UNITED STATES SHIP TEXAS THE ELDORADO ADVENTURE

By Captain Eugene Ray Martin

President Roosevelt in 1941 sent the twenty-seven-year-old battleship Texas and her mini task force on an important mission to an American territory. Not to protect that territory, but to salvage their wealth before the Japanese can obtain that wealth and use it to build more weapons of war. Their primary goal was to avoid frightening or threating the Japanese, thus giving the Japanese an excuse to start a war. At that time the Japanese were rattling their sabers. The Americans expected the Japanese at any time to attack somewhere in Southeast Asia. The Japanese were in the midst of a multiyear attempt to colonize China. Because of the political intrigue, they had to secretly organize the expedition. They had to decide what minimum resources were available. It took time for political mechanisms to get started and for the military planners to organize the expedition. It had to be done right the first time. They will face frantic Japanese forces with overwhelming forces.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781640278776

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United States Ship Texas

The El Dorado Adventure

Captain Eugene Ray Martin

Copyright © 2017 Captain Eugene Ray Martin

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc. 2017

ISBN 978-1-64027-876-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64027-877-6 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Also By

Captain Eugene Ray Martin

Fleet Ocean Tug

The US Navy’s Workhorse

Hot and Cold Running War

Captain Sam

The Texas Convoy

2017

Chapter One

From his taxi, Elijah Bauer

first walked up to the great steam engine that will pull his train. Still at the age of twenty-one, he had his adolescent admiration of steam engines. He set his seabag down on the hard concrete platform of the train station. He inhaled the vapors from the steam that emitted from the great beast. He noted a slight acerbic smell of the steam. He wondered if they used some chemical in the water to prevent corrosion. However, he also knew that most or all the steam failed to recycle through the Scott boiler in the train. Therefore, most likely they used no chemical corrosion treatment. Nevertheless, prudence to prevent corrosion required the use of rust prevention chemicals in the boiler’s feed water. Recently he read in some periodical, most likely Popular Science, that some train engineers add a lubricant to the steam to lubricate the reciprocating steam engines on the train.

Suddenly a jet of steam rushed toward him. He looked up at the train engineer. The engineer smiled and waved at him. Elijah waved back. Elijah wondered if the engineer intentionally blew the steam to get his attention, or maybe a pressure relief valve or a steam/water trap sent the steam toward him. He had hopes that the engineer might invite him to visit his control cabin.

The public address system interrupted his thoughts, All aboard for the midnight express to Florida.

The way they announced the destination reinforced his uncertainty that his train was a military transport, because they failed to announce a city destination, or perhaps that is the way they announce all trains now. Nevertheless, obviously numerous civilian passengers waited on the train platform.

He smiled and waved goodbye to the engineer while he walked toward the passenger cars. He wanted to find a good window seat. He weaved around many passengers who milled around the platform. Many of the military passengers talked with girlfriends and/or family members before they departed on their journeys.

Many of the military men will go to foreign countries or to their ships, where most likely in the near future they will fight against the terrible enemies that challenged them. In Europe, the English Empire was in a desperate struggle for their survival against Nazi Germany. In Southeast Asia, the Chinese tried to defend against brutal Japanese invaders. Russia and Germany signed a nonaggression pact. Russia along with Germany invaded Poland and Holland.

Almost daily newspapers and radios were full of speculative news about other countries that might join the fight against freedom. Finland and Japan announced they supported Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

Elijah got in line to give his seabag to one of the African baggage handlers.

While he waited, the happy African man sang almost a song while he commented about the luggage handed to him, ♪Here is another seabag destined to travel across the great oceans, ♪ or ♪this is a fine lady’s bag.♪

After the man collected his bag, Elijah gave him his orders.

Elijah’s orders simply ordered him to report to a certain passenger car connected to this train.

The man told him, Go back into car number 393.

