The Snapshots in Time Collection

Sailors Gathered on Deck for Shipboard Ceremony, U.S. Navy Pacific/China Station, 1930s

Sailors Gathered on Deck for Shipboard Ceremony, U.S. Navy Pacific/China Station, 1930s

This 1930s photograph from a U.S. Navy sailor's China Station photo album shows the ship's crew gathered on deck, many in improvised costume, likely for a 'Crossing the Line' ceremony marking the vessel's passage over the Equator. Such traditional shipboard events provided welcome morale and entertainment for crews during long interwar deployments to the Pacific and Asiatic Station. Project: 218181