Armstrong – Table of Contents

restrict shore liberty when the ship was in port, and he would require the offending
crewmen to stand watch, adhering to the same schedule used when the ship was at sea.
Arriving in Lisbon, the Yankton anchored in the Tagus River, the Captain
apparently had been invited to an elaborate celebratory event on shore. Resplendent in his
full dress uniform, and leaving the ship in the polished, brass-enhanced Captain’s launch,
the Captain headed for the city in the evening. After Armstrong retired for the night, the
officer on watch awakened him around 1 am and said, “Did you see the old man last
night?” Armstrong replied, “No”. “Well”, the watch officer said, “He was ‘pie-eyed’. He
held on to the gangplank or he’d have fallen overboard”. About 2 am Armstrong had a
call to come to the Captain’s cabin. When Armstrong entered the cabin, the Captain was
sitting on his bunk “pale as a sheet” and retching. Armstrong observed that the smell of
alcohol on the Captain’s breath would have ignited if he had put a match to it, and the
Captain was terribly sick. Armstrong said, “I’d like to wash your stomach out but the
infirmary does not stock a stomach pump. The best I can do is to give you something to
make you vomit”. Armstrong gave the Captain some warm salt water that worked
quickly. He also administered aspirin tablets and some coffee. He remained with the
Captain until the patient was feeling better, and he then left until he would see the
Captain at 9 am that morning to let him inspect the medical log.
When Armstrong first reported for duty on the Yankton he was the beneficiary of
serendipitous misinformation. He had to use the head (toilet). The Officer of the Day
directed him to a toilet that he was supposed to use. Armstrong was impressed with the
toilet’s neatness and its well-stocked supply of soap, towels and abundance of hot water.
After 2-3 days, he discovered that this was the Captain’s private toilet. In the morning,