We enjoyed the remainder of my leave in Birmingham. Ann moved into the "guest" room with me, and we lived for the free moments that she had off from work. She kept right on working in order to help our finances along in order to make our establishing a new home easier. We lived an idyllic life for the remainder of March, and then I had to go back to Charleston and to work myself. I returned to pick up my orders and check out of Fraser, which took about two days or so.  I did post Ann a letter while there and here is the stamp and postmark to prove it!!   As soon as possible, I left Fraser for the last time and bid her and my pals a fond adieu and headed back to Birmingham to spend a few days more with my bride while en-route to my new duty station aboard the PLOVER.

PLOVER was operating in waters adjacent to Key West at the time, undergoing underway minesweeping training. So after spending another couple of days in Birmingham with my bride, I had to catch a Greyhound bus and make the long, lonesome trip to Key West. Ann continued working at Bromberg’s, and we got back into writing letters once again. I had been in Key West less than two months previous and been single, and now here I was down there again, on the same pier, and married. What goes around seems to come around. I didn’t know just how long the PLOVER would be in Key West before returning to home port of Panama City and the US Mine Defense Lab.

After reporting aboard, I found that it would be 4-6 weeks before we returned to our home port of Panama City, so we whiled away the time, continuing our letter writing. We were still getting to know each other and those letters served as the foundation of our future lives together. Today, rereading those letters still bring tears to my eyes as I reminisce over some of the thoughts contained in them.

Finally, the great day came when we sailed from Key West for Panama City. As soon as we arrived in PC, I took off to Birmingham to retrieve my wife and bring her to PC for a week of house hunting. She had promised Bromberg’s when she gave her notice that she would continue there until 1 June, giving them time to hire another book-keeper. We rented a motel room right across from the Putt-Putt golf course on Hwy 98 not very far east of the bridge. You wouldn’t believe the crying that went on in Birmingham when I tore Ann apart from her mother and grandmother and took her away for a week of whoopee!!. We whoopeed every chance we got! We had some great times in Panama City. We had a beach party during the first weekend. It was almost a disaster though. Ann took off her watch, wrapped it in paper, and somehow lost it in the sand. Luckily, when we went back the next morning (A Sunday morning), we found it, still wrapped up in a Kleenex. We finally got her moved to PC into our first home on 2nd St. in Panama City, Fla., did we start having fun. Her family was still apprehensive, but what the heck! We had lots of fun, just being married. Some of the things we went through were hilarious. I remember that when Ann discovered that she was pregnant, immediately thereafter I couldn’t drink coffee in the mornings on the ship

without heaving my guts out over the side. I still don’t understand that phenomena. Ann said it was sympathetic morning sickness. I don’t know, but I had more of it than she did! (Her mama had told me on her wedding day that she could never have children, because of a problem she had while a teenager. I told Rose not to worry, that I would see she did.)

We lived in the house on 2nd St. from June until August in 1955, but we have memories a batch. One was my breaking the bed down during a slight so-called "temper tantrum". I was peeved at Ann because while we were "swanging" on the front porch, she purportedly got "sea-sick" from the "swanging" so she got up and left me on the front porch with Weena. Since I couldn’t stand to be apart from her, I went in and flounced down on the bed alongside her. When I did, the slats gave way, crashing us to the floor!! Weena must have thought we were having a rough session of Whoopee! I was under the impression that the main reason she was down there. so I thought at the time and still do, by the way, was to make sure I acted civilized and didn’t get overly intimate with Rose’s daughter, Ann E. Anyway, after we picked ourselves up out of the debris of the bedding, and recovered from the surprise, we both broke up. I mean it really broke us up. We were laughing and cutting up and loving each other just like kids.!!! I don’t remember the exact excuse we gave Weena. I do know that Weena wasn’t into "whoopee!" as a recreational sport at that time. We were. It was funny then. It’s even funnier now.

Another memorable time in the house on 2nd St. happened while her mother and step-father, Rose and Paul, were down visiting us. Ann was cooking waffles for supper, and I must have been extremely hungry. I think I ate a minimum of 15 waffles, and quite possibly more. At the time I weighed about 150 soaking wet, and could just about eat my weight at a meal. I think Paul and I were trying to see who could eat the most. I knew then that I had married a good cook because those waffles were outstanding. It must have been the flour!!!. Ann was and is one of the premier cooks in the USA. Never mind about Rose and Paul’s visit. I never let them ever rain on our marriage. When we returned to Panama City on a visit in 1985 and again in 1990, we drove down 2nd Street several times to assure ourselves that our first home was still there, even to the SWING!.

From that large old house, we soon moved to a small converted WWII wash-house (18 Daniels Apts.) much closer to the base, a hop, skip and jump to the Bay Bridge. It was a great one bedroom house with privacy and in a great location, right on the water. The fact that several shipmates and their wives lived there made it even better. There is a University located there now, so we are deprived of re- visiting that site of many good memories again. Ann had some much needed neighbors who were military wives and sisters under the skin. They became close friends while we were at sea. Our closest friends were David and Barbara McAlister, who left the Navy just about the time we left PC. They moved to 115 Haygood St. in Pickens, SC. We heard from them a few times afterwards, but time has a way of ruining good friendships if they are not tended with care and since our paths had parted, our first friendship finally withered away.

Among the goodies we loved to eat in Panama City were the Cuban sandwiches, and huge hamburgers we used to get after a trip to the drive-in movies. On very special occasions (pay-days), we might go to the SHRIMP BOAT, a trendy seafood Restaurant that was built on a pier over the water, and is still a great place to eat. (We checked it out again in 1985!). (Sorry, after checking in 1990, it’s now boarded up). We also became quite proficient at carpet golf, which was located near our home. Beach picnics and parties were also high on our agenda.

The letter reproduced below changed the direction our lives took. After long and careful evaluation of the career fields in the US Navy, I decided that learning electronics would open up the path for earlier and more consistent promotions during the remainder of my career. I needed those promotions in order to earn the extra money and better take care of our family. I know now that we made the correct decision when we submitted the ensuing letter.
 

In due time, I was accepted into Electronics "A" School at Great Lakes, Illinois. in the meantime, Ann informed me that she was pregnant. On this date, her exact words are lost in the haze of memory overload, but I can assure you that two people were made happy by those words. We were actively seeking to start a family so we certainly had no regrets. At that point we had so many things to be happy about that we could hardly contain ourselves. We had a future to look forward to, and we were finally in the process of starting our family. We had a minimum of things and money, but then we didn’t need lot’s of "things". We had each other. We had a good future looking us in the face, so we were thrilled to be getting on with our lives. We were getting farther away from our families back home, both in distance and in mind. We were becoming a family unit of on our own terms, starting our own traditions that would live forever. WE WERE BECOMING AS ONE!!!

While in Panama City, we found our first dog that would adopt us and love us. He was a small "Heinz 57" type dog that we dearly loved. His name was "Tippy", and he was nothing special, except that like all dogs, he gave us all the love he had. We did our best to reciprocate. But our association was only transitory, because on our transfer to our next duty station, we would be unable to take him with us. We took him to Logan, and left him with Granny Sharpton with instructions to love him and let him have the run of the farm. He did, but when we next came back, he had found someone else, because he was gone from Granny’s home.

We had so few possessions then that we were able to move from Panama City, Florida to Waukegan, Illinois in the trunk and back seat of our car. At the time I had that big old yellow and black Chrysler New Yorker Newport hard top convertible, probably a 1950 model. When I say huge, I mean huge. It had a straight 8 engine that was about a mile long, or so it seemed and it was definitely a touring car. We packed everything we possessed (including Ann’s cedar chest which we still have) into the trunk and back seat of that automobile and away we went. Of course, we stopped in Birmingham, Cullman and Akron on the way. We had to show off our independence and let the parents know that we were not afraid of going off somewhere alone, all by ourselves. We were not alone, we had each other.

Shortly after I reported aboard Bache DDE-470 for duty, I made a big hit (?) with the Executive Officer by submitting a formal request for transfer to shore duty. I had spent about 7 years in the Navy, all at sea. The normal rotation period was three years sea duty and two years shore duty. Since I had never been station ashore, my turn was surely at hand. I knew that it was only a matter of time before I would be leaving Bache after submitting my request.

Pier space at the piers on NOB during the Christmas holidays were at a premium, so since we had a lower priority than others, We were shunted to the C & O Railroad coal piers in Newport News. There we spent the Christmas holidays. In order to get to and fro the ship each day necessitated a ride on the ferry to Newport News, and then a long walk through the coal yard. or else a cold ride on a liberty launch, when they were provided.

It was a terrible way to spend Christmas, but then who can complain when they are able to go home at night, not me. I was lucky, and I realized it. I continued to be lucky enough to spend Christmas with my family throughout my ENTIRE NAVAL CAREER.. To be in the US NAVY and go without missing Christmas at home for 15 years is almost unbelievable.

While there, we had several good and memorable things happen. We celebrated Laura’s first Christmas (1956) there, with Daddy in attendance. Dad had ridden a Greyhound bus from Akron to spend Christmas with us, and while on his way down, had met a lady who captured his fancy. That is another story, but as a result of that trip, he married a lady from Charlottesville, Virginia.

During one of our periods at sea, we were assigned as plane guard for the USS Bennington off Mayport, Florida. When a carrier is launching or recovering planes, they have to turn into the wind in order to increase the wind speed across the deck. This makes it possible for planes to land on carriers. The Destroyer (which in this case, was us) has to be on the same course and speed as the carrier in case a plane crashes and the pilot has to be retrieved from the water (helicopters do that now). While steaming into the wind like this, Destroyers tend to climb to the top of the swells, then make a fast run downhill into the troughs, plowing into the water, and come back up, throwing water over the bow, while climbing to the top of another swell to do it all over again. To say the least, it is very uncomfortable and rough for the crew members of the tin-cans.

This particular plane guard assignment happened at the exact time the Fleet-wide Petty Officer advancement exams were scheduled. But this date and time was an auspicious occasion, because I was due to take the examination for Electronics Technician 2nd Class. To earn more money, you have to get promoted. To get promoted requires you score high on the Navy-wide advancement examinations, because you are in competition with a large number of ET3’s for a certain number of ET2 slots. Of course, promotion brings more money and more money brings better jobs for you, and enables you to feed, clothe and house your family better. So, for me, there was a lot at stake.

I was prone to sea-sickness, and everyone knows what destroyers do when heading into the wind (see above). Well, you guessed it. Sitting in that tossing mess hall while taking that test, I became deathly sea-sick! As the ship pitched and rolled and hit bottom and did it over and over again, and as the ship tossed, my stomach was tossing also. I took that test with a slop bucket between my legs. I would answer a few questions, and heave up my guts, then go through the whole routine again. Let me tell you, that was a tough morning. I can still see it in my memories, very vivid. I don’t believe anyone ever took a test with so much riding on it, in such poor conditions. To let you in on a secret...I passed the test and in due time, was promoted!

In early 1956, the Israeli and the Egyptians (Nasser) and other Arabs got into one of their never ending conflicts. After Israel had smashed them in 5 or 6 days, the Bache received orders to conduct patrols in and around the Red Sea. Nasser had got his ass whipped, but as always, proclaimed the Arabs had scored a great victory over the Satan Israeli again.

Just prior to our leaving, I (wrongly) decided that Ann should stay with her mom while I was overseas because she was pregnant with Chuck and I didn’t relish the idea of leaving her alone. At the time I thought it the best thing to do but in retrospect, I screwed up again. She has said many times since then that she would rather have stayed in Norfolk and would have been better off being around other young Navy mothers who were experiencing the same problems. I found out that Ann is a very tough and smart girl and can survive in just about any situation. This has proven to be true throughout our married lives, through rain and shine, and yes, even hurricanes. But not knowing better at the time, I took her to Findlay, Ohio to spend the time with her family while I was cruising around Africa.

We departed Norfolk, heading for the Red Sea via the Cape of Good Hope. I really enjoyed the cruise, especially the trip there. We first made port in Terciera, Canary Islands for a few days, and then on to Freetown, Sierra Leone, on the western bulge of Africa. After a few days in port for refreshment, we departed for Cape Town, Republic of South Africa. After an uneventful though hilarious crossing of the equator, with appropriate ceremonies to pay homage to Davy Jones, we passed under Table Rock and rounded the Cape of Good Hope to moor at the Royal Dockyard at Capetown.

We spent several memorable days in Capetown. Capetown is a wonderful city. I really enjoyed and found the city and the people very civil, clean and hospitable. It is so different from the rest of Africa, so clean. It is like no other African city that I had visited. I have been in Dakar, Senegal; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Monrovia, Liberia; Mombasa, Kenya; and Massawa, Eritrea. They are mostly are dirty, with poor plumbing, if any, and abject poverty, brought about evidently by the corrupt governments. Anyway, the food and refreshments in Cape Town were well received, and we enjoyed them to the utmost.

When we departed Cape Town, we set sail up the east coast of Africa, passing to the west of Madagascar, en route to Mombasa, Kenya. Mombasa is the port city of Kenya and a jumping off point for safaris into the big game ranges of Africa. We didn’t get to sightsee in the bush, but we bargained for several small hand carved trinkets from the Swahili tribesmen on the streets and at their sidewalk stalls in Mombasa. Some of those carvings are still a part of our "art" collection. I purchased our first 35 mm. camera just prior to entry into Mombasa, so was were able to get color slides of the city and some of the street vendors.

