The Big E

Rear Admiral William L. Erdmann spent 36 years in the U.S. Navy building a reputation as a hard-nosed officer with a magnificent temper and a monumental self-confidence. From Coronado (where the enlisted men's beach was named Erdmann Beach) to Guam (where he stirred up a superb row by refusing to supply the Governor with side boys) he was known as "The Big E."/- His strapping (6 ft. 4 in., 230 lbs.) frame never seemed to stop swelling with rage when he uncoiled from behind a desk to bawl out some wilting subordinate. But last week the spit-and-polish admiral (Annapolis '24) was as subdued as a brand new swab jockey hauled up before his first Captain's Mast. Erdmann had barely settled down in his Marin County, Calif. home to enjoy his retirement from the Navy when a federal grand jury indicted him for smuggling. The charge: Erdmann, when relieved as Commander of Naval Forces in the Marianas, had packed home 100 gallons of tax-free liquor aboard the carrier Bon Homme Richard, listing the bottled goods as a bundle of tables, carvings, peacock chairs and fishnet floats. Said the admiral manfully: "The main point is I did it. I was caught, and I regret it very much."

Revenue agents caught wind of the cargo from customs men, began to snoop around the admiral's Marin County home. Armed with a search warrant, they raided a locked room behind the admiral's bar, found 816 bottles ranging from rare old Scotch to rich liqueurs and Greek brandy. Erdmann had paid $760 for the entire supply; Treasury agents said it was worth $4,400 retail.

Admiral Erdmann, said his lawyer, is prepared to pay the tax that is due on the whisky. He had never intended to sell the stuff anyway. It was all for his own personal use. Navy rumor had it that the case had been turned over to civilian authorities on the theory that punishment would be stiffer than that handed out by a Navy court martial. Many who had served with The Big E were waiting anxiously for his day in court. Meanwhile, the irreverent U.S. Navy began to call Erdmann Beach by a new name: Smuggler's Cove.

/- A nickname more appropriately used for the durable aircraft carrier Enterprise.

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