It amazes me to see a couple of them sleeping in boxers. None of the guys I was stationed with ever wore anything to sleep in. What was the point? Everyone had already seen everyone else's dick in the showers...
I spent ten years in the Navy on destroyers. I never saw any man sleep on deck nor was I aware that sleeping in the nude was common, even though I have slept nude most of my life. I suspect these guys are on a ship that predates air conditioning on naval vessels. While some of the racks seem to be attached most are just mattresses thrown about with no real pattern. That indicates that this was an idea that spread by word of mouth and not some upper echelon directive. I suspect these guys are in transit back to the states after WWII. A friend in the Army Air Corps told me his transit to and from Europe was a living nightmare. Many men got seasick and the stench of body odor, unpleasant cooking smells, snoring, and stall air along with no air conditioning made sleeping in the assigned areas intolerable for enlisted men. Many men did sleep on deck and had to be careful not to be in a high traffic area or run the risk of being trampled. He related that nudity was not uncommon and seldom ever actually discussed. If a guy was naked, so what. In the best quality copies of this particular pic, the guy on the right with his feet toward the camera has his eyes open and appears to be eyeballing one of his comrades.
It amazes me to see a couple of them sleeping in boxers. None of the guys I was stationed with ever wore anything to sleep in. What was the point? Everyone had already seen everyone else's dick in the showers...
ReplyDeleteI spent ten years in the Navy on destroyers. I never saw any man sleep on deck nor was I aware that sleeping in the nude was common, even though I have slept nude most of my life.
ReplyDeleteI suspect these guys are on a ship that predates air conditioning on naval vessels. While some of the racks seem to be attached most are just mattresses thrown about with no real pattern. That indicates that this was an idea that spread by word of mouth and not some upper echelon directive. I suspect these guys are in transit back to the states after WWII. A friend in the Army Air Corps told me his transit to and from Europe was a living nightmare. Many men got seasick and the stench of body odor, unpleasant cooking smells, snoring, and stall air along with no air conditioning made sleeping in the assigned areas intolerable for enlisted men. Many men did sleep on deck and had to be careful not to be in a high traffic area or run the risk of being trampled. He related that nudity was not uncommon and seldom ever actually discussed. If a guy was naked, so what.
In the best quality copies of this particular pic, the guy on the right with his feet toward the camera has his eyes open and appears to be eyeballing one of his comrades.