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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Claire White of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland on behalf of Mary McClafferty and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I remember in 1944 at Christmas-time five children out of my primary school class were picked to go out to an American aircraft carrier for Christmas day. We were taken from Gourock Pier across Loch Long and the American sailors took charge of us. They gave us a meal and entertainment and loads of presents including a painting book and set (which was huge and wonderful), sweets (which were in very short supply) and fruit, but as children we didn’t value fruit!

I treasured the painting set for years because there weren’t many Christmas presents thenadays. We met the Captain — Captain Charles Bakia of the Jose Marti — who was a lovely man. I corresponded with him for several years afterwards. He gave me a photograph of his family. He had a daughter about the same age as me.

We remembered our special day out for a long time afterwards.

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