TO MUCH TIME OFF....

When we came back from our second tour admiral Zoowalt instituted his 2 on 5 off day policy for ships in port. So we were allowed to fly home for the weekends or what ever we choose to do.

My parents had to moved to Red Bluff in Northern California about 160 miles of Port Chicago (Concord)

One weekend I just did not want to get up and make the trip back down the 5. I actually over slept...My Mom woke me up about 4 am and said I had better get going, so up i got and borrowed the pick up to drive south.

Anyway, I ran into hail, heavy rain, snow in the Napa Valley and made back to the ship 2 hours late, one hour after I was supposed to open the galley and start cooking the morning meal.

As I walked up the gang way I could hear grumbles coming from the Officer of the Deck....As I saluted the flag and then him he started to yell and bitch about me being late and all and I just said "Sorry, Im late, but I had a hell of a time getting down from up north....Just look at my truck, all muddy and dirty....I forgot to mentioned that it was clear at home when i left 3 hours late but after looking at my truck he then started yelling at me 'are you crazy driving through all that weather just to get back to the ship'

This was way before cell phones and call boxes on freeways and along the 5 at this time the only towns were Pixley and Potterville (Really)

I just shrugged my shoulders and headed for the galley....Sometimes it just paid to not say anything and play dumb....Nothing more was ever said about me being late but every one wanted to knew how I made such good time through the storm that was now drenching the ship and surrounding area.

How many Turkeys does it take to feed a crew of 300?

the obvious answer is to many, but one of the things that they neglected to tell me when I went cooking on my second tour was just how many turkeys does it take to feed a crew of 300. Add in the hams and real mashed potatoes (the only time we used real potatoes for mashed ws at Thanksgiving and Christmas), it meant that the new striker got to stay up all night and stoke the fires to cook all of the turkeys and hams needed.

And since I was the newest striker that meant me...Of course one year later I was the Watch Captain so I got to sleep in and we just happen to be in port in Hong Kong so most of the crew was ashore for the Christmas Holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who visits my website.

How to make the Chief Engineer squirm

While I was a deck ape my first cruise I went mess cooking, which is pretty good duty if you can get it...

Anyway, I was washing vegetables because we had just got a load from Japan, and everything from Japan needs to be washed good because they use human manure...No cows, except Kobe Beef...

Anyway the New Chief Engineer, heard the water running and looked in and told me to stop what I was doing, I was on report for using water. I tried to explain to him what and why I was using water to clean the veggies.

As soon as he was gone I headed for my division officer and told him what had just happened...He called the chief, the captain and the XO and we had an impromtu Captains Mast right then and there. He instructed me to bring up a case of unwashed vegetables, so I did.

The chief explained to the XO why he wrote me up...In my defense, all I had to do was hold up a celery bunch covered in its human manure mud and say. Sir, I will stop using water to wash this stuff, but this is what it is going to look like down on the serving line...Case dismissed...

The Chief Engineer, the first night he showed up for his fresh donuts, he was politely told sorry chief, you have been black listed for writing Hall (me) up...

The next day he looked me up, apologized and said he was just doing his job, yata yata...Thats what I mean about getting away with murder....imagine, a Chief apologizing to me, a lowly seamen apprectice...He got his donuts the next morning he was on watch...

2nd tour madness

Like i said before this is a narrative as I remember things as they happened, but not in any order...

Our second tour found us in Subic for some emergency repairs to one of the boilers.

One night we were alerted that they had a tropical storm coming in...but we could not leave, so we had to make the ship ready for the storm which meant putting camels inboard of the ship between the Pier to protect the side of the ship.

But we had no power so that meant that the crew would have to move the ship by mussel power, plus there would be no tugs, they were all busy helping the fleet leave so that they could ride out the storm at sea.

This meant a all hands affair, and working thru the next 6 hours 120 men managed to move a 600 foot ship 100 feet down the Pier, and successfully place the camels inboard..

Our reward, 3 days off in Olangapole, in the middle of a Tyhpoon.

This is the time when i and my girl friend were in bed together and lightning hit the building...she hopped out of bed, naked, knelt over to cross her self, said a quick prayer and hopped back into bed with me...Thats one way to remember being hit by lightning...

Going the long round about way home on Emergency Leave

In 1969 on my first tour to Nam, my dad went into surgery shortly after arrival in the Philippines. Because of his condition it was thought that he might not make it.

I applied for Emergency Leave, and it was granted just as we were leaving for the line. So what might have a short trip to Clark Air Base turned into 'the trip home the extra long way'

I was lifted off by Chopper but because the seas were so rough i had to hoisted aboard. Then after lifting several others up, the chopper was off to the Sacramento AOE 2 for a hoped short stop and then catch there mail chopper into Da Nang. We were delayed on the way so naturally I misssed the nail flight. So I had to spend the night on board the Sac. The first thing I noticed was the speed. she was able to do almost 28 kts while the Katmai could only manage 14 kts. But she was headed for a rendezvous with the Connie the next day where i would again chopper over and catch the 12 noon shot to Da Nang.

Missed that flight again, because this time the chopper was forced to stay in the air delivering supplies to several other destroyers and more ammo to the Connie....So I leaned out the bottom hatch and took same really good pictures.

When we finally landed on the Connie I was told to find a bunk and wait for the next days flight in, so I did. I also managed to find my cousin Jim. We spent the evening talking, watching night flight ops and meeting some of his friends.

The next morning after breakfast i boarded a C-130 mail and passenger plane and was catapulted off of the Connie and headed for Da Nang.

We arrived in Da Nang Air Base at about 3 in the afternoon. I checked in and was told that they had a Pam Am Mail plane heading for Travis Air Base in Northern California. Great!

At 2:pm I woke up from my coomfy spot on the floor to the sound of a VC rocket attack. You might remember this, it was the attack on the Marine Barracks. Guess what. They naturally canceled the flight because Pam Am would not fly into an active "Hot Zone"
So I and the rest of the passengers bound for the states had to wait till morning to see when or if we flew out.

In the morning, they told me that I was to catch a gunship bound for Com Ron Bey Naval Base and hopefully catch a 2 pm flight for Tokyo. Sure enough, at 11 am we boarded the gunship and head to the south over Indian country, escorted by two other Gunship.

At 1:pm, I went through customs and had to turn in all of my weapons. That was sure a disappointment. Then we boarded a Flying Tiger DC 10 bound for Japan and then on for a 11 hour flight to Evanston Washington.

When we left Com Ron Bey at 2:30 pm Thursday. It was 110 degrees when we left. We arrived in Japan at 11:pm in a snow storm. After one hour on the ground for refueling, we then took off for the 11 hour overnight flight to the states. I awoke abut 5 in the morning to our first meal. There were 239 other military personal on board so it took them awhile to feed us all. I then went back to sleep.

At 11:am Thursday morning we arrived in Washington. I caught another plane right after that and arrived in San Francisco for a short stop and then on to Ontario California on PSA. Remember short mini skirts they wore as uniforms? I sure do.

Anyway I arrived Ontario, caught a taxi cause I wanted to surprise every one. I made it home at 2:35PM Thursday Afternoon. 5 minutes after I left Vietnam.

As a side note to all of this traveling, I returned to the ship in a round about way too. but that will be for the next story.