Philip F. Carrigan

1909 - 1998

                                                           

Phil as a First Class Yeoman               Phil getting some sack time                       Phil's Wedding to Mary Terry

                                                                                                                             Best Man brother Jim Maid of

                                                                                                                                                                                  Honor Margaret Terry 

USS CARD CVE-11

  Phil was a Chief Yeoman on the USS Card in World War II. We don't know too much about his service, except from a few stories that have been passed down by his children. We are attempting to obtain military service records so we can find out when he reported on board and when he left the USS Card CVE-11.


The Card went through several Captains while Phil was onboard. During one of the Captains commands, we are not sure which one, Phil had developed a skill to help the sailors get liberty. He found that he could forge a pretty convincing copy of the Captain's signature, and since as a Chief Yeoman, he had access to and processed all the liberty requests, he used to help the guys who couldn't get liberty get of the ship. This could make you a pretty popular person with the crew.
 

 Life at sea could be rough, especially in wartime. One of the things that was always restricted was fresh water. Although the ship had evaporators and machines to convert salt water to fresh, it was just as a matter of course that fresh water was rationed, especially for showers. Phil enjoyed his showers, they were relaxing and he like to feel clean. The skipper decided that the Master-at-Arms would take all the knobs for all the showers and sinks. There was no way to sneak a shower. Phil went to the machinists on the ship and had them make up a special shower knob, just for him. I wonder if a liberty pass accompanied it as "payment". Now, with due caution, he could take a shower whenever he wanted to!