Great write up at the USNI Blog on that worst day of US Marine Corps history, and not to mention other servie members were killed and wounded there, too.

Subtitle: Old Wisdom for New Warriors – Brown Water Navy Style

I continue to be blessed by meeting very interesting military people, with pieces of personal hispty they are willing to share. This one came as a friend shared his friends forwarded email, with speech attached. In the words of the man who gave the speech, I’ll let him set the stage:

Thought you would like to read a bit long but I think appropriate speech for this timeframe that I gave to the Riverine Warfare graduating class at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina last June. Linda and I were hosted the night before to dinner and drinks by the instructors and put up in a great hotel nearby (all the VIP quarters on base are now reserved for generals or admirals and no longer any 06 officers). The individual who directs the course is a Coast Guard Captain and the person who coordinated the visit was a Chief Lewandowski who just happened to be from my wife Linda’s birthplace of Grand Forks, North Dakota.( I completely lost Linda during dinner but that is why I refer to him in the speech).

I was invited to be the guest speaker for the graduation because our East Coast Chapter of the Gamewardens (Brown Water sailors from the Vietnam era) has spent many hours passing along lesson learned to the new Riverine Warriors based here at Little Creek. Our group provides a speaker for each graduating class. There are currently four Riverine Squadrons under a Commodore assigned and they are protecting the lakes, dams and waterways of Iraq. Once a year we present a Gamewarden Beret and plaque to the top sailor from each squadron and make them an honorary Gamewarden. They are then permitted to wear the Beret to all special functions of the squadrons. Our national organization president normally attends to make the presentations. We do it at a large picnic at Seal Park at Little Creek (pic of Gamewardens at park attached) and the CO of the base, Commodore and families of many of the Riverine Warriors attend, especially those being honored. We also have bonded with the USS Williams, which is named for BM1 Williams who won the Medal of Honor in the PBR’s in Vietnam, and are invited to participate in all their ship functions including family day cruises.

As you will note, I extracted almost verbatim from the LeMay and Style points article and believe I gave it the proper credit. I spent a considerable amount of time in question and answer periods both before and after the speech. It was well received and I felt honored to be able to address them.

The speaker was CAPT Frederick Olds, USN (Ret). His has a 30 years distinguished career, covering service to the nation from pre-Vietnam to the Gulf war, to, in retirement, even as recent as this past summer, when he and his shipmates, who plyed the rivers and deltas of Vietnam, have actively been assisting the modern “Brown Water Navy” by passing along the lessons learned in armed conflict, with a determined enemy.

The “resume” of this Tin Can/Gator/Brown Water Sailor:

Frederick A. “Fred” Olds Wife: Linda Sue Lohrbauer
Virginia Beach, Va. Children: Bradley. Stacey, Shelley

Retired 1989 as Captain/USN from duties as ACOS for Logistics SACLANT with 35 years service.

Served aboard destroyers LLOYD THOMAS (DD-764), LUCE(DLG-7), FURSE(DD-882), FRANCIS MARION(LPA-249),

Afloat staffs PHIBGRU 2, PHIBGRU 3, COMCRUDESFLOT 6, CARGRU 4.

Commanded USS SUMTER (LST1181), USS AUSTIN (LPD-4)

COMMODORE PHIBRON 5

Spent one year in Mekong Delta Vietnam w/PBRs/VN RAGS and as Flight Technical Observer in FAC aircraft. Spent 3 wonderful years at USNA teaching navigation, coordinating the Piloting Curriculum and as XA to the Director of Naval Command and Management. Conducted SPECOPS off MURMANSK, Russia 1979, was present when bomb blew up USMC Barracks Beirut 1983, as COMMODORE PHIBRON 5 completed with my USMC counterpart the first USMC SPECOPS certification on the West Coast and deployed with the first LCAC to WESTPAC in 1987. Upon retirement obtained USCG unlimited tonnage MASTER’S LICENSE. Served as Chief Mate
USNS CHAUVENET during Desert Shield and Master USNS KANE during Desert Storm.

Linda continues her volunteer work and we love Virginia Beach. We enjoy visiting with our 6 grandchildren and their families whenever possible.

Here is his speech:

CAPT WEIDEN, BOATSWAINS MATE CHIEF LEWENDOWSKI, STAFF INSTRUCTORS, BUT PRIMARILY YOU NEW “RIVER RATS”–THIS IS YOUR DAY. AS THE NEWEST BREED OF RIVERINE WARRIORS, I BROUGHT ALONG A BILLY RAT TO WELCOME YOU TO THE FRATERNITY OF BROWN WATER SAILORS. DURING THE BIO INTRO IT INDICATED I HAD 19 YEARS SEA DUTY OF 30 YEARS COMMISSIONED. MY WIFE LINDA WAS A NAVY WIFE DURING ALL OF THOSE YEARS AND YOU HAVE HONORED US BOTH BY PERMITTING US TO PARTAKE IN THIS CEREMONY.

YOU ARE NOW MEMBERS OF A BROTHERHOOD THAT STRETCHES BACK CENTURIES, NOT JUST TO MY TIME IN VIETNAM. A FEW YEARS AGO I WAS THE GUEST SPEAKER AT DR. BRUCE DUNNAVENT’S CLASS AT LSU. HE WAS IN THE FINAL STAGE OF COMPLETING A BOOK ON RIVERINE WARFARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. IT HAS SINCE BEEN PUBLISHED. AS BILL FERGUSON, A FELLOW GAMEWARDEN AND THE AUTHOR OF A BOOK ABOUT THE PBR’S IN VIETNAM TITLED “LAUGHTER ON THE RIVERS OF DEATH” WROTE: “THE TIES BETWEEN US MAY NOT BE VISIBLE TO THE UNINITIATED BUT BE ASSURED, THEY COULD NOT BE STRONGER!”

IT IS A COMMON AXIOM THAT “THOSE WHO FORGET HISTORY ARE BOUND TO REPEAT ITS MISTAKES!” IN A SMALL SENSE SOME OF THE LESSONS WE LEARNED AND I PASS ON TODAY MAY PREVENT THE ONE MISTAKE THAT COULD COST YOUR BOAT CREW LIVES. YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR NAVY COMBAT SKILLS TRAINING HERE AT CAMP LE JUENE (PRONOUNCE IT AS LA GERRN) BUT FACE CHALLENGES THAT I COULD NOT IMAGINE IN MY EARLY NAVY DAYS.

