by THOMAS W. LIPPMAN
Abdul Aziz brought with him a flock of sheep, which he expected would be slaughtered en route for his meals — and which he insisted the American sailors share as his guests. Smith balked at the livestock, but the Arabs said they would not eat the frozen meat of the Murphy’s stores. Eddy negotiated another compromise in which 10 sheep were taken aboard and penned at the fantail, and he told the king that Navy regulations prohibited the Murphy’s crew from eating any food other than Navy rations. Surely the king would not want these fine young Americans confined to the brig over such an issue?
The king accepted that argument, but other Navy regulations were thrown overboard to accommodate the Arabs. The Saudis built charcoal fires to brew coffee, including one next to an open ammunition storage room, to the Americans’ consternation. When the king asked for names of all crew members, Eddy knew he was preparing to give gifts to all of them, and he persuaded Keating and Smith to accept this breach of the rules rather than offend the king by refusing. “Explain to your superiors that it couldn’t be helped,” Eddy said.
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Whereas Roosevelt had respected the king’s wishes and refrained from smoking in his presence, Churchill did the opposite. As he wrote in his memoirs, “If it was the religion of His Majesty to deprive himself of smoking and alcohol I must point out that my rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also drinking alcohol before, after, and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them.” He puffed cigar smoke in the king’s face.
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