Charlie was a happy go lucky person always keeping us entertained. I will never forget this trick that Charlie pulled that almost got him in trouble. Our Captain at that time was LCDR Thomas H. Polk who always made sure that strawberry shortcake was served as desert very often. On this particular trip our cook, Chief Henry Schmidt, had failed to order and have on board the topping of Redi-Whip. That particular day the desert of strawberry shortcake was served without topping and the Captain was very irate. So to make matter worse, Charlie went to the galley and made himself a desert and topped it with shaving cream and headed to the forward torpedo room making sure that it was in plain view for all of the officers to see when he passed by the wardroom. Needless to say Captain Polk called for the Supply Officer and Chief Shmidt and the rest is history.

We went through a 6 months overhaul (I believe it was 1956) in Charleston and occupied the Submarine Barracks, which was located near the Reynolds Avenue gate. On any Sunday morning you could head to the shower and trip over many quart jars. At that time moonshine was plentiful and a quart could be purchased for about a dollar. During that overhaul we replaced all of the boat's mattresses and before the old ones got thrown in the dumpster I manage to confiscate one that is still with me today and is used when the grandchildren visit.

When we departed Charleston we stopped by Bermuda I thought for R & R, but learned while we were there, that it was actually booze run. Some of the crew saw that the officers were bringing a lot of packages onboard and learned that it was booze. Needless to say the crew jumped on the bandwagon and if the custom officials had inspected us upon our arrival at Key West we would have been in big trouble.

The following is a transcript of a paper I wrote some years back. There may be some items of interest in it:

I was transferred to Key West having completed Submarine School at New London, CT in May of 1955.Upon completion of school my orders were to the USS SEA POACHER (SS406) home ported there.

My first visit to Charleston, South Carolina was in 1956 when we brought the SEA POACHER to the Charleston Naval Shipyard for a six month drydock overhaul. Believe it or not, we towed our house trailer with an old 1947 Dodge (fluid drive) to North Charleston and parked it in a pine grove on Rivers Avenue and Remount Road where Altman Dodge is now located. Back in those days driving to Remount Road from the Naval Base was like a country drive. I do remember, however, a couple of places along the way such as MaMa Kate's Drive In and the Air Force Base Bar and Grill.

During my tenure on the SEA POACHER we visited Havana, Cuba on several occasions before Fidel Castro managed to overthrow Batista, who was considered a dictator at that time. Taking hindsite and foresight into consideration, Cuba was a lot better off with a dictator.

During those days Havana was influenced by the Mafia. At the time, Lucky Luciano had left the US to seek refuge in Havana. He frequented bars and nightclubs and was always seeking out Americans to converse with. The Navy put out a directive forbidding the sailors to be in the company with or talk to him.

The most memorable experience of my Key West days or perhaps of my lifetime, was on a Sunday morning in Havana. One of my shipmates (Bruce Matheny, SO3, now a retired physician living in Kentucky) suggested that we try to locate the home of Ernest Hemingway who was living in Havana at that time. We hired a taxi to take us to his home where he dropped us off in front of a large iron gate and all we could see was a vast lawn and many trees. We spied a lady leaving the property who appeared to be an employee, and we asked her if she would return to the house and ask Mr. Hemingway if he would allow a group of American sailors to visit with him. She returned with the good news that he would see us and we were invited in.

The first thing he asked us was if he could he fix us a drink. Of course we all agreed. He took water glasses and put a couple if ice cubes in each and poured a very generous amount of gin with very little water. We then proceeded to tour some of his rooms that were adorned with things he had collected over the years, but mainly the walls were covered with guns and trophies of the animals he had bagged on his safaris.

The room where he did all of his writing was of course the most interesting. Not fancy at all. His writing desk was very crude - It was more like a draftsman's table high off of the floor. His chair was a high stool. I asked him how he went about giving his books their titles. He picked up a couple of lined pad sheets that were covered with scratched out titles with one remaining and it was "The Old Man and the Sea." He told us that during the writing, he and his Wife Mary would jot down the prospective titles.

After about an hour there his Wife, Mary, appeared and told him it was time for his daily swim. We thanked him and departed. I firmly believe that Ernest Hemingway invented the words "Cuss Like a Sailor," having spent twenty years in the Navy I have never met a sailor that could top him.

I noted that you are a member of the VFW. I have served as Post Commander at our local Post and was Americanism Chairmen for the State of SC for one term. I am a very avid veteran's advocate and have done a lot of legislative work over the years.