Bob - The Navy Years, Chapter 10

Six Months Together

Mary Lynn and I got married Saturday, April 8, 1967.  Wasn't she a pretty bride! On Monday, April 10, we loaded up our new car and headed for California. Now, the car.  I bought a car while I was home, just a couple of days before the wedding.  I found out later that Mary Lynn had said to her family "I don't care what kind of car it is as long as it's not white."  She neglected to tell me that. So, we loaded up our 'white' car, and headed to California.  This was before Interstate Highways, and the road to take west was the fabled 'Route 66'.  Joplin, Missouri, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico, Winslow, Ariz.....just like the song says. The trip west was our honeymoon.  We enjoyed the sights along the way and took our time.  We made a slight detour to see the Grand Canyon, drove through the Painted Desert, spent a night in Las Vegas.

We  drove across the Hoover Dam, then cruised on up to Fresno. I had rented us a furnished apartment in Fresno. So I commuted about an 80 mile round trip each day to the base.  I knew I was due for transfer in 6 months.  So we made the most of the time we had together.  With several other couples we were friends with, we made many weekend excursions to see the sights.  One weekend down to Anaheim to Disneyland, another weekend, Mary Lynn's favorite, camping in Yosemite Park and hiking to the top of Yosemite Falls.  One couple lived in Sacramento, so we went up there for the weekend when one other couple planned a wedding.  They got married in a Wedding Chapel in Reno.  That was a unique experience for us.  Each one of these weekend excursions was a story all by itself.     

Our friends in Sacramento, Dean and Judy Johnson, had a boat.  The worst sunburn I ever got was the weekend we went water skiing on Lake Folsom, beside Folsom Prison made famous by the Johnny Cash song.  While the guy at right is not me, and I didn't have a shirt on like him, I was burned that badly.  I should have known better.  Dean was the person who's place I took for 2 weeks at the Base Classified materials Office.  One other thing I'll mention, which I think was neat, we went to a local night spot in Fresno one evening and saw Billy Haley and the Comets  perform in person. I appreciated that more than Mary Lynn did.       

This was our little apartment in Fresno, CA.  It was a furnished apartment and our rent was $77 a month.  There were six apartments, 3 on each side of a driveway that went back to a garage for each apartment.  The place was very clean, the furniture nice, and I thought I did a pretty good job picking this place out, especially not knowing the area at all.

On May 17th, 1967 Mary Lynn turned 21!  I made her a cake, which has been our tradition for 43 years now.  You can see our kitchen furniture.

Well, I continued my job as a sailor, driving  the 80 mile round trip every day. During the past 2 years I had continued to advance in Rate and was currently a YN3. I looked back at my earnings over the years and in 1967 I earned a grand total of $2,502.   I was comfortable in the fact that Mary Lynn didn't just marry me for my money.   I  was due for transfer in the Fall.  About a month before being due for transfer you can put a request in for what type Duty you'd prefer.  Sometimes the Navy grants that wish if they need someone for that job anyway.  So, never having been to Sea, I knew I was due for Sea Duty.  Because of the Vietnam War and not wanting to go in that direction, I put in for Sea Duty on the East Coast.....Anywhere! I anxiously awaited my orders.

to be continued..............

Bob - The Navy Years, Chapter 9

Changing Jobs at VA-125

I mentioned in the last chapter that work was very much like the civilian workforce, and it is.  But, there are some exceptions.  You can't quit, and because of the nature of the military, the people you work with are constantly changing because of transfers. But, you make a lot of friends.  And I was fortunate to work with a lot of the same people for nearly the whole 2 years.

The picture at right is of the barracks in the background. I don't remember any gas station, so  think that might have been added later. The barracks were 3 stories, my living quarters was the 2nd floor.

This is a picture of the front gate at the Air Base.  Note how desolate the area looks in the background.  Not many trees.  I've Googled base pictures, and on recent pictures of this base there are many tall palm trees and lush looking lawns.  Of course, the newer photos were in color, but I can tell you now, they had some grass, but it hadn't really become lush lawns.  And, you still can't see those palm trees in the old photos! A military base is a small city.  It has most things you would need.  Movie, bowling alley, bank, snack bar, restaurant, store (PX), Grocery (Commissary), etc. Such was the living area on the base.

I started out working in the Captains Office.  I was there for probably 6-8 months.  This job consisted of being a secretary to the Captain.  Typing letters, filing, getting coffee.  The Captain had many people coming into his office, and we had to make sure any guests had coffee.  Coffee is BIG in the Navy.