I HAVE ALWAYS CALLED IT LIKE IT IS AND BEEN HONEST AND STRAIGHT FORWARD WITH MY MEN. TODAY I INTEND TO DO THE SAME. WHEN I ENTERED THE SERVICE, OUR CONGRESS WAS FILLED WITH VETERANS AND THE NAVY WAS A FAST PACED, HARD DRINKING, FULL SPEED AHEAD “DAMN THE TORPEDOES” ENVIRONMENT. IT WAS NOT A “COW PADDY” FILLED POLITICAL PASTURE WHERE EACH STEP COULD END YOUR CAREER.

AUTHOR WARREN KOZAK HAS WRITTEN AN ARTICLE TITLED “WHEN BASIC SURVIVAL OF A COUNTRY TRUMPS CIVIL LIBERTIES” AND ON THE SUBJECT OF WAR HAS RECENTLY PUBLISHED A BOOK TITLED “LEMAY: THE LIFE AND WARS OF GENERAL CURTIS LEMAY”. AS A YOUNG LT, GEN LEMAY WAS MY FATHERS MOST EXPERIENCED NAVIGATOR ON A NUMBER OF HISTORICAL FLIGHTS IN B-17S PRIOR WWII. LEMAY ACTUALLY CONSIDERED WAR A TRAGEDY! YET HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR MORE WAR DEATHS THAN ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL IN HISTORY, LATER HIS ACTIONS IN COMBINATION WITH THE ATOMIC BOMB SAVED MILLIONS MORE BY CONVINCING THE JAPANESE TO SURRENDER.

I FOUND THE FOLLOWING EMAIL “LEMAY AND STYLE POINTS” WORTH CONSIDERATION BY US ALL. I HAVE ADDED SOME COMMENTS BUT THEY ARE FEW AS IT IS TO THE POINT! (FOR THE READER OF THIS SPEECH, THOSE SECTIONS UNDERLINED I HAVE ADDED)

“IF WE CAN MOMENTARILY SHIFT OUR FOCUS FROM WHETHER THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WAS “MEAN” TO THREE TERRORISTS FIVE YEARS AGO (ONE OF WHOM BEHEADED AN AMERICAN CITIZEN, DANIEL PEARL, AND BRAGGED ABOUT IT) LET US CONSIDER THE TOPIC OF WAR. ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX OF HUMAN ENDEAVORS INVOLVING EVER SHIFTING TECHNOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY AND A BEWILDERING MIX OF RACE, RELIGION, REGION, ECONOMICS AND ETHNICITY.

ATTEMPTING TO CLEARLY EXPLAIN WAR IS LIKE ATTEMPTING TO EXPLAIN ICE HOCKEY TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN SNOW. NOT IN THE LEAST BECAUSE OF THE RAPIDITY OF CHANGE IN WEAPONS, VALUES AND PERCEPTIONS AS YOU ARE NOW FACING. OLD SHIP AND BOAT DRIVERS ARE NOT PARTICULARLY HELPFUL TACTICALLY BUT DO REVEAL USEFUL AXIOMS. ON THE SOLDIER SIDE SUN TZU STILL MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

HOWEVER IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY, AN EVER SMALLER PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCE OR CONNECTION WITH WAR. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE WITH THE MEMBERS OF OUR CONGRESS. WAR HAS BECOME THE EQUIVALENT OF A TRIP TO THE ZOO, INTERESTING BUT NOT RELEVANT TO THEIR LIVES EXCEPT AS A DISCUSSION TOPIC.

LEMAY STYLE POINTS INCLUDE:

1. THERE ARE NO WAR “STYLE POINTS” TACTICALLY, ONLY STRATEGICALLY. YOU NEED TO WIN. IN HOCKEY IT IS GOALS THAT COUNT, NOT SKATING. STYLE CAN BE ADJUSTED AFTER VICTORY IS ACHIEVED. LEMAY, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS A GRADUATE OF THE EARLY HIGH ALTITUDE AND SUICIDAL B-17 RAIDS OVER EUROPE YET LATER CHANGED THE BOMBING STYLE OVER JAPAN TO LOW LEVEL FIRE BOMBING.

2. IN ICE HOCKEY (BEING FROM NORTH DAKOTA CHIEF LEW CAN CERTAINLY EXPLAIN THIS RELATIONSHIP TO YOU BETTER THAN I) THERE ARE RULES AND THEY ARE ENFORCED. IN WAR THERE ARE RULES BUT ONLY FOR THOSE THAT ACCEPT THEM. (THE HISTORY OF MAN IS A HISTORY OF EVER LARGER CONSTITUENCIES, THE UNITED NATIONS, NATO AND THE EUROPEAN UNION BEING THE ONES MOST NOTICEABLE IN OUR LIFETIMES. OTHERS, THE WARSAW PACT, FOR EXAMPLE, FAILED BECAUSE THEY WERE BASED ON A FALLACY. THE LARGE CONSTITUENCIES WE BELONG TO ACCEPT AND ADHERE TO RULES.) OTHERS DO NOT, WHICH MAKES WAR WITH THEM COMPLEX AND IRRITATING AS IT DID IN MY TIME IN VIETNAM. THERE IS NO CHANGE HERE FOR WHAT YOU WILL BE FACING.

3. THE AMERICAN WAY OF WAR, (HIGH TECH, LOW MANPOWER–(LOOK AT OUR MAJOR WARSHIPS TODAY) IS GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE MEDIA, MOST OF WHOM ARE NATURALLY CRITICAL. THIS RESULTS IN ANIMOSITY BECAUSE IT GETS MILITARY PEOPLE KILLED. IT IS PARTICULARLY IRRITATING BECAUSE JOURNALISTS OFTEN ASSUME INTELLECTUAL SUPERIORITY WHILE DECLINING RISK. EVEN WORSE, AS CLINTON’S SECDEF LES ASPIN DEMONSTRATED WHEN HE WITHHELD ARMOR FOR MOGADISHU, RESULTING IN BLACKHAWK DOWN! WHY? BECAUSE HE FELT IT WOULD INDICATE ESCALATION, IS LEARNED INCOMPETENCE ON THE PART OF ACADEMICS IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY.

