Storystar Short Stories

The USS McInerney FFG-8 spent much of the fall of 1988 chasing Soviet submarines in the Mediterranean Sea to monitor their movement. Lots of long hours and at times tense situations. The message that ordered us into Torremolinos Spain for Christmas was much welcome by a fatigued crew. Any port in Spain is a Sailors paradise, lots of beautiful women, double shot cocktails, rocking discos and good food! Torremolinos was even better because of one huge business located near the city. The Bacardi Rum distillery!

We were pretty much on a ‘Duty Day Only’ work schedule with the holiday approaching and the extended time at sea. Two days into the port visit I had already made up for the time lost at sea. Lots of drinking, many women and averaging about 3 hours of sleep. The third day one of my shipmates told me that the Rum factory offered tours of the distillery with sampling of the product. Count me in!

So after a full night of partying my buddy and I hopped a cab the next morning and headed to the factory a few miles out of town. The tour was great with many samples of some of their finest rum including some that sold for over a thousand dollars a bottle. By the time we left my head was spinning like a carousal. We went back to town and hit some of our favorite pubs. Around 10pm I met a girl I’d been with the night before and accompanied her to a party at a friend of hers in a condo a few blocks away. After a little over an hour there I realized I’d left my buddy back at the club so I left in search of him. By this time, I was extremely intoxicated and getting really tired. Drinking all day and very little to eat plus the lack of sleep really caught up to me. I couldn’t remember which club I’d left my buddy at and eventually realized I had no idea where I was.

I walked around till around 2am then saw a hotel and in my drunken mind decided that getting a room for a couple of hours would be a good idea. I’ll get a little sleep and then get back to the ship in time for morning muster. Well I got plenty of sleep alright and when I finally woke up it was about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. When I realized what I had done and knew that I was over 8 hours UA (unauthorized absence) I went in to a panic. Here I was a 4.0 sailor, one of the leading Petty Officers on the ship with a perfect record, and now I had subjected myself to Non-Judicial Punishment. Best case scenario was I’d be restricted to the ship and fined. Worst case was that I’d possibly have a stripe taken away. Neither scenario worked for me. I was tired and the only escape was alcohol, and I’d been drinking way too much and couldn’t stop, didn’t want to stop. I’d go back to the ship and be disgraced. It was too much for me to handle so I decided I’d had enough.

I sat on the balcony overlooking the street 5 floors below and considered jumping. My foggy mind made enough sense of the situation to know that it might not kill me. I pictured myself with broken legs or a broken back and knew it was too risky. I thought that just going to sleep and not waking up would be the best way out. It seemed that with the circumstances I had awakened to on this day, the time was now. So how do I achieve my goal?

The first thing I did was stop by the front desk to book another night at the hotel, then I took off to find a drug store. I bought a dozen sleeping pills and conveniently there was a liquor store just down the street so I purchased a fifth of Scotch, stopped and grabbed a bite to eat and went back to the hotel. I went back with the intent of dying.

I found a pad of paper in the night stand and an ink pen, poured myself a glass of scotch and water and had a seat on the balcony. I then began to write. I wrote my kids, my family, my shipmates. I apologized to everyone for anything I might have done to hurt them. I apologized for disappointing so many. I expressed regret for the good times I would miss but asked for forgiveness. I’m not sure how long I wrote or how long I drank but the letter was over two pages long and the timing of the letter and the bottom of the bottle arrived at the same point at the same time. I signed my name at the bottom of the page, folded it and placed it in an envelope addressed “To Whom It May Concern”. I had half a glass of scotch left and ten sleeping pills on the table. Just enough to wash them all down and it was done.

Somewhere around 14 hours later I realized that it wasn’t done. When my eyes opened slightly there were two men in the room with me. I couldn’t make out who either of them were but the one closest to me had a stethoscope hanging from his neck. He was listening to my pulse. I moved slightly and in broken English he told me to lay still. In my right arm was a needle hooked up to an IV bottle. I drifted off for a few minutes, maybe longer. I don’t recall much but eventually they had me set up in bed. The man with the stethoscope was a doctor who had been called when I had slept past check out time. The second man was the hotel manager. The Doctor made me drink a glass of water and then lay back down. I went back to sleep for maybe an hour.

