On another thread, we were discussing Duffel bags and the subject of navy sea bags was mentioned.
Sailors also used a smaller bag called a ditty bag. This was used for storage of small, personal items. Below is a picture of a ditty bag as used in the US Navy about six decades ago. This bag when flat measures approx. 12 by 14 inches and closes with a cord.
This particular ditty bag I've had in my possession for over 50 years. This one is marked "Killough, P. J. O-5" and "348 59 62." That is the sailor's last name, first and middle initial, possible reservist status, and US Navy service number. The O-5 is not his pay grade; this belonged to an enlisted man. There were some classification numbers that sometimes followed a sailor's name and 0-5 might be one of those.
My dad's mother, my grandmother, lost her husband in 1952. She lived in an old, wood frame bungalow house in Long Beach, CA. Shortly after my grandfather died, she had the house remodeled so she could rent out half of it for income. She often had naval personel and their family members as tenants at a time when Long Beach was a big navy town. Her renters would sometimes leave items behind when they moved and that is how I came to have this ditty bag. I've had it since around 1957 or so; when I was a child, I used it to store my fishing gear and I've just held onto it all these years for no good reason.
We are sometimes able to learn certain things on the internet. I was able to find out a bit of information on P.J. Killough from the Social Security Death Index and from a couple of geneaology sites. One of the latter contained this picture of Killough's grave site in AR. He died at the ripe old age of 55.
I've also got a couple of Japanese coins from the immediate post-war era that no doubt were brought back by sailors and left in my grandmother's home.
Prior to the Elmo Zumwalt reforms following the Vietnam War, sailors going on liberty were required to wear their uniform off the ship. Many wanted to wear civilian clothes ashore, so they either carried them with them or rented a locker in one of the many locker clubs in town. They could rent a locker for about 25 cents a month in the 1950's where they would leave changes of clothes on a more or less permanent basis. I don't know if sailors might've used their ditty bags to carry their clothes ashore during liberty. I used to see them carrying those small, semi-circular bags that when I was later in the army were called "AWOL bags."
When sailors went ashore for recreation, it was called "liberty"; in the army is was called "going on pass." Both terms are derived from the words on a little card called an Armed Forces Liberty Pass. It was a DD form 345 and you got it when you signed out from your unit to go on liberty/pass. You were allowed to be gone for a certain amount of time, and had to sign back in when you returned. When you signed back in, you turned in the card as I recall. Back around 1985, DoD changed how this kind of authorized absence was used and basically the use of the liberty pass was done away with.
Enlisted sailors like to have a way to get around, so many of them bought cars in town while on liberty to use while their ship was stationed at the base. Sometimes, several sailors pooled their money and bought a car as a group. In Long Beach, the navy base was located on Terminal Island, just west of downtown. In those days, junior enlisted men were not authorized to have cars on base. Knowing that sailors were buying cars anyway, the navy came up with an interesting solution. They made a long strip of land across the road from the navy base available as a dirt parking lot. So, the cars were on navy property but weren't actually on the base itself. There were long, long rows containing hundreds of cars in this lot. The kinds of cars most of these junior enlisted men bought were inexpensive, older makes. Many of the cars in this lot were abandoned; the sailors might have their ship reassigned to another port while they were out to sea, so they never got back to their cars. Some of the crews were there on ships that were docked in the adjacent Long Beach Naval Shipyard and their stay wasn't going to be permanent. The parking lot wasn't paved, so many of the machines parked there had a heavy coating of dust on them.
Sailors also used a smaller bag called a ditty bag. This was used for storage of small, personal items. Below is a picture of a ditty bag as used in the US Navy about six decades ago. This bag when flat measures approx. 12 by 14 inches and closes with a cord.
This particular ditty bag I've had in my possession for over 50 years. This one is marked "Killough, P. J. O-5" and "348 59 62." That is the sailor's last name, first and middle initial, possible reservist status, and US Navy service number. The O-5 is not his pay grade; this belonged to an enlisted man. There were some classification numbers that sometimes followed a sailor's name and 0-5 might be one of those.
My dad's mother, my grandmother, lost her husband in 1952. She lived in an old, wood frame bungalow house in Long Beach, CA. Shortly after my grandfather died, she had the house remodeled so she could rent out half of it for income. She often had naval personel and their family members as tenants at a time when Long Beach was a big navy town. Her renters would sometimes leave items behind when they moved and that is how I came to have this ditty bag. I've had it since around 1957 or so; when I was a child, I used it to store my fishing gear and I've just held onto it all these years for no good reason.
We are sometimes able to learn certain things on the internet. I was able to find out a bit of information on P.J. Killough from the Social Security Death Index and from a couple of geneaology sites. One of the latter contained this picture of Killough's grave site in AR. He died at the ripe old age of 55.
I've also got a couple of Japanese coins from the immediate post-war era that no doubt were brought back by sailors and left in my grandmother's home.
Prior to the Elmo Zumwalt reforms following the Vietnam War, sailors going on liberty were required to wear their uniform off the ship. Many wanted to wear civilian clothes ashore, so they either carried them with them or rented a locker in one of the many locker clubs in town. They could rent a locker for about 25 cents a month in the 1950's where they would leave changes of clothes on a more or less permanent basis. I don't know if sailors might've used their ditty bags to carry their clothes ashore during liberty. I used to see them carrying those small, semi-circular bags that when I was later in the army were called "AWOL bags."
When sailors went ashore for recreation, it was called "liberty"; in the army is was called "going on pass." Both terms are derived from the words on a little card called an Armed Forces Liberty Pass. It was a DD form 345 and you got it when you signed out from your unit to go on liberty/pass. You were allowed to be gone for a certain amount of time, and had to sign back in when you returned. When you signed back in, you turned in the card as I recall. Back around 1985, DoD changed how this kind of authorized absence was used and basically the use of the liberty pass was done away with.
Enlisted sailors like to have a way to get around, so many of them bought cars in town while on liberty to use while their ship was stationed at the base. Sometimes, several sailors pooled their money and bought a car as a group. In Long Beach, the navy base was located on Terminal Island, just west of downtown. In those days, junior enlisted men were not authorized to have cars on base. Knowing that sailors were buying cars anyway, the navy came up with an interesting solution. They made a long strip of land across the road from the navy base available as a dirt parking lot. So, the cars were on navy property but weren't actually on the base itself. There were long, long rows containing hundreds of cars in this lot. The kinds of cars most of these junior enlisted men bought were inexpensive, older makes. Many of the cars in this lot were abandoned; the sailors might have their ship reassigned to another port while they were out to sea, so they never got back to their cars. Some of the crews were there on ships that were docked in the adjacent Long Beach Naval Shipyard and their stay wasn't going to be permanent. The parking lot wasn't paved, so many of the machines parked there had a heavy coating of dust on them.