4. WAR IS TIME RELEVANT. JUDGMENTS MADE IN WAR CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD IN TERMS OF THE TIME IN WHICH THEY WERE MADE. THE BOMBINGS OF DRESDEN AND JAPANESE CITIES WERE BARBARIC. THE TIMES WERE BARBARIC. AS GENGHIS KHAN ONCE REMARKED, “REGRET IS THE SON OF PITY”. OR AS THE RUSSIANS NOTED AS THEY DEALT WITH THE FROZEN AND STARVING RETREATING NAPOLEONIC ARMY AND THE NAZI POWS FROM STALINGRAD, “WE DID NOT INVITE THEM HERE”.

5. PEOPLE ADAPT. AMERICANS ESPECIALLY. OUR USUAL NATIONAL METHOD OF WAR IS TO BE OBLIVIOUS OF THE THREAT UNTIL WE GET OUR ASSES KICKED (PEARL HARBOR, 9/11) THEN RESPOND.
THERE IS ALSO A RECENT TENDENCY TO TRY TO CONVINCE OURSELVES THAT THE WAR ISN’T GOING WELL AND WE OUGHT TO QUIT. BOTH ARE TENDENCIES TO BE AVOIDED. UNFORTUNATELY A POSSIBLE LEGACY OF VIETNAM MIGHT BE THE ASPIRATIONS & TENACITY OF ISLAMIC TERRORISTS. ANOTHER LESSON IS THE TERRORISTS HAVE HAD SUCH SUCCESS WITH IEDS IN IRAQ THEY ARE NOW INCREASING THEIR USE IN AFGHANISTAN.

6. THERE IS A DISINCLINATION ON THE PART OF AMERICAN ELITES TO REALIZE THAT SOME ADVERSARIES (LIKE ANTS IN THE KITCHEN) CANNOT BE PERSUADED TO CHANGE AND MUST BE KILLED. WHILE THE SEARCH FOR ELABORATE LEGAL SCHEMES TO AVOID CONFLICT ARE LAUDABLE, AGAIN AS IN HOCKEY, COLLISIONS ARE INEVITABLE AND MUST BE EXPECTED AND PREPARED FOR.

7. ON THE BRIGHT SIDE WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN SUBSTITUTING MONEY FOR BLOOD. PAYING FOR ENHANCED MEDICAL CARE AT THE FRONT, ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, AND IMPROVED ARMOR HAVE KEPT CASUALTY RATES IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN LOWER THAN ANY WARS TO DATE. THE CASUALTY DATA IN WWII, KOREA AND VIETNAM WAS GENERALLY CENSORED BUT NOT WITH TODAY’S MEDIA. WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THE PUBLIC WAS AWARE THAT THOUSANDS DIED ON THE COAST OF ENGLAND REHERSING FOR THE NORMANDY LANDINGS? THEIR FAMILIES WERE INFORMED OF THEIR DEATHS BUT ALL ASSUMED THEY HAD BEEN KILLED IN COMBAT! I SERIOUSLY DOUBT WE WOULD HAVE LANDED IN NORMANDY. YET TODAY THE MEDIA IS PERMITTED TO TOUT THE WAR CASUALTIES ON A DAILY BASIS. CASUALTY RATES FROM THE WAR ARE FAR LESS THAN HIGHWAY DEATHS IN THE US IN A YEAR AND CONTINUE TO DECLINE. WHY DOESN’T THE PRESS LIST THE MURDERS IN OUR MAJOR CITIES SUCH AS NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, D.C. OR CHICAGO ON A DAILY, MONTHLY, AND YEARLY BASIS. IT MAY STIMULATE A DRIVE TO CONSERVE AMERICAN LIVES AT HOME.

8. LESS DESIRABLE IS THE TENDENCY OF AMERICAN ELITES TO PROJECT AN EIGHTEEN DIVISION FOREIGN POLICY SUPPORTED BY TEN DIVISIONS. A SIMILAR TENDENCY VERY LIKELY DOOMED THE BYZANTINES AT MANZIKERT IN 1071 (DON’T EVEN CONSIDER ASKING ME ABOUT THAT ONE). EVEN MORE RELEVANT IS THE STATUS OF OUR NAVAL FORCES TODAY. HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE PIERS IN NORFOLK AND LITTLE CREEK LATELY. WHERE HAVE ALL THE SHIPS GONE? ARE WE OVER DEPLOYING TO THE EXTENT WE WILL NEVER CATCH UP WITH REQUIRED MAINTENANCE? DO YOU REALIZE USNS SHIPS ARE COUNTED AS PART OF NAVAL FORCE LEVELS WHEN THEY HAVE NOTHING INSTALLED FOR DEFENSE OR SYNERGISTIC ABILITY TO CONTRIBUTE TO EW? ARE YOU AWARE THAT THIS IS BECAUSE USNS CIVILIAN CREWS DO NOT WANT THEIR SHIPS CLASSIFIED AS COMBATANTS BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE SUBJECT TO ATTACK! ALL THE CIWS AND DEFENSIVE ARMAMENTS HAVE BEEN REMOVED. I BET THERE IS NOT ONE INDIVIDUAL SITTING IN THIS ROOM TODAY THAT IF HE WERE A TERRORIST OR ENEMY WOULD NOT TAKE THOSE ASSETS OUT FIRST! OUR CARRIERS CAN STEAM AROUND THE WORLD ON THEIR NUCLEAR POWER BUT ESCORT AND AIRCRAFT FUEL, AMMUNITION, AND FOOD ARE CRITICAL NEEDS WE CANNOT WIN THE WAR WITHOUT! I PERSONALLY COMPLETED A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS ON MSC HAVING THE AOR’S AND AOE’S AS MSC ASSETS AND THERE WAS NO QUESTION THAT IT WOULD BE CHEAPER TO RUN THEM AS MSC SHIPS BUT AT WHAT COST TO THE FLEET IN WARTIME?

