A Shocking Experience

Apr 8, 2018, 8:00 PM

In the last episode, a few of us from the former 3125th. had arrived in Port-de-Bouc, France, to supervise the loading of ammo in Liberty ships for return to the United States. We knew nothing about a Port Company and it's operation but there we were. To make matters worse, someone mentioned the fact a ship loaded with ammo blew up in a Texas port. That comment did not create a happy feeling or provide a degree of comfort.

But there we were knowing we would not be going home within the next few weeks so we decided to make some changes in our living quarters. We were in an 8-man tent and decided to make four bunks which would provide more room. Across the back we made a rack to hang up our clothing and over that a shelf. Pollock and I had each assembled a radio from salvaged parts. The radios were not encased but on a metal chassis with exposed wires, so we had to be careful and not touch a hot wire. The two radios went on the shelf.

The power line ran from inside the school house to our tent and it needed an upgrade. Pollock and I drew the short straw so we were saddled with the task. I went inside the school building and threw the switch. We got involved in another task and it was a little while until we returned to our assigned task. I grabbed a pair of uninsulated pliers and, to save time, was going to cut both lines at the same time. When I did, I got a shock and could not get loose from the wires. I hollered to Pollock to get me free but all he did was laugh like a hyena. Finally, I got loose and asked him why he didn't help me. He thought I was just putting on an act but he turned as white as a sheet when he realized I wasn't playing a prank. Someone in the school house saw the switch was off and without checking, had closed it. Eventually, we made the necessary upgrades.

A few days later a small kitten showed up at our quarters and it was evident it could use some nourishment. Naturally, after having a few good meals the kitten was not going to leave so we added a four legged creature to our roster. That little kitten put up a good fight but we did manage to give it a bath and found some flea powder to eliminate any fleas that might be present. The next task was to provide sleeping quarters for the kitten. We found a large cardboard box, cut an opening for a door and found some old rags for bedding. Someone got a can of blue spray paint and the kitten now had a place to call home. But there was one more thing to do, we had to give the kitten's residence name. The only logical choice, "THE CAT HOUSE". One of the guys was pretty good at lettering so he applied the finishing touch.

We gave the kitten a name but I can't remember what it was. Almost every night when the lights were out and everyone was in their bunk, the kitten would jump on one of the bunks and purring like a well oiled sewing machine would crawl down in bed with one of the guys. Every night we had one of the radios tuned to a French station that played good music. The volume was turned down low and no one was disturbed by the radio. One night everyone was asleep when we were awakened by a loud scream. The kitten was on the shelf and had come in contact with one of the hot wires on the radio. To the best of our knowledge, the kitten never again went near one of the radios.

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A Shocking Experience

the ingenuity of

Re: A Shocking Experience

How you remember all of these stories blows my mind, Mr Joe.

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