| James W. Taylor's WWII Experiences |
| Donor | Original Source | PIMA ID | Donor ID | Category |
| Richard P. Ellinger | James W. Taylor | NA | RPE-44027 | OCR-DA-P |
| Finally, we were notified that we were to ship out. Rumors flew in every direction---we were going on the Queen Mary---we woutd go on a liberty ship---we were scheduled to go on the Ille de France. We would not find out until we arrived at the pier and saw the name --the Queen Mary. That sounded like a luxury passage. We carried our gear up the gang plank and were assigned to quarters, I was assigned to a room at about water line. There was a port hole but it couldn't be opened, and it was also coated so as to conform with blackout specifications. The room before the war would have been for 1 or at most 2 passengers. I believe there were 6 in the room, double high bunks. In our suite, we also had a sink, a toilet and a shower that used salt water. We stowed our gear neatly upon the ledges and decided to go up topside to see what else was on our cruise ship. On deck it was a typical New York City winter day. It was gray and overcast. The wind was cold.
The ship was pulled away from the dock at about dusk. I was up topside looking at the N.Y. skyline shrouded in fog and mist. We passed the Statue of Liberty and it was snowing---not a gentle falling snow but one influenced by the wind, blowing the snow at an acute angle. It wasn't long before we could no longer see the city. It was dark and we returned to our room,. The ship rocked from side to side. We wondered what angle the ship would have to reach before it could not right its self. With nothing else to do, we retired for the night. Well into the night, all of our gear, shaving kits, barracks bags, B-4 bags etc. slid across the room, then slid back the other way. We discovered that we needed to secure all items and tie them down. We could hear the water sloshing along the side of the ship and we wondered, what if a torpedo hit us, how would we get out? Would it be better to be at water level or up on deck. we didn't solve the problem. The next morning after being roused and attending to daily functions, we headed for the mess hall. I shall not refer to it as a dining room. Within a short distance from our room, We started to see the results of last nights rocking and rolling ship.Soldiers were laying on the stairways, sicker than a dog. Vomit was all over and the stench was awful. That was not a good trip to the dining room..The tables were long with benches on each side. Around the edge of the table was a metal rim about an Inch high. I thought it strange until the ship started to ~yaw~ or whatever the nautical term might be for a ships roll from left to right and vice versa. Without that metal retaining WW-27-29 P.27 |
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