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    Murder on Liberty Ship Hull # 13: Life of a Liberty Ship Rigger's Extra Activities
    Murder on Liberty Ship Hull # 13: Life of a Liberty Ship Rigger's Extra Activities
    Murder on Liberty Ship Hull # 13: Life of a Liberty Ship Rigger's Extra Activities
    Ebook152 pages1 hour

    Murder on Liberty Ship Hull # 13: Life of a Liberty Ship Rigger's Extra Activities

    By Capt. Gardner Martin Kelley

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Synopsis

    The Liberty Ship Murder on Hull # 13, it will not be remembered for the murder which was of no importance except to the participants.

    What will be remembered are the antics of the shipyard stud by many of the young women on their lonely nights?

    My job was as an agent sent to the ship yard to investigate the demise of a woman worker. My interest was soon diverted to this brawny and horny young rigger named Kelley.

    Kelley worked hard at getting the ships ready for war. He also was very interested in helping as many girls and young women as possible from going man hungry. His dedication to the Liberty Ships and the ladies make interesting reading.

    Dead, she is dead. The man shook Ernest to reality. The slow learner had stood guard on the topside of the liberty ship. A man had gone down and forward to visit a woman worker reputed to be selling favors through the back door opening of her drawers.

    The man covered his badge number on his shirt with the bib of his overalls from Ernest and hurried away quickly. He went toward the huge gangway exit. This was to fool the retard. Ernest saw the man turn aft to his job aboard the ship but did not know the worker. His overall figure looked no different to describe than of a hundred other workers on the liberty ship.

    Ernest went on with his business as usual. When he was walking around below he saw the body of a dead woman. Ernest was confused, but finally came up and reported finding the dead woman.

    The shipyard officials called the police and they sent me to find out how the woman had been killed and who had done it.

    The End

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateJul 24, 2012
    ISBN9781477227909
    Murder on Liberty Ship Hull # 13: Life of a Liberty Ship Rigger's Extra Activities
    Author

    Capt. Gardner Martin Kelley

    I was born near a lighthouse far out at sea on January 20, 1913. I must have heard the ocean roar and heard it pounding on the shore. Eight summer’s came and with it a big three-mast schooner. Prohibition was the name of the game. I was at the tiller, far at sea and my father was out from sampling the tea; I was the youngest rum runner of them all. I needed all that I could earn to support a pretty nineteen year old wife and home; 10-27-1931 we married and bought property in Milbridge, Maine. Vera Alley Kelley and I were married for 65 memorable years. I was a rigger at the Boston Navy Yard during the attack on Pearl Harbor, 12-7-1941; I also worked on “OLD IRONSIDES”. South Portland’s West yard in Maine, where I worked as a “pusher rigger”, I helped build and steered Liberty Ships for Captain Litchfield at all of the harbor trial test runs. I moved to North Carolina to enjoy my boat and the weather, I developed a small marine railway yard in Harkers Island near the Outer Banks. There in 1969 I got a call; The “BIG BAD JOHN” had run aground. I was recommended to Jimmy Dean as the right licensed captain to pilot her to Florida. Later I was hired to Captain the “M.V. MOUNT HOPE” for cruises from Rhode Island to Canada. The forty five foot ketch the “FROLIC”, I bought for my own. The “FROLIC” was berthed at Morehead City close to my home. The last 25 years I have written of experiences of my wonderful lifetime. I am now 98 years old and still going strong; I now reside on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina with my family. Capt. Gardner Martin Kelley

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      Book preview

      Murder on Liberty Ship Hull # 13 - Capt. Gardner Martin Kelley

      © 2012 Capt. Gardner Martin Kelley. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse 07/20/2012

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-2373-4 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-2374-1 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-2790-9 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2012910968

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

      and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Contents

      Chapter 1

      South Portland, Maine

      Liberty Ship Building-West Yard Sliding Ways Section

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Cushing Village

      Chapter 4

      The Big Swed

      Chapter 5

      The Log Cabin Restaurant

      Chapter 6

      Dearing Oaks

      Chapter 7

      Liberty Ship Launching

      Chapter 8

      The launching of Hull #13

      Chapter 9

      Girls

      Chapter 10

      Jean and Gladys

      Chapter 11

      Cowards

      Chapter 12

      Dangerous Workers

      Chapter 13

      Tin Shop

      Chapter 14

      Cold Weather

      Chapter 15

      Dancing

      Chapter 16

      Christening a Liberty Ship

      Chapter 17

      War Over

      About the Author

      Chapter 1

      The Widow Walk

      Chapter 2

      The Reverend Archer V. Procter

      Chapter 3

      A Web of Her Own

      Chapter 4

      The Tea Party

      Chapter 5

      A Widow Starting a New Life

      Short Version

      About the Author

      Synopsis

      The Liberty Ship Murder on Hull # 13, it will not be remembered for the murder which was of no importance except to the participants.

      What will be remembered are the antics of the shipyard stud by many of the young women and girls on their lonely nights?

      My job was as an agent sent to the ship yard to investigate the demise of a woman worker. My interest was soon diverted to this brawny and horny young rigger named Kelley.