Then I moved in to Classified Records.  Actually, part of the same office, but in a smaller office to the side.  There, I was in charge of keeping up with all the classified documents in the Squadron.  Many weapons manuals, Classified communications, etc.  Basically, there are 3 classes, Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret.  I know there are classes beyond that, like Flash, and For Your Eyes Only, but the 3 classes I mention are what I handled.  I needed a Top Secret Clearance for that, which required an investigation of my background by the Navy Department.  I guess I passed.  While working in that office, the records clerk in the base Classified Office went on 2 weeks Leave, and I was loaned out to them for that period.  This was a separate building, just off the airfield.  I worked in the vault, which was basically a library of Classified material.  Pilots came to this building and 'checked out' manuals to read up and stay current on weapons systems.  NO documents left that building. You were buzzed in and out of the building by Security. Outdated material had to be destroyed. And there was a lot of it.  Manuals were contstantly being updated with new pages inserted and old ones removed.  After a short while you could get a large pile of papers and manuals needing to be destroyed.  How did we destroy them? No, we didn't have a paper shredder.  We burned them.  The Officer in charge of classified material and I took the pile to the incinerator and burned it.  One page at a time!  You couldn't throw a whole manual in, because you had to stay and stir the ashes to make sure nothing remained.  So, you tore manuals apart, throwing pages into the fire.  Now, it was usually 100 degrees outside at Lemoore, CA.  Standing in front of a roaring fire, outside, for a couple of hours wasn't fun.

I worked in Classified Records for 4-5 months then moved next door to Officer Records.  This was the Personnel Office for Officers.  This is where they reported when arriving to VA-125, and I was in charge of keeping their personnel records up to date. Therefore, I knew by name and sight many fighter pilots in the Pacific.  Almost all of them went on to fly missions over North Vietnam.  I knew many pilots killed or captured by North Vietnam.  Our Executive Officer, Lt Commander Cameron, who I worked beside in the Captains Office for many months, was shot down and parachuted into the Gulf of Tonkin. We heard that he was in radio contact with the other planes above, when he stated "The boats are closing in now, I'll have to  go."  So we knew he was alive, in the water, but he was never heard from again. 

 Years later, watching TV as the prisoners of war from Vietnam were released, I recognized many names of those Navy pilots.

     I thought I'd show you how close all the offices were that I worked in.  They were all either part of the same office or just next door. This was the second floor of the hangar.  Down the hallway north was the Pilots Ready Room, the Operations Office, and Medical.  Down the hallway to the south was the Mimeograph Office, and Training Schedule Office.

While at Lemoore, I went on  two week Leave in May of 1966.  While home I asked Mary Lynn to marry me. She said yes and we planned a wedding day for April 8, 1967.  We can't remember if I came home between May '66 and April '67 or not.  I don't think I did.  So we did our communication by letter and an occasional phone call.  She planned the wedding and I found us an apartment to live in. In April, 1967, I went on 2 weeks Leave.



Bob and Mary Lynn get married and head to California.

to be continued........................               

Bob - The Navy Years, Chapter 8

Settling In

Life on a military base is much like Civilian Life.  I worked an 8-5 workday, with weekends off.  We did pull 'Duty', took our turn to be on call, as our turn came up.  I can't remember, but I think we were on 'Duty' a week at a time, and it came around about every 6 weeks.  This meant we were confined to base, because we had to be available at a moments notice. I was only called in once when I was on Duty, but it was a major event. This happened after I was stationed there for awhile, maybe 8 months or so. But our Captain, Cmdr J. A. Endicott, was killed.  All the officers in the squadron were fighter pilots. Even when assigned to a land base, they still had to log required flying time. This included Aircraft Carrier take-offs and landings. While many accidents happened the 2 years I was stationed there, usually to young, inexperienced pilots, this was shocking because it happend to someone I knew well and worked with everyday.
In the Navy the leader of your group is 'Captain'. Whether you are on a ship or on land, no matter what that person's rank is, he is 'Captain'.  Commander Endicott, one rank below the Captain Rank, was our Captain.  He was killed while taking off from an Aircraft Carrier.

