Naval Paperwork
Mostly routine Navy paperwork. The first transfer order (August 29, 1944) moves Dad from the Farragut Naval Training Station to Seattle, where the Effingham was going to be commissioned on November 1, 1944. It lists two transportation authorizations, a cheaper one for Dad in an upper berth and one for Mom from Spokane to Milwaukee in a first class lower berth. Mom lived in Spokane while Dad was at Farragut, probably because the towns near the base were small with few job opportunities except for working at the base. Farragut was only 80 miles from Spokane, and liberty trains made the trip three times a day.
Mom may have intended to return to Milwaukee to be with family while Dad was away at sea for extended periods. She didn’t go. The next document (March 24, 1945) shows that Mom’s travel money wasn’t used due to “unforseen circumstances” (Dad’s spelling could be erratic), and she moved to Seattle to be with Dad while he attended pre-commissioning school for the Effingham. She relocated again to San Francisco to be near him when the ship moved its home base there.
The next two documents are the transfer order to the Effingham and the travelling complement of sailors.
“Plan of the Day” (November 1, 1944)
More interesting is the Plan of the Day for November 1, the day the Effingham was commissioned. The last three pages constitute a brief introduction to the ship–living assignment, officers’ names, the decks of the ship and the functions located on each, censorship regulations, location of Sick Bay, a warning not to go into Officers Country unless required–the stuff of day-to-day life aboard a warship.
Naval Pay
Dad’s base pay as a petty officer was $96 a month, with an additional $19.20 for foreign sea duty and a quarterly cash clothing allowance of $9. Today, that $118.20 would be the equivalent of roughly $1,750 a month or a little over $21,000 a year. Not a lot, but quite a bit better than an apprentice seaman ($50/month) or a non-rated seaman first class ($55).
Introduction to New Caledonia
The last document is an introduction to New Caledonia, its terrain, history, peoples, weather, plants and animals, and the shore leave amenities of interest to the sailors and Marines, possibly prepared by the personnel office aboard the ship.