After a few days in Mombasa, we departed for Aden, which is located on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula and is now in what is known as Yemen. At the time, it was a British Crown Colony, but it is now a Communist country. It is reputed to be one of the hottest spots in the world and I would not dispute it. During the time we were there, we had to sleep topside under awnings if we wanted to sleep. All work was done in the early morning hours and after 1200 hours, we flaked out on our mattresses under the awnings in order to keep cool. I took plenty of pictures there that will bear out my tales of Aden.

While in Aden, I received good news on two separate occasions! First, I was notified I would be transferred to US Naval Air Station, Cecil Field, Florida as soon as we arrived in Palma, Mallorca. Secondly, I received notification that I had passed the fleet-wide examination for Petty Officer 2nd Class, and would be advanced to ET2 on 16 June 1957.

Finally, the Suez Canal was reopened to US shipping interests. We were in the first group of US ships to transit the Canal upon reopening. We could still see burned out tank hulks, leftover from the skirmishes between the Israelis and Egyptians. Upon departing the Suez, we set sail for Palma, Majorca, a Spanish island just south of Spain in the sunny Balaeric islands. On arrival in Palma, I sent the following telegram to Ann. It is reproduced verbatim from the original telegram.

  After an uneventful flight from Norfolk to Akron, I picked up my car and hurried on to retrieve Ann in Findlay. We spent a few short days getting re-acquainted and packing. At this time, we still had no furniture with the exception of a TV and washing machine. The TV and washer was in storage in Norfolk, so we had to go via Norfolk to get those items shipped to Jacksonville, Fla. While in Norfolk conducting our business, we took the time to visit some old friends. Once we completed arrangements for the navy shipment of our two items, we commenced our trip to Jacksonville and NAS Cecil Field.

           It was a terrible trip. We had tire problems all the way to Jax. We had bought four new Phillips 66 tires at a Phillips 66 service station. Those tires were the sorriest tires I ever owned. They had a problem of tread separation in the sidewall. During that one trip, we had three tires go out on us in the two days it took to drive to Jacksonville. In less than six months, I think I had 7 or 8 new tires, and although they were guaranteed, you still had to pay for the tread used, at the regular retail price, not the SALE price I had originally paid. I was going broke replacing tires, so soon after arrival in Jax, I went to a Goodyear tire dealer, bought 4 new Goodyear tires, and had no more problems.

           We arrived in Jacksonville sometime in late June, and Chuck was due in August. We rented an apartment and prepared for his coming. The apartment was located at 2785 Forbes St. in Jacksonville 5, Florida. It was in an old home in a beautiful old section of town, We had the entire upstairs portion of the house. Our living room was a converted upstairs porch, and it overlooked a pretty, shaded back yard. The houses in the neighborhood were all huge and old, similar to the old homes that line the gulf front in Biloxi. The neighborhood was very shady from all the huge moss-covered live oaks trees. We lived there until after Chuck's birth.

           Weena, Ann's unmarried aunt, came down from Birmingham to help Ann during the few weeks after Chuck was born. Unfortunately, Chuck arrived about 3 weeks later than predicted, and Weena couldn't stay any longer, so she ended up going home immediately after Chuck's birth. At least, she lent Ann some moral support, though not having had any children, she was mainly just company for Ann. NO PROBLEM. Ann always managed. No matter what ever came up, Ann was able to make out, make do, and overcome any adversity.

           As soon as Ann was back up to speed after Chuck's birth, we went house hunting. We wanted to get out of the city, so we toured the surrounding countryside, searching for a small house that was large enough and was furnished with enough furniture to keep us comfortable. I had recently been promoted to ET2, so my pay check was getting larger all the time. We found a little 2 bedroom house out on San Juan Road (Route 4 Box 480). It was much nearer to Cecil Field than the apartment. Two weeks after Chuck was born, we moved into it. It was a nice little house and we really enjoyed it. During this period, Charles suffered from colic on a daily basis that caused him to cry continuously from about 4 pm till 6 or 7 pm. This went on for some time. It was very distracting to both Ann and me, and we went through a very trying period.

           We moved to Marietta (Jacksonville Route 5 Box 530M), after several months because the owner decided to sell the house we were living in. We spent Christmas in a little duplex with a pot-bellied stove and a fantastically beautiful Christmas tree that was loaded with gifts for our two babies. That was the year I got upset at Laura. We had spent many dollars (at least at that time it was many) on a "Wonder Mare" as her main present. The "Wonder Mare" was a horse mounted with springs to give a realistic ride. On Christmas morning, all Laura wanted to play with was the box that the "Wonder Mare" came in!!! Daddy was some put out. I was just learning a lesson. Money does not count when you are providing toys. Imagination is a more potent part of play than is realism. Charles was only four months old, so he didn't give a darn, so he just ignored most everything that went on. We had a room full of goodies for those children. Like all Christmases at our house, the tree has always contained excessive amounts of toys. That is about the only thing that Ann and I have never agreed on. She always got her way.

           While in Marietta, we were able to get the best steaks we ever ate (55› a pound) from the most unlikely source. I don't know what it was about those steaks, but it seemed as if those steaks were the best we ever had. They came from a small Mom and Pop grocery nestled in the trees along US 90 in Marietta, just west of Jacksonville.

Moving on Up

           We moved again right after Christmas to a beautiful UNFURNISHED house. It was located in the Hyde Park area near the south end of Cassatt St. It was near the water and just off Blanding Blvd. It was convenient to the commissary and medical facilities located at NAS Jacksonville. Our address was 5456 Appleton, our phone number then was EVergreen 4-6581.

           Sears provided us with a sleeper sofa, and a chair for the living room ($148), coffee and end tables, (the blonde ones we now have by our bed $50), a dinette table and chairs, (which we still have $89.95), bedroom suite ($206) with a hard foam mattress ($139.95) and lamps ($25 each) which we still have. We also got our first monthly payments of any size. The mattress is still the best sleeping mattress in the USA. The above, with the exception of our auto, along with the TV and washer we had purchased from Sears in Waukegan, was the extent of our material possessions. We really enjoyed living on Appleton St.

           While there, we had out of town guests twice. Jane Howell, Ann's first cousin, and her husband Al visited with us, and we were fortunate to have my Uncle Coy and Aunt Zoda visit with us. The reason I remember those visits, is that during all the time we were in the military, very few of our relatives ever came to visit with us. So those were red-letter days. We also made friends with several neighbors, and became a part of the community. We also started attending church at First Baptist Church of Jacksonville. That occasion was brought on by a joyful occasion that nearly turned into a disaster.

           We attended the gala opening of the long awaited PO1/PO2 Club at NAS Cecil. Baby-sitters were provided and we were enjoying the party and the steaks. Unfortunately, the club was featuring drinks for 10› a drink, and to me, that was too good a bargain to turn down, so I filled up. To make a long story short, I got an overload of liquor. To make matters worse, Ann couldn't drive and we had our two children in the car. Well, about halfway home, and it was only about 10 miles of straight country highway, my head and vision started spinning. I pulled over and while getting myself together the best I could, I told God that if he would help me get my family and me home safely, I would not drink that stuff again. We got home safely. We started to church. I quit drinking for many years and even until today, I drink very little. I still see that beautiful moonlit night while we were parked alongside Fla. 228.

Normandy Village

           We wanted a home of our own, and under the new GI Bill, we could buy a home cheaper than we could rent (or so we believed). So on July 22, we picked out a home located at 1831 Gabin Road in the new subdivision called Normandy Village. It was out Normandy Blvd (route 228) which was the road heading west from Jacksonville to Cecil Field. It was also near Normandy Drive-In Theater. The house was nothing but a slab when we first saw it. As construction progressed, it turned into a beautiful 3 bedroom home with a built in attic fan and all the goodies of those days. The total cost of the home was $13,150 and we had a range and venetian blinds added to make the total cost of the home $13,465. The total monthly payments were $81.

           We had some of the best pinochle parties while living there. Harold and Dorothy Brown, Relle and Val Lyman, (he was my Division Officer), Boyce and Katrina Baker (they would be with us and work with me for the next 7 years), and Leon and Doris Gorchyka, were some of our pinochle playing friends. We would all get together on a Friday or Saturday night to play, eat and drink coffee, cokes, and beer, sometimes all night. In fact Christmas eve , the Lyman's came and damn near stayed all night. That put a crimp in Ann's getting the tree ready. In fact, on Christmas morning, they came back up and if I remember, spent the day with us. You'll hear more of the Lyman's later.

           We finally got to the point where we could buy a new car, but our first one led to more grief than enjoyment. I still had lot's to learn in the auto picking and choosing department. We bought a small English Ford, and we decided to make a trip to Akron to see Dad and try out our new car. It was the most frustrating trip we ever took, even worse than the trip with all the bad tires. The car was so under powered that on a hill of any gradient, I would have to shift down into 2nd or 1st, and as you can imagine, that slows you down to creeping very slowly. What do you think those 18 wheelers behind us thought??

           Going into Bluefield, West Virginia from the south, you have a climb of probably 10 miles to the summit atop the Blue Ridge. Well, about half way up, that little car got so hot from running in first and second that the radiator just blew it's top. Luckily, it happened at a place where water was coursing out of a spring just above us and we were able to refill the radiator with cool water once the radiator cooled. We were sure got LUCKY there! Eventually, we made the summit and Akron. At the first opportunity an when I could afford to do so, my first priority was to buy a bigger, better automobile.

Driver Education?

One of the most frustrating things I ever tried to do was teach my wife how to drive a car, and I failed in that endeavor. After I bought that small English Ford, I thought, "Hm, this is a very small car. She should be able to drive this car." Her only previous experience driving same while we were still courting and I was the big guy letting his girl drive. Once, while doing this, she killed 4 or 5 chickens while they were innocently scratching for worms in the middle of the road in front of Roy Williford's store in Crane Hill. We didn't stop, I told her to keep on a'gitting it! She later told me that those chickens had sneaked up on her and deliberately jumped in front of her as she came round the bend....ha.

To get on to the story. This one weekend in particular stands out in my memory. It was on a Sunday afternoon, and after an hour or so of instructions and several demonstration rides, I deemed that she was ready to solo. The one bad thing about that little English Ford was that it had a stick shift with an un-synchronized transmission. With that type of transmission, which you can't find now but was common long ago, you had to hit that clutch just right or you would really GRIND those gears.. That, in combination with Ann's inability to coordinate her hands, feet and legs at the same time, spelled trouble with a capital "T" for Ann. To re-iterate, that little car had two bad features that Sunday afternoon:

 Promotion Time

In early 1959, we were installing some new cables in the control tower communications system, and due to operational commitments, we were having to do the installation at night. One morning about 1000 hours, Relle (my division officer) called and since I was in bed, Ann answered. He wanted to speak with me. Ann told him I had been working all night (which he knew), and was in bed sleeping. Relle told her to wake me up, that I would be glad to hear what he had to say. Well, the gist of it is, he told me that I had passed the navy-wide test for ET1 and was going to be promoted! I couldn't go back to sleep all day, I was so excited. I guess civilians might not get excited about something like that, but in the navy, Rate Has It's Priveleges (RHIP), and that was the most important milestone I had accomplished to that date. I said it then, and I still say it now. I owed much of the credit to Ann. She was always there when I needed her. I had the world on a string!!!

My shore duty tour was coming to an end and we received orders transferring us to Electronics Technician "B" school in San Francisco, California. The promotion made it possible for us to finally get rid of that small English Ford, and buy a regular car with automatic transmission. On September 5, 1959, we took delivery of a brand new 1959 Ford Custom 300 2 door 6 cylinder Fordomatic and Deluxe Trim from Lynch-Davidson Motors, 724 Hogan St. Jacksonville, Fla.. The car cost us $2540.80, taxes $11.78 and tag $10. It was a beautiful Wedgewood Blue, and it was the best auto we ever owned. In November of 1959, we gave our house away (no, it cost us over $2,000 later on, but that's another story) and moved to California for the first time.

We left Jacksonville in our brand new 1959 Ford Custom 300 headed for points west! As we started on our trip to California, guess where our first stop would be? If you guessed Birmingham or Cullman, Ala., you were 100% correct. Let me digress from the trip to California and talk about our parents for a bit. We always had to make our obligatory side trip to Alabama and Ohio to see our parents and show off our children. I don't know if our parents realize all the problems we encountered in having to split up our visits. But it took a travel agent to plan the trips to the different grandmas and grandpas. It wasn't like that when I grew up. All my grandparents lived within a radius of a mile, and they never had a divorce amongst them, so there were only two sets of grandparents, not four, like we had to contend with. It has been a continuing problem to allocate the proper time spent at each in order not to slight one or the other.

We always looked forward to the trips, and enjoyed them immensely, but we all know that we could have enjoyed our families much more had both sets of parents been able to resolve all those difficulties that made them do the things they did. One thing I can say, I've never blamed my parents, neither has Ann, but we are sorry that their marriages didn't work out as good as ours did. I wonder what our lives would have been like had they not had those problems. Of course, we might not have been married either. That's what you get into when you start pondering the imponderables. Since Ann got to know her dad in 1987, she understands more of what happened during her childhood. But that's the background of another story. In fact, she has had it worse than I have, because her Daddy didn't so much as acknowledge his grand-children's presence during their growing up years, and to this day, Wayne is the only one of the four that has met him. As in all problems affecting people, neither of the sides is without blame. When you stop to think, parents are only humans just as we are, only older. We found that there were underlying factors, caused by events which occurred during the time her parents lived together, that prompted his attitude towards her. Why he held it against Ann, I will never know. Between her, her mother and her father, she's the only innocent one there. But then, there was something good about her Dad's not accepting us. We didn't have to visit four sets of grandparents.