(FROM HERE TO THE END ARE MY WORDS EXCEPT WHERE QUOTED)

AS A CHIEF MATE ON USNS CHAUVENET CONDUCTING BOTTOM SURVEYS AROUND DOLMA ISLAND EAST OF QATAR DURING DESERT SHIELD, I FACED SIMILAR CHALLENGES. THE CIVILIAN CREW WAS TERRIFIED OF THE FACT WE COULD BE SUBJECT TO GAS ATTACK. DURING DECON DRILLS TO PREPARE THEM FOR THAT EVENTUALITY HOWEVER, ONE INDIVIDUAL PUSHED THE TOPSIDE GUARD FOR THE DECON STATION OUT OF THE WAY AND BURST INTO THE DECON STATION AND CONTAMINATED IT. HIS EXCUSE WAS THAT IT WAS TOO DAMN HOT IN THAT DECON SUIT! TOOK A GUARD WITH A 38 TO STOP THAT NONSENSE!

I LIKE YOU WAS A VOLUNTEER FOR RIVERINE DUTY. IN VIETNAM ALMOST ALL WHO SERVED IN AND WITH THE PATROL CRAFT WERE. IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A YEAR THAT I CHARACTERIZE AS CHALLENGING INTERSPERSED WITH MOMENTS OF SHEER TERROR!!! YOU ARE AT THAT CROSSROADS NOW! THE YEARS AFTERWARD FOR ME IN THE SERVICE WERE INFLUENCED BY THE CONFIDENCE I GAINED MEETING THOSE CHALLENGES. WHERE WILL YOU BE IN 30 OR 40 YEARS?

I REPORTED TO VIETNAM 43 YEARS AGO AT THE AGE OF 30, LITTLE REALIZING WHAT WAR WAS TRULY ABOUT. SURE I HAD READ MANY BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON WARS PAST AND THOUGHT I KNEW WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE. NONE HOWEVER INCLUDED OPERATING SMALL CRAFT AS WE DID ON THE WATERWAYS, CANALS AND FLOODED RICE PADDIES OF THE MEKONG DELTA. WHEN YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK OR EVEN SUBJECT TO ATTACK THE WORLD CHANGES AND YOU WILL CHANGE. WE ALL DID. THAT IS WHEN COMMITMENT TO YOUR CREWMATES IS MEASURED. STAND TALL!

I WAS PSYCHOLOGICALLY NOT PREPARED FOR THE FAR EAST. WHAT WERE CONSIDERED NORMAL LIVING CONDITIONS TO THE VIETNAMESE WERE DEPLORABLE TO AN AMERICAN. IT WAS WORSE THAN I COULD HAVE IMAGINED! THE HEALTH OF THE VIETNAMESE INCLUDED RAMPANT TB, BODY WORMS, MALARIA AND EVERY DISEASE THAT HAD BEEN ERADICATED IN THE US. WE HAD TO EAT THE SAME FOOD AS THE LOCAL POPULACE AS WE LIVED ON THE ECONOMY AND NOT IN A COMPOUND OR TENT CITY. IT WAS CULTURE SHOCK IN THE DEEPEST SENSE. KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WILL FACE!

THE BEST HOSPITAL IN THE CENTER OF THE MEKONG DELTA AT CAN THO WAS IN ITSELF TERRIFYING. THE OVERALL ADMINISTRATION WAS UNDER DR. FRANK CAMP. HE WAS A MAJOR IN THE AIR FORCE, A DOUBLE BOARDED HEART SURGEON AND A SUPERB INDIVIDUAL. AS THE USAID APPOINTED DIRECTOR HE HAD A TEAM OF NURSES AND SOME OTHER USAID HIRED DOCTORS BUT THAT WAS IT. THE HOSPITAL HAD BEEN DESIGNED BY THE FRENCH AND IT WAS WORSE THAN CRUDE. THE EMERGENCY ADMISSIONS SECTION HAD THREE SLOPED PARALLEL SLABS OF ROUGH CONCRETE WITH A WELL AROUND EACH EDGE (LIKE A MEAT PLATTER) AND A TRASH CAN AT ONE CORNER TO CATCH BLOOD AND OTHER PARTS OF HUMAN BODIES. ONE AM TERRORISTS SET OFF A BOMB IN THE CROWDED MARKETPLACE OF TRAON. THE WOUNDED AND DYING WERE BROUGHT TO CAN THO BY THE PBR’S AND VN RAG CRAFT. I WAS SHUTTLING INDIVIDUALS TO THE HOSPITAL IN A JEEP WHEN I WAS GIVEN A YOUNG GIRL THE AGE OF MY OLDEST DAUGHTER. SHE WAS BANDAGED AROUND BOTH ARMS AND ACROSS HER CHEST. WHEN I INITIALLY HELD HER SHE WAS AFRAID OF THIS “ROUND EYE” BUT WHEN 10 MINUTES LATER I GENTLY LAID HER ON ONE OF THE CONCRETE SLABS SHE GAVE ME A WARM SMILE. THE DOCTORS CUT OFF HER BANDAGES AND HER RIGHT ARM WAS HELD ON BY ABOUT A HALF INCH OF FLESH WHICH THEY IMMEDIATELY CUT THRU AND THEN THREW THE ARM IN THE TRASH. (I WENT OUTSIDE AND THREW UP!) WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? IN WAR ZONES IN MOST THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES THERE ARE SO MANY CASUALTIES THAT ANY ELECTIVE SURGERY OR CARE IS NOT EVEN POSSIBLE. ONLY WHAT IS NECESSARY TO SAVE A LIFE IS ATTEMPTED. YOU PERSONALLY WILL BE BLESSED WITH RAPID MEDEVAC TO AMERICAN CARE BUT WHAT IF YOU ARE TASKED TO TRANSFER INDIVIDUAL CIVILIANS IN YOUR CRAFT TO OTHER THAN US RUN FACILITIES? WILL YOU KNOW WHERE TO GO? YOU SHOULD FIND OUT IN ADVANCE OF OPS!

