Japanese American Military Experience Database
T. K. Ohtani
USS Stickell (DDR 888)
Separated August 1955 from Regular Navy and August 1959 after additonal obligated inactive reserve duty.
2nd Assignment: USS Stickell, DDR 888, Radar Picket Ship
Shipboard - Only Asian aboard of 280 men. Slept on bottom of 3 layers of canvas bunks - 18 inches between bunks, below deck -one story, 1/3 of the way from rear of ship. Worked in middle of ship, two stories below deck - in boiler room, where fresh water is heated for ship propulsion. Meals eaten one story below deck.
Typical day is work cleaning, repairing, painting and standing one of three 8 hour watches - manipulating valves, observing water levels, transferring fuel, food, mail while travelling 18 MPH side by side with other ships.
Entertainment was movies, book, games.
Periodically combat readiness was practiced with simulated damage, firing guns, dropping depth charges, listening for submarines, avoiding torpoedoes , rescuing pilots from the sea, operating with other ships such as carriers, cruisers, submarines and other destroyers.
Trying to rescue pilot whose plane went off the front end of carrier which he just took off from.