My mother, God bless her, was most jealous when it came to visits. Any slight deviation might get a "you never spend long with me" or words to that effect. I always tried to overlook such outbursts, because she is my mother and also I didn't want to antagonize her. I have overlooked worse from Ann's family, who frankly, have never thought very highly of me. I don't know why, because I have always treated their daughter with love and respect, and 36 years of marriage should attest to that. I have never had to tie her down to keep her home. No other siblings in either of her parents families can attest to a record like ours, that's for sure.I was always glad that I married Ann instead of her family!!

We always taught our kids to love and respect their grandparents. We are saddened that they never really got to spend enough time with them, so as to be able to experience the love and affection only grandparents can give. I wanted them to know something of how I felt towards my "Granny". I felt like I owned my Grandma Sharpton's house. I loved her more than I did my parents, I think. Of course, living in the same vicinity was a big factor in that.

Back to the trip. We had received a letter from my brother Bill, who was a sailor stationed in San Diego, written the 19th of September 1959 giving us five pages of tips and hints on the routes and how to conquer the desert. I had my own ideas about the routes I wanted to take and what I wanted to see. I had worked up an itinerary so that my co-pilot would simply have to read it off the list to make sure I took the right turns at the right places.. Ann has always accused me of taking the back roads, and this trip was no exception. I had the love of exploration in my blood so after a week of visiting around and taking scads of photos, we departed, destined for San Francisco via San Diego and points in between. Texarkana, Texas was to be our first stop. Remember, this trip was made prior to the time the interstate road system was anywhere near being finished. Only a few miles had been constructed by that date. Our Original Itinerary is reproduced below for future generations.

The reason for an itinerary such as this was that in the days prior to Interstate highways, there was no one main road that took you on a straight course from one point to another, especially from a coast to coast trip. So, we used many different highways to make our trip as quickly as possible in order to save money. Even though gas was about 25¢ a gallon and motel rooms about $20 bucks a night, that was lots of money to a sailor with a family. It was estimated to cost about $50-$75 dollars daily on a trip like that, and we ate lots of bread and balogna on the roadside. So I needed my co-pilot. Since Ann couldn't read maps, I had to put in writing what to watch for as we progressed down the line. To illustrate, I recall one instance while we were driving east just west of Amarillo I had the misfortune? to ask Ann how far it was to Amarillo from where we were. I told her the town we had just passed through, and asked her to look up the distance on the map. She came back to me with, "It's about an inch". You can imagine the HEE-HAW that got out of me. The bad part of it was, she was serious!!

I am happy to report that as years passed, Ann's map reading abilities have greatly improved and she is now a great co-pilot. She has always been fun to travel with, and always made the best of what we had without any major gripes. She put her foot down on going potty behind the bushes though! Sometimes out west, it was almost a necessity. I couldn't have made it without her.

We left Alabama on time and on schedule. That was one thing that I was a stickler for, that everyone should be ready to leave at the appointed time (and I appointed the time). So we left Cullman on Route 69 to Tuscaloosa and west. This portion of the trip proved to be uneventful, in that we were traveling as quick as we could cross country in order to conserve money. We followed that itinerary pretty close, traveling 10-12 hours per day trying to keep expenses under $50 per day.

Our second night was spent in Brownfield, Texas, about 40 miles southwest of Lubbock. We left out and headed down through Hobbs, NM, Carlsbad, El Paso, Tuscon, and on to Yuma, Arizona for the third night. We made it into San Diego after 4 hard days of driving. It was December, and Christmas was fast approaching. We arrived with all our Christmas presents ready to put under the tree. We were to spend the holidays with Bill and Faye and then between Christmas and New Years, Bill and I would go to San Francisco to find housing. We caught up on all the gossip that had accumulated since we had last visited them five years ago while on our honeymoon. They had been in Hawaii for a tour of sea duty, and were back in San Diego for shore duty. One of the first things we did was go picnicking at Camarillo State Park. Next we went picnicking at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park where the kids played on the huge rocks. The terrain around Southern California is different from what we were accustomed to down south. Most of it is barren hills and deep canyons. It is beautiful in a different way. We fell in love with California. In fact we were to fall in love with all the west.

Unfortunately, that was the most miserable Christmas day we ever spent, and the only one ever spent outside our home. I think that Christmas is mainly a bust if you're not in your own home with your own traditions. We put our children's presents under their tree but on Christmas morning, Bill's kids got up with the mistaken impression that all the toys under the tree belonged to them. You can imagine what that did to peace and quiet. It certainly messed up Christmas for our children. Ann was terribly upset, and I didn't blame her.

The day after Christmas, Bill and I arose early, and with a couple of thermoses of coffee, headed for San Francisco. We left around 0400 in order to negotiate the traffic of Los Angeles before morning rush hour. By 7 am, we were on the freeways of Los Angeles, going right through downtown LA, hitting about 70 mph trying to keep up with traffic and keep in the proper lanes. In California traffic, if there is clear sailing ahead, it's full speed ahead. It was our first experience with 8 lanes going in ONE directions. It's like driving on a race track, only scarier because there are more cars side by side. We cleared Los Angeles, and headed up California 1, better known as the Coast Hiway. We intended to sightsee on both legs of the trip, Coast Highway up and San Joaquin Valley back.

We headed north through Malibu, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo. The sea coast towns were just like the movies and TV had depicted them. We continued on to Big Sur. We had to take pictures of the most beautiful coastline in America. We walked to the tip of Point Lobos and took photos that rival any for sheer beauty. The area surrounding and adjacent to Big Sur is probably the most photographed area in the country. We shortly resumed our trip to Monterey, taking a short drive around Carmel and the fabled area, and then on to San Francisco. We crossed the Santa Cruz Mtns and descended into the Santa Clara Valley at Gilroy and then drove up through San Jose to the outskirts of San Francisco, where we spent the night.

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that we could get Navy Housing immediately, though it was in Livermore Valley near Pleasanton. We didn't care where it was as long as it was close enough to commute to class. We were assured that most married students lived there. With housing taken care of, we headed back to San Diego, heading east on US 50, toward Livermore and Tracy, then south on US 99 towards Modesto and Fresno. Once we reached the San Joaquin Valley, we could see the Sierras and we kept marveling about them until we got as far south as Fresno. On the map, it looked like a short detour would take us up to King's Canyon National Park and the giant sequoias. We headed up, not fully realizing how much time it would take us to reach the park, and do any sightseeing. but when you are struck with a case of dumb, nothing detracts you. So up we went. By the time we got there and visited the General Grant and the other big trees, it was getting on toward late afternoon, and we were supposed to be in San Diego that night. So back down the mountain and onto Highway 99 for the mad dash to San Diego

Chapter 18

"University" of Navy Electronics

Vital Statistics: Al (31), Ann (24), Laura (3), Charles (2)
January 1959

After the holidays, we departed for northern California, heading for US Naval Training Center San Francisco and our home in Pleasanton for the next 9 months. We spent the first night in a motel in Tracy, a small town in the San Joaquin Valley at the junction of US 99 and US 50, which would take us west to SF. It was late when we arrived so the kids and mamma were tired.

THE HOME....... The next morning found us eagerly looking forward getting to Treasure Island and the Housing Office in order to be assigned our new home. Once it was assigned, we found out we had to go back east on US 50 for 30 or so miles to Pleasanton and the prospect of exploring our new home. We found Building 23 Apt 8 in Komandorski Village to be located on the second floor of a converted Army barracks similar to the quarters we had at 1804-V Camp Robert Smalls at Electronics "A" school in Great Lakes. As Yogi Berra said, "Deja vu all over again", so we weren't too thrilled at that, but then it was only for 9 or 10 months and we could make it. Who can gripe when you are getting a fabulous education. We had always had good experiences in Navy housing, and our had the same conditions that we did, so why gripe? You always look for the silver lining in any given situation, and we did. We all had the same goals, problems and aspirations, so we managed. In all our travels, we never had any problems with neighbors, yet we lived in very dense neighborhood.

One building had been converted into a Community Bldg. which housed the Post Office, a small exchange about the size of a 7-11, and a common area which was available for residents. They had a meeting room where Navy Wives Club of America Chapter 205 held their meetings We had daily milk and bread delivery, so we were set for our classes to begin.

We made one purchase there has become a mainstay in our family. We bought a couch/sleeper direct from the Riviera Factory for $360 one Sunday afternoon while sightseeing in Oakland. It is still with us, and probably will remain with us till we die.

On the 4th of May, Navy Wives Club of America #205 held their annual installation of officers, with Bettylou Graves being installed as President of the Chapter by National President, Mrs Jean Lyles. Ann was initiated into the chapter at the same meeting along with Ann Furguson.

THE SCHOOL..... I commuted to school the 50 or so miles to US Naval Station, Treasure Island, California. The Station had been the site of the a World's Fair, which was held simultaneous with the New York's World Fair in 1939. It was converted to a Naval Training Station after WWII started and many of the buildings were left-overs from the fair. It was a good base, but being surrounded by water, the summers were always cool. Wearing whites during classes caused me many a shiver. I can recall it vividly. Sitting in a class room in cotton clothing over a period of time when the temperatures are in the low 70's can certainly have a chilling effect on you. You never needed air conditioning, and you seldom needed heat in San Francisco. It's temperature is one of the most moderate of any city in the world. You could shiver on Treasure Island and then head east to San Ramon Valley where we lived and find it in the 100's. Of course, the humidity was usually nonexistent, so it really wasn't all that bad.

The advanced electronics course was the toughest course I had ever attended. It covered in 27 weeks, about what is covered a two year Electronics Technology course at a Community College. Out of 35 sailors who started the course with me, less than 15 graduated. That's a high attrition rate, but then it was a tough, tough course. During the first two weeks, which was the toughest part, we completed Cook's Math, which was a complete education in trigonometry. We lost about 1/3 of our class during that first two weeks. I couldn't even remember algebra, much less trig.

During that time, besides completing my daily homework, I had to completely relearn high school algebra. Luckily, Ann still had her HIGH SCHOOL algebra book, and remembered some of the rules. She helped me with homework, asked questions and prompted me in many ways and more or less, studied with me. I also had to learn how to use a slide rule during the first two weeks. I had never held a slide rule in my hand prior to being issued one there, and I was expected to quickly learn to do trig equations on one. I didn't even know what a trig equation was!! I came to school with a lot of raw potential, but not much else. Oh, it would have been wonderful had HP calculators already been invented! I have never been so intensively focused on any one thing in my whole life as I was that first two weeks in "B" school. About half the class flunked out during that period, because if you couldn't master Cook's Math, you could not complete the course.

Ann got to know Ohms Law better than I did. I know at first, I didn't even know how to transpose a formula, and certainly didn't know how to derive one. Ohm's law was simple...E=IR but you could twist it around to solve for different things, and at first, I didn't even know that you could do that. I didn't know that I=E/R or R=E/I could be derived from E=IR. That is how dumb I was. I learned fast in those first two weeks.

Ann did all the above, kept Daddy happy and fed, and kept two active youngsters quiet so Daddy could study. That was a very hectic period in both our lives. I was under terrific pressure because I knew that I had to graduate, for the sake of my family and my career, If I wanted to continue getting promoted increase our income, it was necessary to graduate. Ann was pregnant with Janet, so she was also under stress. We both did our share of sacrificing for the common *good. Many nights found me still studying until 2 or 3 o'clock the following morning, knowing I had to rise at 5 to prepare for that long commute through all the traffic of Nimitz Freeway and the Bay Bridge to school on Treasure Island.

School seemed to last forever. Actually, it was only 27 weeks of class work, but it seemed to last forever. You wouldn't believe the amount of material we covered. If we flunked a subject, we were allowed one repeat. I messed up on one subject and flunked. I finished the First Phase with a grade of 61.55, barely passing. But don't lose sight of the fact that I was still in school, about half the class had already flunked out.

The Second Phase was even tougher, if that was possible. The third week, I made a 57.5 on a test and was set back to repeat the two weeks. It was GET IT OR GO time. I made 77 on it the second go around and from then on I started making better marks. I guess I just re-focused again, and burned more midnight oil. I pulled my average up to 67.72. You covered in two weeks the exact amount covered in a 3 semester hour course in college. It's about 4 college semesters rolled into one 24 week period. We had a 10 question test every Friday that lasted one hour. Your life depended on that test, and it took every bit of that hour to complete it. After that one repeat, even though I passed it the second time around, had I flunked even one (1) Friday examination, I would have been dismissed from school and transferred to sea. Everyone was so keyed up on Fridays, that when the test results came back with a passing mark, the feeling was one of pure euphoria. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. I will never forget the elation experienced when you found that you had dodged the bullet one more time. I am sure that my career would never have been so good, had I flunked out. Eventually, I graduated from Advanced Electronics School two weeks behind the class I started out with, but that was ok. My final average was 68.25. I was thrilled and I had accomplished a major goal. Out of a class of over forty, seventeen of us graduated and I did graduate. I would never have graduated had it not been for the emotional security that Ann provided me.

ACTIVITIES..... We caught the camping fever while living in California. We wanted to see all the parks that we had read and heard of all our lives, and also, we had determined that camping was the least expensive way to travel. So we visited our friendly Sears store and purchased a complete set of camping accessories consisting of one 9 x 12 tent, four folding army type cots, four sleeping bags, a Coleman two-burner gas stove and a Coleman lantern, along with new camp cooking utensils, the whole works.

Since we had never camped together, and I hadn't camped since a teenager, I decided a tryout at a local site was needed prior to heading east on our own. So when the 4th of July long weekend rolled around, we and Kathy, Tom and kids, our neighbors from across the hall, headed out for a weekend of camping in the high Sierra Nevada mountain paradise of Yosemite National Park. The Park was only about 4 hours driving time from our home in Pleasanton, but it seemed a world away.

