Chu had printed out several pages of data on each of the men. Bosch had those pages in the file along with printouts of the photos taken by both Drummond and Jespersen on the Saudi Princess, as well as a translation of the story Anneke Jespersen had submitted to the BT with her photos.

Bosch opened the file and reread the story. It was dated March 11, 1991, almost two weeks after the war had ended and the troops had become peacekeepers. The story was short, and he guessed that it was just a copy block that went with her photos. The Internet translation program he used was basic. It did not translate grammatical nuance and style, leaving the story choppy and awkward in English.

It is called “Love Boat,” but no mistake this is a war ship. Luxury liner Saudi Princess never leaves port but always has maximum security and capacity. The British vessel has been chartered and temporarily used by the U.S. Pentagon as a rest and recreation retreat for American troops from in Operation Desert Storm.

Men and women with service in Saudi Arabia are allowed occasional three-day rest and relaxation leave and since the cease-fire the demand for it is very big. The Princess is only destination in the conservative Persian Gulf where the soldiers can drink alcohol, make the friends and not bring the camouflage equipment.

The ship stays in port and is well guarded by armed Marines in uniform. (The Pentagon asks journalists who visit cannot reveal the ship’s exact location.) But on board there are no uniforms and life is a party. Has two disco, ten 24-hour bars and three pools. Soldiers who stationed in the region for weeks and months and dodged SCUD missile and bullets of Iraqi have 72 hours to have fun, taste their alcohol and flirt with the opposite sex—all of the things forbidden in camp.

“For three days we are civilians once more,” said Beau Bentley, a 22-year-old soldier from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “Last week I was in a firefight in Kuwait City. Today I sip a cold one with my friends. You cannot beat that.”

The alcohol flows freely in the bars and at the pool edge. Celebrations of the Allied victory are many. Men on board the ship are more than women by fifteen to one—reflecting the composition of the U.S. troops in the Gulf. It is not just men on the Saudi Princess who wish the sides were more even.

“I haven’t had to buy a drink for the time I’ve been here,” said Charlotte Jackson, a soldier from Atlanta, Georgia. “But the guys constantly hitting on you gets olden. I wish I had brought a good book to read. I’d be in my cabin right now.”