For most of his career, the Chief was a deep sea diver. His rate changed names over the years, sometimes he was a Shipfitter, or Hull Tech, or Metal Smith, or whatever...he was a multi-talented welder who could do it all in 200 feet of cold water wearing more than his body weight in diving suit and equipment. He was also very up to date on all manner of metals, melting points, gases, atmospheres, etc. I know because every year come testing time, I was his home study buddy.
One of our several tours in San Diego was in the late fifties when he was assigned to be the senior diver aboard the "Diving Barge" at the repair facility. The Barge was a massive dive shop/metal shop/machine shop that could be towed alongside a ship so underwater repairs could be made. There were probably a dozen or so divers and machinists assigned to the barge, some of the unmarried sailors lived on board. And true to military tradition, someone had to babysit the on board crew every night. "The Duty" as it was called.
On one weekend Duty, the Chief took me along to stay overnight on the barge with him. Not exactly regulation. But fun. Blacky, the Chief's oldest diving buddy, showed up (his ship was in port for a few days) and sat up telling sea stories and catching up. As the on board crew started showing up from Liberty, a hot game of cribbage started up. Blacky and the Chief were a practically unbeatable team...they could read each other like a book and always knew which card to play...and I think they cheated, too.
Blacky winked at the Chief and said, "Boys, I gotta hit the head but when I get back we're gonna have a cigarette smokin' contest...Hey, Chief, light me up, I'll be right back." Several of the sailors had never heard of a smoking contest but proudly claimed to be able to "hot box" a weed as well as any one. From my fly-on-the-wall vantage point, I saw Blacky make a short detour through the work area on his way back to the table. As soon as he arrived, The Chief said."Ready, Set, GO!" Everyone started puffing wildly on their cigarettes...but Blacky's cigarette burned down like one of those dynomite fuses on the old TV westerns and in seconds was three inches of hot ash. The young sailors were amazed. A little later the Chief excused himself to go to the head, again a wink transpired, and while he was gone, Blacky challenged everyone to another smoking contest. And as soon as the Chief was back (having made the same detour through the work area), Blacky started the contest and the Chief's cigarette burned down in a flash.
I fell asleep and didn't see the rest of this...but here's what happened. One of the sailors noticed Blacky coming out the work area and figured that was the trick. He went back there and saw the hoses on the gas torch partly unwound. He did a good job of putting it all together except he picked the wrong gas. Blacky and the Chief would get a mouthful of oxygen, bring it back to the table and when someone said "GO", they blew it through the cigarette causing it to burn like crazy. This sailor chose the other gas...acetalyne...a very volatile gas. When he set up the contest with his own trip to the head, Blacky and the Chief smiled at each other thinking the kid had figured it out. So when he got back, Blacky started the contest and at "GO" this smart young sailor got the cigarette to his mouth...almost...when his cheecks puffed out and smoke came out of his mouth and nose. Minor burns and a split lip...wounded pride...and forever the butt of hundreds of jokes were all he received for his error.
And whenever Blacky and the Chief got to see each other and there was a lull in the conversation...one of them would puff out his cheeks and blow out "explosively" and they would laugh like teenagers.