We entered the park at the Big Oak Flat entrance and ascended the park until we arrived at White Wolf campground, which is located down a dirt road a bit behind White Wolf Lodge. It is approximately 7,500 foot elevation above sea level. That was significant, although at the time, I didn't know it! We found a good place to pitch our tent and proceeded to set up and establish it. We didn't waste any time in immediately putting our new equipment to full use. I set up the tent, installed the cots and sleeping bags in the tent, and then the stove. We got the stove going immediately as coffee was the first order of business. Everything was running smoothly. We were enjoying our first campout and the kids were romping in the woods, which is why God made the forests.

Every thing was going great. We sat around the fire and told sea stories, and jokes and probably had a few marshmallows to roast. Eventually, we all went to bed, us in our tent with our new cots and sleeping bags. Since Tom and Kathy didn't have a tent, Tom and his three boys were going to sleep on the ground while Kathy and her two youngest were to sleep in the back of their station wagon. We were sitting around the campfire, talking and enjoying the peace and tranquillity, when all of a sudden, we were startled by a loud noise from over at the garbage dump. We leaped up and shone the flashlight in that direction. A marauding black bear had invaded the garbage dump area, and was banging the garbage cans around looking for a tasty morsel. It certainly alerted us. One thing for certain...we didn't bother it. We all got out of sight and waited for it to leave before we again went back out. We didn't know whether we were going to have to evacuate or not.

Later on, in the wee hours of morning, I started to get cold. Here it was in August, and we were dressed for August weather. But what I hadn't taken into consideration was, that at 7,500 feet elevation, it gets wintry during the nights. It got cold, not down to freezing, but it got damned cold. Let's face it, I finally gave up my sleeping bag and huddled around the fire, trying to keep it warm.

I shivered and shook for the rest of the night. It was just another one of the many times that I was proven to be so dumb and so SMART. Ann had recommended we bring some blankets, but NO, I had NEW sleeping bags, and by damn, they would be all we would need. I told her that we were not going to move all our HHE (household effects) to the campground, that we were just going for a couple of night, and that our sleeping bags would be sufficient. (Boy, was I wrong!). I was just being mean, I reckon. I should have known better. I should have listened, but there again, my smarts got in the way of common sense thinking. I just didn't contemplate what nights at 7000 feet altitude were like. Had I stopped to think, I would have known.

She had been right, she had wanted to bring extras and like so many times previous and hence, I accused her of wanting to move all our furnishings (I'm a slow learner)!!! How come I screwed up so often??

I had a pot of coffee going for everyone when they finally crawled out the next morning. Ann swears she has not thawed out yet. (Sometimes I agree with her).

Breakfasts in camp were always a treat. I can still taste Ann's hot cakes and eggs and bacon and feel the cold air of a morning camp. It is one of the most heady, exhilarating experiences in the world, especially if it is in one of the campgrounds in the high Sierras located beneath towering Douglas Firs or some such trees. Ann is absolutely the best campground cook that I know!! We discovered a beautiful mountain lake {Lake Harden} about a mile down a trail. It looked like the typical mountain lake that is brimming with trout. Ha! I fished that sucker for hours and never got a bite so after an hour or so, I gave up on eating trout for supper and just enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery. Memory is hazy as to whether we spent more than one night camping, but I believe we did.

On the day we broke camp, we departed early in order to visit Yosemite Valley. The pictures you always see of the valley's face are so awesome and beautiful depicting the massive structure of the valley's parapet. We came into the valley from off the mountain, down Big Oak Flat Road, through the tunnel and down under the ramparts of El Capitan on the north side of the Valley. It is a spectacular drive, coming off the mountain into the valley. Yosemite certainly is a one of the beautiful spots in America, but it is becoming over run with people just like us, people wanting to touch a bit of beauty and live some of it in their lives. We spent several hours sightseeing in the valley, at a picnic lunch, and departed down the El Portal Road, alongside the Merced River and on down the mountain to Merced, Calif. There we joined US 99 and headed home.

Another activity we enjoyed was to unfold the couch and lounge on it while watching wrestling. Wrestling was BIG during the early years of TV and we watched it on weekend nights when there was no home work to do. We soon knew all the wrestlers and became quite knowledgeable about wrestlers of that era.

All good things, good and bad, sooner or later, come to an end. I graduated from another school. This finished my formal education in the Navy and signalled my introduction into the fast moving portion of the Navy. This is how I finally met up with the world's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, USS ENTERPRISE CVA(N)-65. Our complete graduating class and my original class, were put on track for more technical education, and eventual duty aboard ENTERPRISE upon it's Commissioning. She was under construction in Newport News, Virginia and wouldn't be completed for yet another year. To continue our education, we were directed to pick up and move to Great Lakes, Illinois to attend Computer school (US Navy Class "C" School) in order that we might fulfill our destiny of being a wise old Al!!!

All good things, good and bad, sooner or later, come to an end. I graduated from another school. This finished my formal education in the Navy and signaled my introduction into the fast moving portion of the Navy's education...the "hands on" portion.  Our complete graduating class and my original class, were put on track for more technical education, and eventual duty aboard ENTERPRISE upon it's Commissioning. She was still under construction in Newport News, Virginia and wouldn't be completed for yet another year. To continue our education, we were directed to pick up and move to Great Lakes, Illinois to attend Computer school (US Navy Class "C" School) in order that we might fulfill our destiny of being a wise old Al!!!

We headed east on US 50 with our camping equipment, prepared to camp nightly for a couple of weeks on the way east. We were planning on traveling about 300 miles per day and camp each night in a National Forest campground or state park along the way. We had our itinerary all mapped out. On the day we left, we left early so we could breakfast in the high Sierras. We headed east on US 50.

Our first stop after leaving Pleasanton was breakfast on a high promontory jutting out into Emerald Bay on the south shore of Lake Tahoe. It was probably 250-500 feet above the lakes' surface, giving us an excellent view. We unpacked the Coleman stove and everything else needed, and Ann cooked a breakfast that I will never forget. It was one the most memorable meals I have ever eaten and I have eaten a few. That breakfast alone paid the purchase price of all the camping equipment we had purchased for the trip. Of course, we were hungry, but the beauty of the site, amidst towering ponderosa pines with the Sierras jutting up to our west and the azure blue beauty of Lake Tahoe below us, was incomparable.

 We finally finished the meal, repacked everything, and departed for Carson City and points east. We stopped for gas in Carson City, and then decided to take a sidetrip to visit Silver City and Virginia City, just a few miles north of US 50. We spent several of hours prowling around Virginia City, walking the same sidewalks and visiting the same saloons that such notables as Samuel Clemens and other, perhaps more nefarious, gentlemen, seeing with our own eyes what we had read and seen so often in the movies. Some of the saloons were spectacular in that the bars were long, and some were covered with old silver one dollar coins. It was a memorable excursion.

 Our first night was spent at a campground alongside US 50 just east of Austin, Nevada. It was mainly a roadside park, out on the desert, but it was provided by the Forest Service so we pitched camp and spent the night. After an early breakfast the next morning, we continued on, heading for Utah and the Ponderosa forest camp in the Uinta National Forest northeast of Nephi, Utah. We had the camp ground all to ourselves. We camped alongside a small stream, pitched camp, played with the children, ate and went to bed. We were always up pretty early in order to cook breakfast, clean the dishes, break camp, load up and get going. It usually took a couple of hours to get going from the time we got up, but we were usually on the road prior to 0800.

On the third day of travel, we crossed the barren, but beautiful terrain of eastern Utah. That part of Utah, in which Canyonlands National Park is located, is a conglomeration of shale mesas, buttes, and canyons, with cliff faces of all colors. The area in east central Utah east of Price and Green River is mainly uninhabited, with long stretches between habitation.

We crossed into Colorado, heading for our campsite on the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction. We arrived in plenty of time to establish camp during the daylight hours. Since it was a National Monument, it had better facilities than the Forest campsites of the two previous nights. As soon as we parked, the kids began their personal inspection of the facilities. This was common practice with them at all our campground stops. The first thing they always did was go to the potty. This time, Laura outdid herself. She came running back to the campground yelling, "Mommy, mommy, the potties don't have holes in the ground!!!". No, these were real potties, not outhouses as was common in National Forest campgrounds. The National Monument is located on a mesa probably 1000 feet elevation overlooking Grand Junction, Colorado and the Colorado River. We had real potties and a real shower, and we made full use of the facilities.

 Our next day's destination included a stop over to view the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River. It was a National Monument, consisting of a canyon about a 1000 feet deep and only about a 100 feet wide at the top. It is a tremendous gash in the ground, gouged out by the cascading waters of the Gunnison river as it falls off the western slope of the Rockies. After looking with awe and taking pictures of the kids on the edge of the precipice, scaring Ann half to death, we loaded up and headed for the Almont Forest camp ground on the Gunnison River just north of Gunnison, Colorado.

We got there in plenty of time for me to wet a line and fish the Gunnison River. We spent two nights camping in the Gunnison National Forest, alongside the Gunnison River, which is one of the best trout rivers in the country. I was lucky enough to catch a couple of trout. We headed east again on US 50 and crossed the Great Divide at Monarch Pass, we ran alongside the Arkansas River all the way down. It is a spectacular river, falling 3 or 4,000 feet in the space of a few miles. We stopped several times to fish, but had no luck. We missed seeing the Royal Gorge just west of Canon City, but we had a longer way to go and couldn't afford the time.

We drove through Pueblo, and headed east onto the high desert again, heading for Kansas. We were off the mountain, and we were to find out one great reason for loving the west. No Mosquitos! We stopped to cook our trout at a roadside park, and we were swarmed by mosquitos. I did manage to get it cooked, but we ate it in the car, on the run. Wow, but it was terrible.

We kept going, heading for Kansas and Meade Co. State Park. Meade County is just south of Dodge City. We had to head south while still 16 miles west of Dodge City, so failed to see Matt Dillon's stompin' grounds. We finally made it to Lake Meade after dark, set up camp, and ate. We were terribly disappointed with the facilities there, plus the mosquitos were terrible. We left out early next morning, continuing south heading for Oklahoma.

We took Kansas Rte. 23 south into Oklahoma and turned east on US 4 heading for Boiling Springs State Park at Woodward, Oklahoma. It was a nice place compared to Meade Co. State Park. It had regular bath houses. But we had one problem. When Ann went to the women's bath house, she beat a hasty retreat to tell me that there was something in there that shouldn't be there. While she stood guard, I went in to check it out. It was swarming with BATS!

We reported it to the Park Rangers, and they finally got them cleaned out. That is another incident that will always be discussed wherever we might pitch our tent!!! That was the end of the excitement for the day so after a good nights sleep and a leisurely breakfast, we departed heading east to Lake Tenkiller State Park located just east of Muskogee, Oklahoma. We intended to fish a couple of days, but commenced raining and it was fun no longer, plus we were getting tired. We bundled up after one day there and headed non-stop for mom's in Cullman.

We crossed the Great River on a ferry at Helena, Arkansas. There is a bridge there now, but in 1960, you rode a ferry, and they inspected your car for any raw cotton you might have in it. The inspector kind. He gave us some parched peanuts to nibble on. We got on Mississippi Route 6 and ran it right across the state through Oxford, Tupelo and onto US 78, thence to US 278 in Alabama right through Jones Chapel to Cullman. Needless to say, all the folks were glad to see us and we..well we looked forward to sleeping in a bed again! After a few nights at each of our mom's homes, we cranked up and headed north to our second rendezvous with Great Lakes.

We were going back to an old familiar place again. Ann and I looked forward to renewing acquaintances again with the Johnsons and Haas'es, and to eating some more of Buzzy's famous steaks!! I had decided to move Ann to Akron, and I would come home on week ends when I could. We installed her, Laura and Chuck in an old, historic house on a beautiful lakeside estate at 2252 Waterloo Road. When I, say old house, I mean like 150 years or older. Ann couldn't drive and she was dependent on Dad to drive her wherever she wanted to go. In retrospect, I don't know what ever caused me to separate us like that.

After much discussion, we decided that things could only be better in Great Lakes, no matter what the living conditions. Since we would only be there a few months, no one would rent us a house, so I finally found a small 32 foot trailer to rent. We lived in it a month or so until one day we received notification that it was being repossessed and we had 10 days to get out! Luckily for us, the trailer park manager just happened to have a fantastic 60 ft. long 3 bedroom trailer. To us, it was a castle. A 50 room mansion couldn't have suited us any better and we were so proud to get it.

Route 2 Box 512, North Chicago, Ill, the address of our new trailer, turned out to be one of the coziest places we ever lived. We loved it, and spent a very enjoyable and close 1960 Christmas season there. We had snow, we had all the accouterments of Christmas again, this time share with two youngsters (with a third in the hopper). We made snow men, played in the snow to our hearts content, played trains all winter long and loved each other tremendously.

In school, I was studying basic Computers in the same class room I had studied Sonar in 4 years earlier. It seemed to be more calculus than computers, and I have yet to see the purpose of all that, when we should have been taught maintenance procedures on generalized computers. But sometimes the Navy acts in mysterious ways, their missions to perform.

One notable thing happened, among all the other notable things which I shall never forget....During the World Series that October, Don Larsen of the Yankees pitched his perfect "no hit, no run, no batter on base" game in the World Series.

During noon hours, we had one of the best PINOCHLE games going on anywhere in the US Navy.  Between Bev Dudley, Boyce Baker, John Fabris and me, we had four of the best pinochle players anywhere. We were so good that we could remember all the cards in a double deck pinochle game, and that is 80 cards. We played at least 20 points meld to open, and penny a point, and dollar or so a game. It was a wild and wicked game, and we loved it. Sometimes, we could play all night and never miss a lick, except for coffee breaks, and of course, the inevitable trips to the john.

