Explanation of My Thoughts...

USS Hunley…

Most Navymen had great pride in the ships that they served aboard. A number of the ships that I served in are mentioned in "Once I Was A Navyman". They are the following ships: The USS Hunley, AS 31, a Submarine Tender named for the first Submarine, a Confederate Navy vessel, to sink an enemy vessel. This occurred during the Civil War. The USS Missouri, BB 63, a proud Battleship, which had the distinction of having hosted the unconditional surrender which was signed by the Japanese Empire in Tokyo Bay at the end of WW II. There was the USS Manchester, CL 83, a Light Cruiser named for the city of Manchester, New Hampshire, which was the first ship that I served on and the ship that taught me respect, admiration and reverence for the sea and for the Manchester also. And last but not least, the nuclear powered Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine; USS Tecumseh, SSBN 628, named for Chief Tecumseh, of the Shawnee Tribe, Tecumseh attempted to unite many of the Indian tribes so their combined strength would allow them to co-exist with the white man. There were too many white men and they wanted the land for their own uses. Chief Tecumseh was defeated and died at the battle of Tippecanoe. The Tecumseh was a Boomer as they call it in the Navy, our job on Tecumseh was to help provide the major deterrent to nuclear war by making patrols in enemy waters, keeping nuclear warheads aimed at the enemy for that entire patrol period. We stayed submerged for the entire patrol period, 70 days. And never transmitted any message during that time, but we were required to provide proof that we had received all messages transmitted to us and each move we made in response to all simulated missile launches, which were always numerous during patrol, were recorded and sent to Washington D. C. as soon as the sub docked after a patrol. During these patrols another job was to remain undetected by the enemy during patrol. I was Chief of the Boat (COB) on the Tecumseh for 6 patrols and senior Weapons Department Chief for the entire time that I was on the Tecumseh. I knew every Navyman on board, and his wife and children. These were extraordinary Navymen and the problems that we had been very few, which made my life as COB a whole lot easier. I am very proud of the Crew and Officers of this great Submarine, the USS Tecumseh. There is no job that was more important for our country than the job we did and that other SSBN's are still doing to this day. This was the last ship I served on in the Navy.

USS Turner and USS William R. Rush…

Sometime within the last few years I decided to add the Destroyers that I served on to the list of US Navy ships that I had the honor of being aboard. These two Destroyers were the USS Turner, DDR 834, and the USS William R. Rush, DDR 714. I had left these Destroyers off the list of other proud Navy ships because I had the feeling the list was too lengthy and had become unwieldy, many would not recognize the names, but I did change my mind and added my Destroyers because they were indeed very important ships to me and to many Navymen. Both of these Destroyers were home ported in Mayport, Florida, but they never spent much time there. First there was one seven month Mediterranean cruise, two minor overhaul shipyard periods in Charleston, SC, and then each followed by six week underway training period in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. That was the major portion of my experience on the USS Turner. My last experience on Destroyers was to man the Fire Control Plotting Room as Plotting Room Officer for over two weeks during the Cuban Blockade of Oct. 1962. It was a time of great tension for all the ships personnel there and all the people of the United States. I am thankful to this day that a resolution came about to prevent a war that too many seemed unavoidable at the time.

The Carriers…

The Midway, Princeton, Hornet and Saratoga were Aircraft Carriers that served with distinction for the United States and her citizens. The Aircraft Carrier was the ship most responsible for the defeat of the Japanese fleet during WW II. The Aircraft Carrier also has been used as the primary ship in any show of force that the United States has used to provide some persuasion in preventing military action by an adversary, since WWII. And almost every military action that the United States has been involved in since that time has been led and supported by mighty Aircraft Carrier Battle Groups, which consisted of a Carrier in the center of numerous other Destroyers, Cruisers and Submarines stationed around the Carrier.

The Enterprise was one of the first nuclear powered Aircraft Carriers. It was the proud name for at least two Men-of-War that preceded this Carrier, each ship served with distinction. The Destroyers that I served on, home ported in Mayport, Florida, that did plane-guard duties for the Enterprise in the States and in the Mediterranean Sea. We could barely keep up with her if the sea state permitted, but the Mediterranean was generally a fairly cooperative sea and was a pleasure to cruise during much of those times. The more than 30 knots that we had to maintain to keep up with an Aircraft Carrier launching aircraft was what we in the deck rates called good steaming, but the Engineering Department crew members, having to maintain close to maximum speed of the Destroyer, were really kept on their toes.

The Aircraft Carrier Saratoga was another ship that the Destroyers I was stationed on spent a lot of time chasing around the ocean, providing plane guard as necessary when the Saratoga was having flight operations. The Saratoga, Sara was homeported in Mayport, Florida. My son-in-law Dan Walker had a brother, Manuel Walker RD3 who was stationed on the Saratoga at that time. This was in the early 1960's, and I did not know either of them then, but I remember "Sara" very well. An effort is being made by the ex crew members and others to form a Saratoga museum in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, where She may remain a memorial to the crews that served aboard Her and the battles that they fought together. May Manuel and "Sara rest in peace.

USS Seawolf...

The Seawolf is the newest class of nuclear powered fast attack submarines. And I believe the third submarine to bear that name. The first Seawolf, a Diesel Boat, was lost at sea with all hands. The speed, quietness, and maneuverability of this newest class of sub is astounding. Over 25 knots is her advertised underwater speed, but She can probably nearly double that speed. She can do a 180-degree turn in less than 3 times her hull length at that speed. She can lie on the ocean floor and hide at a depth of over 2,000 feet. She is so quiet that no passive sonar will ever know she is there unless a cook on the Seawolf drops a pot or some non-qual slams a hatch. This boat can certainly live up to Her name of being a Seawolf.

USS Ozark...

The Ozark was one of the flagships of the Auxiliary fleet. A Navyman and good friend of mine, Chief Engineman Jim Boles, served aboard her and one of the jobs She was assigned was to assist in de-mining the Gulf of Tonkin, after the war in Vietnam. That was a very tough and dangerous job, but was accomplished without serious incident by competent sailors like Chief Boles and a ship with the great name of USS Ozark.