Elijah assumed which car he rode determined his ultimate destination. Elijah knew he will report to some ship. Because for the last nine months, he worked for the United States Navy’s Shore Patrol in New York City. He grew tired of the grime of the big city. He looked forward to smell clean sea air. Prior to Shore Patrol duty, he served on a small destroyer that ran up and down America’s Eastern Seaboard. Therefore, he assumed his next duty station will place him on a destroyer.

Elijah carried his ditty bag into the train’s car. His ditty bag contained his toothpaste, toothbrush, and shaving gear. He was a little surprised to find his car was a first-class car. There was more room between the seats in first class. Some of the seats faced backward, where the opposite facing seats created larger leg room.

He walked down the aisle while he looked for a window seat. Before he sat down, he noticed a redheaded woman with some freckles. Like many women, she had red lips and rosy cheeks painted with rouge. Her added color complimented her dark-red hair and minimum freckles. She looked at him, so politely he turned to his chair. He wanted to stare at the beauty, although politely he ignored her. He noticed that her hair was nearly black, although it shinned in a red color in the light of the railroad car.

While he looked out the window at the activities at the train station, he thought, That is a very beautiful woman.

Soon the train gave a lurch, stopped, and then began to move slowly. He wished he might look at the steam engine while it began to pull its great load. Certainly steam ejected from its steam pistons as the pistons turned the steel wheels.

Now he wondered, Why did I choose to become an electrician instead of a boiler man?

He knew ships’ boilers are different animals than steam powered trains. Therefore, ships’ boilers have less appeal than locomotive engines. Ship’s boilers are stuck in the bottom of ships with no view of the ocean only steel walls, while train engineers have the whole countryside to see.

He looked around his car. He saw one Navy lieutenant commander that sat next to a Navy ensign. About half the other passengers were civilians. The other half was sailors. There were no Army men. There were a few empty seats. Occasionally he looked at the redhead. Sometimes she looked back and smiled. She looked young, too young, certainly a teenager. It had been several years ago when he dated teenagers.

Nevertheless, he was drawn to her beauty. She sat next to an older woman, most likely her mother. Her mother noticed she looked at Elijah Bauer, although her mother exhibited no grief because of that fact.

Hour after hour, the train made click-clack sounds as its steel tires traveled over the steel seams of the rails. The soothing sound along with the slight motion of the train lulled Elijah Bauer to sleep.

At dawn, Elijah looked out the windows at small farms that floated by. He remembered his home on a small farm in North Texas. His elders called this area North Texas, although after he saw a map of Texas, he wondered why they considered this North Texas. This was the strip of land between Dallas and Fort Worth before the Oklahoma border at the Red River. It seemed more logical to call this area Northeast Texas and to call the Texas Panhandle North Texas.

He knew he had an idyllic life on that small vegetable farm, although he failed to know that until he lived in a big city. They grew or raised almost everything they needed. It was hard work. When he was eight years old, he had to get up every morning before sunrise to feed the chickens. When he was twelve years old, he was out hunting birds, rabbits, and occasionally a deer. This country, generally considered part of the Sonoma Desert that continued out west, was hard for wildlife to survive. Fishing was good on the Red River ten miles from his house. Nevertheless, cattlemen made a living with cows. It needed about four acres for each cow to survive. In the wintertime, they had to feed the cows grain that most of the ranchers grew in the growing season. Everyone treated their neighbors well. Normally when two farmers passed each other on the road in tractors or in pickup trucks, they had to stop and talk for a while even if they never previously talked before. Crime in that area was almost unheard of, even though Elijah was personally locked one time up for stealing watermelons.

Before sunrays entered the left side windows, Elijah noticed the girl wrote something on some paper and looked at him. Later the conductor gave Elijah a piece of paper.

It said, My name is Claudette Jordan.

Elijah wrote his name on the same piece of paper and handed the note back to the conductor. Elijah failed to notice if the conductor returned the paper. Later he learned that the conductor secretly returned the note.