I remember one session in particular that is noteworthy. During graduation week, between graduation and departure for next duty station at Hughes Aircraft Co, Fullerton, California, four of us spent all night playing. I recall that Ann woke up once after retiring for the evening to make a fresh pot of coffee for us. When she got up the next morning, we were still at it, but getting groggy. She made another pot of coffee, and the guys left for chow. I think I went to bed, though I'm not positive of that, in that I could stay up all night and still do my job back in those glorious days.

I graduated from ET "C-1" Computers school 10 February, 1961. I mentioned earlier that Ann was pregnant with Janet. She was due to be born at about the time I graduated, But just like all the rest of our kids, Janet didn't want to show up. I reckon Ann enjoyed the anticipation of giving birth, and strung it out for all it was worth! She was about a month late with Charles, and now here the same problem with Janet. There would have been no problem had I not a definite schedule to meet. We had about 4 weeks time in between schools, So I hung around Great Lakes, biding my time, waiting for Ann to start having birthing pains. I requested and received permission to delay my departure for two weeks, hoping Janet would be born by then. Finally the day came, and in early March, JANET came to stay with us and be our third bundle of joy! Luckily, she came in time for her to go with her daddy to California, the land of milk and honey   A few days after Ann brought her home, we swaddled her into her basket that she had inherited from her elder siblings, tucked her between us on the front seat, and headed west on ROUTE 66.  This picture is of Jan 3 days old and ready to roll to CA.  She rode most of the way in this basket.  Of course, this was in the days when people had freedom on the road.

AN/SPS-33 Computer-Tracker School
 

We left Great Lakes when Janet was 6 days old. She had been home three days, when we finally made the decision to leave. She was in such good health that we were not afraid to take her and go. We got busy, went to the Housing office to have our TV and Washer packed and moved to Anaheim. On the second day, when the movers picked up those items, we were ready to go. We did. We tucked Janet between us in her basket and away we went. Cars didn't have seat belts then, but we guarded that baby, as we did all our children,  with our lives.

When we headed out of the Greater Chicago area, snow was on the ground, but the roads were clear. We headed southwest on Route 66 towards St. Louis, Oklahoma City, and San Diego again. We had an exciting trip, weatherwise. We had the most varied weather during this trip of any trip we ever took. Snow, cold, tornados, sand storms...you name it. We spent the first night in Joplin, Missouri at a motel, and watching TV that night, we saw that they had twisters in the area that night. One was reported to have struck about 7 miles from Joplin that night. If anyone follows the weather very closely, they know that the area around Joplin, Missouri is known as Tornado Alley. The clouds were certainly threatening, and we were apprehensive.

When we passed through Oklahoma City, we stopped for a visit with Melba Kilgore, who was staying with her mother, while her husband, Reg, was in the Western Pacific on a carrier. We had met them earlier while in "B" school at San Francisco. To this day, we have continued to be good and close friends with them. After a couple of hours with Melba, we continued on our trek on to El Reno, Okla. for the evening. The next day, we drove all day to Albuquerque, NM where we found a small tourist cabin across the Rio Grande on the west side of town. It was cold at night on the high desert, and we took full advantage of the pot bellied stoves that heated them. Can you imagine a motel of today having a pot-bellied stove for heat? Travel in those days was much more exciting than it is now. Regulations and laws have taken the sense of adventure out of just about everything.

Upon leaving Albuquerque, we headed south along the Rio Grande River to Socorro, where we had to replenish Ann's supply of paper diapers for Janet, then headed west across the mountains on US 60 through exotic western towns of Pie Town, Red Hill, and into Arizona through Show Low, down to Globe and west to Tempe and Phoenix. We hustled through Phoenix, and headed south to our destination of Gila Bend. All the way from Phoenix to Gila Bend, we were in a dust storm. It was of such proportions that it threatened to sand the paint off the car. Visibility was very limited and we thought we might have to stop, but eventually we ran out of it.

After a late breakfast in Gila Bend, and started our last leg of the journey to San Diego. We were going to spend a day or so with Bill while we found living accommodations in Orange County. After we had visited a spell, Bill and I went up to Anaheim to find a home

We got lucky. We found a BEAUTIFUL home on the first try. It was in a good neighborhood, had a beautiful yard, a huge double car garage, all the amenities that we had ever wanted and the price was right. It was one of the most enjoyable places we ever lived. It was situated at 1104 La Palma Circle, just off La Palma Boulevard in Anaheim.

We were attached to Naval Station Long Beach while going to school at HAC. Before classes started, I was attached to the Base Security Office for a couple of weeks. It was plush duty to while away the time until classes convened. We did the majority of our grocery shopping at the local Alpha Beta in Anaheim. We still have a set of insulated plastic glasses that we got at the Alpha Beta in Fullerton.

Our class convened 17 April 1961 in Carbon Canyon, at the Hughes Aircraft Ground Systems Group Radar Laboratory. It was back out in the boon-docks on top of a mesa above Carbon Canyon, with no habitation in sight. Hughes Aircraft furnished us bus transportation daily to the site, so we had it all laid out. It was a typical test sight, right out of the movies. We had 3 shifts of classes, in order that all of us would get ample opportunities to operate the radars and computers. Shifts ran 2300-0700, 0700-1500 and 1500-2300. We rotated the shifts, according to what our assignments happened to be.

Our instructors consisted of Sol Bialek, Ray Ramage, Al Weber, John McLeod, Jim Savage and John Rougvie. Our class (AN/SPS-33 Computer Subsystem Checkout and Maintenance) consisted of Ray Erbele, Chief Carl Spring, Bevely T. Dudley, Boyce Baker, Master Chief Paul Kimmerley and me. We had a great 20 weeks there, and during lunch breaks our pinochle games continued unabated. All of us had now been together since December of 1959, and we were to continue to be together for another 3 or 4 years. We got to be pretty close. In my immediate group, besides the ones listed above, were ET1 Richard Tucker, ET1 Bob Staton, ET2 John Fabris, Chief Hank Snow, Senior Chief James J. Johnson, and Chief Skeeters, to name a few.

 ..

We continued our picnicing on weekends. In fact, we went somewhere every weekend. There is so much to do in Southern California. It was our favorite place to live, but woe, it has become too crowded now. Irvine Park was one of our favorite parks to picnic.  We also went to the high desert, to Salton Sea State Park, and trips up into the San Gabriel Mountains. We made several trips down to San Diego, to see brother Bill and family and our friends, Reg and Melba Kilgore. On one such occasion, his ship was in port, and we went aboard to eat Sunday dinner. I believe it was the Bennington. We value the friendship that existed between us and Melba and Reginald. The most significant trip we made during our tour at HAC was a camping trip to Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Parks for a week. We first entered Sequoia National Park and camped at the Big Trees campground. The campground was sat in amongst towering spruce and fir trees. We hiked a good distance down into the forest to look at and inspect the "Dead Giant", a huge tree that for some reason or other had fallen, and was left as it fell. After we had spent several nights at Big Trees campground, we went down into King's Canyon to the campsite on the South Fork of King's River. We stayed there several days, exploring, hiking just lazing around. We spent 20 weekends seeing Southern California. We enjoyed it to the fullest, and was sorry to see graduation come. But September was upon us again, and September had come to mean graduation time and time to head East again.

We graduated from AN/SPS-33 COMPUTER SUBSYSTEM CHECKOUT AND MAINTENANCE COURSE on 1 September. A few days prior to our departure, Hughes Aircraft Corp. threw as party at a local Anaheim eating spot, where we were treated to steak, drinks and congenial talk between the staff and graduates. We were to have a close association with HAC for the remainder of our naval career. On 2 September, with a new diploma in our bag certifying that we had completed the course, we departed Anaheim for Ohio, Alabama and the USS Enterprise.

September 1961.   Headed for the Big E!!

We loaded our Ford with my seabag and the few household necessities needed to sustain our family till our furniture (HHE) arrived by moving van in Hampton. We couldn't take any un-essentials because of the camping equipment we had to take along. But that was a positive, in that when we arrived at our final destination, our camping equipment could be used in our new homes until our furniture arrived. There were many times when we slept in our sleeping bags on the floor in our new home until our furniture caught up with us. We also had to use our ice box for storage. Since the cooking range is an integral part of a house, we never had to resort to cooking our meals on our Coleman, but we did have to cook with and eat out of our camping utensils. As I said, Ann could make do with what she had. I would bet that only a military wife could understand that. We headed east towards Las Vegas, arriving there in time for a little fun on the wheels and dice tables. We ate a huge buffet lunch while there (in '61, all the casinos had free buffets) and lost a few bucks on the dice table, but departed with a few silver bucks, which we still have today. We probably broke about even in the gambling department, counting the free chow for the family, we probably came out ahead. We had only a few hours to spend in Vegas, then headed on north to Utah. North of Las Vegas, we took a side trip to Valley of Fire State Park on the shores of Lake Mead. It has all sorts of weird rocks and cliffs. We spent an hour or so looking around and taking a few pictures, the continued on our trip to Utah. By the time we got back on the highway, it was dark. We continued on St. George, Utah where we spent the night. It was only a short drive the next morning to our destination of Zion Canyon National Park.

We arrived in Springdale, Utah in mid-afternoon. We stopped to fill up with gas, aet a few supplies, and then headed into Zion Canyon. Upon arrival, we set up camp in the GROTTO CAMPGROUND which was within the shadows of both the Great White Throne and Angels Landing.

Our camping equipment consisted of:

_ 1--Coleman 2-burner gasoline stove

_ 2--Coleman 2-mantle gasoline lantern

_ 3--4 sleeping bags (Janet slept in a clothes basket)

_ 4--4 Army cots, the type with canvas bottom that folds up

_ 5--1 playpen to keep Janet corralled

_ 6--1 large Sears Ice box

_ 7--1 9 x 12 Tent (Canvas)

_ 8--Normal accoutrement of axes, saws, ropes and other junk.

_ 9--Lots of clothing for any event.

_ 10--Faith

We spent three nights and two days exploring the sights of Zion. The floor of the canyon is probably 1000 feet deep. It was eroded by the Virgin River, which now flows gently along the floor of the canyon. You can find and view every shape of cliffs, rocks, rills and one of the things that it makes it so different is that every cliff and stone changes color as the day progresses. It is all so interesting. We hiked up and down the canyon. The sight of that great monolith called the "Great White Throne" is awesome. Weeping Rock is awe-inspiring, as are many inspiring sights that God had wrought in such a small place.

We broke camp reluctantly and headed east towards our next famous destination. We headed up the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway which climbs in easy grades by a series of 6 switchbacks some 800 feet in less than 4 miles and then takes you through mile-long Zion Tunnel. Open galleries along the tunnel provide vantage points from which we viewed the Canyon and took many pictures, especially of the Great West Wall with the Beehives on the left and the Sentinel on the right. The Sentinel is 7157 feet above sea level. As you ascend further, you pass Checkerboard Mesa and finally reach the East Entrance Station. From there, we drove on to our next destination, Bryce Canyon National Park, which is located northeast of Zion Canyon. We motored up US 89 from Mt. Carmel about 43 miles till you arrived at the Bryce Canyon turnoff which took us to the rim of the canyon.

The two parks are entirely different. In Zion, the campsites and most activities are in the canyon, while at Bryce, the campsites and all activities are on the rim, and you may hike down into the canyon. We set up our campsite at the North Campground, and since Bryce Canyon's rim where our campsite was located was greater than 7,500 feet in elevation, we came prepared for cool to cold nights. We anticipated it and were not disappointed, as it was nearing mid September, and nights are cool to cold there the year round. Bryce Canyon is unbelievably beautiful. You really have to see it to understand the depth and grandeur created by erosion that has taken place to create this place of beauty. We hiked down into the canyon on switchbacks going and coming. We had to carry Janet all the way, and Charles a good part of the way. I believe Laura hiked all the way.

Laura and Charles were always very good campers. We never had any problems with them on any trip or location. I am only saddened by the fact that our two youngest children were not old enough to remember and participate in all the beautiful experiences and sights we experienced camping the National Parks and Forest campgrounds. I would love to take them to see the same sights we saw when they were too young to fully appreciate them. It would be a fantastic experience, but alas, it will never happen. I have always been saddened knowing that I would not be able to do it.

After a couple of days exploring Bryce Canyon, we departed for Grand Canyon's North Rim. We retraced our path to Mt. Carmel and took US 89 through Kanab, on down to Jacob Lake, where we headed south on Ariz. 67. We ascended Kaibab Plateau and had a pleasant drive across the high desert and it plateaus and canyons through Kaibab National Forest to the Grand Canyon National Park North Rim. We set up camp at the North Rim Campground adjacent to the Lodge. Union Pacific built huge lodges in some of the western National Parks many years ago when passenger trains were in their hey-day. They used to run excursions to them, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone in particular.

The North Rim is better than 8,200 ft. elevation, so it is closed in the winter, and since this was mid September, it was cold. It snowed on us the one night we stayed there. We were camped in a grove of huge fir trees and it was beautiful, though the canyon itself didn't provide us with the same sense of beauty as did Zion and Bryce Canyons. Probably it was just too big and awesome to take in on a windy, bone-chilling afternoon, and with the snow coming, we didn't want to get snowed in, as that was one eventuality that we had not prepared for. So after a hot breakfast, as only Ann could provide in such trying circumstances, we retraced our path to Jacob's Lake and rejoined US 89 to head east and south. We crossed the Colorado River at the Marble Canyon Bridge, and entered the Navajo Indian Reservation. We transited the Painted Desert, going east on Ariz. 264. We crossed both the Navajo Indian Reservation and the Hopi Indian Reservation, which sits right in the middle of the Navajo Reservation, to Window Rock the Indian Capital. Shortly after leaving Window Rock, entered New Mexico, and US 66 at Gallup, New Mexico. It was getting on close to night, so 40 miles east of Gallup at Prewitt, we turned south to Bluewater State Park and a campground.


