Master's State Room & Office

The ship’s captain, also known as the master, did not stand a watch but was at all times responsible for the safe operation of the ship. The captain was quartered near the bridge so he could be summoned at a moment’s notice.  The slang term “old man” was not always fitting for the captain of a wartime Liberty ship.  During the war it was not unheard of for captains to be young men in their early to mid-twenties.  In addition to his stateroom and office, the master was the only person on the ship with a private bathroom.  These quarters were spacious compared to those occupied by the ship’s crew, but Captain A. A. DeSmedt, who commanded the O’Brien at Normandy, did find one deficiency.  While his office was encased in the same concrete and asphalt armor material that protected the wheelhouse and other vital areas, his sleeping quarters were not!  He had the crew cover the deck above his stateroom in a layer of sandbags to provide some additional protection.