Many of our readers know that the US Navy established a base on Ocracoke in 1942. 500-600 personnel were stationed here to help stop German U-Boat attacks on allied merchant ships. Although a popular tourist destination today, Ocracoke had little to offer young sailors seventy years ago. At Christmas of 1942 the commanding officer described his men's "deep distaste for Ocracoke," adding that "this sentiment seems to be universal and is due to the isolated position of the base, the poverty of entertainment of any kind, no liquor, and a lack of supply of the ladies of negotiable affections sought by sailors."
In spite of the officer's observations, a few of the sailors grew to love not only Ocracoke, but several of the local ladies. Today several island families trace their roots, not only to Ocracoke's earliest settlers, but, through Navy and Coast Guard personnel, to ancestors in the mid-west and the northeast.
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of midwifery on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082112.htm.
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Oooh, let me write this down -- " ladies of negotiable affections" -- my new favorite phrase.
ReplyDeleteThe affections of the ladies on OI were Non negotiable-- the prices -- out of the sailors budget. Plus, military personnel free time sounds costly-- liquor i.e.
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