WE ALL HAD BEEN INDOCTRINATED IN THE CLASSROOM ON “VIETNAM THE COUNTRY“, WARNED OF ALL THE THINGS THE VIET CONG COULD DO TO US YET IT STILL DID NOT INSTILL IN US THE FACT THAT MOST IN THE FAR EAST REGARD “LIFE AS CHEAP”. THAT UNFORTUNATELY IS ALSO TRUE IN IRAQ, IRAN, AFGHANISTAN, CHINA AND MANY OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD TODAY. SOME AREAS TO WHICH YOU WILL BE DEPLOYING. TERRORISTS TRAINING INDIVIDUALS TO BE HUMAN BOMBERS AND KILLING THEIR OWN COUNTRYMEN IS ONE EXAMPLE BUT IT GOES FAR BEYOND THAT. BEING ABLE TO INFLICT PAIN CAUSING PERMANENT INJURY AND EVEN DEATH TO PRISONERS AS THE NORTH VIETNAMESE AND EARLIER THE JAPANESE AND GERMANS IN WWII DID, WITH NO REMORSE, IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE. IT IS JUST NOT SOMETHING WE AS AMERICANS CAN COMPREHEND. THANK GOD WE AS A COUNTRY RESPECT LIFE AND TREAT ALL INDIVIDUALS AS HUMAN BEINGS. THERE MAY BE TIMES WHEN YOU GET IN A FIREFIGHT AND HAVE YOUR SHIPMATES WOUNDED AND EVEN KILLED AND THEN TAKE SOME PRISONERS. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT IT WILL TAKE THE STRONGEST MORAL COURAGE AND WILLPOWER YOU HAVE TO PROTECT THOSE INDIVIDUALS BUT YOU MUST DO SO! ARE YOU UP TO THE TASK? WILL YOU TURN THEM OVER TO HOST NATIONALS? YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE THE FACT WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE IF YOU DO SO! AS THE UNIT CAPTURING THEM YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THEY ARE TREATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GENEVA CONVENTION!

I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOUR PRE-DEPLOYMENT TRAINING ENCOMPASSES. ALL OF THE VOLUNTEERS WHO WERE TO SERVE IN COUNTRY IN VIETNAM WERE REQUIRED TO UNDERGO SURVIVAL, EVASION, RESISTANCE AND ESCAPE (SERE) TRAINING. WE WERE CRAMMED IN BLACK BOXES FOR AN HOUR SO SMALL THAT WE LITERALLY HAD TO BE DRAGGED TO THE SWEAT BOX BECAUSE WE COULD NOT MOVE OUR LIMBS, WE WERE WATER BOARDED, INTENSELY INTERROGATED, NOT PERMITTED TO SLEEP, AND SUBJECTED TO MANY OTHER CONDITIONS WHICH WERE TO SIMULATE WHAT WE COULD EXPECT IF CAPTURED. BELIEVE ME NONE OF US WANTED TO BECOME A POW AFTER THOSE TWO WEEKS. I PERSONALLY DO NOT CONSIDER ANY OF THAT AS TORTURE AS THE PRESS HAS CHARACTERIZED IT TODAY. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT ANY OF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO TO EXTRACT INFORMATION FROM ANY OF THE PRISONERS OR SUSPECTS YOU CAPTURE BUT YOU CAN BE SURE THEY WILL NOT VOLUNTEER ANY INFORMATION. THAT DATA WITHIN HOURS OF CAPTURE MAY SAVE MANY LIVES AND YOU NEED TO KNOW THE PROCESS YOU WILL FOLLOW TO OBTAIN IT.

WITH ALL THE NEW SYSTEMS AT YOUR DISPOSAL, YOU ARE DEPLOYING WITH THE BEST EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE HOWEVER I WOULD STRESS THE IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY OF NOT ONLY AIR COVER BY FIXED WING AND HELOS BUT MEDEVAC. NO UNMANNED UAV WILL BE ABLE TO DO WHAT THE SEAWOLF HELOS LATER DID FOR US IN THE DELTA.

THE SERVICES MAY CLAIM THEY ARE WORKING JOINTLY BUT WILL YOU HAVE THEIR DAILY COMM PLANS. WILL B-52S DROP AN ENTIRE WEAPONS LOAD ON AN ADJACENT LANDMASS TO THE CANAL ON WHICH YOU ARE OPERATING. WITHOUT YOUR WARNING OF SUCH? THAT IN ITSELF IS A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE. ENSURE YOU ARE AWARE OF ALL IMPENDING OPERATIONS IN YOUR PLANNED AREA OF OPERATIONS TO AVOID BLUE ON BLUE MISTAKES.

TRUST YOUR SHIPMATES AND EQUIPMENT. YOU HAVE THE BEST THERE IS AND THAT CRAFT YOU ARE RIDING MAY DO SOME IMPOSSIBLE THINGS IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE IF YOU HAVE PRACTICED EVERY POSSIBLE CONTINGENCY WITH IT!

IN CLOSING I WOULD ASK:

1. EACH OF YOU TO ELIMINATE THE WORD PROBLEM FROM YOUR VOCABULARY AND TO SUBSTITUTE THE WORD CHALLENGE. IF ON A FRIDAY MORNING AT QUARTERS YOUR CHIEF INFORMS YOU “WE HAVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS” YOUR IMMEDIATE REACTION IS “OH BOY, THERE GOES MY WEEKEND!” IF HOWEVER HE/SHE WOULD HAVE STATED, “WE HAVE A FEW CHALLENGES” IT IS A DIFFERENT MATTER. AN INDIVIDUAL WILL TURN THEIR BACK ON A PROBLEM BUT IT IS HUMAN NATURE TO JUMP TO A CHALLENGE. I CHANGED THE MOTTO OF USS SUMTER (LST-1181) TO “NO PROBLEMS JUST CHALLENGES” AND THE EFFECT WAS DRAMATIC. EVERY INSPECTOR THAT BOARDED THE SHIP LATER COMMENTED THEY COULD NOT PUT THEIR FINGER ON IT BUT THEY HAD NEVER BEEN ABOARD A SHIP WHICH HAD SUCH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE. WE NEVER FAILED AN INSPECTION NOR DID USS AUSTIN (LPD-4) LATER.

2, EVERYONE CAN MAKE A MISTAKE EVEN SERIOUS ONES. GIVE YOUR PERSONNEL A BREAK AND TRUST THEM NOT TO REPEAT IT. THEY WILL GIVE YOU 200% BACK. THIS MAY REQUIRE YOU TO BREAK MANDATED REGULATIONS BUT YOUR PEOPLE ARE WORTH THE RISK SO JUST DO IT!

3. HONOR THE DIGNITY OF INDIVIDUALS IN YOUR CREW AND UNIT REGARDLESS OF PERSONAL DIFFERENCES AND MAKE YOUR WORD YOUR BOND!