Several hours after sunrise, the train slowed to a stop.

The conductor announced, We will have a one-hour layover while we refuel and rewater. Breakfast is available at the station.

Elijah stood up, turned around, and waited for other passengers to clear the passageway. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around. He was a little surprised the redhead’s mother stood there.

She asked him, Elijah, please join us for breakfast.

She paused and added, May I introduce you to Claudette.

Claudette, who stood next to her mother, gave Elijah a little curtsy.

Elijah gave her a brief two-finger salute while he said, Yes, ma’am, thank you.

Claudette returned a little giggle.

They followed other passengers into the diner. The women found a four-chair table and sat down. Elijah was unsure if he might sit next to Claudette or her mother, so he hesitated. The young girl looked at Elijah and with her hand tapped the table next to her, so he sat next to the girl.

They all ordered coffee and water. While they waited for their coffee, they talked about the weather. They were all happy to get away from the cold New York weather and visit Florida. Even in this early spring month, it was cold in New York.

Claudette asked Elijah, What are those on your sleeve?

Elijah explained that the three chevrons indicated that he was a first class petty officer, although he admitted he only received this higher rate only one week previously. Then he explained that the little ball above the chevrons indicated that he was an electrician.

Claudette’s mother then told Elijah, Claudette graduated from high school last year. For one year now she has lived on our farm in North Carolina, where we have horses and other animals. Normally we live in New York, where my husband has a business. Claudette wanted to get away from the big city before she started college. Now we will take a long vacation in Florida before she returns to New York to start college in the summer.

Elijah Bauer responded, Yes, I understand the need to get away from the big city. I was raised in a small town in Texas.

The waitress brought them their eggs and bacon. Claudette had her hand on the table. Elijah gently laid his hand on hers. She smiled at Elijah.

However, her mother looked at their hands and said, No, no.

Elijah quickly removed his hand.

After they finished their eggs and bacon while they drank another cup of coffee, Claudette’s mother told Elijah, Claudette wished she knew a sailor she can write to.

Elijah responded, Yes, that is nice. I have no one I write except my parents.

Claudette then gave Elijah another piece of notepaper where she previously wrote her address. Elijah then wrote his address on another notepaper that Claudette provided.

Elijah then gave that paper to Claudette while he said, You can write me at this Fleet Post Office, and the Navy will send the letter to me wherever I am.

The public address system announced, All aboard for the midnight express to Florida.

While they stood up, Elijah asked Claudette’s mother, I am going to meet my ship somewhere in Florida. I have no idea how long my ship will remain in Florida. Is it possible that I might visit you when I get liberty?

Claudette’s mother tartly responded, No, not at this time.

Then Claudette added, When I move back to New York, I will send you my address there.

They only exchanged a few words while they walked back to their seats on the train.

After Elijah sat down, another sailor sat next to him.

The seaman first introduced himself, My name is Stuart. That sure was a beautiful woman you talked to.

Elijah responded, My name is Bauer.

Elijah ignored his seatmate’s comment about the redhead.

For lunch, the conductor brought sandwiches for the military men. He announced that a coffee pot was ready near the back door.

A few minutes later the conductor quietly announced, while he handed two sandwiches to two civilian men across the aisle from Elijah, We have extra sandwiches if you want.

Then the conductor walked down the aisle while he handed sandwiches to the other civilians that included Claudette and her mother.

Near dark, the train stopped again. Without an invitation, Elijah followed Claudette across the street to a restaurant. Naturally before he sat down with the women, he waited for an invitation from Claudette’s mother.

While they ate supper, Claudette told Elijah, We will stay at my father’s business partner’s house in Fort Lauderdale until June.

Elijah noted that Claudette took off her light coat and revealed a low-cut dress. He desperately tried not to stare at her cleavage.

After they returned to their train, the conductor announced, A train engine will switch our car to another train. We will start again in about one hour.

