Baby, it's Cold Outside!

Wally Krupenevich, U.S.S. Irex (482), March 2003

LTJG Jim Murray George Barney TM1(SS) Ed Knight FN(SS) LT Fred Schuler

These photos were taken during the same trip up north during the very early '50s, in what looks like adverse times, evaluating new foul weather gear. The picture on the right has been floating around for some time. About five years ago, one of the 6th graders at St. Mary School in Newington, where I was a part-time computer teacher, asked me if I had seen the submarine book in their library. I told him that I hadn't. Fulfilling my sworn duty, I looked at it and found the photo on the left. The book is Submarine, Men and Ships of the U. S. Submarine Fleet, written by C. B. Colby, copyrighted in 1953. It was a coincidence that Fred Schuler sent me copies of each in a recent “CARE Package.”

You might be curious as to why Barney was standing lookout watches, as he was in-charge of the FTR. None of our TM's stood room watches. We all stood lookout, helm, radar and sonar watches. It wasn't until about 1953, starting a 3 month Med run, that the two senior TM's in each Torpedo Room were assigned to the room. We didn't stand formal watches, but one of us had to be in the room at all times, awake or sleeping. Kinda weird, but that's the way it was. I simply can't remember what our watch schedule was after the deployment.

P.S. if you look closely, you can see where I cropped and re-joined the picture of Mr. Schuler and Knight in the middle in order to remove a large space between them.