A reading from Liberty's War follows the volunteer repair crew aboard the damaged SS Augustus Thomas in San Pedro Bay. Underwater welding proceeds slowly because the engine room cannot be pumped out until the hull breach is sealed. The ship has no electrical power, leaving the crew without radio service and with only improvised Christmas comforts. The narrator recalls homesickness, lost belongings, and regret at declining an earlier chance to return home. The passage restores the human experience behind the technical work of returning a damaged merchant ship to service.
Chapter · 9:36-11:06
A Liberty-ship repair crew waits without power in San Pedro Bay
The Augustus Thomas crew's powerless Christmas shows the isolation, discomfort, and uncertainty behind Pacific merchant-ship repair.