Maritime Monday - Navy Log Pictures Pt. 5

My grandfather was first enlisted from 1927-1931.  He sailed aboard the USS Sloat, which was decomissioned during this period, and then moved to USS Upshur.  I've mentioned both of those ships before. 


But my grandfather also served during World War 2, aboard the USS Brooklyn.  He actually re-enlisted in October of 1939, prior to the US entry into the war, due to economic conditions in South Dakota at the time.  The Depression was in full swing, and farming wasn't going very well, so he enlisted for training as a diesel mechanic, what would now be called a Machinists Mate, unless they've changed the rating names again. 

USS Brooklyn (CL-40) circa 1939

This photograph was in Estel's logbook, but not mounted to any page.  It was merely enclosed loose, between other pages.  It was the only such loose photo in the book.  It's also unusual in that it's rather poorly focused.  Most Navy stock ship photos like this are made from the best quality negatives as Public Relations material, and are usually very sharp and clear.

Estel's brother (Orville) Wayne Dillman also served aboard the USS Brooklyn for a while.  The Navy at the time had a policy that separated siblings, but it was not strictly enforced.  The loss during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal of the USS Juneau carrying all five sons of the Sullivan family lead to absolute enforcement of the policy from that point onward.

On a lighter note, here are a few more comics that were included in the logbook.  These are a little racier, something one might not expect from comics, but actually fairly common in those days. They're not explicit, just somewhat suggestive.  While on that subject, there are a few photos in the album from Estel's port visit in Samoa.  A number of these show topless native girls, which was apparently the norm among Samoan natives at the time.  I've not posted those, nor do I think I will, as current culture might even consider some of them to be indecent at least.  Grandma commented on those pictures at one point, saying the nudity didn't bother her, as that was the normal state of dress for those people.  Some friends and acquaintances who saw the pictures were somewhat shocked by them, apparently.  Apparently Grandma had a pretty open mind.

Maritime Monday – Post about anything to do with the sea: ancestors who were sailors, shipwrights, fishermen, or coastguards including images, records and links. Maritime Monday is an ongoing series created by Ros Haywood at the GenWestUK blog.   (Blurb shamelessly stolen from Thomas McEntee at Geneabloggers.)