(10 Dec. 87) Ships from throughout the world enter Gea Pass into Kwajalein Lagoon and dock at Echo Pier to deliver supplies or have a little R& R enroute to other destinations throughout the world. However, since this is a military base, the wild times are more like the mild times. But the crews don’t mind. They always leave impressed by the beauty of Kwaj.
In October a U.S. Navy minesweeper and an oiler spent a few days unwinding before heading on a mission to the Persian Gulf. A fourth of the crew on the oiler consisted of young women. Everyone knows that fraternizing occurs on ships so once the sun departed and the gentle breezes worked their magic, it wasn’t surprising to find a contingent of sailors all along the beach – fraternizing vigorously. Click on image to enlarge.
Sailors from the Thai Navy stopped by in November. They were taking a shakedown cruise on the corvette Suko Thai, a modern missile firing warship. I was able to practice my Thai with a couple of the crew. The Thais, like the Indonesians, who dropped by early in my first year, were polite and quiet. No one got loud or
fighting drunk. They shopped for gifts at Macy’s, played goodwill matches in soccer and volleyball against the Americans, then put on a display of Thai kick boxing for the workers. The Asians clearly showed the most self-discipline of any crew I have seen during my time here.
Indonesian cadets training on a large sailing ship made a stop here for a visit and more international competition and you barely knew they were here. Most Asians are short and lightly built, a product of their diet, which is generally based on rice, with a few vegetables, seafood, small servings of prawn, chicken and other small critters that we would never eat. Beef and pork are too expensive. Those who change to a western diet, especially an American diet, grow taller and have more muscles. The Dallas Cowboys had a linebacker just a few years ago who is Vietnamese and he got quality playing time. But without self control, Asians too, will be letting out their belt after a lifetime of Big Macs.
Bringing up the rear in the area of self-discipline are the members of the U.S. Coast Guard. Something always happens when they drop in. They especially like to socialize with the local female dependents.
One night a patrol found some nude sailors on a floating dock in the company of some equally nude thirteen-year-old girls. The three Lolitas were escorted home to their parents but the next day they were on the ship visiting their new playmates.
We once had a French research ship from New Caledonia put in for a week. The research workers were French and the ship’s crew were islanders from New Caldonia.
The French are brought up on wine from childhood. I believe their olympic team is the only one allowed to have wine on the training table. Naturally, I thought that these Frenchmen could hold their alcohol but I was wrong, at least with this crew.
Their bodies became saturated with adult beverages within hours after landing. I watched them return to their ship from the Yuk Club. The men were in classic form, meandering from one side of 6th Street to the other, eventually homing in on the entrance to the pier. One man passed out on a lawn about a hundred yards short of his target. A couple of his buddies carried him the rest of the way.
A few minutes later two men came running up to the checkpoint from the pier. I couldn’t understand their French and they couldn’t understand my English. Through sign language I concluded that one of their shipmates had fallen in the water. One of the men looked in a phrase book and said “ambulance” and pointed to my phone.
The ambulance driver told me later that the unlucky Frenchman had missed the gangplank, broke his jaw on the side of the ship and fell into the lagoon. Members of the crew dived in and pulled him onto the pier.
I had the captain of the ship come down to the checkpoint and give me the vital stats on the injured crew member. The captain, a portly man with a two-day stubble on his face, gave me the information. Then, in a great deal of distress himself, he staggered back to the ship.
Once a month the barge from Honolulu arrives, bringing supplies for Kwaj. This includes merchandise for Macy’s and Macy’s West plus food for the PDR, Ten-Ten store, the snack bar and Surfway.
Surfway is an American-style grocery store complete with everything a person can find on the mainland. The prices are as cheap as any in the states, thanks to Uncle Sam. Three Palms, the island bakery, provides fresh bread and pastries to the grocery.
Anytime the barge is more than a couple of weeks late, the residents of Kwaj, myself included, begin to get a little edgy. This is our lifeline.
Filed under: Almost Paradise Volume 2
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