| On one of our refueling jobs we received the body of an officer from a tin can who had hung himself on a LST. We were to transfer the body to a carrier we were going refuel two days later. The bakeshop cook heard that the body was going to be brought right by his bakeshop (starboard side aft) so he closed and put the battle covers over the two portholes in the bakeshop and hid behind the ovens. When the body was secured in the chill box it was in a metal stretcher and the deck of the chill box was made of metal grates. Every time the ship rolled in one direction the stretcher would slide on the metal grates and make a clinking noise. When the ship started the roll to the other side, the stretcher would hit the bulkhead with a thud. This could be well heard in the galley and bakeshop. The baking on the ship was done at night and the baker would give his list of items he needed for a night's work to the first class in the issue room. The baker told the first class if any of the items he needed from the chill box were not completely broke out he was not going down there to get them.
The next day the baker was leaning on the rail on the fantail just looking out to sea. The first class had been in the freezer holding inventory and decided to come up to the fantail to warm up. The ladder from the freezer came out right behind the baker. The first class put his ice-cold hands around the deep in thought baker's neck and gave a long moan. We almost had another body to put in the chill box.
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