"My Bag is Wet, Al!"

This turned out to be a disastrous night. Bluewater State Park is on the Continental Divide, and though not mountainous, it was on the high desert. It was cold. It also rained that night. To make matters worse, I was sloppy in putting the tent up and a corner of one flap was left inadvertantly tucked inside the tent. The shower was no big thing, it didn't rain very hard. We had already camped in rain with no problems. but with that flap tucked inside the tent, all the water that normally ran harmlessly to the ground, now ran inside the tent and in a stream directly underneath Ann's sleeping bag. Well, after awhile her bag started soaking up the water and finally it woke her.

I was rudely awakened sometime around 0300 in the morning, anyway it was early, by Ann pinching on me. "Al, my bag is wet!!". "ANN, IT CAN'T BE. THERE ARE NO HOLES IN MY TENT!!". "Well, just get your hand out of that bag and feel under my bag then". "OK HONEY, JUST HOLD YOUR TATER...WHERE DID THAT WATER COME FROM???". "Al, I'm cold. What do we do now. I can't sleep in this mess". "IT'S THREE O'CLOCK, YOU GET THE KIDS UP AND DRESS THEM AND I'LL STRIKE CAMP". "Just put the kids in the car, they'll go back to sleep". "OK, WHILE YOU'RE GETTING THE KIDS READY, I'LL GET ALL THIS EQUIPMENT LOADED AND READY TO GO. I'LL TIE THE SLEEPING BAG OUTSIDE SO IT WILL DRY OUT".

That was the most miserable packing job we ever had to do. Just try striking camp in the middle of the night when everything is wet and in half darkness. Our Coleman lantern put out it's feeble beam, but that still left a lot to be desired. Finally, we got every tied on the car and in the car, and left a few things hanging out of the window to dry and we motored away. We finally looked like the gypsies that we had become. We drove till shortly after daylight, which took us to Tucumcari. We ahd driven approx 300 miles since leaving camp, so we were getting tired and hungry. They had a nice city park alongside route 66, so we stopped to cook breakfast and drink our morning coffee. It tasted unreasonably good that morning and we luxuriated in being dry and content again. There was a washeteria nearby, so Ann used some time to catch up on the diaper washing. We took all this in stride. Nothing fab. But we, and I'm sure most military families, have had some experiences, which at the time seemed terrible, but later became part of a mosaic of lifetime experiences that make a great life. Ours was no exception.

Our next night's destination would be Quartz Mountain State Park just north of Altus, Oklahoma. We pitched an overnight camp, ate, caught up on our sleep and left early next morning for Alabama. We returned to US 287, went through Wichita Falls, Texas and hit US 82 at Henrietta. All our problems were not yet over. As we left out of Texas at Texarkana, we started noticing noises emanating from the rear of the car. Finally, as we pulled into Magnolia, Arkansas and found a Ford agency to have the car checked out. In a couple of hours, a rear axle bearing was replaced and we were on our way to Mom's, which we reached before bedtime.

The ENTERPRISE Years

After visiting our parents/grandparents in Ala, we made it to Hampton, Virginia to report for duty aboard USS ENTERPRISE CVA(N)-65, the world's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, and the world's largest ship. In fact there were so many first's that belonged to ENTERPRISE that we forget many of them.

We moved into our new home at 1803 Darville Drive in Hampton. It was near Langley AFB, so it was convenient to the commissary and BX shopping for Ann. At this time, she still hadn't learned to drive, but the time was getting near when she was going to have to learn. I was soon going to be gone for long periods of time, and it was imperative that she learn to drive.

When I first reported aboard, ENTERPRISE was still under construction in Newport News, so I commuted daily to Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock shipyard. The pre-commissioning crew drilled, studied, and prepared themselves and the ship for sea duty. During this period, we had our "fast" to the pier cruise, which was a shore-based "intro to the 'flat-top' Navy". We lit off all systems and tested them under actual conditions, including the nuclear propulsion unit while still tied to the pier. We did a lot of drilling in order to operate it perfectly while at sea and under wartime conditions. While we were embarked on our "Fast" cruise, Laura fell off a picket fence in our back yard and broke her arm. Kids always seem to know the most inconvenient time to do things like that. While I was away. But then, maybe it was the right time, because I could never stand to see my kids hurting.

During the Christmas season of 1961, Enterprise threw a big Christmas party on board for the children of the crew. It was the biggest Christmas party I have ever seen. There must have been 5,000 children there and the ship gave each of them a Christmas present, plus cake and ice cream, and SANTA CLAUS. Laura, Chuck and Janet all enjoyed it immensely, especially the presents.

We had a problem with Santa Claus in 1961. We had ordered several articles from his shop at Spiegel's in Chicago. We kept waiting for the order to come in, and a few days before Christmas, we gave up and went to our local Sears store in Newport News, and completed our shopping. Sure enough, the items magically appeared after Christmas, but we sent them straight back with a piece of our mind. Spiegel of Chicago has been on our black list ever since.

We went to sea prior to commissioning for sea trials or builder's trials in late October. On board were such notables as Vice Adm. Hyman Rickover, Vice Adm. Frank O'Bierne ComNavAirLant and Rear Adm. Ralph K. James BUSHIPS. We departed the pier at 0930 Sunday morning 30 October 1961 for the first time underway on nuclear power. The trials were extremely successful. Newspapers all over America chronicled our successful mission and we were all excited and proud to be the very first sailors in the history of the US Navy to sail so large a ship.

Finally. November rolled around. First, I turned 34 years old. Then on the 25th, ENTERPRISE was commissioned into the US Navy. We had over 10,000 guests seated on the hangar deck, plus the 3000+ crew members in formation for the ceremony. It was one big party. Every one who had liberty got treated to a oyster roast by the city of Newport News. Since I had duty, I missed out on the oysters. Our commissioning was televised, We were featured on TODAY, and Walter Cronkite came aboard to do a special. It was certainly a time of celebration, but ahead of us were many months of lonely, arduous sea duty.

On 1 December 1961, I was recommended for advancement and nominated to take the examination for advancement in rating to ETC (Electronics Technician Chief) by Lcdr. J. H. Bilkey, our Electronics Officer.

ENTERPRISE At Sea

We wasted no time after New Year's in getting to sea. 3 January found us on our way to becoming a true operating ship of the fleet. We went over to the de-perming facility off Portsmouth to get the magnetism removed from the ships hull, then to Crane Island anchorage to take on ammo. We operated in and about the VACAPES area during the month of January and while in-port, rode liberty launches back and forth to Fort Monroe, where we commuted to. Those January mornings made for a b-r-r-r cold ride back to the ship in the early morning hours, but we didn't particularly mind, since we were getting a chance to spend a night at home, and that time was becoming more precious as time went on. Also during January, we served as part of a John Glenn orbital recovery force during Project Mercury. We were part of a back-up team positioned east of the Bahamas.

On Wednesday January 17th, the first plane landed on ENTERPRISE by CAG-1 skipper George Talley. His would be the first of a virtual stream of planes to land on our deck. During the month of January, Ann was busy also. She hosted a pinochle/pot luck party for Beverly Tucker, Gaye Smith and Linda Condon. Also the Enterprise wives were busy with their meetings and other activities. She also was being a FULL-TIME mother to Laura, Charles and Janet.

We returned to our anchorage in Hampton Roads on Wednesday the 31th of January for some unforeseen replenishment. We were able to go on liberty (2/3rds of crew) as weather permitted, with liberty boats going to Fleet Landing and to Fort Monroe.

Big "E" Shakedown

We left our anchorage early in February and arrived in Mayport, Florida 7 February 1962 for 24 hours to pick up air personnel from Cecil Field. I managed to get liberty that night and went in to downtown Jacksonville, but I didn't get to make it out to Cecil Field. While ashore I called Ann collect from Jacksonville, running up a tab of $2.85. I should have talked longer, and would have if I had known long distance rates were going to go up as much as they have in the ensuing years! We left on the tide around 1300 the 8th heading for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

On Friday February 16 1962, the 1,000 landing was made aboard ENTERPRISE while operating off the coast of Cuba. A Shakedown Cruise is mainly what the name implies. A ship goes out for an extended period testing all systems and correcting routines, whether machine or personnel until everything is operating as a unit. It's where we learn to get good at our jobs. It usually lasts for about 6 weeks. A very intensive 24 hour schedule is maintained. The first lesson learned is that wars are fought around the clock, not on a 9-5 schedule with free weekends. That's one reason that "War is Hell"

We returned to Hampton Roads Sunday April 8th at 0900. On our way back from GTMO, we ordered to host President Kennedy and a whole host of notables from SECDEF right on down to Senators, Congressman and other VIPS to a short visit after he reviewed a fleet of 48 ships from the cruiser Northhampton. We and the Forrestal put on an air show demonstrating several air-to-air missiles fired from our planes in mock combat. He also used our facilities to broadcast a message to all the sailors aboard the other ships in the fleet.

I had a surprise awaiting me when I returned from the Shakedown Cruise.

My girl had learned to drive and had a valid license!

I was flabbergasted with the fact that ANN HAD LEARNED HOW TO DRIVE AND HAD HER LICENSE!!! I was so proud of her that I could have popped. That was a great day in our lives. We no longer had to worry about spending our Saturdays and evenings doing grocery shopping. We had more spare time to spend together, and now she could take the children to sick bay without my having to take off from work or her having to get a friend to take her. The best part though was that when I was gone on long cruises, she would be dependent on no one for transportation. When you have a house full of youngsters, you might need to go at any given moment. I felt so much better about her being alone after she got her license. I don't know how we ever made it before she got her license. But then, neither her mother nor my mother drive. So, I call that a big day in her life. I was extremely proud of her. No more killing poor innocent chickens!!

During this period, the kids acquired a puppy, and a "slip and slide", which was popular with them and the neighborhood kids for one day, or until I saw what a disaster that "slip and slide" made of our lawn. Of course the puppy did also, but he was in the back yard.

ENTERPRISE'S first 4th of July was spent in Boston, where we had gone to celebrate the Boston "E" Party!! We had more than 15,000 visitors to board during our short stay there. While there, I was fortunate enough to get to Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox play the Yankees. While at the game, I was also fortunate enough to catch a foul ball, hit into the stands behind first base. I still have it among my souvenirs.

Shortly thereafter, we left on our first Med cruise which was an abbreviated cruise because of our trip to Boston. We were really on a "show-off" trip, demonstrating our prowess as a nuclear carrier to everyone who was anyone in military circles. While in Naples and Cannes, we hosted TV shows, radio shows, royalty, fashion shows, newscasters, and the general public. We went to great extent to show our prowess in building state of the art ships. We had such notables as Bing and Kathy Crosby, several US Senators, and Italian President Segni, and many others too numerous to mention. We hosted Don McNeil's "Breakfast Club" show that originated for many years and was heard nationally from Chicago. He came over and did his 4th of July show from our hangar deck while we were in Naples.

We returned to Pier 12 on 11 Oct 1962. I had been assigned permanent Shore Patrol duty for our in-port stay, patrolling out near Ocean View. Five days after we returned, I was abruptly pulled in from my Shore Patrol Duty and told to report on board with my seabag, ready to get underway. We were soon gone again to take part in "Kennedy's" famed CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS. We spent 7 weeks steaming around in square circles near Cuba. Because we had just returned from a Med cruise, the CO sought and received permission to grant annual leave to some crew members. I was one of the lucky ones chosen. I was helicoptered ashore to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, and caught a C-130 Hercules to Norfolk, via Jacksonville. The ship returned from the mission on the morning of 6 December 1962. Because of high winds, "E" had to anchor out in Hampton Roads until 8 December. Helicopters were brought in from Cherry Point MCAS, NC to ferry the liberty party to and fro NAS Norfolk for the two days we were forced to anchor out away from Pier 12.

Several notable things occurred in January prior to our next Med deployment. First, we had a helluva ship's party at the Norfolk Municipal Auditorium. It was held 22nd and 23rd Jan. It took two nights to ensure all hands had an opportunity to attend. It was a fantastic party. Second, on a short cruise off the VACAPES, Senator Barry Goldwater flew aboard in a jet. We were also awarded "Ship of the Year" by OUR NAVY magazine.

I took leave from 0001 22 Apr 1962 till 0800 7 May 1962. We wanted to do a little trout fishing for four or five days way back up in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Driving down Interstate 85 in North Carolina, I let Ann take the wheel for the first time on the freeways and let her work up a taste for high speed driving. She was tentative and very careful, but she did an excellent job, even though every car on the road passed us. We stopped off at the Cherokee Indian tourist trap near Bryson City to take a few pictures of their teepees and drink an RC Cola and went on. We continued on to a Forest campground just east of Tellico Plains in the Cherokee National Forest. It was on the banks of a small trout stream and there we pitched our tent in the shade of some tall trees. We stayed there for four days of rest and relaxation. Finally we packed up and continued on to Alabama to see our parents and show off the kids!

