Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: Chainmail
Have my own story of illicit drinking - while I was in Vietnam, anything alcoholic was hard to get where were, but one of my buddies snagged a gallon size can of pineapple from the mess hall.

USN 1951 sub service here. One of the guys told me that during WWII they used the 200 proof alcohol reserved for torpedo fuel to lace grapefruit juice. Tied on some marvelous benders.

Said he swore off it after waking up one morning and couldn't move a muscle for about an hour. Scared the Hell out of him.

The stuff killed or blinded many, so the military added a foul-tasting pink dye to make it undrinkable. Still, "pink Lady" made a great deodorant before hitting the beach though.

44 posted on 09/29/2021 2:53:16 PM PDT by Oatka
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies ]


To: Oatka; rlmorel
Subs in 1951! Dang buddy - I thought I was "Old Corps"!

I had heard stories about "Torpedo Juice" but I never heard anything first hand before.

I was actually pretty lucky to be deprived of alcohol during most of my tour, since in those days I was pretty easily drunk.

I drew R&R in Taipei on my eighth month in country and on the evening before my flight from Danang I joined three other Marines and we all decided to visit the Air Force side of the base to see what was there. As always, that was a bad idea.

We found the NCO Club and it was raining heavily, so we were soaked - and a large bouncer told us that we couldn't come inside. We kept asking to come in and some of the Air Force guys inside urged him to go ahead and let us in. Reluctantly, he let us come in and we found a table and started drinking. I don't remember the exact sequence of things, but I remember some airman telling me war stories (!) when one of my companions hit the young waitress accross he bottom with his wet hat as she bent over to hear another table's order. She tottered into that other guy's lap - and then all hell broke loose. The bouncer got knocked out almost immediately and it was about evenly divided between "non-Marines" and "adopted Marines" and the place was pretty torn up, fast. We heard vehicles arriving with urgency, so we picked that time to leave through a broken window and vanish into the rain.

I heard that after that, Marines were banned from that side of the base and they're probably still looking for us - the Air Force never forgives or forgets.

45 posted on 09/29/2021 3:58:16 PM PDT by Chainmail (Frater magnus te spectat)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson