Home at last. Over 15,000 US soldiers crammed on the deck of the RMS Queen Elizabeth as it enters New York Harbor, August 24, 1945. [744 x 930]
by Xdestroyed
Home at last. Over 15,000 US soldiers crammed on the deck of the RMS Queen Elizabeth as it enters New York Harbor, August 24, 1945. [744 x 930]
by Xdestroyed
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This photo was taken during Operation Magic Carpet, the massive logistics operation to bring millions of US service members home after WWIl ended.
The RMS Queen Elizabeth was originally a luxury ocean liner built for around 2,200 passengers, but during the war, it was converted into a troopship that could hold over 15,000 soldiers at a time. The sheer density of people on that deck is just mind-blowing. They were all scrambling to get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.”
I just think of the poor chefs and their cooking equipment trying to make enough food to get everyone 3 meals a day.
My Dad was on one of these ships returning from Europe. The lower decks had been converted into huge dormitories, and for latrine facilities they had mounted a long trough running along the hull from bow to stern below the water line. Water came in through an intake in the bow as the ship moved forward and moved in a continuous flow along the trough and out the stern. For sitting down there were hinged plywood seats mounted above the trough.
One day my dad was officer of the day, and as he started making his rounds at the front of the ship there was a crusty old sergeant sitting on the trough smoking a cigar and reading a newspaper. He said, “Hey Lieutenant, wanna see something funny?”
“Uh, sure,” said my Dad.
The sergeant wadded up a section of newspaper into a ball, lit it on fire with his lighter, then floated in on the water. As the burning ball floated downstream the could watch soldier after soldier yelp and jump off the trough.