Happy Ship

As tugs warped the 27,000-ton carrier Philippine Sea to dockside in Pearl Harbor last week, reporters clambered aboard to do a story about a war-weary ship and crew. The Philippine Sea was the first carrier ordered from the U.S. to Korean waters, and the first one to reach Hawaii after the armistice. Her planes had flown 7,243 combat sorties; she claims more landings and more catapult shots than any other carrier off Korea. But on the huge flight deck, the newsmen found the ship's band dressed in colorful kimonos and coolie hats, giving out with the jazzy wails of China Night. Far from war-weary, the Philippine Sea turned out to be a floating fraternity house.

The ship's skipper is Paul Ramsey, 48, a trim-mustached four-striper (Annapolis '27), a top-notch Navy flyer in World War II, who is prone to roar "What the Hell!" when things go wrong in combat. The 3,000 officers and men call him "Captain Paul," and he refers to his crew as "Ramsey's Little Lamseys."

Once, when the Philippine Sea was heading away from Korea for rest and relaxation in Yokosuka, Japan, it was Ramsey's idea to give his crew three extra hours of sleep beyond the normal 0600 reveille. At 0900, a dulcet announcement was piped over the ship's intercom: "Good morning. This is your friendly boatswain's mate. It's oh-nine-hundred and time to turn out. If you are hungry after your long sleep, there are coffee and sweet rolls waiting for you in the galley." Whereupon the ship's Dixieland band crashed into a rousing version of the reveille call.

When not on duty, the Philippine Sea's sailors lounge in a softly-lit recreation room which looks more like a Hilton hotel than the high seas. This ship's mascot, a German shepherd called "Mr. X" (because his real name is the ship's secret code name), has the run of the ship. The contented crew has already pitched in $6,000 for the March of Dimes. Ramsey's proudest boast, as his ship weighed anchor for California: during the entire nine-month s cruise, he never had a man in the brig; instead, the brig was used for the storage of dishes and galley supplies.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.