When I woke up the second time there was another man setting in a chair by the bed reading a magazine. As soon as he noticed I was awake he picked up the phone and called the front desk. A few minutes later the manager and the Doctor. This time he had me set up and eventually get out of bed and walk around the room. He gave me some salted crackers and more water and after about 30 minutes I actually did start to feel better.

After a couple of hours, the Doctor asked me if I could afford to pay him for his time which I gladly did. I think I gave him $20 or something like that. He called me a cab and then escorted me to the lobby. Before I left, he told me that he didn’t know me but felt that I had people back in the states that loved me and cared for me. He said that I need to get through this and get back to them. I thanked him and then went outside to await the cab.

When I arrived back at the Ship and made my way up the gang plank to the quarterdeck. The Officer of the Deck picked up the phone and I heard him say “He’s back”.

From there I was escorted to Sick Bay. The Corpsman gave me a short exam and then I was sent to the Executive Officer’s state room. He closed the door and told me he was glad I was back and that everyone had been worried about me.

He then said words that I was not expecting but will never forget. He told me that I was one of the, if not the most respected Petty Officer on board the ship. He continued to tell me that he did not want to charge me with violations and in fact I had one of two options. I could stay on board and face Unauthorized Absent charges or I could agree to be returned to the states immediately and attend an Alcohol Rehabilitation program. I didn’t have to think long about that and immediately agreed to the second option.

I spent one more night on board the McInerney and the next day was transferred to the Naval Hospital in Torremolinos Spain where I would spend the next week awaiting orders and transportation back to the States.

And so ended one chapter of my career and began another.

When You Finally Find The Bottom(Billy Sample) The USS McInerney FFG-8 spent much of the fall of 1988 chasing Soviet submarines in the Mediterranean Sea to monitor their movement. Lots of long hours and at times tense situations. The message that ordered us into Torremolinos Spain for Christmas was much welcome by a fatigued crew. Any port in Spain is a Sailors paradise, lots of beautiful women, double shot cocktails, rocking discos and good food! Torremolinos was even better because of one huge business located near the city. The Bacardi Rum distillery!

We were pretty much on a ‘Duty Day Only’ work schedule with the holiday approaching and the extended time at sea. Two days into the port visit I had already made up for the time lost at sea. Lots of drinking, many women and averaging about 3 hours of sleep. The third day one of my shipmates told me that the Rum factory offered tours of the distillery with sampling of the product. Count me in!

So after a full night of partying my buddy and I hopped a cab the next morning and headed to the factory a few miles out of town. The tour was great with many samples of some of their finest rum including some that sold for over a thousand dollars a bottle. By the time we left my head was spinning like a carousal. We went back to town and hit some of our favorite pubs. Around 10pm I met a girl I’d been with the night before and accompanied her to a party at a friend of hers in a condo a few blocks away. After a little over an hour there I realized I’d left my buddy back at the club so I left in search of him. By this time, I was extremely intoxicated and getting really tired. Drinking all day and very little to eat plus the lack of sleep really caught up to me. I couldn’t remember which club I’d left my buddy at and eventually realized I had no idea where I was.

I walked around till around 2am then saw a hotel and in my drunken mind decided that getting a room for a couple of hours would be a good idea. I’ll get a little sleep and then get back to the ship in time for morning muster. Well I got plenty of sleep alright and when I finally woke up it was about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. When I realized what I had done and knew that I was over 8 hours UA (unauthorized absence) I went in to a panic. Here I was a 4.0 sailor, one of the leading Petty Officers on the ship with a perfect record, and now I had subjected myself to Non-Judicial Punishment. Best case scenario was I’d be restricted to the ship and fined. Worst case was that I’d possibly have a stripe taken away. Neither scenario worked for me. I was tired and the only escape was alcohol, and I’d been drinking way too much and couldn’t stop, didn’t want to stop. I’d go back to the ship and be disgraced. It was too much for me to handle so I decided I’d had enough.