4. SPEAK UP FORCEFULLY IF YOU THINK THERE IS A BETTER WAY TO DO IT! YOUR INPUT IS IMPORTANT AND MAY SAVE LIVES! SENIORS ARE NOT ALWAYS RIGHT AND MAY HAVE MISSED THE OBVIOUS!

ONCE AGAIN I AM QUOTING THE AUTHOR BILL FERGUSON:
“ONE DAY WHEN YOU ARE ASKED WHAT YOU DID FOR YOUR COUNTRY DURING THIS WAR ON TERRORISM, YOUR CHEST WILL SWELL WITH PRIDE AS YOU REPLY, I SERVED IN THE RIVERINE NAVY!”

THANK-YOU!

Now, “the rest of the story:” If the last name of this speaker caught your eye, he is from a family of warriors, and his brother was BG Robin Olds, USAF.

Have something that will bring hte big bucks?

Then you can help.

For the Soldiers Angels VALOur-IT fund raising campaign this year, auctions will be held on eBay via a single seller.

The short brief: You send the info to Holly Aho, she posts them, you package and ship the item as dirrected and get paid for your shipping costs.

The longer and “official” rules to play:

Auction Items Submissions

All auction items will run as a 7 day auction with no buy-it-now options. Auctions will be listed either on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday evening, ensuring a “2 weekend run” during the 7 day period. This is the busiest time at Ebay. With new listings and expiring listings showing at the top of their lists this is the best time to have a new listing, and the next weekend a now expiring listing.

All auction items must be shipped within 5 business days after receiving shipping cost payment. You will be sent shipping cost money either by paypal or check based on your preference.

Things needed to start an auction:

1. Photos.

Images should be no larger than 600px by 600px

Image file names should be short and descriptive. IMG_0001.jpg would be wrong. marinecoins.jpg would be better.

Image file names should contain no spaces. marine coins.jpg would be wrong. marinecoins.jpg or marine_coins.jpg would be better.

There is no limit to number of photos you can include

2. Description of item
Suggestions for a good description:
Include measurements if applicable. Height, width, depth, etc. Is it bigger than a breadbox? lol

Include weight if applicable. Is it paper mache or solid gold? Help the person imagine seeing and holding it in person.

Condition of item. Was it last driven over by a drunken tractor driver or is it new in the box?

Rarity. This is more subjective but give an opinion based on your experience. How many of this item have you ever seen?

Include color(s) in your description. Photos are not good for relying on these details. The buyer may have drastically different monitor color settings than you.

Include method you intend to ship the item with. Say you will ship USPS Priority, UPS Ground or whatever you prefer.

Include flat rate shipping cost in description (see below for more details). This information will be in the auction details but it’s good to include right in the description.

3. Shipping cost
Select a shipping method you prefer, be it UPS, USPS, FedEx or whatever.

Find a zip code for the furthest location in the US from your house as you can think of (in lower 48 states). Go to USPS.com, UPS.com or the website for your prefered shipping provider and perform a shipping costs calculator estimate using your address and the zip code you looked up as the shipping location. This estimate will be the shipping cost for the auction.

4. Price
Include:
Lowest possible value of item. If you don’t know, just say that.

5. Your personal information
(this information will not be shared)
Your name
address
phone
email address

6. Method you prefer to receive shipping cost payment from buyer
Paypal
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Rules for preparing shipping items

1. All items must be shipped in a box large enough to fit the item as well as shipping materials. This includes any item up for auction, books, small items and even paper items.
2. You must use bubble wrap and/or styrophoam peanuts in packaging your item, even if it is a paper item or a book. No newspaper as shipping material allowed!
3. No boxes with alcohol advertisements or names are allowed for shipping purposes. If this is the only box you have, turn it inside out and tape it back together. Need a box? Large stores like Wal-Mart are happy to give you as many as you want. Visit them late at night while they are stocking and help yourself!
4. Use lots of tape!
5. You will be emailed a “From Soldiers’ Angels” label to print and place on the outside of your box. Please tape it in a visible area, and even tape over the paper so that if the box gets wet the label will be “water-proof”.

Questions? Email Holly Aho at [email protected]!

~Holly Aho

Note: Holly has been one of the backgorund volunteers who has made lots of Soldier’s Angels things go for years, so you can be confident your item will be taken care of well in the auctions.

Put on your thinking caps on what you have that can help the cause…and do it soon. Oct 26th is coming up fast! (Statr dtae of the fund dive!).

It was a few days of interesting handshakes. Older gentleman and his wife pushing their shopping cart through the new WalMart “Neighborhood” Grocery Store. Looked to be Korean War vintage. I stepped in to his personal space, after spying the “US Navy Veteran” blue ball cap and introduced myself. When did you do in the Navy? I was an airframe mechanic. What airframes (now the tricky part…you had to be there)? “Oh, SBDs and F6Fs.” My head was going tilt….but I had set the filters for 50s stuff…Then…I caught on. I complimented him on how well time had treated him, while I reframed. Wow! SBDs! I have always liked those planes.

Then, As reported in the prior post, breakfast with men from WWII (A rear gunner on PBMs, turned officer and Naval Aviator after the war, to RADM Charles B Hunter, USN (Ret) who earned the honor of wearing the Navy Cross for a single plane night mission into Hanoi, where he managed to dodge the SA-2s and still put his 18 500lbs MK80 series bombs on the intended primary target…and then got back home. He didn’t tell me that. I found it the web:

As the air war went on, year after year, the naval command adopted different tactics to improve the effectiveness of the carrier strikes, while minimizing losses of men and planes. One approach was the use of two or single-aircraft strikes. One such operation involved the all-weather, day-night A-6 Intruder attack plane crewed by Lieutenant Commander Charles B. Hunter and his bombadier/navigator, Lieutenant Lyle F. Bull. They volunteered to carry out an extremely risky night attack on a railroad ferry slip in Hanoi, which was ringed with a lethal array of surface-to-air missile batteries, antiaircraft artillery sites, and MiG bases. On 30 October 1967, the Intruder launched from Constellation in the Gulf of Tonkin, flew fast and low through the mountain valleys of northeast North Vietnam, and got to within eighteen miles of the target before the enemy discovered its presence. Then, the on board electronics intercept equipment indicated that Communist radar had detected them. Hunter flew the plane close to the treetops and “jinked” to left and right to avoid the SA-2 “flying telephone pole” surface-to-air missile that soon lit up the night as it streaked at and then past them. In the glow of antiaircraft fire and searchlights crisscrossing the sky, the intrepid aviators pressed home their attack dropping eighteen 500-pound bombs on the railroad ferry slip. The pair saw the ordnance obliterate the target as they banked and escaped into the night.

