U.S. Navy sailors relaxing aboard ship, circa 1941

About this postcard

Four U.S. Navy sailors take a break in a ship's machinery space, with pipes, valves, and engine-room fittings around them. One sits in a wooden folding chair, another leans on a white cylindrical stool, and two sit on the deck. The printed caption calls them "our boys" and says they are enjoying "a relaxing moment from their arduous wartime duties aboard ship," swapping stories of "former expeditions, engagements and fun ashore and afloat." The title plays on the old salt, the veteran sailor known for spinning yarns, and recasts the young crew as storytellers. Such pauses were part of long stretches at sea during World War II, when Navy crews lived and worked in cramped, noisy compartments.