Mosquito Junction

Memoirs

1955 - 1957

My experience in Hawaii as a sailor

Mosquito Junction is a loving nickname given to a small naval facility that is located in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii. Mosquitoes here has never bothered me. It may be because of my body odor. I will discuss personal hygiene practices in the Navy later. The humidity and warm dense cane field across the road less than two hundred yards from the pier is a perfect breeding ground for them. The brackish water in the marsh nearby is another ideal home for these critters. To get rid of them, drain the swamp. Huge toads over six inches wide all warty and ugly has a field day feeding on these mosquitoes. Many remains of dried toads lay on the road after losing a race against vehicle tires. That is frog jerky.

CANE TOADS

Toads in the cane fields

Catching all the mosquitoes

They are huge well fed.

Situated in West Loch of Pearl Harbor between Waipahu and Pearl City, it is isolated as they come except for the Degaussing Station less than two klicks down the road in the boondocks. Mosquito Junction's actual name is Inactive Service Craft Facility, Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii which was once named Inactive Floating Dry Dock Group. They are both long titles for a small facility. There are floating dry docks and other moth ball type crafts to be chipped, sanded of old paint, primed with red lead paint and painted over that with battleship gray paint. This is an everlasting task because of rusting effects of the salty sea water, salt air, time and weather. It has been ten years since the end of the Second World War and still these crafts are being maintained for emergencies. The government could have sold the crafts for scrap metal (razor blades) closed down the facility and transferred the sailors and by time all will be discharged or retired. A great savings and no need to recruit any more sailors.

These dry docks at one time was used to lift small ships and crafts out of the water so maintenance of the hulls can be done. The dock is filled with water thus sinking the dock into the harbor and a small ship or boat is moved between the two wing walls. Slowly the water is pumped out of the dry dock and lifting the small ship out of the water. Wood braces are built around the small ship to hold it rigidly in place. After all the water is drained from the dry dock and the small ship secured in place, work begins on the small ship.

Prior to arriving Mosquito Junction, I spent several months at an electronics school on Treasure Island, San Francisco, California. Failing because of my nightly and weekend trips offbase and not studying to become a technician, the school transfers me to this overseas facility way out in the boondocks in December 1955. I was dropped from school just like in college where I have failed by not studying to become a graduate in liberal arts to be an artist, an easy major. The Draft Board was hot after my heels.

How did I ever graduate high school? Studying or following through with a project was and still not in my nature. The attention span is as short as my nose. I have been known to fall asleep in class and often woke up with a little snort, my alarm clock. Bob, my best friend from junior high school days since 1945, drives me back to the base at San Francisco on Sunday nights so I could be in classes on Mondays but that doesn't stop me from failing.

While awaiting orders to Mosquito Junction, I am assigned to escort prisoners around Treasure Island on various functions that the prisoners must do. Carrying a shot gun fully loaded as my enforcer, I escort them. Short in stature but I do carry a big gun with a big bang. This is better than swinging a night stick (billy club) that some prison guards do. Officials never did ask me of my qualifications with fire arms. Growing up in a farming community, young boys often went hunting for small games and I was no exception. Did I bring home any game that I have shot? No, because I have never killed any. San Jose, California was a farming community until the electronic businesses bought most of the rich farm lands for buildings and offices for manufacturing electronic equipment thus became known as "Silicon Valley".

A night stick for a sailor is a belaying pin or some would call it a billy club. During the sailing days, ships had belaying pins in holes along the guard rails. It was used to secure lines for the sails. These pins were also used as weapons in hand to hand combat with sailors of another ship alongside. A sailor may have a favorite belaying pin that he drilled a hole at the base and fitted a lead weight in it then plug the end with a wooden dowel. This becomes a very dangerous weapon, a practice frowned upon. Just frowned upon. Because of the weight and balance, these particular belaying pins are easy to wield with deadly outcome.

A teenage prisoner is being released today and he needs to check out his handgun from the armory. The weapon was confiscated when he became a prisoner and now he can have possession of it because he has served his time in the brig and being discharged. He signs for the weapon but I would not let him handle it. I put the small hand gun in my waist band and escort him to the main gate where he can leave it until he leaves the base. He can't understand why he cannot have the weapon. His weapon has no ammo while my shot gun I'm holding is fully loaded ready to fire at any time. I have permission to carry a weapon on the base and he does not. This criminal who will be discharged today will be allowed to carry his hand gun offthe base. Hope he will not use the weapon foolishly. Guns are made for killing. Why do the authorities allow ex-convicts to have weapons of any sort? This is 1955.

Finally I'm transferred. Although this is not the first time I have flown on an airplane, this is the first time I have flown outside of California and outside of the Continental United States to the Territory of Hawaii. This oceanic flight is long, cold and boring especially on a military transport airplane. The steady drone of the engines is deafening. Our meals comes in a brown paper bag with one simple sandwich, apple and a small container of milk. The milk, I cannot consume because of lactose intolerance.

Landing at Barbers Point on the island of Oahu, the weather is warm and humid on this December month with lots of green vegetation and hibiscus plants with bright red flowers and puffy white clouds in the blue sky. This could be paradise if it was not for my military service. The weather is a shock because in Northern California, December weather is wet and cold often with frost and ice on the ground and car windows early in the morning.

HIBISCUS...