Standing at the gangplank with mouths wide open from amazement of the size of the ship, we were photographed and later received the pictures onboard. Not only was the SS United States beautiful on the outside, but also the interior was wonderful to see, too luxurious for our way of life then.Michael (our eleven-year-old “pain in the ass”) went on a voyage of discovery throughout the ship. After a short time he knew it from the bottom to the top, he has "taken ownership of it.” We were to leave the Le Havre Port shortly after midnight and, because we were so tired from the many exciting events of the day and the long train trip, we wanted to take a little nap. But we fell so fast asleep that we had not noticed the departure and therefore left old Europe without any fanfare (at least for us).After breakfast the next morning, we went right on deck. The sea was a bit rough, the sky covered with clouds, and the ship rolled a little, but still one could see in the distance the last European islands disappear.We ate the finest food for lunch; the head steward -- a person from Hamburg -- had chosen the food for us because we didn't know the different names on the menu. There were such chunks of meat on each plate that one portion alone would have made a lunch for all of the residents of the little village in Germany from which we came!That evening, we looked up the “passenger list,” a book, really, which was printed for each trip. In addition to the alphabetic listing of passenger names and the rank explanations of ship officers, it also was a roadmap for the common areas of all kinds, explaining the varied horns, bells and whistles, the daily programs and all sorts of interesting technical information about the ship itself.Each day onboard was similar to the one before: games, promenade, swimming, and cinema. As the sun rose over the horizon on our last morning on the ship, we could see islands, fireboats, and in between wisps of fog, the famous Statue of Liberty. Skyscrapers (something we had never seen before, except in books) loomed over the New York skyline and we passed many piers. On the Hudson River we even passed the British steamer Queen Mary. We pulled up along Pier 86 at around 8:00 am.Being new immigrants, we were the last to be processed by passport control. When we were finally were able to disembark, our luggage was ready to be picked up on the pier and we were able to complete the customs process in short order. Seeing the SS United States one last time was a little bittersweet, because that wonderful ocean liner had been our “home” for five days.-- Eugene Pittner, who emigrated from Germany aboard the SS United States in 1955 with his wife Emma and their eleven-year-old son Michael, fifteen-year-old son Winfried, and sixteen-year-old son Norbert.
Transmission 17: Jerrold Ross
I came to work at Gibbs & Cox as the result of an employment ad for a “junior typist” in the New York Times. I was told by the manager of the recruitment department that it was the only time such an ad was placed. In spite of my age (either 15 or 16), I was called in, took a typing test, and passed it.What I didn’t know was that the job required security clearance, and that FBI agents were questioning my neighbors to determine whether I demonstrated any “subversive” qualities. With nothing on my record, and no odd behaviors, I passed that hurdle, too.I guess it was not generally known that a passenger ship could be converted to a warship, and as I worked with plans, it was imperative that I not photograph them for sale to a possible enemy. It seems funny now, but was obviously viewed by the government as something serious.Those were the days before computers, of course, so my task was to copy plan numbers by means of an ordinary typewriter. I still remember the head of my unit, who checked my work for complete accuracy, asking if I ever made a mistake. I did, but I corrected them, which was not easy! You had to razor off part of the paper, re-type whichever section contained the error, and hope everything lined up. Hour after hour of this, day after day, was not the most exhilarating experience, but it paid $52.50 a week – a fortune for someone from my economic background. And the office was bright, modern, and congenial. Had I stayed, in a few years I might have risen in the administrative ranks.Mr. Gibbs, whose appearances in that part of the company were not all that frequent, was an imposing figure to me at my age. I felt a certain amount of awe regarding the job itself, as it was my first real one. When I saw the recent publicity surrounding the efforts to restore the ship and make it beautiful once more, memories of the pride of Gibbs & Cox in the design, and its success as it set the record for crossing the Atlantic, came back to me. I’m not one to long for the “good old days,” however. There were no such things. The good days are still ahead of us. -- Jerrold Ross, junior typist at Gibbs & Cox during the summer of either 1940 or 1941
Transmission 16: Joyce Phalen
It was so exciting when we moved away from shore with all the people waving and streamers flying -- just like the movies!We lost about 1 1/2 hours per night for 4 nights, so I had to put our watches ahead before going to bed and had to catch up on sleep with naps.There were so many activities aboard—I remember I took my girls Liz and Tracey to the Huckleberry Finn movie and they had a ball. Tracey, the baby of the family, was so good too (for a change).The food was tremendous. They had a menu with so many different selections and everything was delicious. It seemed like we ate all day and we would weigh a ton by the time we reached Bremerhaven.Liz wore the little black dress to dinner one night and Tracey had hers on also. A lady came over and said, "Your children look adorable!" And they did!-- Joyce Phalen, former passenger, who sailed with her daughters Liz and Tracey, and her husband Rich.