Brownsville, Texas
It is where ships go to die.
Forrestal and Saratoga are unrecognizable.
Constellation arrived a couple of weeks ago.
The three Good Ships I made cruises on are in the queue. Independence, Ranger and Kitty Hawk.
Yeah.
It hurts.
Old friends they are to so many who chose the sea.
The times are indeed, a changing.
Passages.
Filed under Carriers, Good Ships, History, Lex, Navy, Really Good Stuff, Remember, Sea Stories, Shipmates, Ships and the Sea
I’m currently reading Theodore Roscoe’s United States Submarine Operations In World War 2. This particular edition was probably a first edition published in 1949(!) by the United States Naval Institute Press. It’s even looks like it was published in 1949:
From the preface:
This volume is not the official operational history. Strictly speaking, it is not a history, nor is it to be studied as such. Herein, in the narrative form, the reader will the inspiring saga of submarining. For the student, the technical side is featured. And many aspects of submarine warfare which would ordinarily be excluded from a purely historical text are detailed and discussed.
It’s in my care for now, on loan from the Pritzker Military Library. I wanted to see if there are historical parallels between the sub campaign in the pacific to seeing how reasonable it would be to use SSNs/SSKs to contain the PLAN within the first island chain.
Going through the first chapter I found this enclosed in the book:
It’s an unknown newspaper clipping detailing the moorings of Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941 at 7:55am.
The other side of the clipping features an ad for a book called “Home Before Dark” by Eileen Bassing. According to a quick Google search it was first published in 1957.
That leads me to believe the map and newspaper were published in 1957.
The map itself is very interesting as it details most of the ships in port and even tells I what some witnesses were doing moments before the attack.
Even more unusual, the paper left a stain on the page which makes me believe maybe it hasn’t been seen since 1957. Who knows.
Anyway, this is a treasure map and maybe, if the reader know more than I, of some historical significance.
Just amazing…you never know what you’re going to in and on these books.
Filed under Books, Navy, Sea Stories, Shipmates, Ships and the Sea, Submarines, Uncategorized
From the Navy Website. I am proud that one of these Aviators, Cmdr. Robert Loughran is the Commanding Officer of VFA-147, The Argonauts! I served in the Argonauts when they were VA-147 operating the venerable and dependable LTV A-7E Corsair II. The tradition remains. It is one of only three commands that I served in that still is in service……………………………………..
1,000 traps is a big deal. Bank on it. Ask some of our Lexicans that are Aviators and NFOs about that.
Filed under Airplanes, Carriers, Good Stuff, Naval Aviation, Plane Pr0n, Shipmates
We had a great time there last night, with Mary, Beth, her husband Armando, Padre Harvey and his bride Tamara, Dwight, and Patrick. I only got two pics to come out, but hopefully Beth can get the pics Mary took, and Patrick needs to forward a few. Dwight too, for that matter.
Much Guinness and a fair amount of Jameson (and the odd gin and tonic) and some fantastic stories from Mary. Lots of hugging, laughing, and just plain fun.
It was a hoot. I’ve been to quite a few blog inspired meet ups over the years, and it’s always amazing how you meet people for the first time, and you pick up your previous online conversations without a break. If you’ve never done one, you really should do so.
Padre Harvey kicked it off with a very nice invocation. He also said something that touched Mary. Pointing to the seemingly sparsely populated venue, he stressed that every seat there was filled, by you, dear Lexicans, in spirit.
And I’ll never hear the song “Roxanne” the same way again (inside joke).
Filed under Family, Sea Stories, Shipmates
Nature, at best, is neutral it is often said. The sea, even less so. I have been through storms in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and have seen high seas in the Pacific as well as standing on that great ocean’s eastern shores and witnessed strong fury that actually pales in comparison to some of nature’s real efforts. But one thing I have learned is to give Davey Jones his due and not venture out where there be dangerous waters. Now, most of my experience was on the ample hulls of large, grey steel apartment houses, with airports conveniently located on the roof. At actual displacement of around 100,000 tons and most measuring over 1,000 feet in length, the fact that we took rolls and damage made me a true believer in our real place in the scheme of all things aquatic.
We sometimes forget that for centuries upon centuries, humans have ventured forth upon the waters on vessels much smaller, more frail and even more at the mercy of the seas. This morning, a recreation of one of the most well-known vessels of the 19th Century and those who remain on her, stands in deep peril off our shores as Hurricane Sandy churns the deep enroute to landfall:
For them, and all who venture forth, let us join in the Breton Fisherman’s Prayer:
Dear God, be good to me;
The sea is so wide,
And my boat is so small.
May they all come to shore in one piece.
Filed under Faith, Shipmates, Ships and the Sea
Originally published September 19th, 2006.
Originally published September 18th, 2006.
suck. A lot. This was not one of them. Yes, I know, it was a dirty, arduous detachment to the Sandwich Islands, but we stepped up to the toughest job, and for about three weeks, we did it. Grueling work, tough flight schedules and lousy quarters and chow. You’re welcome.
Filed under Freedom!, Heroes Among Us, Humor, Shipmates
Funny the things you learn about people you’ve known for years. One of my dear friends, who I’ve known for 12 years, just mentioned that he served on the USS Kittyhawk from 1990-1994 as an Aviation Electronic Technician.
I never knew he was in the Navy! And during Desert Storm as well…
So my bleg – anyone here serve on the USS Kittyhawk at the same time? I’m curious to find out how small the world just got.
Again.
Filed under Good Ships, Shipmates
The photo was at the Commander, 7th Fleet site. Fond Memories………..possibly. It has been so long since I participated in such an evolution.
It ain’t all shoot em from the front and catch em on the back folks. There is the routine, the mundane, the dirty stuff that needs to be done. Those flight deck markings need to be visible and the crap that leaks out of airplanes builds up on the flight deck and makes things interesting. It also hurts like hell when one is blown down the deck a ways on one’s posterior.(Personal Experience at the tender age of 19!)
The link is to the post I put up at Old Retired Petty Officer, just for grins.
The Lexicans 