Page:My 1102 days of wwii.djvu/14

 of the task was having to stay with this craft day and night except for the times I went to chow. It had no cover to get out of the weather and no sleeping quarters, so I used an army cot and my poncho for shelter. If the weather became totoo [sic] rough, I had to tie down the cot so it would not slide off into the water. Sharks fins were a common sight around most any day.

If I happen to be at anchor in the harbor at meal time one of the men from camp would come out to take me ashore. One evening during a bad thunderstorm my ride who was using a small boat came half way out into the bay - became frightened and returned to camp. His superior ordered him back to pick me up. I was thankful for the rescue, because I was being pitched every direction on that flat bottom barge.

The LCM had two 220 H.P. marine engines that made this craft very powerful and maneuverable. This power was required to pull it back off the beach. With a load you could throw the rudder first right and then left to "walk" the barge back off of the beach. You could reverse one of the screws and spin it around like a top.

The Fijians, by far, had the most delicious pineapple that I had ever tasted. They were huge and golden yellow. The natives lads would bring them to us for a mere 25 cents apiece.