no avail.

            The ones that hadn’t gotten seasick had to get used to walking around while the entire floor moved about beneath their feet. We called this gaining your sea legs. Conditions on the destroyer were very cramped. This made the entire situation that much worse. It wasn’t like those big aircraft carriers that carry thousands of men. No, not at all. A destroyer is a small vessel, a couple hundred feet in length which had to house about 300 men at any given time.

            Eventually, after a few days of being tossed around like rag dolls we acquired our sea legs. Right about this time we began to make our way for the Port of Argentia in Newfoundland. We would be in port for a couple days. It was here I had gotten my first liberty to go ashore as a seamen recruit. I really hadn’t made any friends yet so I decided to go to the enlisted club hoping to meet some new pals. Enlisted men only, no officers were allowed entree.

            When I walked inside I immediately noticed that this was not just navy personnel but marines as well. The marines use the navy as a transport service so naturally marines regularly get mixed up with sailors. The first thing I learned at this club was that sailors and marines don’t get along very well.

            I scanned the room as I made my way up to the bar to grab a beer. I grabbed my beer and made my way back to a desolate table. No sooner did I sit down when a marine at the table adjacent mine stood up and blurted out “All tin-can sailors EAT SHIT!” At that, the next thing I saw was a chair in mid-air strike the marine. Someone yelled out duck. So I hit the ground and crawled under the table. Peeking out, I could see beer bottles being broken over heads and chairs being smashed into men’s backs, and pure chaos erupting.

            As the fight began to dwindle down I could see men laying on the floor unconscious, some holding their head as blood dripped down the side of their face. As it began breaking apart the shore patrol made their way in. This was the Navy’s police force. I had only been aboard ship for about 6 days at this point when I was told I would have to appear before a board of my superiors at a hearing called the captains mast. Which, if you know anything about the military it’s basically like being put on trial before a judge.

The next morning when I entered the room that the captain’s mast was being held in, I could see many of my peers sitting in the booths all beat to hell. Some had bandages wrapped around there head, others black eyes, some in slings, and all sorts of different injuries. I was asked if I had taken part in the feud. I responded that I hadn’t, and didn’t receive any sort of punishment. I thought to myself, is this what the navy is all about? Boy, 4 more years of this and I’ll sure be battle hardened. This was my introduction into the U.S. navy.