Madeline Blair

Madeline Blair(born 1905) also known asAdelaide Andrews,JackieorBlackiewas an AmericanprostitutefromBridgeport, Connecticut.She was known for being astowawayaboard theUnited States NavyshipUSSArizonaand plying her trade while on board thebattleship.She is sometimes conflated with Madeleine Blair (note spelling), who was born inSt. Louisand later became abrothelmadam and activist inChicagoandCanada,and whose autobiography was published in 1919.

USSArizona

In March 1924,Arizona,part of theUnited States Fourth Fleet,was anchored in theNorth RiveroffManhattan.Some of the ship's sailors onshore leavemet a 19 year old prostitute named Madeline Blair. She was a brunette with dark eyes and went under the nickname "Blackie". She told them she wanted to go toHollywoodto become a star, but did not have enough money for the fare.Arizonawas due to sail to California, and the sailors agreed to smuggle Blair onto the ship to get her there. She cut her hair short and the sailors provided her with a uniform cap and coat. In amongst a group of sailors and feigning drunkenness, she was smuggled aboard the ship. The sailors hid her in an unused generator compartment, and the cooks agreed to provide her with meals for $10 per day (a sailor's pay at the time was about $21 a month) She plied her trade at $3 a time.

As the ship sailed south and temperatures increased, Blair started to go up on deck when it was dark, usually wearing jeans and a work shirt. One evening while watching a movie from a searchlight platform, a sailor who did not know her and did not have a light for his cigarette, reached into her breast pocket (all sailors kept their matches there), and discovered her breast. Although shocked he did not raise the alarm. One sailor informed the ship's officers, but this was dismissed as absurd.

Discovery

After passing through thePanama Canal,on 12 April 1924, the ship was lying offBalboa, Panama,preparing to sail for California. At the break of dawn Blair was still on deck. She stopped at ascuttlebuttto have a drink and was noticed by the chiefradio operator,who recognised her as a woman and reported her to the deck officer. A search was mounted and Blair was apprehended. She refused to name the sailors who had smuggled her onto the ship. In an attempt to delay things until the ship sailed for California, she claimed there were other women aboard. A search of the ship found nothing and she was put ashore in Balboa

The authorities in Balboa were unsure of what to do with her. She returned toNew Yorkon thePanama Railroad CompanyshipSSCristobal.and had the US Navy billed for the fare.

Repercussions

The repercussion on the ship were severe. Captain Olmstead instigatedcourts-martialfor 23 enlisted men, sentences of up to 10 years imprisonment were imposed. AdmiralHenry A. Wileyissued a letter of reprimand to all officers of the ship, including future Admiral andChief of Naval OperationsArleigh Burke,then an ensign. Fortunately for his career and the careers of the other officers, AdmiralWilliam V. Prattthought the penalties excessive, and when he becameChief of Naval Operationsin 1930, he ordered the reprimands stricken from the officer's records. He could not reverse the results of the courts-martial of the enlisted men.

In 1928, Blair published her story in theAmerican Weekly Magazinesection ofThe San Francisco Examiner.