The Captains voice boomed over the loud speaker, "Now hear this. The Caperton has been ordered to return to the states for a routine ship yard overhaul." This information had been rumored for days. Now it was official. I think you could have heard the yell that came from three hundred and fifty happy men all the way to the states.

     We got underway for San Pedro, California on January 28th. We went by the way of Pearl Harbor and arrived at the Todd Shipyards on February 15th. We were scheduled for a forty five day overhaul. All hands were given twenty six days leave.

After waiting fifty years to write this story I only recall the highlights of this happy time. Naturally, all of us eighteen and nineteen year old combat veterans were trying to make up for all the time we had lost. For the last two years we had survived eleven invasions. Just being alive was enough for us to be happy.

     The beginning of my home leave almost turned into a financial disaster. We did not have pockets in our Navy dress blues. Everyone wore a money belt to keep things in. We had been moved to barracks when the ship went in dry dock. Everybody here was a stranger. I had gone to take a shower and hung my money belt on the shower head. When I got dressed and returned to the barracks I discovered I had left all my money in the shower. I think my heart stopped beating until I returned to find it still hanging there.

     The four days it took to get home by train seemed like an eternity. Home sweet home at last. I don't think the old farm ever looked so good as it did then. Mama, Papa, Nell and my sisters all came to meet their returning war hero. This was quite a ego trip for a young teen age man. When I heard all the reports of many of my childhood friends that had been killed I was really glad to be alive.

     Nell and I got all hot and bothered as usual. Our relationship then started to cool. One of my sisters told me Nell had been seen dating some one else while I was away. This created a invisible wall between us. After all, I had been away fighting for my country. She was suppose to be as true to me as I was to her. I look back on this part of my own character and realize it was a personal weakness. Instead of confronting her with this I just did a slow burn.

     I was going to get even with her as soon as I got back to California. We had about two weeks before we left for combat again. All of us tried to raise as much hell as possible. We had a huge ship party at a large hotel. We had all the women and booze we wanted. I think this is when I first started using alcohol for an escape and entertainment.

     "Lets go to Hollywood and do all the clubs tonight," one of my friends said. Five of my best friends and I took off on this trip. The problem was that only one guy was twenty one years old. The club manager checked our identification and stopped us at the door. The twenty one year old got in his face and asked him, "Do you know how much combat these guys have been in? Just look at their ribbons! You lo-life draft dodgers can not do this to us. Screw you, we will go to another club!"

     After several tries we finally convinced one place to let us in. The twenty one year old promised the manager that he would look after us so we would not cause any trouble. The laws were stricter here than they were any other place.

     We could go to the Hollywood canteen because they did not serve liquor there. This was run by the U.S.O. and staffed with volunteer movie stars. There was also the Palladium which was a large dance hall. We got to dance to the big bands of that time. The ones I recall were the Dorsey brothers and Arti Shaw.

     I met a very sweet Italian girl from Burbank that wrote me letters throughout the war. The civilians were all very friendly to any one in uniform. One night we had our dinner in an expensive restaurant. When we asked for the bill it had been paid by a complete stranger.

     There is always at least one guy in every group that is a real woman getter. In our group his name was Mutt Jasper. He was a real Texas roper that could charm the drawers off any woman. We went on shore leave together to find a female companion. Since he was a professional at this I was ready for my first lesson. We caught a cab to some joint way out in the country. They didn't care how old you were as long as you had the money.

     This was a poor way for a young man to lose his virginity. The place was a wild Mexican honky tonk. We were lucky we did not get our throats cut. It was packed with young service men. The few girls there must have felt like queens. It did not matter how they looked the guys were fighting over them like a bunch of dogs in heat.

     It was not long until Mutt's charm started to work on one of the girls. He told me he was taking her to the outdoor rest room to do his thing. By the time he returned I had started to get a buzz from the green beer. The first thing he said to me was, "Do you want her now?" She is ready for some more dick." The club was so full of smoke and noise that we both took her outside.

     She was about eighteen or nineteen years old, and not a bad looking girl. She told me that she had hitch hiked from Peoria, Illinios and did not have money or a place to sleep. After she had satisfied both our young lust I felt sorry for her. I gave her most of the money that I had. On the way back to the ship Mut handed me some money. I asked, "What is this for?" "This is the money you gave that bitch." I still feel sorry for that poor girl today.

     This wild Texas roper was teaching me some real crazy things. The next time it was a mother and daughter team. You could stop by their house any night. They would satisfy your young lust in a hurry. I did not realize that there was any place on earth as wild as California. I do not think it has changed much today.