A Sailor Serves Food on the Chow Line

Feeding more than 2,500 ravenous sailors on board an aircraft carrier was a hot, fast-paced and exhausting job. Intrepid’s commissarymen dished up food for 15 hours a day, starting well before breakfast and working until after dinner. They sweated over grills, ovens and fryers in two massive galleys. They served about 7,500 meals a day, which required seven tons of food per day. At each meal, crew members lined up on the “chow line,” where commissarymen dished out food onto metal trays.