Page:My 1102 days of wwii.djvu/26

 After being there three or four months supervising men in handling cargo, my trade rating was changed from Machinist to Boatswain Mate. Shortly thereafter I was promoted to Chief Boatswain Mate.

Before the marines left the new M16 GarrandGarand [sic] rifle supposedly the latest and best had been issued to them. Pop Rice would have given his right arm for one of them to take back to New Hampshire to hunt deer. But, of course, no one could get one legally, and those that did, had to turn them in before starting home. Each company or outfit had a gun-smith and spare parts to keep their guns in good shape, and they would all help you if you needed a part. So Rice started out one day to visit the gun-smiths. At the first place he told them he needed a barrel, at another, a gun stock, at another a magazine and at another a firing mechanism.He continutedcontinued [sic] until he had a complete gun. And as far as I know, he still has one of the GarrandGarand [sic] Rifles without the government having any record of it.

After things quieted down somewhat, the Army transported us by ducks to and from the ships in the harbor. On one accasionoccasion [sic] at the end of our shift at midnight, a driver picked up our gang of 20 men from the ship. As there were