NIGHT OF THE HAND

One of the first things I learned when I reported aboard ship was that the ship was haunted, yes haunted...Seems a Chief had died during the Korean War and being out at sea they did not have any place to put his body...His family wanted his body home instead of the traditional burial at sea, so they had to put him into the ice cream freezer.

As a result, The chief haunted the ship cause it seems he had in his will to be buried at a sea if the time came, his wife wanted otherwise.

Anyway one night in November 1972 on our third tour of duty one of the Deck officers was down in the office in the number 5 hold doing his paper work...As he typed his report the lights flicked off...Now, lights on board a ship that was 25 years old were of the old toggle switch designed, meaning they had to be turned by hand to turn them off.

As he reached up to turn on the light, he felt the icy hand of death grab it and hold it tight...He wrenched his hand loose and literally flew up 5 decks to the main deck...He said he felt the icy hands clutching at his heels as he climbed the ladder.

When He got to the main deck he sat down on his butt, crossed himself and said a few prayers....He was the ships Chaplain.....and he never went back down to the hold again...They had to send some guys down to get his stuff and transfer his office above decks....There reports...One guy was as white as sheet and the other hands was shaking...

We had a special mass to say prayers for the chief or who ever it was down there....it didn't work...But more on that in another story,,,:p