Captain Black Mark

A true story told through the eyes of an Officer who served twenty-two months aboard the LST. The ship was scheduled for a six-month tour in the Mediterranean. On January 7, 1952, the ship sailed into a devastating storm, and six hours later, they were losing cargo overboard. In addition to the loss of cargo, the ship is plagued with a navigator threatened with failure to carry out a direct order. In Malta, the LST hits two water barges and one British LCM. Two crewmen were fighting in Naples return to the ship, where one stabs the other; the LST collides with the refueling tanker; two crewmen fighting aboard ship and one threatens the Exec; forty crewmen end up fighting on the main deck; and a duty officer nearly falls overboard. Finally, the ship is beached in Terceria with a large hole in the bottom of its hull. As if that’s not enough, the Captain and Exec bring lady friends aboard the ship; the crew attempts to sail without the Captain and Exec and end up sailing into a force 3 hurricane. Captain Black Mark is the story of all these things. As incredible as it sounds, is it any wonder that the captain develops irrational fixations that his superiors were aware of everything that was happening and that it was these things that prevented him from being promoted.