Improvements
The big feat was accomplished and the rest given by the necessarily long stay in Liverpool was well earned and enjoyed. As a result of the experience of the trip, many improvements were made in the messing organization and galley installation, the most noteworthy of which was the abandoning of the galley forward, moving the kettles, etc., to the troop galley and giving up the two other mess hall spaces for berthing—messing all the troops in the present large mess hall. This brought about a consolidation of the general mess and made the task easier.
Subsequent trips saw consistent improvement until a new record was established during the thirteenth trip when about eleven thousand home-coming troops were fed in seventy-six minutes best time and an average time of about ninety minutes. Over 150,000 overseas troops have been fed on the Leviathan’s trips and the good ship’s commissariat has become famous wherever the A. E. F. have gone. The Leviathan’s apple pie has been, to quote a returning wounded soldier, placed second in popularity with the justly famous Salvation Army doughnut.
The success of the first trip was undoubtedly due to the earnest work of all hands under the able direction of Paymaster Simon Pietri, Supply Officer and Assistant Paymaster H. B. Judkins. The work in the galley was ably directed by ship’s cook 1st class, later Chief Commissary Steward, Martin J. Flynn, and it can be said without fear of contradiction, that the entire success of the enormous undertaking depended largely on his splendid judgment and ability. This must in justice also be said of Chief Commissary Steward W. J. Linn, who took entire charge of the stores and whose long and varied commissary experience helped us over difficulties which at times seemed unsurmountable.
Subsequent trips under the direction of Paymaster Farwell and Paymaster Edwards, his successor and present Supply Officer, have brought in their wake many improvements so that now the Leviathan’s Commissariat is considered the standard of its kind.
The following is a sample of a day’s menu on board the Leviathan:
MENU
SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 1919
Breakfast
- Oat Meal
- Milk
- Boiled Eggs
- Fresh Fruit
- Bread and Butter
- Coffee
Dinner
- Turkey
- Tinned Asparagus
- Mashed Potatoes
- Pie and Cake
- Bread and Butter
- Coffee
Supper
- Head Cheese
- Creamed Potatoes
- Bread and Butter
- Coffee
Quantities Used to Provide the Above
| Lbs. | |
|---|---|
| Oat Meal | 1150 |
| Milk | 1056 |
| Sugar | 1500 |
| Eggs (doz.) | 3180 |
| Butter | 660 |
| Apples | 6470 |
| Coffee | 400 |
| Milk | 480 |
| Salt | 10 |
| Turkey | 15581 |
| Chicken | 2021 |
| Asparagus | 2856 |
| Mashed Potatoes | 5850 |
| Butter | 675 |
| Coffee | 400 |
| Milk | 480 |
| Sugar | 400 |
| Salt | 40 |
| Cake | 5740 |
| Head Cheese | 425 |
| Potatoes | 800 |
| Coffee | 200 |
| Sugar | 200 |
| Salt | 20 |
| Bake Shop: | |
| Flour | 7800 |
| Yeast | 135 |
| Lard | 130 |
| Salt | 100 |
| Sugar | 200 |
| Cinnamon | 4 |
Rations issued to 13,699.