      Kelley worked hard at getting the ships ready for war. He also was very interested in helping as many girls and young women as possible from going man hungry. His dedication to the Liberty Ships and the ladies make interesting reading.

      Dead, she is dead. The man shook Ernest to reality. The slow learner had stood guard on the topside of the liberty ship. A man had gone down and forward to visit a woman worker reputed to be selling favors through the back door opening of her drawers.

      The man covered his badge number on his shirt with the bib of his overalls from Ernest and hurried away quickly. He went toward the huge gangway exit. This was to fool the retard. Ernest saw the man turn aft to his job aboard the ship but did not know the worker. His overall figure looked no different to describe than of a hundred other workers on the liberty ship.

      Ernest went on with his business as usual. When he was walking around below he saw the body of a dead woman. Ernest was confused, but finally came up and reported finding the dead woman.

      The shipyard officials called the police and they sent me to find out how the young woman had been killed and who had done it.

      The End

      Foreword

      I saw and heard it in the newspaper and on TV. The liberty ship S.S. JEREMIAH O’BRIEN was on her way back home to Maine from Omaha Beach reunion.

      001_a_imahe.jpg

      Liberty Ship S.S. JEREMIAH O’BRIEN

      I was there in the west yard at South Portland, Maine when she was built 51 years ago. I had done my little part in building her and this was the 1st of August 1994.

      I had to get to Portland, Maine to go aboard once more. I also hope to see again my friend of the old days and nights, Kelley.

      I have written this shipyard story as I remember it. I wanted to have my old friends re-affirm some of the facts. I did indeed find my old friend. We were pleased to find that we had both retired in Florida. We were in fact almost neighbors. I lived in the retirement community of Zephyrhills and Kelley with his pretty wife of 65 years were living at The Edwinola a nice retirement home at Dade City only eight miles north.

      Kelley laughed, You know that story could not be written of today. The old days were best, those wonderful almost carefree days and nights. No such thing as AIDS to spoil the fun. I remember how scared I was for myself after sleeping with Barbara without any protection. I misunderstood when she said that she was sick. It was about the time that Minnie the Greek and Verna were in danger of getting a venereal disease. Today with the AIDS virus they would have been in real trouble. I sure would not live life as I did then.

      When we got together over the book we decided to leave it much as it was. This is the tale of the Liberty Ship Murder on Hull #13 and the dedicated workers on the Liberty Ships.

      The Author

      Chapter 1

      South Portland, Maine

      Liberty Ship Building-West Yard Sliding Ways Section

      I had been sent to the shipyard to investigate the murder of a woman on hull # 13 that had been killed in the liberty ship. My interest soon turned to the antics of a mating machine; lovingly called Kelley by the foxy ladies around and in the shipyard.

      Kelley was a rigger that did not care whether they worked on a hull that was being built and still on the ways or was launched and was being outfitting at one of the piers. He did not neglect the girls or young woman that drove trucks around the yard. There were others that worked in the offices and last but not least the prettiest waitresses were at the local restaurants. He made them one and all including a few extras at the Redman’s Hall on dance nights.

      It all started when three of us from the bureau were assigned to the yard for investigating the murder of a housewife type worker. She had been found by Ernest in the forecastle section of the half-finished hull # 13.

      Mrs. Guillo was identified by the name on her picture badge. She had been a member of the sweep up crew. In this crew was Ernest a slow learner. The sweeping crew usually consisted of six sweepers. If one of the women wanted a few minutes in the inner bottom or behind a partition Earnest would stand guard. A thump on the deck with his broom handle was the alarm if a guard or foreman was coming.

      Most of the females wore long johns with a drop down back door. The coveralls worn over the underwear had the same type of openings which made it easy to go to the toilet without undressing. These trap doors brought it handy when the girls dropped the hatch and leaned over.

      Mrs. Guillo appeared to have been killed with a single blow to the head with a sharp object. The trap door to her coveralls was closed. After finding much folded money stuffed loosely in her pockets further investigation revealed that her inside door was open and down for quick access.

      The office records showed her next of kin also worked in the yard as a ship-fitter in building # 3.

      When a wife is killed the prime suspect is usually the husband. Mr. Guillo was found on his hands and knees transferring blueprint measurements to sheets of steel spread out before him. He was brought to the office and questioned.

      He said the last time he had seen his wife was when they separated at the main gate. She had gone to her time card shack and he had gone to the ship-fitter building # 3. This was some distance from where hull # 13 was being assembled. The steel he was working on was not for hull # 13 and he would have no legitimate reason to leave the building # 3 area.

      After the interrogation he was told of his wife’s demise. His reaction appeared normal. Later he asked how he was to go about to claim the body for burial. Unless something came up later there seemed to be no reason to regard him as a suspect.

      Mrs. Guillo’s fellow workers were reluctant to discuss her activities. Ernest did say that she had not used the inner bottom to get to her work. It was quicker and easier to scurry down the forward companionway.

      There was a lot of work to be done here in the inner bottom after the ship was launched and at the outfitting pier. For now the only action was what Mrs. Guillo was putting out or in Whatever. From the amount of loose bills it seemed that she was a quickie artist at getting her cash door open.

      Now we had to find who had ended her lucrative career and had killed her and did not even rob her of the money she

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