Charlie
couldn't make any money if he stopped so we grabbed something to eat
from a street vender and kept on moving. I don't know what it was
but it was on a stick and went down with a coke, and very cheap.
Soon I was greeting all his customers like I'm going to be doing
this for the rest of my life. When I'm into something, I'm all in.My new plan was to ride with Charlie until about 1700 hrs when I had to be at the dock to get the last liberty boat back to the ship. Well the afternoon passed very quickly and it was nearing the time to call an end to all this fun when Charlie asked me if I wanted to meet his old girlfriend. I thought why not, a short greet and grin then back to the Yorktown. What could go wrong with that?
We drove way out of the city and up in the hill country until we came to a little shack on the side of the road. Charlie honked, went to the front door and spoke to someone I couldn't see. A few minutes later this dynamite girl walks outside and up to the jeepney.
Our
eyes met and that's all she wrote. I instantly went from a case
harden salty sailor to Pepe LePew. We made big eyes at each other
and little hearts filled the air. She jumped in the middle between
us and off we went, speeding down the mountain. I left my plan back
at her place.
The
three of us teenagers cruised the city streets and it's dark now,
with all the colorful lights and sounds of a Filpino city in the mid
60s. She didn't speak any English but I understood every word she
said. Charlie wanted to call it a day and go home to his wife and
dinner but he had to do something with us. He stopped in the middle
of a busy street and talked to a traffic cop directing cars. Charlie
said that was his friend who has a cousin who works in a number one
hotel. I got the drift but I'm worried cause I've only got about ten
bucks to my name. He grinned and said "no worry". I'm on a runaway
train anyway so why not.
We pulled into an ally along side a new hotel and parked. Charlie
went to a back door and spoke to the guy who answered his knock.
Charlie waved to us to follow him inside. We were led up stairs
about four floors and shown a very nice room. The guy said that's
twenty bucks. I said I can't do that so he showed us another room
for ten bucks. It looked the same to me and I took it. Charlie said
he'll be back in the morning about 0600. In the interest of brevity
and good taste I'll fast forward to 0600 hrs.
A knock on the door woke me up but when I opened it no one was
there. We waited a while then I thought it was time to leave. We
walked down the hallway to this huge winding staircase, hand in
hand, went downstairs. Oh Christ, we're in the Ritz. The lobby was
as big as the hanger bay aboard
ship only this floor was marble. As
we're descending down the wide staircase, everyone downstairs is
looking up at us, the sailor and hill girl. Everyone stopped at
stared. Everyone was wearing suites and ties. Everyone had their
mouth open. No one had a clue we had spent the night up there
(except the porter who I'm sure got fired). I did the Yorktown proud
and kept my head high but my friend felt uncomfortable. As we walked
stately through the loby, I didn't feel the need to check out and
just headed towards the revolving front doors. All eyes were on us
and their mouths were still open but nobody said a word.
Outside, the doorman, in top hat and red tails rushed up to me and
asked if I wanted a taxi. I felt I could talk to this guy so I told
him I was broke and needed to get to the docks. Doormen are the same
around the world. He saw a guy on a motorcycle on the corner by that
ally and hurried over to him.I don't know what he said but it
worked. He waived me to come and said "he take you". I threw my leg
over the bike, waved to my friend, and took off in a cloud of smoke.
I felt badly about leaving my new friend standing on the sidewalk
like that but I didn't know what else to do. Besides, Charlie will
come for her soon and take her home. She waved back like she
understood. What a trooper.
Now it's just me and the military justice I'm about to meet. The guy
on the motorcycle dropped me off down by the docks with out a word
and went on his way. I'm thinking it's several hours before the
first liberty and I'm standing out like a sore thumb in the middle
of the street.
Easy prey for shore patrol if there is any. I got to
lay low until there's sailors about to blend in with. One step at a
time. I have one or two pesos I think are worth about fifty cents,
if that. What do you do when you're hungry and need a hide out? You
look for a coke sign on a store front. trust me when I say that
works anywhere in the world)
I spotted just such a place down the street and headed for it. I'm
in a area of town that I would have felt better if I had been
packing a gun or two, a real seedy, rundown ghetto but you play the
hand you're dealt. I pushed open the door to this rat trap and
walked in. The place was a bar and cafe filled with dock workers
getting ready to start their day. They looked at me like my day was
about to end. I went over to the bar and said coke. I took it to an
empty small table near the door and sat down with my back to the
door. There were booths to my right, bar on my left and pool tables
in the back.
One booth really worried me. There were two men in it but the one
facing me had a thin face, rat like eyes and lots of scars. He kept
his dead eyes on me and I just knew he could slowly cut my throat
while drinking my coke. The big guy sitting with him kept looking
over his shoulder at me. After a bit, the big man got up and came
over. The rat man stayed put.
The big man asked if he could sit down with me. I think my voice was
in the normal range when I said "sure" And did this guy unload. He
turned out to be a wonderful, gregarious character with story after
story to tell. He said he had been a general in WW2. His army was
located in the jungle in the middle of Cebu and the Japs feared him
cause he killed many of them every time they would leave the coastal
areas and come inland. After a while the Japs just left central Cebu
alone and stayed on the coast.
He told me about two American Navy fliers who were shot down and his
army found them. The Americans lived with him for several years
until the end of the war. He said the two airmen returned several
years after the war with their wives to visit him and stayed a
month. He was very proud of that.
He said after the war, his retirement pay was 35 dollars a month so
he "how you say, by hook or crook" I turned to smuggling. He said it
with a wide grin and pulled out a wad of bills that would choke a
horse. He also bought me food so I didn't care what he made or how
but the guy rang true with me. I stayed in there for several hours
hearing his stories. At one point he pointed to rat man who was
still in the booth looking at me and said that's his enforcer. I
really did believe that. He said he has many boats and runs
cigarettes, booze, and other things from Vietnam to the Philippines
and all the southern islands. I asked about the Navy or coast guard
and he gestured that he pays then off. He even offered me a job on
his boats and gave me his card with the address of this cafe, his
headquarters. I kept that card for many years, not knowing if I'll
ever be back and in need of his help. You never know. It was about
time for me to venture outside (or join his navy) and see what's
happening.
My timing was great. By the time I found the landing dock, I saw the
first liberty from the Yorktown approaching. It docked, unloaded and
I jumped in. Other then the boat crew, I was the only one aboard.
Hard to blend in when you're alone. I'm beginning to doubt my
ability to make really good plans.
The boat pulls u
p to
the ladder and up I go. Half way up, I look and what should I see?
MY CHIEF, is the JOOD. All I can do now is brave it out. I step
aboard and give him a snappy salute, request permission to come
aboard SIR. He paused what seemed a very long time then returned my
salute and said permission granted. He just stared at me and I guess
he was asking himself, did I see Dingle go ashore a little while
ago? If I did, why's he back? How did he go over looking like that?
Well shipmates, I assure you I didn't wait around for him to come to
any conclusions. I was in my rack before the Chief gave me the
chance to say are you going to believe me or your lying eyes.
Course, that never worked with him before.
That was the story of my fall from grace, however, because I was
able to prove entrapment and circumstances beyond my control, I
consider myself innocent and a still a sailor in good standing. This
is no shit.
I
told my fellow PH2 what I was up to and asked him to just fill out
the morning report to say that I showed up for 7am (or was it 8am)
muster.