Ann was elected Recording Secretary of the Enterprise Wives Club for the 1963 term. President was Carol Cherry, Vice Pres. was Mrs. JB King, Mrs. Herb Spence was Corresponding Secretary and Bev Tucker was Chaplain. Their picture appeared in the Newport News Daily Press Wednesday Jan. 16, 1963

February 6, 1963, ENTERPRISE commenced her second Med Cruise, which was to last approx 7 months. On March 6th, the 13,000 landing was made while operating in the Med. We made the typical ports during the cruise....Cannes, Naples, Athens, and all the others. Notes of interest on this trip included one very important item that improved my Navy life. On March 27th 1963, ENTNOTE 1430 was published, notifying me that I had passed the examination for Chief Petty Officer and would assume the rate effective 5/16/63. Also making it with me was B. T. Dudley. We were scheduled to be in Cannes, France when that happy day came!!

16 May 1963. The most important day in my naval career to this date. It was the culmination of my dreams, career wise, and if I never got any further, I was a success!  On this day,  along with my shipmate and great friend, Bevely "BT" Dudley,  I was promoted to Chief Petty Officer.  We were so happy to finally be able to put on that distinctive uniform and hat, that at midnight of the 15th of May (2400 hours), or 0000 16 May, we dressed up in our brand new CPO uniforms, boarded a liberty launch, and went ashore in Cannes to show off our new rank and take in some of the extended liberty hours that CPO's rated.  (White hats had to return to the ship at midnight.....otherwise known as "Cinderella liberty"). Chief's had liberty until 0200.....an extra two hours of freedom.  Ann had purchased all my uniforms in Norfolk and mailed them to me because we were running around in the Med. She did a damned good job outfitting me, and that's just another plus for MY WIFE!

To start off with, I would have never made CPO were it not for ANN. She was always inspiring me to be better, and she was like the ROCK OF GIBRALTAR, dependable and truly, a caring wife. She NEVER gave me cause for worry about such things that sea-faring men worry about...things like infidelity and worse.

Captain Frederick Michaelis relieved Capt. Vincent dePoix as CO. Also at 2130 hours on June 26, 1963, the 20,000 carrier landing was made, making Capt dePoix the only carrier skipper in history to be CO of a single carrier while 20,000 landings were made. The previous record was held by a CO on the Forrestal with 17,525. During this time, ENTERPRISE has steamed better than 100,000 miles. On July 4th, 1963 Don McNeil and his "Breakfast Club" broadcast originated from our hangar deck, and we all marched "around the breakfast table" with Don in celebration of our country's birthday. Their program normally originated from Chicago. Also during this cruise, Bing and Kathy Crosby paid us a visit. I got their autograph, but lost it somewhere in the ensuing years.

On September 5, 1963 we returned to pier 12 in Norfolk on September 4th to a tumultuous welcome. We had been gone seven months and had sailed ENTERPRISE 49,000 miles. It was almost a year to the day that we had returned from our first cruise. I came home to a new home. While on this trip, Ann had moved us to a very nice house at 5416 Silbert Road in Norfolk. We hated to leave Hampton, but it was much more convenient to work for me. It was near Lakewood school and in a very nice area off Tidewater Drive, convenient to everything, including the base. We have many good remembrances of our little home on Silbert Road. It seemed like a large house at the time, but when we rode past there in 1984, it didn't look at all that big.

One of the things we did while there was build our two speaker cabinets of real walnut boards, right on the living room floor. I made the precision cuts of the walnut boards at the hobby shop at NOB. I paid $1.25 a foot for that walnut (12" wide). Now it runs over $5 a foot. We still have them with the original cloth on the front. (It needs replacing now).

Wayne was born while we were living in this home. The memories flood back to the sunny kitchen, and the fine times we had while Enterprise was in port. That's the place where I stuck my finger in a man's chest and told him if he valued his life to stay away from my wife and house. It was also our home when Ronald Reagan made his first campaign speech in favor of Barry Goldwater for President in 1964. It started him on his political career in the Republican Party. I still remember it very well.

Amongst all the many picnics we had while living on Silbert Rd. one I will always remember occurred on a cold and windy afternoon in January 1964 just before we left on yet another Med cruise. I wanted to get one last picnic in to have something to remember while gone for the next nine month. We went out to the beach overlooking Hampton Roads, in amongst the small wind-blown trees and sand dunes where Willoughby Spit joins the mainland. There were several picnic tables in the small park, and it was a great place for the kid to run off excess energy. We built us a fire for warmth and cooking. Next to the food, the campfire is the most important thing about camping and picnics. A picnic or camp without a campfire is not a true outing in my book. Anyway, the kids paid no notice of the weather, romping and running like always. It was a week or so prior to departing on the last Med Cruise I was to take in. It was either picnic now or wait for 9 months, and I didn't want to wait that long.! I needed another memory to help sustain me on that long cruise.

 "Med" Cruise III & SEA ORBIT

As if on an annual schedule, we departed Pier 12 at Norfolk Naval Station for Cannes, France and another tour of duty in the Med. It was to have a different twist to it than the previous tours. It was to end with a splashy return trip in the other direction that would carry us around the world!

We did our normal naval training exercises and made the same port calls as we had in previous years. We again visited the ports of Cannes, Naples, and Barcelona and looked for the old familiar haunts. Later, in July, we got the word that we would take part in what was to be a historic cruise. We would join up with the only other nuclear powered surface ships and circumnavigate the earth. We would be Nuclear Task Force One, and we would be on Operation SEA ORBIT.

On Thursday 30 July we went alongside the stores ship (AF) Rigel shortly after sunrise at 0400. We hit the deck for reveille at 0300 in order get an early start on the at-sea transfer of stores needed for the cruise. We would get nothing else till we pulled alongside Pier 12 in Norfolk in October. We took on 700 tons of stores, including 30 tons of potatoes, 55 tons of beef, 23,760 doz. eggs, 14,400 96 oz. cans of sterilized milk, and 12½ tons of vegetables, while alongside Rigel. It's kind of like packing the family car for a two week vacation in the desert where there ain't no stores.

On Friday 31 July, 1964, just after noon, we nosed past Gibraltar into the Atlantic, and officially began Sea Orbit. We conducted air shows almost every day for visiting dignitaries as we coasted down the Atlantic Coast of Africa. They were flying the dignitaries aboard on our COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) planes daily.

We crossed the Equator at 6 minutes after 6 (0606) on 6 August, a calm, clear and coolish 70 degree day. It promised all the hoopla normally encountered when invading the domain of Davy Jones. I am reproducing the original Menu for the evening meal of that date. It was decided by the Shellbacks that all pollywogs would be required to attend the evening meal...anyone skipping could expect further dire consequences. See Addendum for MENU.

The next day (we were going into winter, since we were now south of the equator) was 62° with winds of 20 knots across the flight deck..quite a cool day. As we steamed around the Cape of Good Hope on 11 July, just 11 days after leaving Gibraltar, the seas became quite rough. It was mid-winter and seas of 18-20 feet which was causing the ship to roll 10-15% or more. This lasted for approximately 8 hours. We finally rounded the Cape, entered the Indian Ocean and headed up the east side of Africa. Near Port Elizabeth, we finally came close enough to Africa to sight it visually for the only time on the trip. We sailed up between Mozambique and Madagascar and since we were headed almost directly north again, we were headed back towards the Equator and Summer time again which entailed us changing our uniforms back to whites again.

On August 15th, after 15 days at sea, we sailed into Karachi, Pakistan. We had sailed a total of 11,212 statute miles or 9750 nautical miles since leaving Gibraltar. The estimated mileage for the total cruise was 34,500 miles.

I didn't set foot in Karachi. That was one port in which I had lost nothing, and didn't intend to. I was saving all my money, what little I had, for liberty in Australia. We spent two days in Karachi (20 and 21 August), and headed south of the Equator again and another Winter season. We arrived in Sydney on the 3rd day of September and left on the 7th, much too short a time for a beautiful, friendly place like that. The people were so friendly. We could buy no meals, we could buy no drinks, we were just treated royally. People would stop you on the street to chat and invite you to visit them, or for a drink. That was one port I hated to see pass under the fantail.

Home was beckoning. We were halfway home, and heading down-hill. We made a speed run to Cape Horn, and set the speed record between Sydney and Cape Horn. We crossed the South Atlantic in 10 days at an average speed of greater than 25 knots. It was cold and the sleet was blowing across the flight deck as we rounded Cape Horn. Once around, we headed north to Rio de Janeiro and summer on the beaches of Ipanema. On Wednesday September 23 at 1230 we entered the beautiful harbor of Rio de Janeiro. We spent several days in Rio, but again, I didn't go ashore this time. I was ready to get on home to Ann and our children. It had been a long time!!

Heading to Oak Harbor

Saturday 3 October at 1515, the sailor returned home from the sea! It was such a great reunion. Ann was great with Wayne, the stork was due to visit her within TWO DAYS, so she came prepared to spend several hours on Pier 12. She had her folding chair to sit on while waiting and had put the kids on their best behavior. If you have ever waited for and watched a major naval vessel moor, you know that it is a slow process. Moving 85,000 tons around is a touchy proposition and the Skipper and tugboats, along with the port pilot, take precautions not to dent either the ship or the pier. Also, once moored, the gangplank has to be installed. For a ship the size of ENTERPRISE, that is a major undertaking.

While all this was going on most of the sailors were milling around on the flight deck trying to spot their loved ones amongst the melee of humanity that frothed about 50 feet below them on the pier. The exact opposite was occurring on the pier. Kids were yelling, wives and girl friends were all looking up, trying to locate their particular sailor in all the white uniforms. It's not an easy task, but it always gets sorted out in the end and loved ones and friends are ultimately joined. Thousands, probably upwards of 10,000, waited breathlessly as we were warped to Pier 12 by our tugs. It was exciting, frustrating, and chaotic, but like all homecomings, it was GREAT. I still remember the spine-tingling chills and thrill of anticipation that I experienced EVERY TIME we neared our home port of Norfolk. The euphoria we experienced never abated.

With my shore duty orders in hand, I was preparing to say a fond and long awaited farewell to the greatest warship in the world. I never expected to return to ENTERPRISE, but the future had a trick called déjà vü was to direct me to that same place later in our life.

The month following our return was spent in a frenzy. I could have left the ship for my new duty station as soon as we returned, but like 1961, Ann was expecting again. A sense of déjà vü assailed me. As before, the execution of orders were held in abeyance, waiting for Ann to give birth. Our timing in choosing birthing dates sure left alot to be desired. It seemed that Ann had a penchant for delivering just prior to an impending transfer. Then, when she was expected to perform, she seemed to be shy and reluctant, like a starlet who needed several rounds of applause prior to coming onto the stage. She got real good at it, doing it twice in a row for the last two children, and just missing on the first two by not more than 6 weeks. Laura and Chuck came awful close to transfer time. We had just got to Great Lakes when Laura was born, and barely made it to Jacksonville prior to Chucks birthday, so she was always in there trying!! It seemed that Ann liked to enter a new home with a new baby!! This was getting ridiculous.

We marked time, waiting on Wayne to make an appearance. We spent the time getting our household effects ready for shipment. We always sent two shipments, one a smaller Express shipment, limited to minimum items needed for survival until the arrival of the main shipment. We also bade farewell to many good friends, many of whom we never had the opportunity to see again. For Ann and me, transfers were always a time of great expectatons, and also time of extreme sadness at having to leave behind so many old friends who had been there whenever you needed them.

Wayne (Tot Beau) made his belated appearance while Ann was taking a siesta in Portsmouth Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, Virginia on Saturday Oct 31...Hallowe'en Day!!

Ann has made the joke many times that she went "Trick or Treating", and got tricked!! Beau loves that! I was being a "house daddy" to Laura, Chuck and Jan and trying to keep them fed and in school. Nancy Carlisle, the wife of a shipmate, ably assisted me in taking care of the kids while Ann was in the hospital and kept Janet while I was at work aboard ENTERPRISE.

It was during this trying period that I was accused by Laura of cooking eggs that looked like pork chops. I admit the eggs were a little overdone, maybe even a little burnt, but it was just because there was too much grease in the skillet. You know how eggs look sometimes when the skillet gets too hot (yeah, seared). I was cooking with gas, and I have never ever won any ribbons for being a cook. I can make a passable hamburger, but even then, my kids would walk a mile to get one cooked by their mother in preference to mine. I don't blame them one bit. I would also!

On Tot's birthday, ENTERPRISE left Pier 12 for the short journey across Hampton Roads to her pier at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation's shipyard in Newport News. When we arrived, she was warped into the same berth she occupied when I first came aboard in early October 1961, a bit over three years earlier. I had made the full round trip on ENTERPRISE. That was enough, or so I thought at the time.

I have lots of good memories but there are also memories that entail the many lonely days and nights that Ann and I were forced to spend apart from each other during the best years of our lives. The separations were endurable while we were at sea, but when we had to spend the duty nights aboard ship while my wife and children were just a few miles a way in the same city, well , that was a bit tough to take, especially when you had just returned from being six months at sea. But the hardships kept us young, and we stayed in love with each other in spite of, and probably because of, the hardships. I believe that if all couples had to live like we did, marriages would be strengthened. So many civilians never really get to stress their marriages and thus, when adversity befalls them, they have nothing to fall back on.