I sat on the balcony overlooking the street 5 floors below and considered jumping. My foggy mind made enough sense of the situation to know that it might not kill me. I pictured myself with broken legs or a broken back and knew it was too risky. I thought that just going to sleep and not waking up would be the best way out. It seemed that with the circumstances I had awakened to on this day, the time was now. So how do I achieve my goal?

The first thing I did was stop by the front desk to book another night at the hotel, then I took off to find a drug store. I bought a dozen sleeping pills and conveniently there was a liquor store just down the street so I purchased a fifth of Scotch, stopped and grabbed a bite to eat and went back to the hotel. I went back with the intent of dying.

I found a pad of paper in the night stand and an ink pen, poured myself a glass of scotch and water and had a seat on the balcony. I then began to write. I wrote my kids, my family, my shipmates. I apologized to everyone for anything I might have done to hurt them. I apologized for disappointing so many. I expressed regret for the good times I would miss but asked for forgiveness. I’m not sure how long I wrote or how long I drank but the letter was over two pages long and the timing of the letter and the bottom of the bottle arrived at the same point at the same time. I signed my name at the bottom of the page, folded it and placed it in an envelope addressed “To Whom It May Concern”. I had half a glass of scotch left and ten sleeping pills on the table. Just enough to wash them all down and it was done.

Somewhere around 14 hours later I realized that it wasn’t done. When my eyes opened slightly there were two men in the room with me. I couldn’t make out who either of them were but the one closest to me had a stethoscope hanging from his neck. He was listening to my pulse. I moved slightly and in broken English he told me to lay still. In my right arm was a needle hooked up to an IV bottle. I drifted off for a few minutes, maybe longer. I don’t recall much but eventually they had me set up in bed. The man with the stethoscope was a doctor who had been called when I had slept past check out time. The second man was the hotel manager. The Doctor made me drink a glass of water and then lay back down. I went back to sleep for maybe an hour.

When I woke up the second time there was another man setting in a chair by the bed reading a magazine. As soon as he noticed I was awake he picked up the phone and called the front desk. A few minutes later the manager and the Doctor. This time he had me set up and eventually get out of bed and walk around the room. He gave me some salted crackers and more water and after about 30 minutes I actually did start to feel better.

After a couple of hours, the Doctor asked me if I could afford to pay him for his time which I gladly did. I think I gave him $20 or something like that. He called me a cab and then escorted me to the lobby. Before I left, he told me that he didn’t know me but felt that I had people back in the states that loved me and cared for me. He said that I need to get through this and get back to them. I thanked him and then went outside to await the cab.

When I arrived back at the Ship and made my way up the gang plank to the quarterdeck. The Officer of the Deck picked up the phone and I heard him say “He’s back”.

From there I was escorted to Sick Bay. The Corpsman gave me a short exam and then I was sent to the Executive Officer’s state room. He closed the door and told me he was glad I was back and that everyone had been worried about me.

He then said words that I was not expecting but will never forget. He told me that I was one of the, if not the most respected Petty Officer on board the ship. He continued to tell me that he did not want to charge me with violations and in fact I had one of two options. I could stay on board and face Unauthorized Absent charges or I could agree to be returned to the states immediately and attend an Alcohol Rehabilitation program. I didn’t have to think long about that and immediately agreed to the second option.

I spent one more night on board the McInerney and the next day was transferred to the Naval Hospital in Torremolinos Spain where I would spend the next week awaiting orders and transportation back to the States.

And so ended one chapter of my career and began another.

JD

04/29/2020

I guess military life doesn't give a person much room to be human and make mistakes... or at least that is what you believed in order to do something so drastic to avoid whatever drastic action you believed they would take against you. I think there is something really wrong with a system that would make someone feel like suicide was a better way to go than face the consequences for being 'late'...
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04/30/2020

I'm glad you were given the option to get well, too, Billy. Good for you for taking them up on that offer and making the most of it.

Billy Sample

Thanks again for your comment, jd. It was more my pride I think than anything else. An alcoholic mind doesn't think to rational. I was just grateful that I was given the option to get well.

Congratulations !

When You Finally Find The Bottom

COMMENTS (1)

JD

JD

Billy Sample