The sailors' way of handling things
Posted by J.P. Green on April 21, 2023, 3:24 pm
Here’s a topic both for any veterans reading this, and also for any of you who have researched the Armed Guard or collected memories from those who served. The subject has come up as I’ve explained to my kids what their great-grandfather did as part of the Armed Guard. Some of those Liberty Ships would carry large amounts of fuel as cargo, sometimes even their only cargo [?] that trip if I understand things. Now, if you are the crew on that voyage, are you sailing with an even higher-than-normal tenseness and anxiety, knowing you are moving a giant bomb at 8 knots? Or would you have an odd, almost mysterious sort of calm, knowing also that if a German sub nails you, you probably won’t feel a thing? We all process things in our own way, but I can’t help but wonder if there was a common way to spiritually deal with that dangerous duty. I’d love to learn what any of you know.
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