Frozen Squid a la Tigrone
by Charles Corbin, USS Tigrone AGSS-419As a newly arrived "striker" on USS TIGRONE (AGSS) 419, I was, of course, a prime candidate for MESS CRANK. The cook always left right after the evening meal was cooked, and always before it was served. (I think flogging was still legal in the navy, and he wasn't taking any chances).
One late night in port in New London, I had finished doing the dishes and scrubbed the mess decks until they were spotless. We had very few people in the duty section, so I didn't see anyone while I was cleaning. The last thing I had to do before I could leave was to make the breakouts for the next day.
The reefer was a hatch in the deck and the freezer was adjacent to the reefer. The case of frozen meat I needed for the next day was clear in the back of the freezer and on the bottom of the stack.
I was on my stomach and throwing boxes of meat behind me to get to that one box. I fell down head first in the hole I had made, and I couldn't get out. I yelled for almost an hour, all the while, freezing to death. The belowdecks watch finally heard me and pulled me out. Through 22 years on submarines, and countless near catastrophes, that was the only time I was really scared.
I now buy meat in very small packages.
If you have any comments for the author, he can be reached at wccc911@yahoo.com
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