Carl’s enlistment was up in Feb. 1933 and he left the Navy to seek a civilian career. It was during the Depression and the few jobs Carl found paid the same or less than the military (and didn’t include room and board). In those days Navy policy allowed men to re-enlist without any loss of grade or seniority if they did it within 60 days of their release. On the 59th day, Carl re-upped for a 2-year term. After 2 more years Carl was released again, but he had the same job-hunting experience; so Carl re-enlisted, this time for a mandatory 4 years. When that stint was over, he had 12 years and some rank, so he committed to a Navy career.
Carl was in the Saratoga squadron from 1930 to 1935 and was promoted to Chief Yeoman when he transferred to the battleship Pennsylvania in June 1938.
When Carl was on the Pennsylvania in the South Pacific, he had an eerie experience. He was alone on morning watch, scanning the horizon for ship or aircraft sightings. This was before radar, so watchmen were the most reliable early warning system the Navy had. It was during one of these lonely watches that Carl spotted something bright on the horizon flying toward him… FAST! It approached very quickly and flew overhead at tremendous speed. This was before long before jets were developed and the craft made little or no sound. Carl didn’t know what to make of the sighting and didn’t report it. It was probably a meteorite, but years later Carl wondered if it was a UFO.
As a young sailor, Carl did some amateur boxing, which was a popular sport aboard ship. But unlike most of his shipmates, Carl didn’t like to hang out in bars when he went ashore. Instead, Carl’s liked to go to the beach or drive around and explore. Perhaps his favorite activity was dancing.
Carl liked to dress up in civilian clothes and go to dances. When he was in Long Beach, he would go to the Cinderella Ballroom on the Pike. The Majestic Dance Hall nearby attracted a lot of the sailors, so Carl avoided that. If you wore your uniform to the Cinderella, you couldn’t even get a girl to dance with you!
It was at one of these Cinderella dances that Carl met Maxine Sayer in 1933. The 18-year-old Maxine lived in Paramount with her parents. She and Carl hit it off immediately. After several months of dating, Carl proposed to her. Maxine’s parents wanted her to graduate junior college before she got married; so the marriage was postponed for a year. While they were dating, the parents often let Carl sleep on the couch when he was visiting (very trusting parents!). They finally married in 1934 at the Sayer’s house at 1212 Jackson St in Paramount.
Because he was newly married, Carl requested shore duty. He soon got orders to report to Newport, RI. It took about a week for Carl & Maxine to drive his 1934 V8 Ford back East. While working in Newport, Carl really honed the organizational skills he would need for future promotions.
It turned out that Maxine was more interested in other men than being married. Events culminated dramatically when she wrecked Carl’s car while out with another man. By the summer of 1937, Maxine requested a divorce, which Carl didn’t contest. After the divorce, Carl worked another year in Newport. He met some new women; the most memorable was Margaret Gordon of Greenwich, CT. Carl enjoyed driving his 1936 Plymouth up to Connecticut to see her.
In 1937, Roosevelt had selected Admiral Claude C Block (from Newport) to command the US Fleet aboard the Pennsylvania in Long Beach. Block selected Lt Thomas J Ryan as his flag secretary and Ryan summoned Carl for duty in the office of the Flag of the Commander in Chief, US Fleet (and that time the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets were combined).
When Carl reported to Ryan, his first order was: “Pritchard, these files are a mess, I need you to straighten them out”. Carl quickly organized the files and made a favorable impression. Initially Carl was 3rd class rank but he soon got promoted to 1st class. Carl was the senior enlisted man in an office about 15 guys, so a lot of duties fell to Carl.
In June 1938, Carl was transferred to the Pennsylvania. Because Carl was now assigned aboard a ship, he didn’t need a car, so he turned his Plymouth in to the Ford dealership for credit. Among the ports-of-call were San Francisco, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Long Beach. Some of Carl’s duties were working for the ship’s chaplain and assisting in the library.
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