Fun and games with motion sickness – Part 3

He just barely made it to the rail.

By the 28th of September the waves and the wind were hard to believe. I don’t know how high those waves really were, but – to me anyway – they looked higher than our mast. And the wind, which was blowing from the southeast, was so icy cold that it sent everyone who was still able to keep his food down over to our side – the port side, giving the ship a distinct leeward list.

The Navy got on the PA system and yelled that some of us would have to go over to the starboard deck. The people who belonged over there wouldn’t go there, so Navy men soon arrived, herded them over there, and then stationed an Army MP company to guard the below deck passages to keep people on their own side.

At last, on Sept. 29, 1952, we reached Iceland, disembarked, and were bused to our base, about 25% of the men in my outfit having made it without succumbing to sea sickness.

By the way, the sensation that the land is rocking back and forth after many days at sea really does occur. It lasted a good 20 minutes with me. We kinda, sorta had a rock-and-roll bus for a while.

It was not until 50 years later that I learned that our extremely rough sea voyage was probably the product of a Category 3 Atlantic Hurricane which paralleled us: Hurricane Charlie, duration Sept. 25 — 28 Sept. 28, 1952.

Perfect timing, right?

My trip back home from Iceland was also interesting!

Early in July 1953, 68 men due for return to the States climbed aboard an Air Force passenger aircraft destined for Westover AFB, Mass. We were assigned an altitude of 20,000 feet. That was great, except for the fact that there was a storm over the Atlantic, and the height of the clouds varied from 19,000 to 21,000 feet.

Ever flown in and out of clouds? It’s worse than riding a roller coaster. You go up and down hundreds of feet, over and over and over again.

Our aircraft was liberally provided with “burp bags,” treated paper bags inserted in the seat pocket of the seat in front of each man in case he became air sick. And oh, boy! Were they ever used!

Imagine being the only one on an overnight flight who wasn’t air sick! Imagine the sounds and smells – in a small, miserable, stinking, completely enclosed space!

You will never know how good it was to breathe in the scent of green growing things when they at last opened the doors at Westover.

It was just in time! I don’t think I could have held out another minute!

Anyway, that covers my experiences with motion sickness, and once again I thank the Lord for not having given me a sensitive stomach.

A–a–a–a–a–men!