Claudette and Elijah talked near the coffee pot while they felt their car move back and forth.

The next day they repeated a similar routine except no train change, breakfast at a small trackside dinner, and sandwiches for lunch. Elijah noted that Claudette wore a different blouse with no visible cleavage.

For supper they only stopped for about twenty minutes. Most of the passengers bought sandwiches from trackside vendors. USO volunteers gave donuts and coffee to the sailors and other military men. The USO also gave coffee and donuts to some civilian passengers.

Overnight, Elijah remembered his experiences in New York, perhaps his early memories of his home continued. When he graduated from high school, he wanted to go to college. They had no money for college, so he joined the Navy. After boot camp, he served on a destroyer out of Newport. Then he received orders to New York as a shore patrolman. For nine months he patrolled the bar districts. He thought New York City was a dirty, smelly place. People were not friendly, especially toward Sailors. He had a girlfriend, whom he only occasionally saw. She worked in a coffee shop, where he met her. Every other Sunday or so, she invited him to her parents’ house for supper. Afterward they usually went to a movie. She always resisted him when he wanted a kiss, so he knew they will never become close. However, she was the only person he liked, so he tolerated her remoteness.

Two weeks ago he advanced to a first class petty officer after passing the necessary fleet wide exam for a first class petty officer electrician. One week prior to that he reenlisted and turned twenty-one years old.

The next day they reached Fort Lauderdale at 0800 hours. All the civilians departed Elijah’s car at the train station. Twenty minutes after they departed the train station, the train stopped. Elijah, along with all the sailors from his car, boarded a school bus.

The bus driver told them, "We are going to Texas."

Seaman Stuart looked at Elijah and said, I thought we were going to get a ship in Florida?

The lieutenant commander heard the seaman and happily answered, "We are going to the battleship Texas."

The men were tired from the long train trip with little sleep, except what sleep they got in their chairs, so the men only talked a little.

Elijah overheard the ensign tell the lieutenant commander, "Be vigilant of the Texas’s captain. He is Captain Richards. He runs a tight ship."

The lieutenant commander responded, I will become his executive officer.

The ensign responded, He especially demands a lot from his XO.

Lieutenant Commander Hicks was the offspring of several generations of wealthy. Not really rich; he was upper middle class. He attended Harvard Business School. After college, he joined his father’s small manufacturing company. He soon discovered he was the tail end of several relatives in line for the top jobs.

In part because of boredom, and frustration with his current position—all his ideas had to go through some senior member of the company—he joined the Navy. He loved it. When he was a young teenager, he had a small sailboat he sailed around a lake. He was a dedicated Sailor with hopes of becoming captain of his own capital ship.

The bus stopped next to the USS Texas that was tied up to a wharf. Elijah looked up at the steel giant. Guns sprouted from every area of the ship.

Elijah was accustomed to ships the size of his destroyer, so this dreadnought seemed huge.

The Sailors carried their baggage over the gangway onto the quarterdeck.

The duty officer ordered them to fail in near the stern (back part of the ship). In a group they lugged their seabags to a rail that formed the very back of the ship.

The ensign ordered, Line up here. Stand at attention.

The ensign and lieutenant commander faced them.

When in proper order, the commander ordered, At ease.

They waited nearly twenty minutes for Captain Richards.

Captain Richards, a stocky muscular man about five foot seven inches tall, briskly approached them.

Richards sharply ordered, Stand at attention.

The USS Texas’s captain first walked along the front of the enlisted men while he inspected them.

Then he turned and briefly inspected the lieutenant commander while he said, Commander, the XO on this ship is responsible for the military appearance of the crew.

He paused while he looked the commander in the eyes. "None of you can have liberty this weekend. You will stay on Texas this weekend, shine your shoes, clean your uniforms, and get haircuts."

The captain quickly turned around and walked away while he said, You are dismissed.