 For those unfamiliar with Aircraft Carriers, they have a very short runway for the jets that use them.  When you take off, you are shot off the end of the carrier by a catapult, allowing you to be 'up to speed' to get airborn.  When landing, you have a hook on the back of the plane that must catch an arrest wire to help stop you.  This cable has some 'give', but brings you to an abrupt stop. When landing, you must be going slow enough to catch a cable, but also fast enough to take off again if you miss the cable or it breaks.  Captain Endicott was taking off, but got off a 'Cold Cat', which was to say the catapult didn't get up to speed and his plane, when reaching the end of the ship, went straight down into the sea.
So, as Duty Yeoman, I was called in to do a lot of typing.  Messages needed to be sent, Death Certificates needed to be typed up along with many other official documents.  Busy night.
I'll stay with the 'Accidents" theme for a little bit.  As I said, many accidents happened during my stay at Lemoore.  Pilots are often killed in the service, not just in combat.  These are young men, learning to fly the fastest planes in the world, and learning to fly them in all conditions.  They spend a lot of hours flying. Accidents happen, not just from pilot error or inexperience, but from mechanical malfunction.  Pilots also learn to fly by instruments only, in case of fog or other sight restrictions, and learn what to do in case of many different emergencies that may come up. They practice these emergencies, not just casual flying. Every once in awhile, a pilot would fly into the side of a mountain. They don't survive.  One thing they do is 'touch and go' flying, just making a loop around the field, touching down as if landing, but once their wheels touch rev the engine and take  right back off again.  Usually 4 or 5 planes would be in the loop.  Once, when taking back off again, a pilot's plane rolled over unexpectedly. He ejected.  Straight down into the runway 30 feet below.
These type accidents happened with regularity.  I saw many pictures of plane crashes. Most of them were just charred "V" formations in the ground cluttered with debris.

Barracks life was not bad.  I lived in a cubicle with 6 other guys.  We had a 'Day room', where there were lounge chairs and a TV.  We could watch TV in the evening and football games on Sunday.  Some guys had little TV's in their cubicle.  I played a lot of cards.  Many an all-night poker game.  Usually $1 limit games.  I usually won because I, not to brag, was a pretty good poker player, for I'd played poker all my life.  I also played pinochle and pitch with friends.  We'd have the same partners, and even though we didn't play for money, the games were pretty intense.  Pitch is similar to Euchre.
The base had a movie theatre.  A different movie each week.  They weren't first run, but second run. Fairly new. Between playing cards and going to movies, writing letters and doing laundry, and hitting the chow hall 3 times a day, that pretty much occupied all my time. That's one thing I need to mention here.  The Navy has very good food. That's one thing that prompted me to join the Navy.  I knew, even if I was on ship, I'd have good food and a warm bed to sleep in each night.  We did have a laundry room with washers and dryers.  No, we didn't have to wash our clothes in a bucket like Boot Camp.  I think they all operated on a quarter, just like all laundromats.

Working in the Captain's Office, I knew before anyone else what was going on. All the latest news, or 'Poop', as we called it in the Navy. As in "What's the latest Poop?".  While I stayed working in the same area, over the course of the 2 years my job changed a few times. That's coming up next.

to be continued............

Jillian.....You crack me up!

Last night Jillian and I were sitting in my chair talking abour the movie "The Wizard of Oz". I was trying to get the feel for how scared she would be to watch it. We talked about how it wasn't so scary if you knew things would turn out OK.  Like, when the witch captures Dorothy and takes her to her castle, you know the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion will save her.  Jill "Yeah, but I don't think I want to watch it."  Me "Maybe when you're older, probably when you get to be six years old." Jill, thinking a second, "Mmmm......probably when I'm nineteen."

Then, this morning, Mimi was fixing cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Jillian was watching TV layed back on the Love Seat pillows.  "Are the cinnamon rolls ready yet?"  Mimi, "No Jillian, it'll be about five more minutes."  Jillian, in her deep voice, "Cinnamon rolls.......I can smell you!"

Bob - The Navy Years, Chapter 7

Off to California

So, after 2 weeks Leave, a lot of time with Mary Lynn, I packed my Seabag and off to California I went.  Looking back, I'd have to say the two years I spent in California was one of, if not the most, pivotal two years of my life.
Let me tell you a little about where I was assigned. VA-125, Naval Air Station, Lemoore, California. VA-125, (Attack Squadron 125).  They flew A-4 Skyhawks. The top attack aircraft of the day.

