Life Aboard the USS Weigel

Dedicated to Battalion Surgeon Doc Lovy, who utilized our boat time well.

My world quickly turned from olive drab to navy gray. It also shrunk to a maximum of 622 feet, with parts off limits! This was not a cruise ship. The Weigel was designed to take a lot of troops from point A to point B.

We did eat three squares a day. Food was prepared in the galley…not the mess hall. At first the food appealed because it was different. However, one unique feature stood out in my mind. Somebody had over purchased the rice. We ate rice, in creative variation, two or three times daily. We had: plain rice, rice with gravy, rice soup, rice and beans, rice pudding etc. I never went hungry the whole time because I could deal with the rice.

It proved difficult to bust out in the morning run. I tried to run up and down the ladders at every opportunity. We managed daily mandatory push ups and sit ups. There was a lot of down time and no place to go. We soon fought boredom and the complete lack of personal space. We were packed like sardines. One deck was dedicated to the 3/503rd battalion. Mike Krawczyk remembers this unit as part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (definitely off limits)! Although the ship’s condition was clean, troop areas were stuffy, to say the least. I went topside as often as I could and paced all the authorized areas.

Showers in hard water were a trip. The soap would get mushy. You left clean, but with some kind of soapy residue. I suppose we were navy clean. My brother was a Navy man, who gave good advise. If you drop the soap…you leave it there.

The sea proved a bit rough at times. You could get the full effect at the bow. Rise and fall gave a cheap thrill on the forward main deck. You had to keep an eye out, at mid-ship, because somebody would occasionally lean over the side to hurl that rice; the wind could carry hurl the entire length of the ship. Really!

We eventually ran through a typhoon that challenged my new found sea legs. We  were  ordered below decks (not a good sign). Every paratrooper knows the nauseous strain of g forces. The stuffy troop area and questions of this old craft’s seaworthiness, heightened the tension at hand. This situation was out of control.  The only choice I had, in this losing battle, was to lay down on my bunk.  In God’s mercy, I passed out. The seas were balmy the next morning! Time for more rice.

We took one amazing class on quick shooting. The instructor advised us to use our middle finger on the trigger, and our normal trigger finger as a pointer along side the barrel. We practiced ‘point and shoot’ with pellet guns. The idea is to get off the first good shot. In close quarters…that is realistic. Pointing is extremely accurate. I adopted that method easily with the M-16. This was ideal in the bush.

The highlight of our ‘cruise’ was the afternoon classes with Dr. Andrew Lovy. Most of us had some medical experience. However, I have not spoken with a medic who did not thoroughly appreciate that priceless time with the master. As I said in Home Away from Home, Dr. Lovy provided the proficiency. Our beloved physician ensured that every one of us left that ship with both competence and confidence.

I later ran into a medic en route to my R & R, who had lost six or seven troops in a row. He held his head down to say that no one he touched had made it. Although, I said all the right words to console him, I breathed a prayer of gratitude for that series of classes on the Weigel. Medics are isolated when the crap hits the fan…not much time to be asking questions. Training is everything.

Dr. Lovy concluded his training with this final thought. From this day forward, we would be Dr. Lovy’s eyes and hands in the field.  I think our medical unit record upholds his affirmation. We were a direct extension of his ability.

On a final note, I think most medics had one thing to say to Doc Lovy, “Sir, if I come back on the meat wagon, please don’t let anyone but you touch me.” I for one…voiced those very words. He gave his promise.

Currahee Doc!