However, the ship’s yeoman (secretary) stood nearby, so when the captain departed, the yeoman said to the enlisted men, Please give me your orders and follow me to my office, where I will assign you a berth [bed] and a liberty card.

Then the yeoman looked at the commander and said, Sir, the OOD has sent for an officer to assist you to your cabin.

While Elijah opened his seabag to get his orders, he thought, The ensign was correct—the captain is strict.

First the enlisted men signed in on the ship’s registry, and then the yeoman filled out their liberty cards and other paperwork. They all wore their dress blue uniforms, so after they found their berths, they changed to their work dungaree uniforms.

The yeoman told Elijah Bauer, Bauer, we have a separate berthing compartment for engineering first class petty officers. However, this weekend, you must join the seamen’s berthing area until Monday, when they can make space for you in the first-class area.

The seamen’s berthing area consisted of hammocks. The seamen only had small lockers, so they had to live out of their seabags. In the daytime, they tied their hammocks up with the blankets inside. The seabags hung nearby.

It was Friday, so Elijah shined his shoes. He took his clothes to the laundry area, where they cleaned and pressed his uniforms.

Saturday, he wrote Claudette a letter. He also sent his parents a letter and told them of his new duty station. He met some of the men in E-division, electrical division.

He talked to a fellow E-division shipmate.

At the moment, Bauer was the senior petty officer in E-division, although one of his E-division mates told him, Normally we have a chief petty officer, so most likely soon we will receive a new chief.

The same mate told him, It is routine for the captain to restrict any new men to the ship. However, his mate was a little surprised that the captain also restricted the XO to the ship.

Sunday Elijah explored his new home and workplace, the battleship Texas. Elijah knew that bigger American battleships were under construction. Those new American ships will carry nine sixteen-inch guns.

The Texas had ten fourteen-inch guns. Elijah also speculated that Texas can effectively challenge any battleship currently afloat. He was aware that the Germans and Japanese had previously built big battleships with guns bigger than sixteen inches. Nevertheless, fourteen-inch guns can heavily damage any ship. Nevertheless, he prayed they’ll never encounter those big German or Japanese battleships.

Elijah decided to walk around the top decks of his ship. While he pedaled, he tried to count the five-inch guns. He lost count, so he decided he will ask a fellow sailor or consult some written descriptions about the ship.

He approached a fellow petty officer, who initiated their conversation, Good morning.

Elijah answered, Good morning. I am new here. I was wondering how many guns this ship has. They are all over the place.

The petty officer responded, Yes, I assumed you were new by the way you looked around. Let me guess, you are from a destroyer, and you are amazed by this behemoth?

Elijah said, "Wow, you have me pegged. My name is Elijah Bauer. Now that you know everything about me, what do you do around here?

The petty officer answered, My name is Schultz. I am a gunner’s mate.

Elijah said, You are the man I am looking for. I have tried to count the guns on this tub. There are too many to count.

Schultz answered, As you probably have seen, there are ten fourteen-inch by forty-five-caliber guns in five-gun mounts.

Schultz paused while Elijah led them over to a nearby five-inch gun. Schultz continued, This is number three five-inch gun. We have a total of sixteen five-inch by fifty-one caliber guns. We have ten three-inch by fifty-caliber guns.

Elijah asked, I understand that the first number such as five-inch is the diameter of the bore. The second number such as fifty-one caliber describes how long the barrel is?

Schultz answered, Yes, that is correct. A five-inch by fifty-one caliber indicates that the barrel is five inches times fifty-one long. Fifty-one is how many times the bore of five-inches can divide into the barrel length. That means that our five-inch gun barrels are five inches by fifty-one. That equals two hundred fifty-five inches or twenty-four feet three inches long.

Schultz paused and continued, We have a gaggle of three-inch by fifty-caliber guns along with seventy-six millimeter antiaircraft and twenty-eight millimeter antiaircraft guns. The Marines have installed several fifty-caliber machine guns. The Marines mostly operate the smaller guns. I am uncertain of the total number of those smaller guns.

