Oral History Interview Available

Maurice Barksdale, who was a cook aboard Razorback from late 1960 until 1963, was aboard during the recent USSVI National Convention. Maurice has been an active supporter and contributor to the museum, and during his too-brief stay in Central Arkansas, he sat down for a short oral history interview.

In this photo, Maurice, poses in his old duty station. Maurice was happy to learn that we've restored the stoves and the ovens back to operating condition.

To quote Maurice:

"An average day on a submarine was like this. There were three Cooks. One Cook cooked all day, a 24-hour period. One guy baked all night and one guy relieved the second cook on the third day. So I would get up in the morning about 4:00, 0400, and cook breakfast. As soon as I got through with breakfast, I cooked the noon meal. As soon as got through with the noon meal, I prepared snacks for the mid-afternoon, what’s called mid-afternoon rations. Then I would cook the evening meal and then I prepared “Mid-Rats”

Then I would be relieved by the Night Baker who would cook all the breads, cakes, pies, rolls and everything that would be needed for the basic three meals for the next day.

So it was basically 12 to 14 straight hours of working, of non-stop working, because as soon as you got through one meal, you had to prepare for the next meal."

To listen to the interview, or read the entire transcript, please visit the museum.