Murder on Liberty Ship Hull # 13

Foreword

I saw and heard it in the newspaper and on TV. The liberty ship “S.S. JEREMIAH O’BRIEN” was on her way back home to Maine from Omaha Beach reunion.

I was there in the west yard at South Portland, Maine when she was built 51 years ago. I had done my little part in building her and this was the 1st of August 1994.

I had to get to Portland, Maine to go aboard once more. I also hope to see again my friend of the old days and nights, Kelley.

I have written this shipyard story as I remember it. I wanted to have my old friends re-affirm some of the facts. I did indeed find my old friend. We were pleased to find that we had both retired in Florida. We were in fact almost neighbors. I lived in the retirement community of Zephyrhills and Kelley with his pretty wife of 65 years were living at “The Edwinola” a retirement home at Dade City eight miles north.

Kelley laughed, “You know that story could not be written of today. The old days were best, those wonderful almost carefree days and nights. No such thing as AIDS to spoil the fun. I remember how scared I was for myself after sleeping with Barbara without any protection. I misunderstood when she said that she was sick. It was about the time that Minnie the Greek and Verna were in danger of getting a venereal disease. Today with the AIDS virus they would have been in real trouble. I sure would not live life as I did then.”

When we got together over the book we decided to leave it much as it was. This is the tale of the Liberty Ship Murder on Hull #13 and the dedicated workers on the Liberty Ships.

The Author

Murder on Liberty Ship Hull #13

Chapter 1

South Portland, Maine
Liberty Ship Building-West Yard Sliding Ways Section

I had been sent to the shipyard to investigate the murder of a woman on hull # 13 that had been killed in the liberty ship. My interest soon turned to the antics of a mating machine; lovingly called Kelley by the foxy ladies around and in the shipyard.

Kelley was a rigger that did not care whether they worked on a hull that was being built and still on the ways or was launched and was being outfitting at one of the piers. He did not neglect the girls or young woman that drove trucks around the yard. There were others that worked in the offices and last but not least the prettiest waitresses were at the local restaurants. He made them one and all including a few extras at the Redman’s Hall on dance nights.

It all started when three of us from the bureau were assigned to the yard for investigating the murder of a housewife type worker. She had been found by Ernest in the forecastle section of the half-finished hull # 13.

Mrs. Guillo was identified by the name on her picture badge. She had been a member of the sweep up crew. In this crew was Ernest a slow learner. The sweeping crew usually consisted of six sweepers. If one of the women wanted a few minutes in the inner bottom or behind a partition Earnest would stand guard. A thumb on the deck with his broom handle was the alarm if a guard or foreman was coming.

Most of the females wore long johns with a drop down back door. The coveralls worn over the underwear had the same type of openings which made it easy to go to the toilet without undressing. These trap doors brought it handy when the girls dropped the hatch.
Mrs. Guillo appeared to have been killed with a single blow to the head with a sharp object. The trap door to her coveralls was closed. After finding much folded money stuffed loosely in her pockets further investigation revealed that her inside door was open and down for quick access.

The office records showed her next of kin also worked in the yard as a ship-fitter in building # 3.

When a wife is killed the prime suspect is usually the husband. Mr. Guillo was found on his hands and knees transferring blueprint measurements to sheets of steel spread out before him. He was brought to the office and questioned.

He said the last time he had seen his wife was when they separated at the main gate. She had gone to her time card shack and he had gone to the ship-fitter building # 3. This was some distance from where hull # 13 was being assembled. The steel he was working on was not for hull # 13 and he would have no legitimate reason to leave the building # 3 area.
After the interrogation he was told of his wife’s demise. His reaction appeared normal. Later he asked how he was to go about to claim the body for burial. Unless something came up later there seemed to be no reason to regard him as a suspect.

Mrs. Guillo’s fellow workers were reluctant to discuss her activities. Ernest did say that she had not used the inner bottom to get to her work. It was quicker and easier to scurry down the forward companionway.

There was a lot of work to be done here in the inner bottom after the ship was launched and at the outfitting pier. For now the only action was what Mrs. Guillo was putting out or in “whatever”. From the amount of loose bills it seemed that she was a quickie artist at getting her cash door open.

Now we had to find who had ended her lucrative career and had killed her and did not even rob her of the money she had in her pockets.

Chapter 2

I first noticed Kelley as I waited with a big crowd of workers gathered at the foot of the long gangway up to hull # 13. We were all held up as a crane was swinging a load across the walkway ramp. The high sided hull was completely surrounded with a network of steel scaffolding to the deck about seventy feet above.

Riveters, welders, chippers and even painters worked at different times and stages of completion from this network of staging. I heard ‘oohs!’ and ‘aahs!’ from the females waiting, even a few praising remarks from some of the men. Then there was a quieting of the many voices as one rugged individual reached over his head to the next higher section of scaffolding and pulled himself up and ever upward until he was able to step to the rail and was aboard the ship. He did it in such a manner that it appeared to be fun for him. He knew that the exhibit of his strength would excite the girls. I can attest to the fact that it did. Two with their eyes glowing were still raving about his exploit as we started THERE IS MORE CHECK EMAIL 8000 characters