It was suppertime, so both men got into the supper line.

Reveille sounded at 0600 hours Monday. Elijah showered, shaved, and brushed his teeth before he went to breakfast. At 0800 hours, the ship’s company formed up in formation for inspection. Each division stood at attention in separate groups. Every day Monday through Friday, the ship’s company will form up in division groups. Elijah met his new division officer. The division officer read the plan of the day, POD, and he announced that their ship will get underway Wednesday for gunnery practice.

Before the formation ended, Elijah’s division officer told him, Report to the captain’s cabin at 1100 hours.

This perturbed Elijah; he wondered what kind of trouble he was in.

When his E-division mate added, You must be in trouble, for no one see’s the captain unless he is in trouble.

Now Elijah felt certain he will be lectured somehow, probably because of his ruffled appearance when he reported aboard. Elijah nervously put on his new work dungarees, the uniform of the day. He combed his hair and reshined his shoes.

At precisely 1100 hours, Elijah knocked on the captain’s door.

He heard a deep voice, Please enter.

He entered the cabin. To his right, he saw that the XO sat on a chair. To his left, he saw that a big man sat on a couch.

Elijah marched to the front of the captain’s desk; however, before he came to attention, he had to take another look at the man who sat on the couch. He wore a brown Marine’s uniform, although under his uniform muscles bulged. Elijah never previously saw such a muscled man. While the man sat on the couch, Elijah assumed because of his broad chest, he was seven feet tall.

Elijah came to attention, saluted, and said, Elijah Bauer reporting as ordered, sir.

As was customary under such circumstances, he expected his captain will tell him, Stand at ease.

No such order followed. The captain stood up and walked around the desk. The captain extended his hand to shake hands with Elijah. Nervously Elijah stood at ease and shook hands with Captain Richards.

Richards quickly asked, I see from your records that you are from Bowie County, Texas?

Surprised, Elijah answered, Yes, sir, that is correct.

The captain promptly responded, Your grandfather and I were friends, and I frequently saw your father around town. I went to your christening at church. I attended your sixth birthday party.

Elijah happily responded, Yes, I remember. I attended elementary school with your son.

Everyone in the room happily laughed.

The captain pointed to a leather chair next to the couch where the big man sat and said, Please sit down.

While Elijah walked to the chair, he thought, Wow, I have it made on this ship?

Before Elijah sat down, Richards pointed to the big man and said, May I introduce you to Buck Russell.

The big man without standing extended his hand and said, Pleased to meet you. I saw you fight one time.

They shook hands. Elijah was perplexed by his statement about fight one time, so he merely looked at Buck.

Then the captain pointed to the lieutenant commander and said, You know Commander Hicks.

Elijah looked at the lieutenant commander and answered, Yes, sir.

Elijah sat down.

Then for about fifteen minutes, Captain Richards told old stories about his hometown. His stories included a story about his son and Elijah being chased by the sheriff for stealing strawberries from a farmer’s property. That farmer was the county sheriff. His son and Elijah collected several stickers when they ran through a briar patch.

Richards concluded, I saw you fight in a National Golden Glove fight in Dallas.

Elijah expected that someone will mention his attempt to win the state amateur boxing championship when he was a teenager because of Buck’s previous statement.

Elijah responded, Yes, sir, I lost the state championship by one fight. Even though my high school coach insisted that I won that fight.

Then Captain Richards explained that Buck is a professional boxer.

He explained that, He fights under the name of Buckskin Russell.

Elijah looked at Russell and responded, Yes, I heard you fight on the radio. If I remember correctly, you won that fight by knocking out your opponent in the third round.

Buck simply answered, I never lost a fight, and by the way, I also think you won that last fight.

