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Pappy was assigned to a ship called the President Jackson. It was a supply ship and had to transport men and supplies to battle sites in the South Pacific. All of the new sailors were shown to the big sleeping room that they called their ‘quarters.’ The room was full of bunk beds three bunks high. Sailors scrambled to find a bed that looked comfortable and private and not too crowded. Pappy found one bed that was five bunks high. The top bunk was empty, and it was right under an air vent. Pappy claimed this bunk and was very pleased with himself. As the ship sailed closer to the tropics and the nights grew hotter and more humid, Pappy had fresh air all night long and could sleep comfortably. He couldn’t figure out why no one else had claimed the five-high bunk. What Pappy didn’t know was that his bunk was right underneath the five-inch gun on the deck above.

Pappy liked his new job and he was very good at it. The only bad part was at night when bomber planes flew over trying to bomb his ship. He had to man the big searchlight that lit up the planes so his friends on the ship could shoot at them. The trouble with that was the planes aimed their guns and bombs right at his searchlight! It was scary. The sailors on the ship worked four-hour shifts called watches. Pappy sometimes worked during the day and other times worked during the night. Sometimes when he wasn’t working, he took a nap in his top bunk. One time while he was napping, the men had to fire that five-inch gun. BLAM! Pappy woke up with his ears ringing and found that he was covered with four inches of black soot. Now Pappy knew why no one else had wanted that five-high top bunk!

The captain of the President Jackson was a very wise man and a very good sailor. He had been in the Navy for over 20 years and had worked his way up by doing lots of different jobs. He knew about everything on the ship. Pappy liked working for him. The captain was so good that one day he got a more important job in the Navy and left the President Jackson. The new captain was not very nice and was not as wise. He had not been a sailor before, but he had important friends who helped him get the captain’s job. This was not good, and all the other sailors felt worried. Pappy did not like working for the new captain. One day while Pappy was on watch, he saw a B-15 bomber through his telescope. The plane was still very far away, but it had flown across the sun so Pappy could see it quite clearly. “B-15 heading this way, sir,” he reported. The captain asked the sailor at the controls if he saw any planes on the radar. “No sir,” the sailor answered. “B-15, hmph!” the captain snorted at Pappy. He didn’t believe that Pappy had seen the plane at all. A few minutes later a plane suddenly showed up on the radar and the sailors could hear the sound of its motor as it neared the ship. “What a beautiful B-15!” Pappy said to the captain, but the captain didn’t say anything at all.