Back to Home Back to Alaska Home Back to Travel

Turner Joy
The main deck is sort of the Downtown of the ship. This is where the mess rooms are located. It is also where the post office, barber shop, and ship's store was located.  When off duty, this was where the majority of the crew was likely to be found, if they were not in their bunks.

This was the ships store, sort of the Navy version of the PX. It is now the ship's gift shop, though it was closed during my visit.
the uniform hanging from the ceiling once belonged to Earl, my guide. He was a quartermaster, and a petty officer. the hash marks indicate that he served for twenty years.
This, and the photo above, show the petty officer's mess, where the petty officers hung out, and where they took their meals.
The kitchen of the petty officer's mess.
Adjacent to the petty officer's mess, was the day room, where the work of the chief and of the other petty officers, would be done.
There were many compartments in the ship, and much redundancy. Not all were restored to their original configuration. This room is a memorial for the men who were imprisoned, and in some cases never found (or never released), during the viet nam war. It is exceptionally likely that most if not all of these men were murdered by their captors, who then hid their crimes by denying that these men were ever imprisoned.
Another memorial is to the men who fought and won the war in the Pacific, against the Japanese, during WWII.
Left:
The medical section , popularly known as Sick Bay. Though serious medical conditions were generally evacuated to shore side medical facilities, this section was capable of performing surgery, and of handling pretty much anything that could be handled in any hospital stateside.

Below:
The crew's mess
Above:
Note the mail box, and barber pole. These ships were miniature cities, and needed to be able to provide all of the services of a small town, during extended cruises.

Left:
The barber shop.
This is the personnel office. Though it might seem strange for a ship to have one. Unlike a personnel office in a business, this was more a record keeping office.
Main street. This hallway led to the mess areas, and featured the post office, personnel office, and the door leading down to the fire room. The red and orange molding on the wall to the right of the fire room door, is the emergency shut down for the fire room. Should the fire room be blocked off, or uninhabitable during a battle, this can be used to shut down the engines, and prevent a possible explosion.
Left:
This is the officer's mess, better known as the wardroom. This was used for dining, socialization, and meetings.

Below:
The officers mess table.
The ships silver and dining cutlery, are displayed here, This might also be a sort of a trophy display for any awards or prizes.
Left:
A typical officer's stateroom.

Below:
The captain's cabin
The sleeping section of the captain's cabin. Note the rails for rough weather. The captain was essentially always on call, and could never depend on an uninterrupted night's sleep. Note the traditional sword, the phone right next to the bunk, and the shoes and neatly pressed uniform standing ready.
The desk in the captain's cabin.
The captain's cabin. Note the uniform, which indicates that the rank of captain was a title of honor, and that the actual rank of this officer was commander. Generally a destroyer, considered to be one of the smaller ships of the inventory, was commanded by a commander or even by a lieutenant commander.
The second in command had this as his cabin. This had formerly been the captain's cabin, according to my guide Earl. Latter on, a large store room had been converted to what is now the captain's cabin.
Back to Turner Joy 2 Forward to More of Turner Joy