He knows both my COs from MILWAUKEE (AOR-2). Just a normal guy, with a ball cap with embroidered pilot wings, sitting in a cafe on a beach near the gulf.

I got invited to attended regularly. I’m honored. I’m hoping they will entrust me with some sea stories, and actual reports of the times as they were.

Today, enroute the innards of where America now does business (Panera Bread), I stopped to intorduce myself to a man with a “Vietnam Veteran” ball cap. Started as a “Deck Ape,” became and EM, then the S2 Ensign decided he could cut hair and he became the Ship’s Barber on USS PURVIS (DD-707). Left after on hitch, got his electrical engineering degree and worked building big plants all around the Middle East and even worked for President Johnson, he proudly told me. He has my card and an offer to call and get a free cup of coffee out of me for the price of a few sea stories. I thanked his wife for allowing me to share him for a few minutes, which I do to acknowledge them allowing my random interruptions. She smiled and told me it was alright.

I look forward to what ever phone calls come my way, hoping to catch some first person stories I can share, or just keep to myself and know I heard a bit of real history or two.

How better to begin a day, than to be invited to a long standing group os mostly Naval Aviators, and some Marines, who span military history from 1942 to the mid-90s (I was the youngest one…and moved that goal post)?

Via business networking and meeting and doing business with told me to show up for breakfast. I didn’t get al the names right, I’m sure, but a Navy Cross winner, a retired Admiral who wnet “downtown.” The man with the most CUTLASS traps every. A P-3 pilot who was one of my CO’s roommates at USNA, and…we had met at the change of command, and figured out he and I had crossed paths in Dec 76 @ Comm School in Newport. And that’s not all the history I sat in the middle of, but, I was the lone “Shoe,” and non-USNA. They still welcomed me in and told me to come back…They do this every two weeks.

More later. Much more I’m sure….maybe an interview from a Cutlass pilot….

Blogging has been light, but today, while checking the normal places, I find a picture posted by my virtual shipmate, SteelJaw Scribe, showing one of my haze gray homes about to get hit by 2 2.75″ rockets from a Mexican Navy helicopter.

CONOLLY (DD-979) absorbing naval gunfire during SINKEX 4/29/2009

USS CONOLLY (DD-979) was sunk 4/29/2009 off Jacksonville, FL as part of the UNITAS 50 multinational exercise. She was my “home” from late September, 1983 until early May 1985. I served as the Engineer Officer on my first Department Head assignment. Reading that link, I’m proud to see, even without a responding combat system and damage control teams, it sure took a lot of ordnance to put he down. Sure the “BUFFs” were laid on for some high altitude fun with Harpoons, but CONOLLY was gone by then. More info on the entire exercise, to include the other SINKEX photos, are here.

Update 8/18/2009: Found the YouTube post by a very uppity USS DONALD COOK Crew. None the less, she took a beating and keep aflaot. She sure made them earn their pay, while giving them valuable anti-Surface warfare experience. Let’s go to the video!

embedded by Embedded Video

Back to the original post:

The picture at SteelJaw’s place, of course started the nostalgia engine running. Irony: I stepped aboard CONOLLY in the middle of UNITAS XXIV. She went to her demise during UNITAS L. The next thought: USS CONOLLY was to be the one DD-963 to be preserved, and not sunk. The plan was for CONOLLY to become a museum in the Great Lakes area. A lot of energy had been put towards that goal, but last year, the game plan changed. Given that determination, the PAUL F FOSTER (DD-964) is currently the Self Defense Test Ship out at Port Hueneme, CA, and is the one last hope of a single DD-963 hull, of the 31 built to replace the GEARING Class destroyers from WWII.

The SPRUANCE Class was built to stay in service for sometime, and having commissioned DD-984, USS LEFTWICH, the 22nd hull of the class, there were many open spaces on the ship for future growth. They even named them as such, and most ships had made the “EW Growth Area #2” the main ships’ classroom on the 03 Level aft of the bridge. Years later, as I inspected the combat systems readiness of the Atlantic Fleet, I saw those spaces mostly full of equipment, taken over by OUTBOARD installations and various other new gear.

LEFTWICH weighed in at a heavy, compared to a DD-710 Class hull, at 7900 tons. Conolly was in the same configuration when I reported aboard. After CONOLLY’s first Regular Overhaul (ROH), which took place at Portland, ME as the first ship to use the recently acquired Bath Irons Works facility in Portland, we left for sea trials, as the first non-test ship for Tomahawk of the class, sporting two huge armored box launchers (ABLs) on the foc’sle, two MK-15 CIWS mounts and the Mk-23 Target Acquisition System (TAS), with 300 tons of lead ingots taking up space in my fuel tanks as counter weight, making displace right about 10,000 tons. The shipalt to add Kevlar armor to the superstructure, however, was canceled, due to the miscalculations the engineers had made, as one other ship listed significantly in Pascagoula, when the reflated her after drydock.

I stepped aboard her in Puerto Mont, Chile, having been picked up at the airport there by then LT John Taylor, the Weapons Officer, who I had served with while an instructor at Fleet Combat Training Center, Atlantic (FCTCL), just before this assignment. CDR Harry Maixner was the Commanding Officer, LCDR Stan Weeks the XO, LCDR Mike Moe the Operations Officer, LT Karl Boggott the Supply Officer. The MPA was LT Al Curry, Electrical Officer was ENS Nolan Hale, and ENS Mike Tow was the DCA. LTJG Mike House, was COMMO at the time, and later became my DCA, when Mike moved to MPA during overhaul, when Al left. GSMC(SW) “JC” Weigman was my only khaki clad enlisted man in the propulsion side, with HTC Bob Conklin in Damage Control. LT Bill Goodwin was the Engineer, and his men had a great deal of respect for him. Big shoes to fill, and no time in the department behind me. Mike Moe had been the Engineer before Bill and had split toured aboard to Operations Officer. Harry Maixner was a no nonsense gunnery guy, out to run the best ship. Ask the crew of the USS SCOTT (DDG-996) what helium balloons and empty 5″ powder casing can do to your tactical picture late at night, if you get the chance. Harry was going to win, and he had the tactical acumen to pull it off, too.

