O/T NAVY HAMBers Time to muster!!

Salute to my Dad and all you who served.

Dad served USN 61-64, USS Forrestal Carrier (Rescue)

 

Hello Blue Moon Garage..USS Talladega APA208
yup, served aboard the USS Navarro APA 215, time in the deck force
and then moved up to QM 59-63

also today is our 50 th wedding anniversary, married while still aboard the Navarro this date in 61.. got me a cute country Tx girl to put up with me
and boy did I pick the right one...
love you Carolyn

 

Boot camp-San Diego.....1966 ....USS Tripoli LPH 10,67-69 flight deck monkey, 2 tours to the great waste of men...69-70 HAL-3 Seawolves Det 2 Saigon Door Gunner UH1 (huey) As was said earlier, The longer i'm out the more fun I had!!!

 

U.S. Navy Corpsman 2003-2010
Naval Hospital Great Lakes 2003
Iraq 2003
Bethesda MD 2003 Patient from gun shot sustained in Iraq
1st Marine Division 2006
Kuwait patient again from IED blast 2007
Naval Hospital Balboa 2008
Naval Medical Center Portsmouth 2008-2010
Had lots of TAD orders.

 

i forgot to mention i got out as an MM1.

 

'66 Boot camp NAS Twin Cities (really)
'67 AMS "A" school NATTC Memphis
'68 VF-124 (F-8 RAG squadron) NAS Miramar
'68 & '69 VF-53 WESTPAC cruises deployed on the "Bonnie Dick"
'68 & '69 VF-53 beach det Olongopo.. oops I mean NAS Cubi Point
'70 reduction of forces, early out

 

1969-1972 - USS Chicago - CG11

Two cruises in 'Nam, ("Red Crown" to any of you flyboys), including up Haiphong Harbor the night we mined it in 1972.

 

1973-1977 Hull Maintenance Technician, We fixed stuff.
Subase, Pearl Harbor, Sheet Metal Shop
USS Racine LST 1191, WestPac 1976-77

 

Greatlakes BOOTCAMP 1986
Navy Damage Control Training Center ? HT "A" School ,,Philly, Pa.
U.S.S Mobile Bat CG-53,,1987-1989
Med- Indian Ocean Cruise 1989
USNR till 1994
DC3 McDonald

 

75-78 USS Fulton AS-11 New London Ct EN2 aft engine room
78-79 USS Truckee AO-147 Norfolk Va. EN2 lead PO A gang emer diesel

 

79-82 plank owner u.s.s. frank cable as40

 

Draftsman
95-01

AS-33 Simon Lake - LaMadelena Italy
Office of Naval Intel - DC

 

we called them "westpac widows," the place to be was Johnnies in Alameda the night of the day that a bird farm sailed, the place was packed ... so when the carrier sailors came back they found their westpac widows just like they left them, "freshly f...ed and crying"

 

Great Lakes IL, Dec 1960, Key West FL-Torpedo A School, 1960, USS Proteus AS19 Holy Loch Scotland, Cuban Missle Crisis, Discharged Dec 1963 Charleston SC. That is a lot of years ago.

 

1957 great lakes boot camp served on the Mt mckinley gc7 Norfolk,va 2 yrs then the vermillion ka107 for 2 more then home had some great shipmates on both ships made en 2 but was discharged before I got to wear the rate on my sleeve God Bless our military

 

I was became a "shellback" somewhere near Singapore; but in June '68.

Singapore was OK; but liberty with the crazy Aussie sailors from the Vendetta was great.

 

in 1972, the USS HECTOR AR-7 was our way back to SASEBO, JAPAN and we had a five day open liberty in HONG KONG.

well a bunch from the engineering department and a few others from other departments wound up in a bar near the pier where the british fleet were tied up.

well everyone knows how fleet sailors are especially when they have been on the ship for an extended period of time.

to make a long story short, when in a BRIT bar every drink is respectifully hoisted "TO THE QUEEN"............

well to say the least one or some of our crew decided they had heard enough about her and the last thing that was before the shit hit the fan was; ................."F**K THE BITCH".................

well i happened to be on watch in the forward engine room and word came down from the bridge to get ready to get underway.

the provincial governer for the area sent a message to our captain that said;

gather your crew and leave his port and never return.

needless to say we were unhappy that they could not take a joke.

in closing i heard that the bar was pretty busted up after it was emptied.

 

11-87 Boot camp Great Lakes
2-88 NATC Millington BEE and AT school
8-88 NAS Oceana ARC 51 I Level Repair (MOS 6611)
10-88. NATC Pax River AIMD
4-90 ? Went to Philly for ARC-94 I Level Repair
11-91 Honorable discharge.

 

AMH1 Elder, 12 years, made second class twice:eek1979 to 1991

 

Middle of the Mojave desert 1961-1966.

 

To RichB's question, I got my blue nose certificate, still have it. First time we crossed the line, the skipper refused to acknowledge it as we were a missile submarine and everything was secret. Hell we knew in the engine room there was ice in the HPAC bay bilges. But as I made nine patrols on the 657, we again made a northern run and this time our skipper was a full captain who was a mustang. He started out as an enlisted ET on commissioning crew of the Natuilus. One of the finest guys I ever sailed with. Anyway he did up the blue nose ceremony with style! Best of all he picked on the junior officers way worse than the enlisted.

 

I must be the old guy on this one. USN 1957 thru 1961 USS CLG 77 USS SPRINGFIELD Plank owner. Great times....

 

Delayed entry, off to boot camp, G. Lakes June 65,
ET-A 65 - 66 G Lakes, then AN/SPN -6, 12, and 35 school NATTC, NAS, Glynco, GA, (carrier landing radars),
66 - 69 USS Intrepid CV-11, LPO SPN gang,
69 - 70 ET-B (50 week advanced electronics training),
70 - 72 USS America CV-66, LPO Radar gang,
72 -77 Instuctor duty, AN/SPN-41, 42, 43 and TPN-28, this duty came in three installments, started in GA, moved to Pax River then to our final home NATTC, Millington, TN,
77 - 81 USS America CV-66, LCPO Radar and Comm gang,
81 - 83 Assistant Group Master Sima Little Creek,
83 - 87 USS America CV-66, Assistant EMO Electronics, ship driver (Got my SWO, and drove the ship into combat in Lybia in 86),
87 - 89 MOTU - 2, AOIC,
89 - 91 USS Wisconsin BB-64, EMO,
91 - 93 USS Aurther W. Radford DD - 968, EMO
Retired in August 93.

Have many fond memories of the early days when I was young and bullet proof!
Who can forget such places as Nonies or the East Inn in Po City?
Been around the world twice, Shell Back, Blue Nose, been on six of the seven continents.
Have seen all seven wonders of the world, used every moment off the ship to play tourist.
Was a red striped Senior Chief then went Warrant.

 

Enlisted in Lakewood NJ in Nov. '69
Boot camp Great Lakes Jan.-Mar. '70
Radioman A School Bainbridge Md Apr.-Jul. '70
Naval Communication Station Cheltenham Md Aug. 70 - Sep. '71
Comcrudesflot 12 Mayport Fl Sep. '71-Dec. '73

Naval Air Propulsion Center Trenton NJ '83-'85 Maintenance Mechanic
Fort Dix NJ '85-'93 Pipefitter
Naval Training Center Orlando Fl '93-'99 Welder
VA Clinic Orlando Fl '01-'10 Utility Systems Operator
Retired

 

Good to hear from an old timer, 63-66 nam on a tin can Welcome back.

 

62 to 64, USS Plymouth Rock, Little Creek VA. SFM 3rd