Officer Berthing Video Transcript

My name is Mike Fink, and this is an Intrepid Minute.

We are an Officers’ Country right now and specifically we’re in the junior

officers bunkroom space, picked up a number of nicknames, including “Boys Town”

and the “Junior Officers Jungle”. And that’s because the men in here, low ranking

pilots, they’re younger and they’re in their early 20s and they needed a way to

blow off steam between dangerous and stressful strike operations.

As a result, they were pretty rowdy. They could get away with things ship’s crew

could not. For example, gambling and drinking on board, which are not permitted

on U.S. Navy ships. Senior officers might look the other way.

Doesn’t mean it’s always a party in here.

In fact, we have interviewed Bernard J.

St. John, a torpedo bomber pilot who was here in World War Two.

He said his favorite drink on board was actually a hot chocolate.

If you want to hear more about his story, click the link below to see a clip from

his oral history interview. Stay tuned for another Intrepid Minute.