It was a great tour and I had asked not to go there…not the ship, but the billet. I had spent two sea tours above deck, and one ashore teaching combat systems. In SWOS Department Head School, I asked to stay in the Combat Systems arena. I figured I was a dead ringer for a FFG out of Mayport, as I had been teaching Pre-Comm for FFG Combat Systems teams, CSOs and CO/XOs at FCTCL. Wouldn’t even have to send me via the pipeline…I was teaching i. Nope, my detailer sent me to be a Snipe. Later in my career, he was XO on USS BRISCOE, and when I was visiting another shipmate there, I asked him why. His answer: “Your record said you could do it.”

I stepped aboard into a situation where the Engineers had just had to rebuilt the clutch-brake assembly for GTM 2A in place. Turns out it was the first time the fleet had seen it and even the civilian engineers out of San Diego who had flown to Valpariso (the port city for Santiago) had no clue what to do. The GSMs, lead by JC Weigman wrote the procedures on the fly. That work was adopted for use everywhere. A few days later, while conducting NGFS firings at Tic Toc in Chile, the same casualty occurred on GTM 2B. I told Bill Goodwin and CAPT Maixner I would still sign the relieving letter as Engineer Officer, knowing the caliber of the crew. A few nights later, specifically 180032SEP83 local, we were steaming at 22 knots (top speed for one engine online) in the South Pacific and GTM 2A failed…catostrophically. I was Officer of the Deck, and called CCS on the 21MC “What’s happening, CCS?” “GTM2A is offline, starting GTM 2B, sir” I grabbed the tactical radio and informed USS SCOTT of our casualty, then called the Captain. Capt Maixner took the report and told me to always notify him FIRST. Aye, aye, sir!

I completed the midwatch without further incident and in the morning, after the system had cooled, I was on the cat walk aft of GTM 2As exhaust plenum looking in the manhole cover, at Al Curry, who had a double handful of black sand. I asked what happened to the engine? He held up his hands. Somewhere, in a box, I have a quart fuel sample bottle, 2/3s full of that fine grained metal, with a black tape label stating “GTM 2A 0032 18 SEP 83.”

We changed the engine out in Montevideo, Uruguay, in a storm, alongside a pier, using a floating crane. It was done by a crew of dedicated sailors, who, despite the bending of the rules, the disappearance of a few cases of steaks from the galley, and some Ship’s ball caps and plaques, in one hour less than “book,” (83 hours vice 84) and when we went for a start, it had all been done correctly. Nothing had to be redone. Oh…that repair had been preceded by a 35 straight hour rebuilt of the other clutch brake, at sea, because the USAF decided they wanted to see Uruguay, and didn’t want to wait until we reached Brazil, which was the plan. The analysis showed the main fuel control value failed wide open and the excess fuel poured into the combustion chamber caused thermal stress on the high speed turbine and power turbine blades, which caused the destruction, not human error.

There are more stories about my time on CONOLLY Some are in the blog on this search.

It was my second most rewarding tour, but not by much. My XO tour was shaped by my experiences as an Engineer, where I learned that some departments never sleep, and are countered upon for a myriad of things, generally missed by those who walk the upper decks, and just have the things they need provided by the “snipes.”

I met the CO and he told me I would be standing bridge watches. I reminder him I was his new Engineer Officer. He told me he had plenty of good engineers, he needed more people to drive the ship. It didn’t make much sense then, but soon I was standing bridge watches, first to transit the Chilean Inland Waterway.

Enough of the reminiscing, but I’ll say this: We were the first 963 to refuela another ship at sea. I was there…I did blog it. If any of you PACFLEET guys with a good PAO come around, sorry, you didn’t do it first.

Bottom line: The men of the Engineering Department aboard CONOLLY trusted me enough to let me think I was leading them, and to figure out how to get an “Engineer’s Chair” installed in CCS, next to the EOOW’s Desk during overhaul. I used the lessons they taught me (“There are only gremlins if you admit it,” “Sir, there’s a short in the galley and We’re not sure when we can find it, but we sure don’t want anyone hurt,” and the value of “Brain Books”) I used then, and several to this day. I owe them a thank you for their patience and mentoring.

A quite interesting lesson in history popped into view today, on the anniversary of the famous Battle at Little Big Horn. From the LA Times, an article about how the aftermath of that battle was one of, and still is Indians who have served in our military proudly:

[…]
What few Americans know is that the command of about 600 men Custer led into battle in 1876 included about 35 American Indians, mostly Arikaras but also six Crow and a few Santee Sioux. Some of the Indian scouts would die alongside the 7th Cavalry at Little Bighorn. Others would ride away as the fighting began and spend the rest of their lives recounting what little they saw of the battle. What almost no one knows is that men from the same tribes that fought against Custer would, one year later, be riding alongside the U.S. Army as scouts in the campaign against the Nez Perce — or that the Indian scouts who served the Army in the 19th century became one of the precursors to the Army Special Forces, also known as Green Berets.
[…]

More of the tapestry that has become the legacy of the intertwined people who comprise this great nation.

• The Little Kidnappers on dvd

Single Black Female video

And he said, when the lines were singled: “You did everything I’d do, but 30 seconds later.”

It is a real statement made to me, after morring at Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, VA for an offload of ordnance.

about 45 minutes earlier, Captain Maixner asked “Have you ever taken one (SPRUANCE Class DD) to the pier without tugs?”

What brought this stroy back from the memory banks is the current events…of how one can sit and listen to someone for 20+ years, then decide what is being said is depicable…

More later…work calls…but…it is a good story about life aboard a Navy vessel…

The Military Cross, no less.

The whole article is here.

Brave man, desperate times, and victory…

Taco Bell has a great post. It begins with his teacher from prior days, sitting him down when he was commissioned as a Marine 2nd Lt and passing along a sword and .45, and the recollection of a combat Marine, who crossed those beaches.

It goes on to tell of Taco’s privledge of being part of a contingent in 1985 to visit the island and assist the vets in their return tour.

Do Not Miss This Post. Dr T and the Women rip