Ah. The ashtray...I can clearly see THAT in my head. My dad was career Navy, and an ashtray and Pall Mall were never far from his hands...nor a tumbler of ice.
That is the way it was for many Navy men of that generation...:)
Spent 25 years in the Navy, often with a cup of coffee in one hand and a Pall Mall in the other. Would never do it again, but would not trade those years for all the gold on the planet.