Then the captain explained, Buck now fights for the Marines and for this ship. I sent a lieutenant over to an Army airbase and challenged them to a fight. They answered, ‘We have a professional middleweight boxer.’ Then with no knowledge of Buck, they continued, ‘Our middleweight boxer can beat any man you have.’ Captain Richards smiled and asked Elijah, Do you think any middleweight boxer can beat Buck?

Elijah looked at Buck and answered, No, sir. Buck can beat any Army man.

Buck looked at Elijah and said, If I remember correctly, you fought middleweight? You look like you are in good shape. What do you weigh, one-hundred seventy pounds?

Elijah stood up and looked at the captain and answered, No, sir. There is no way I can fight a professional.

Captain Richards cuttingly told Elijah, That will be for Buck to decide.

Chills ran down Elijah’s spine as he thought, Are they going to make me fight a professional boxer?

Richards concluded when he told Elijah, You must report to Buck Thursday morning to begin your training.

While Elijah walked out of the room, Captain Richards told Elijah, Because of your background, I expect you to set an example for the crew. Therefore, I expect the best from you.

Elijah meekly answered, Yes, sir.

Now Elijah thought, This is going to be rough duty.

Chapter Two

Captain Richards set the special

sea detail to get underway after breakfast Wednesday morning. They intended to have gunnery practice. They planned to practice shooting at an unoccupied Bahamian Island.

XO Hicks was assigned to take Texas out to sea. Therefore, XO Hicks observed the harbor pilot move Texas away from the wharf. XO Hicks observed the harbor pilot. Captain Richards observed both of them.

Captain Richards reclined in his captain’s chair in the pilothouse while the harbor pilot and XO Hicks from the bridge wing guided Texas out to sea.

Lately Richards felt lethargic. Perhaps old age crept upon him. He was born in 1891. He thought about his life before the Navy. He was a direct decedent of William Dutch, a Cherokee Indian chief, his great-grandfather, and therefore, he was named after him. William Eugene Richards was nearly full-blooded American Cherokee. His father was most likely three-fourths Cherokee. His father was also a trained medical doctor. And his mother was full-blooded Comanche. When he was born, his tribe of Cherokees lived in the area now mostly composed of Oklahoma and the Panhandle of Texas. Captain Richard’s Indian name was simply Bear until he built his house next to the Elm River, a fork of the Red River. The Indians considered the best campground is located in the bend of a river, the inside edge of the bend. The outside edge of the curved river is called the knee of the river. Because Richards lived on the knee of the bend, his name thereafter became Bentknee Bear. Yes, Captain Richards had bent knees. That is, the top of his lower leg bones had a slight outward curve before it connected to his knees. That is common for men, although that is not where his name came from.

The North American Indians were mistreated by nearly everyone even though the Cherokees were less warlike than other North American Tribes. In 1890, the Indians were discriminated against much more than African American descendants.

The Cherokees originated in Southern Canada. Before the Europeans arrived, they migrated to the Carolinas. Therefore, according to the anthropologists, people’s skin color is directly related to the latitude they lived in. If they lived near the equator, their skin is dark. If they lived in higher latitudes such as Canada, their skin color is light. The plane’s Indians had red-tinted skin. The Cherokees had the same skin tone as Caucasians, although the sun tanned them more. They had the rugged facial features of Native Americans. Normally they were short, not over five feet seven inches tall. They had dark hair, high cheekbones, and stubby noses—that more or less described Captain Richards, except his Indian features were subdued. He spoke fluent Cherokee, although he never admitted that to anyone except his immediate family or close friends. When Richards enlisted in the US Navy, he failed to mention his Indian ancestry.

General Santa Anna early in his presidency outlawed enslaving Africans or their decedents. Nevertheless, the Mexicans encouraged enslaving the hated American Indians. In fact, enslaving the Indians was encouraged. The North American Apaches probably suffered more enslavement than any tribe, even more than the local Mexicali Indians native to Mexico. When the American Army captured Apaches in New Mexico or Arizona, they sold them into slavery in Mexico.

