|
The tempo was fast-paced for the
teen-ager: high school graduation; enlistment that fall at
Chicago; six days traveling on a troop train from Fort
Sheridan, Illinois to Fort Bliss, Texas; Army basic
training; back to Illinois for home leave; and departure
from San Francisco for duty overseas ??“ all within a span of
78 days.
World War II had ended and replacements
were needed for the combat veterans who had returned to
civilian life ??“ thus the accelerated pace to get the mostly
teen-age soldiers in place for the Occupation of Japan.
The Admiral C. F. Hughes, an Army
troopship, was fully loaded with soldier-replacements as it
slipped out of San Francisco harbor on December 19th,
and headed straight for Yokohama, Japan.
Even the weather seemed in a hurry
during this holiday season of 1946, with an unusually
turbulent ocean. The voyage to Japan took 12 days,
encountering some of the severest weather to hit the Pacific
Ocean in this century. Most of the passengers and crew
suffered bouts of seasickness, including the ship??™s captain.
Nevertheless, Christmas was approaching
and the young troops were in good spirits, although most
were away from home for the first time. And, after many
years of turmoil in the world, there was a true feeling of
???peace on earth.???
As the troopship knifed its way through
rough waters on the high seas in the middle of the Pacific
Ocean, the troops bedded down for the night on Christmas
Eve. The soldiers looked forward to Christmas Day.
However, during the night while they slept, the Christmas
Grinch was at work; and when the soldiers awoke, it was the
day after Christmas. For the Grinch who stole Christmas Day
was the International Dateline ??“ where the
east side of the line is today and the west side is always
tomorrow.
Joe Soboul |
