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Ken Grooms's NavyA story for the USS Yancey |
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U.S.S. YANCEY AKA-93
Ken Grooms's Navy
A story for the USS Yancey
Mare Island Tales:
The Breakfast Bus
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"The Breakfast Bus"
I believe it was November 1951 when the Yancey went in for repairs at Mare island shipyard located on San Francisco Bay. As many of you know that is a time when the ship is often on using shore facilities of water, lights and other essentials. Some of the crew is on leave and the galleys are closed. The crew was required to catch a base bus to eat at the base mess hall. I seem to remember that we had two buses that came by at different times so we had more than one chance to eat regular meals. One essential that was still available was that movies were still shown on No.4 hatch.
I was in the second division at the time. One of the sailors had just gotten back from eating the evening meal and was tired so he turned in early before the evening movie. Also bunking in the second division spaces was a prankster named Botello. After the movie, Botello came below and saw this sailor sleeping away and decided to wake him up. He hollered in his ear "Get up, the last breakfast bus is on the dock and about to leave". The startled sailor jumped out of his bunk, slipped into his shoes without lacing them and ran up the stairway out onto the deck to see only a nighttime of dark sky and stars. Botello had done it again.
At the end of the yard period, the Yancey was to go out to sea for a day of sea trials to see if all of the systems and equipment functioned as expected. Since the Yard period was sort of a relaxed time, they allowed a newspaper boy to come aboard and sell newspapers. Apparently, he had few restrictions where he could go. He made it a habit of going thru the sleeping compartments waking up sailors before reveille just trying to make a bit of change. To say he received a cheery welcome was an overstatement. On the day of sea trials, nobody told the newspaper boy that we were underway - so he went to sea - I am told.
It was said later that someone had to write a written excuse to his school. I don't know if this story is true, but it sure sounds like it could have happened.
The telling of these stories is getting harder to separate fact from fiction, so if any of you remember things different or can add to them I would like to hear from you.
Ken Groom (Yancey Historian)
Submitted 2/10/07
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