Dart begins with another grouse, despite the events of yesterday. As of this morning, all hands, except those who were specifically scheduled for duty were granted liberty for 24 hours. Because he’s standing in for Hite and Hite had a watch scheduled, Dart lost out on another liberty. He’s grumbling about being punished for trying to do a good deed for someone.
As he writes this, Dart observes several brightly colored Piper Cubs flying overhead. “Civilian flying must have been taken off the restricted list.”
A while back, Dart had inquired of his father how much gasoline would be available to him during his leave. The response came today. It seems that the answer is “all that the car (and pocketbook) can handle.” I was just wondering the other day how quickly rationing and shortages ended after the war ended. Apparently, things got back to pre-war “normal” very quickly.
Still, Dart has another complaint! He actually never served his late night watch yesterday. He arrived on the bridge about an hour early and decided to take a brief nap in an out-of-the-way spot nearby. Leaving word to call him when his watch started, Dart settled in for a little snooze. The next thing he knew, it was 5:30 in the morning and his watch had been over for 90 minutes. For all his trouble, he could have stayed in bed and had a comfortable night in his own cot. It seems the Navy has gotten rather lax in the past few hours!
Really, this crabby fellow bears little resemblance to our cheery Dart. I think he’s sorely in need of a long leave!
The shipyard – usually a sea of humanity in gaily colored hard hats – is nearly dead today. Everyone’s out on liberty or leave. But the biggest thing on his mind now is when he will be able to buy the ring. There’s likely to be no time on his whirlwind trip to Cleveland to see Burke. Besides, he still doesn’t know what size she wears. He’s also stewing about how the two of them will actually announce their engagement at the big dinner.
But most of all, he’s thinking about how fast his discharge will come through. It’s only fair that that married men with children should get out first. “All I can hope now is that the Navy can spare one weary, single, lazy fire control striker, and that one will be lucky enough to be me. Seems like so far, I’ve been unlucky in many little things and lucky in the big ones. One of the things I’ve been luckiest about is finding a girl to share my life with me. That girl is you, and to you goes all my love, always.”
Okay, I guess he’s still able to put aside his gripes and focus on his blessings.
Dot’s jubilation echoes Dart’s of yesterday. “We are now entering the ‘post-war’ period everyone has been talking about so much. Soon we may begin to do all the things we said we’d do ‘after the war.’ Thank God and all who helped bring it about that peace has finally come. My only hope now is that it’s here to stay.”
The Chamberlains were eating dinner last night when the news of the surrender was broadcast. Dot was so excited she ran upstairs to hang their flag out the window. Then she went out to the roof and shouted with everything in her. “The war is over! My brother’s coming home! Dart’s coming home!” A passer-by asked, “Who’s Dart? Is that your husband?” All Dot could say was “No, not yet.”
When Ruth heard Dot’s comment, she said that since Dot promised she’d not marry until after the war, and now the war was over, she’d probably be in a mighty hurry to “make the fatal step.” Dot assured her mother that it would probably be years before she and Dart could make it all official. “It just wouldn’t be practical right now.” But Gordon calling every night from Seattle also isn’t practical, but Betty sure seems to enjoy talking to him, anyway!”
Dot’s so excited by the events of the past 24 hours, beginning with no more gas rationing! She drove her mother’s car to the service station today and said “Fill ‘er up,” for the first time in four long years!
“In the midst of all our celebrating, Dad asked us to say a prayer for those who made our celebrations possible but didn’t live to see them. It’s hard to know just where to draw the line on celebrations. To our family, the ending of the war means that you and Gordon will be coming home for keeps. But for many families it only renews the hurt that’s been with them ever since they received that dreaded telegram telling that their son or brother had been killed in action.”
She tells Dart how lucky she feels. She loves him far more today than she did yesterday, but it’s been like that for a very long time. “It’s rather a strange system Fate has; It took a war to bring us together the first time, but it will take Peace to bring us together again, forever.”
If his leave starts when he predicts it will, she’ll be seeing him in about 3-1/2 weeks. If his 30 days moves as slowly as the time of waiting passes, it’ll feel like an eternity.
After assuring him of her continued love, she adds a P.S. : Have you heard the news? The war’s over!!!!”