  VA-125 was a training squadron.  They did not deploy to an Aircraft Carrier as did all the other squadrons based at NAS Lemoore. All the other squadrons spent time on Carriers, months at a time, then had shore duty, assigned to an Air Base for months, then deployed to another Carrier.  We stayed put. That was nice. We trained pilots and ground crew.  All pilots assigned to other squadrons came through our squadron, off and on, temporarily for training. As did the ground crew.  The Air Station itself opened in 1961, so it was a very new base when I reported for Duty in August, 1965.  The base was located in Central California, about 40 miles southeast of Fresno, in the Desert. It was very hot in the summer, but often got in the 40's in the winter time.  The airfield and hangers were located about 5 miles from the barracks area.  To get back and forth we took 'Cattle Cars'. These were trailers shaped exactly like the cattle wagons you see semi's hauling up and down the highway.  The only difference was that there were no holes in the sides, there were a few windows, and there was a bus door on the side.  Inside, benches to sit on were placed around the walls and a couple of polls in the middle to hold when all the seats were taken. This was our base transportation. We took them to the airfield every morning, and back to the barracks every afternoon.  Quite a sweet ride!
I reported to the base in the evening and was assigned a bunk. Now, on a Military Base, there are normal work hours, but every building, and every job, is covered by a Duty Officer or someone on Duty that Day.  So, no matter what time, there's always somebody available to receive people reporting for Duty or take care of any other thing that comes up. Reporting to my barracks, I was given a blanket, two sheets, and shown the way to my cubicle and bed, then given instructions on where to be in the morning, and what time.
As I've said before, on any base of any size, there's always more than one person reporting in at a time.  This being a training squadron, there were more people than would normally be checking in a squadron.  I'd say there were about 20 people checking in.  We reported to the Personnel Office, first stop.  You give them your records, they give you a check in sheet and a map of the base. While there, a sailor came in and said "Anybody here know how to type?".  My hand shot up. Flunkies as myself would be assigned to washing airplanes or some other menial tasks. I knew that much, so hey, maybe a window is opening up here.  I think only one other person raised his hand, so we were to told to see him when we finished checking in. Well, to cut to the chase, after checking in, the other guy, I don't remember who it was now, was assigned to the Personnel Office, and I went to the work in the Captain's Office, right next door to Personnel.  George Kellogg, the guy who asked if anyone knew how to type, was the Captain's personal secretary, and I became his assistant.  Now, I know I said secretary.  But, in the Navy, this position is called a Yeoman. So, before I go any further, I think I should give a quick lesson in Navy Ranks and Rates. Pay Grades are different. They are the same in every Service for Enlisted.  E-1 through E-9.  As you go up in rank, your pay increases.
I would recommend anyone reading this to Google U. S. Navy Ranks. It would be a quick read, and give a better understanding.  In the Navy there are two separate people, Officers and Enlisted. They don't mix.  They even have their own clubs on base to go to.  That is, Officers Club, and Enlisted Club.  This Club is just a place on base that is like a Bar and Lounge.  You can get a dinner there, or a mixed drink.  Many times on weekends they would have live music and dancing.  A lot of local girls get to come on the base to go to the clubs.
But, lets go back to the Ranks.  I was an Enlisted man. We'll stay with explanation of Enlisted Ranks. In the Navy, Enlisted men don't have Ranks, they have Rates.  This is because a Rate states what your Rank is, plus what job you do. When you join the Navy, you are an E-1, Seaman Recruit.  When you graduate Boot Camp, You are an E2, Seaman Apprentice.  Later down the line, when you pass your tests, you become an E-3, Seaman. Now, when you are a Seaman, you are training for a job.  This is called 'Striking'. Myself, working in an Office, when I became a Seaman, I was striking for Yeoman.  The next level of promotion, passing all the tests required, I would become a Yeoman 3rd Class, or YN3.

The Insignia at right is a YN1, Yeoman First Class  Stripes.  YN3 would only have one chevron.  But, the Rating Stripes show  the Rank, and the crossed quills below the eagle show that that person is a Yeoman. Engineman would have a gear, Personnelman would have a quill and book, etc.,each job having its own emblem.  But, the Navy is the only service where the stripes you wear not only show your rank, but also what job you do.
Now, coming out of Boot Camp, going to an aviation school, I was not a Seaman Apprentice, but an Airman Apprentice.  Therefore, I had to change from AA to SA, in order to strike for a Yeoman position.  Complicated? You need to follow the bouncing ball.  Anyway, George Kellogg, YN3, helped me bigtime in settling in and getting things changed that I needed changed.
So here I was, working in the Captain's Office with two other Enlisted men, a YN2, which I can't for the life of me remember his name, and a YN3, and Seaman Apprentice me. The Captain, the Executive Officer, and the Security Officer. 
This was how I started my tour of Duty in VA-125, NAS Lemoore, CA.

to be continued...............

Putting the Chips Away

The other day Jill was over for a little while.  After lunch, I closed up the chip bags with a couple of clips we often have hanging on the refrigerator.  Jill said, "I know where these go, I'll put them up".

Reference to Bob's Blog

I really wanted to find some type of picture to use with my last post about NATTC, Memphis.  I didn't take a singe picture while I was down there but thought I might find one on line to use.  So, I Googled NATTC Memphis, Tenn Pictures.  I got a site that had a lot of Navy training pictures, none that I thought I could use,  But, several of the pictures on that site were pictures I used in previous blogs about Boot Camp, and, they noted that they could be found on bobsbadgolf.blogspot.com. Cool!