The year William Richards was born, Indian police killed three Mexicans who raided his Oklahoma family clan for the purpose of stealing slaves. One other Mexican escaped with two boy captives.

Because of the terrible discrimination against them, many Cherokee Indians began to pose as Caucasians. They accomplished this mainly because their color and general features were more like Caucasians. Dr. William Dutch Jr., Captain Richards’s father, sent his only son to a private military high school with his current name of William Eugene Richards. From high school, he went directly to the University of Texas. After he graduated from college, he immediately joined the Navy. At school or when the Navy asked his ethnicity, he wrote Dutch. Dutch was a loose term that might describe someone from Germany or Holland. At that time, many people had no birth certificate or other identification because they were born at home. Many small hospitals in small-city Texas failed to issue birth certificates. When Richards applied for a driver’s license in high school, he used the name of William Eugene Richards. Thereafter, that was his name.

In 1919, in a small Texas Panhandle town, Captain Richards’s uncle walked into town. He wore ragged clothes. He had money in his pockets. Later it was speculated that he came to town to buy some new garments. Five minutes after he arrived in town, before he talked to anyone or walked into a store, a man walked up to him and shot him dead. That murderer was later sentenced to one year in jail for killing a human being. He was released after thirty days in the local jail.

After the newspapers protested about the light sentence for murder, and many concerned citizens complained, the state police, the Rangers, issued an advisory, Crimes against Native Americans will be treated like a crime against Africans.

After four years in the Navy, Richards achieved the rank of full lieutenant that was good advancement for peacetime Navy. His contract with the Navy ended, so he became a civilian.

Thankfully they moved Elijah away from the seamen’s quarters with the hammocks. However, the yeoman, instead of taking Elijah to the first-class quarters, took Elijah to a switchgear room, where he had a fold-down bunk (bed) with a regular locker. It even had a small table/desk with a nice chair for the desk.

It will become Elijah’s responsibility to maintain and reset any electrical breakers in this electrical distribution switchgear room. This will give Elijah a private sleeping room; that is unusual for any enlisted man to have. Perhaps Captain Richards arranged for his transfer to this location.

Unfortunately, twenty-four hours a day, he must listen to circuit controls engage and disconnect. They only made slight clicking sounds; however, Elijah was a light sleeper, so he hoped he will become accustomed to the sounds.

General quarters sounded after lunch. During general quarters, the sailors assumed their battle stations, where all the guns were manned and all the watertight doors were sealed.

Previously the E-division lieutenant told Elijah to report to the main electrical distribution board room, where electricity is distributed throughout the ship, for his general quarters station.

Four diesel-powered and steam-powered direct current, DC, generators provided electrical power for the distribution panel in Elijah’s general quarters station. Additionally direct current was changed to alternate current, AC, with converters that changed DC to AC current to supply alternate current where needed. The converters consisted of direct current motors that drove AC generators to create this AC current.

Elijah stood watch with a fireman.

The fireman informed Elijah, Watch this meter. When it draws current, they are turning the forward two fourteen-inch gun mounts. This other meter measures current for the other three big gun mounts.

They turned the guns, although they only practiced, for they failed to fire any guns.

General quarters lasted for only two hours. They must get to the firing range before they fired the guns. They were worried if they fired now, it might frighten civilian ships or the people on shore.

As passengers, they carried third-year Annapolis Navy students. Unknown to Elijah, the Navy students practiced on some of the five-inch and three-inch guns. They only used dummy ammunition so they can learn the basic operations of those guns.

Thursday morning, Buck opened the wire mesh door to Elijah’s sleeping switchgear room. Because of the wire mesh door, Elijah considered it a cage. Buck quietly approached his bunk. Elijah opened his eyes. This was the first time he saw Buck standing. Firstly Elijah noticed his shoulders were about three feet wide. Nevertheless, his