Christmas Eve 1945 and a Mutiny.

In December of 1945 I rode a troopship from Seoul, Korea to Tacoma, Washington. I will never forget the mass mutiny that took place shortly after we docked. A mutiny that I was part of. This picture gives you an idea of what the deck of the troopship looked like.

There were 5 to 6000 troops on the ship. Downtown Tacoma was a few miles away. Buses were lined up on the dock to carry troops downtown. These troops had been overseas several years. This was their first chance in a long time to be in an American city. They were ready to go downtown. Rumors were flying as to how troops would be allowed off the ship. There were to be passes (in the military you are never permitted to leave any military site without a pass). Time went by and the authorities did not announce any decision. I was in the middle of this mass of soldiers when they slowly started to go down the gangplank (without permission). Officers and non-coms yelled halt, stop, and so on. But nothing could stop that mass of men who were going downtown. I was amazed but moved with them. Down the gangplank, across the asphalt dock, and into the busses or cabs or on foot we went. It was not as dramatic as the Mutiny on the Bounty, but it was a mutiny. A mutiny where the prize was a trip to Tacoma.

I recall going to a restaurant and ordered a large tossed green salad and a big steak. One thing that I really missed while over seas was fresh lettuce!

In a few days we were put up at Fort Lewis in Tacoma. A fancy older Fort. It had a fancy Special Services Building which is now a Military Museum. Fifty years or so later Jackie and I were staying in an RV park nearby and I visited the building. What memories. It is quite a museum. It visible from Interstate 5.

I spent some of Christmas Eve 1945 in this building. On Christmas we had a wonderful Christmas Dinner in the Fort Lewis dinning hall served by German POWs. Their accents made you think of Santa Claus. I will always remember the Christmas of 1945. 68 years ago.

The detour to Fort Lewis on the way home to Jackie in California cost me several hundred dollars for phone calls!