Secretary: This is Mr. -----, FATHER.
FATHER: Pleased to meet you, Mr. -----. Take a seat.
Coast Guard: FATHER, the main thing I came over here for, I would like to tell You conditions of our quarters there. I am in the Coast Guard, and I thought probably with Your influence You could help us out some. We have no water up there, no bathing facilities that any normal, decent place would have. The heating facilities are awfully poor and we Coast Guard boys, after being in the cold for a few hours need to warm up. There isn't even enough water to wash your face with. We have to have water in a barrel; if it rains we have water and if it doesn't rain we don't have any water and the toilet facilities are awfully poor. There are two toilets, an old toilet and a new one. I don't know why we don't have the privilege of using the new toilet. The old one is at our disposal.
The Brigantine Hotel and the Beach
FATHER: Yes. Well, you know how it is. But you are one in the number that has the privilege to come here (the Brigantine Hotel) and take baths.
Coast Guard: We do, yes.
FATHER: Well, I told them they could come here and take baths, and we will make the suggestion--of course, it has to be passed upon by the trustees--to give a floor or two of the building for the season to the boys anyway--I mean for the winter season anyway. But it seems they don't want to accept of it unless they take over the whole building, according to information I received last night; but anyway, as far as we are concerned, so long as you fellows are willing to abide by regulations--no smoking and no drinking on the premises you are welcome to come here when you are off, so long as you are not violating the rules of the government, and you are welcome to have the benefit of our facilities in the way of taking baths and such as that.
Coast Guard: Up there it's---I don't know why we can't get water up there where a body of men are, especially in a time like this. We need water, it's an essential thing.
FATHER: Positively!
Coast Guard: I don't know the reason why. Everything else is taken care of. It should be spent here at home first. It looks like to me the place is just a forgotten hole. It just doesn't seem to have any chance of being built up any more. It's up there and that's all. We are sleeping up there in an old garage, and it isn't right.
FATHER: How many are there?
Coast Guard: I think there's thirty of us now, but there will be some more soon, and there's twelve of us going away to "dog school" for about thirteen weeks. But the water--if we want a drink of water we just have to get a bottle of Coca Cola, and in the morning when you get up you like to clean your face and body and keep half-way decent.
FATHER: Well, it seems like it could be, as much as the government is spending.
Coast Guard: They are spending a whole lot, but not in this direction up here, it seems to me. We heard that there were two men here to see You about the place, but we didn't know the first detail as to what it was about. The men asked me, "Well, if there's anything that will improve the Coast Guard we should be in on it," and it shouldn't be all at once come to the Coast Guard and a few go and few left behind. That wouldn't be fair to us fellows up there.
FATHER: I think the Commander spoke to the manager here about having thirty of his men come and take baths here and it was agreed upon, and then I Personally made the suggestion that maybe we could accommodate the thirty here in this building...
Coast Guard: Oh, sure?
FATHER: ...but they didn't want to do it, you see. That is what I was informed. They want to take over the whole building if they would be accommodated here.
Coast Guard: That wouldn't leave You accommodation for Your own pleasure here.
FATHER: No.
Coast Guard: No, that wouldn't.
FATHER: I thought maybe--of course, the property does not belong to Me and it does not belong to the church, but it has been turned over to the church for church purposes, but I made the suggestion, as the Pastor, to give the boys accommodation for sleeping and everything, at least the thirty that were here. I made the suggestion that they might be willing to do that, and I suppose your superior officer spoke to the manager here about it and they talked it over, and it seems that he was pleased to consider it and he spoke to his superior officers and of course they said it would not do.
Coast Guard: Well, as we men up there get no information at all of anything, we know it would be just pack up and go. We get no advance information at all.
FATHER: Sure. Well, I think they are trying to work it out for some benefit--I mean for the benefit of the boys--and I think something may be worked out. I hope it will. But I considered you could stay here as well as stay up there.
Coast Guard: It would be better.
FATHER: Sure. And have a good comfortable, warm place to stay, and yet you would feel more like doing your duty; feel better physically.
Coast Guard: Sure. Now, you take last night it was extremely cold--I mean, it wasn't extremely cold but it was the first cold spell this winter, and being out there in the cold and coming in and the fire is down and the air comes in the windows, you couldn't heat it up and the temperature is almost the same as outside where we sleep out there, and a lot of us are not just used to that kind of sleeping and it's hard to take. If we were on the battlefield and moving around it would be different, but I don't think there's any cause for those conditions, especially when it comes to water. Water is one of the cheapest things we have and it should be supplied, especially when it comes to service and army service.
FATHER: I think it can be worked out, and I said we would be glad to co- operate. When I spoke to them about accommodations here, I thought maybe it would be a blessing to you all and co-operation with the government and everything. It was not to be any charges or anything of that sort the way we had...
Coast Guard: ...planned it.
FATHER: ...planned. As a charitable organization we desire to co-operate with the government as well as with the civilians.
Coast Guard: Well, I don't know. Of course, they work in such a mysterious form. There may be something for us later on, but at the present time all of us men are very much discouraged at the way things have been handled, and I even spoke before, if I would ever had the privilege of having the pleasure of meeting You Personally and discussing this plan, I thought maybe You could ease my pulse a little better and give me some consolement.
FATHER: Well, I think something will work out to your benefit.
Coast Guard: Well, I appreciate it. I hope so, and I believe that since You believe so, quite naturally I know so. So thanks a lot!
FATHER: PEACE!
Coast Guard: Thanks, and peace to both of you.
FATHER: You 're welcome.
Coast guard: And if there's anything the Coast Guard can do for You in the way of patrolling or guarding, we would be glad to do so.
FATHER: Thanks.
The New Day: November 26, 1942 A.D.F.D. Pg. 9-10
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