Ten thousand American soldiers boarded the Queen Mary in April, 1942 for a five-day crossing to the east coast of Northern Ireland. If I recall correctly, it cruised at 25 or 28 knots, and could easily outrun any German submarine.

This ship is currently docked at Long Beach, California as a tourist attraction and a hotel, with 365 staterooms. It totaled 1000 crossings during WW II and was called “The Gray Ghost” because of its blackened-out portholes and camouflage-painted hull. I learned that its steam turbine engines used one gallon of oil per 13 feet.

The trip was uneventful for the officers, but quite rough for the enlisted men. They slept in four bunk tiers, which in itself was not uncomfortable except for the unhappiness that ensued when seasickness hit the top bunks. I recall visiting the men during a moment of heavy seas and ran out to “toss my own cookies” over the deck rails.

After disembarking, our battalion was convoyed to the southwest coast of Northern Ireland to St. John's Point on the Irish Sea. This area was the training ground for the Americans to learn how to use the British 40mm antiaircraft guns. We were under the command of British General Richards.

There was some “scuttlebutt” being kicked around about some new gizmo called “radar” that could be attached to our 90mm guns, for improved accuracy.