	NAS Whidbey is the home of the Navy's long range reconnaisance planes and and the guardian of our great northwest.  It is located just north of Oak Harbor at Ault Field.  The old seaplane base is located just east of downtown on the bay..Whidbey Island is arouond 50 miles long and from 1 to 5 miles wide...(approx.)  Since it is on the coast, the climate is normally pretty evenly divided...from around 40 degrees average in the winter to around 80 in the summer.   We had roses blooming in December on the south side of our home...but the north side was very cold.
	Ann scavenging for unique pieces of driftwook on Oak Harbors beaches
	A unique piece that she found
	Overlooking Oak Harbor
	Overlooking Oak Harbor
	Overlooking Oak Harbor
	Mount Baker ski area

The Trek to the Great Northwest

We left Norfolk just a few days after Ann brought Wayne home. We had 46 days to get to Oak Harbor, but since it was winter time, we wanted to leave plenty early so that if we encountered snow, it wouldn't bother us to lay over. Naturally, we had to go through Ohio and Alabama to visit our parents (now grandparents) and show them their latest grand-child. We headed north towards the Breezewood Interchange on the Penna. Turnpike en route to Akron. We spent a grand total of $15.35 on the trip to Akron, which included 18.4 gallons of gas ($5.70 OR 30.9¢/gal), Lunch ($3.00), Penna Turnpike Toll ($1.65), Ohio Turnpike Toll ($0.65), and $4.65 for groceries. It took us 12.5 hours to do the 525 miles to Akron from Norva.

After a few visiting with Dad, we turned our direction south to Ala. We spent the night in Somerset, Ky. due to car trouble. We stayed at the Quality Inn Motel in the Bridal Suite with our four kids ($15.00)!! We had the generator replaced first thing next morning, and continued our trip south through the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains in Kentucky and Tennessee heading for Cullman.

After a week or so of visiting around Cullman and Birmingham and showing our new baby off, we headed "West by Northwest" to Washington State. We crossed the Great River at Memphis and headed northwest up through Arkansas and Missouri. We spent the first night on the road in Rolla, Missouri. The next morning, we were up early and on the road with only coffee for us and cereal for the kids. That would hold us till midmorning when we normally had our big breakfast. By breakfast time, we were in Columbia, Missouri. We ate breakfast and enjoyed our mid-morning break from the incessant travel that marks a cross country trip. We then set our sights towards Kansas City, Topeka and the high plains.

Nightfall found us in northwestern Kansas where it is so flat that you can see for miles. It is truly big sky country, although I believe that is Montana's nickname. Our immediate destination was Cheyenne, Wyoming. We intended to bypass Denver, so we turned at Grainfield, Kansas, and headed north on Kansas 23 to Hoxie. We decided to spend the night in Hoxie, a small town of about 400 pop. We found a small cabin type motel ($8.30), with another pot-bellied stove. We needed it too, because that wind was blowing across the plains, and it was COLD! The next morning, we noted that most all the cars and pick-up trucks were parked in front of the bowling alley, so we figured that was the place to eat breakfast. For $3.08, all of us had a great breakfast (three eggs, bacon, toast and coffee).

On the road, we continued north on US 83 until we entered Nebraska at McCook, and headed west into Colorado on US 24. We encountered our first icy roads. Between Ft. Morgan and Greeley, the roads were covered with glaze ice and it was so dangerous that we drove with the right wheels on the shoulder to the road to ensure that we had some traction. All the fields were covered with ice, and everything with white. It was absolutely beautiful. We finally reached Greeley and headed north to Cheyenne to spend a couple of days with Ann's sister, Bobbie and sightsee in old Cheyenne. Bobbie's husband was a member of the USAF stationed at Warren AFB.

After a couple days visiting Bobbie and Bill Ballenger, and sightseeing in the Cowboy Capital of America, we continued our trip west on I-80, passing through the towns of Laramie, Rawlins, Medicine Bow, and other small high desert towns that are well known as a result of watching "westerns" on tv. We stopped at Little America, Wyoming (doesn't everyone?). It is probably one of the largest truck stops in America. We stopped there to browse, buy gas, and eat lunch. We kept on keeping on towards the west. We veered off I-80 just west of Little America to follow US 30 in order to bypass Salt Lake City. We followed US 30 around Bear Lake, up and over the Wasatch Mountains and down through Logan Canyon into Logan, Utah right through the Utah State University campus. After a rest period for the kids and coffee for us, we proceeded on to Brigham City to where we could turn north to Idaho. We headed north on I-84 to Burley, Idaho, where we spent the night at a Best Western Motel on the banks of the Snake River. We departed Burley early and headed northwesterly, following the Snake River as it makes it's turn to make the northern journey to the Columbia. Twin Falls, Mountain Home, and Boise were left behind as we trekked northwest towards Oregon. In '64, the Interstate Highways through the mountain states were mostly short stretches here and there. We crossed the Snake and entered Oregon. About 20 miles further on we arrived at Farewell Bend State Park on the banks of the Snake which gave a grand view of the river and the bend. Once the Snake leaves Farewell Bend, it becomes HELLS CANYON, or as it is better known, the "River of No Return". There was snow on the ground, but I got Ann's picture with that beautiful, snowy backdrop behind her.

We proceeded northwest through the high desert plains of eastern Oregon. Ann was driving during this stretch of desert. We went through LeGrande and crested the Blue Mountains. It was a dreary day, threatening snow and rain, but doing neither. But we were, at the crest, above the clouds, and when we started down into the Columbia River Valley, we went right through them, and driving blind gave Ann, and I might add me, several moments of stress. We soon arrived at Pendleton, which is world famous for it's mills that make fabulous woolen products. Oregon is such beautiful country, but has too many weirdo politicians, and with their weird politics, they attract weirdos like that Hindu Guru who completely took over a town. Ugh. It's enough to make a person sick. They are not the typical Westerners, let me say that.

We crossed the Columbia at Umatilla just below McNary Dam and ran north through Horse Heaven Hills on Wash 221 till we could join up with US 12. We continued on 12 northwest to Yakima where we found a Holiday Inn for the night. We were within spittin' range of our new home and tomorrow would see us there!!

We arose bright and early and headed west for the Cascade Mountains. When we had ascended the Cascades to Snoqualmie Pass (Elevation 3,010 ft), I knew we were in heaven. With the snow on the beautiful evergreens and the green waters of all the mountain lakes reflecting the snow-capped mountains around us, it had to be one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. The description of such beauty is beyond my ability.

We finally went on our way, down the western slope into Seattle, whence we turned north on our final leg to Whidbey Island. North to Mount Vernon, and west to the junction with Washington 525 and then as we crossed the bridge at Deception Pass, I was again assailed by the beauty of the scene before my eyes. I just couldn't believe my good luck at being assigned to a duty stations in such a beautiful place. It was to prove even better than I ever dreamed it would be!!

Our Happiest Years

We arrived in Oak Harbor on Monday, 23 November 1964. It was a small town of about 5,000 population, located on Whidbey Island, probably the largest island in Puget Sound. It was a typical western town with two main streets, false fronted buildings on Pioneer St. and more timely buildings on Midway Blvd. Oak Harbor is about 60 miles northwest of Seattle, and just west of Everett and Mt. Vernon. The island is mostly covered with small truck farms and forests. Because is surrounded by waters fed from the Japanese Current, it is blessed with the best weather in the state, and is known locally as the "banana belt" of Washington (We had roses blooming in December on the south side of our home). The island is maybe 50 miles long, and is between 1 to 10 miles wide.

Immediately upon, we started searching for a place to live. There were only one or two subdivisions, and it was not a hard matter to find the vacant homes, because there weren't that many choices. We looked, took notes, and looked again. Finally, we decided on one which met our needs as to price and size. Price had the most to do with it, as we were, as always, on a tight budget. We checked out the interior of 3436 375 Ave W. and liked what we saw. We still have the notebook that we noted down the house number and real estate agency (Patton Realty) while we were looking. We accompanied the salesman back to his office to talk. We needed a house immediately, and after establishing our credibility, and giving them check #1953 drawn on our account at the First National Bank of Akron for $100, we were able to move in that very day even though we had not made a loan application. They were very helpful in getting all the paper work done. The owners were out of town, and of course, that slowed down the negotiations, but we agreed to pay rent while all the paper work was being completed. When all the paper work was completed and the loan had closed, our monthly payment on the house was $100 a month.

We took possession that very day, the Monday prior to Thanksgiving and moved in with our sleeping bags and cooler. On Wednesday, we went to the Commissary and bought a frozen stuffed turkey and a frozen pumpkin pie. That Thanksgiving was not the fanciest Thanksgiving we ever had, but it ranks right up there at the top of my memory as one of the most meaningful. The previous owners of the house had left their range and refrigerator, so we were able to use them until the loan closed, which gave us a stove to cook on, and something to store food in. We ate off the kitchen counter and the kids sat on the cooler and suitcases. It was like a picnic inside! Our furniture had not yet arrived and we were sleeping on the floor in our sleeping bags. The floors were hard, and we were sure glad we were looking to the arrival of our Sears mattress. Worst of all was having no place to sit. Try living in a house with no chairs some time.

When the loan finally closed, we went down to our local Sears store and bought a range to replace the one the ex-owners picked up. It cost a total of $194.43 installed, and it sure knew how to cook. Of course, Ann was always one of the best cooks in the country, and while in Oak Harbor we had some notable meals, such as Alaska King Crab, Ling Cod, Salmon, and lots of other goodies.

While we were waiting for our furniture to arrive, I started collecting coins and it turned into a new hobby, which I still pursue, though not as diligently as I did while in Oak Harbor. It started as a result of not spending any silver on the trip west. I just always pulled out paper money, and we saved the change in a small box under my seat of the car. By the time we arrived in Oak Harbor, we had a goodly pile of change. With nothing to occupy my time, I pulled all those coins out and started looking through them. That was my downfall. This was during the period following Lyndon Johnson's stealing the Presidency from Barry Goldwater and consummating the BIG ROBBERY of our National Treasury by stealing the SILVER out of our coinage, melting and selling it to support his so-called "GREAT SOCIETY" (a CODE-NAME FOR WHOLESALE THEFT ON A NATIONAL LEVEL). I saved a lot of silver, but I wish I could have put away more. Mostly though, we were just looking for rarer mintmarks.

On paydays, I would go to the bank, cash my pay check and get a bag of either cents, nickels, dimes or quarters. Halves were just starting to get scarce, and I was saving every one of them I could lay my hands on. Eventually, all silver became scarce, then non-existent, but by then I had about 25 rolls of silver nickels, and I don't know how many rolls of silver Mercury and Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters and all the rest. along with "S" mint cents. Ann and I sat up many nights, searching through bags of coins.

I reported aboard NAS Whidbey Island, and was assigned to the Communications Department located on the Old Seaplane Base near downtown Oak Harbor. From there I was assigned as supervisor of maintenance of all the HF transmitters assigned to base for long distance communications. I had about 15 men assigned to me to do the actual trouble shooting. I mostly supervised, authorized and deputized. The Transmitter side was in a scenic location on the western side of the island, adjacent to the golf course, and overlooking Puget Sound, but I was unhappy with my assignment. Eventually, I worked a move to Ground Electronics located on the Air Station proper. From day one, I loved my job on the Air Station. My shop was located on the flight line, from which we maintained all the ground electronics associated with an air station. Tacan (Tactical Air Control and Navigation), Loran (Long range navigation), all ground to air communications from the tower, including all the tape recorders that recorded all communications between ground and pilots, all weather forecasting electronics, and all communications equipment in emergency vehicles (fire trucks, crash trucks and police vehicles), along with the base radio station. We also maintained the cabling of all these systems.

We had our phone installed (ORchard 5-2623), and all our other utilities turned on as soon as we moved in. We heated with oil bought from North Whidbey Oil Co. Shortly after we moved in, Ann bought a used playpen for Wayne from Mrs. Patterson for $7.50. We sold the old washer we bought from Sears in 1956 while living in Great Lakes for $25 and bought a new Kenmore matched washer and dryer. Our electric bill averaged $30 a month, and in the winter, our heating averaged $30 a month. Gas was 32¢ a gallon and the water bill was $6.35 a month. Oh, for those days again.

In 1965, as a Chief Petty Officer, I grossed a total of $5611.20, according to my '65 W-2, and paid $85.34 in income taxes. That means I paid taxes at a rate of only 1.52% on my gross. Guess what percentage it is now. I'll just tell you. In 1985, exactly 20 years later, on a gross of $26,883, we paid $3351.00, or 12.47% of our gross income went to taxes. It would have been a great deal more had not RONALD REAGAN pushed through this whopping income tax reform bill in the early 80's that robbed the left-wing Democrats of their power to rob the populace.

I reported aboard NAS Whidbey Island, and was assigned to the Communications Department located on the Old Seaplane Base near downtown Oak Harbor. From there I was assigned as supervisor of maintenance of all the HF transmitters assigned to base for long distance communications. I had about 15 men assigned to me to do the actual trouble shooting. I mostly supervised, authorized and deputized. The Transmitter side was in a scenic location on the western side of the island, adjacent to the golf course, and overlooking Puget Sound, but I was unhappy with my assignment. Eventually, I worked a move to Ground Electronics located on the Air Station proper. From day one, I loved my job on the Air Station. My shop was located on the flight line, from which we maintained all the ground electronics associated with an air station. Tacan (Tactical Air Control and Navigation), Loran (Long range navigation), all ground to air communications from the tower, including all the tape recorders that recorded all communications between ground and pilots, all weather forecasting electronics, and all communications equipment in emergency vehicles (fire trucks, crash trucks and police vehicles), along with the base radio station. We also maintained the cabling of all these systems.

One day while discussing our finances, we decided that we could finally afford a color tv. We went shopping at Carskadden's Hardware Store on Wednesday September 13th 1965, and bought our first color TV. It was a 23" Motorola for which we paid $569.95, but by the time the taxes and "service charges" (finance charges) were added on, came to a total of $710.89. They did knock off $60 bucks for our old B&W TV. We enjoyed watching the thunder boat racing on Lake Washington and, and we saw one of the best Orange Bowl games ever to be played on TV. Alabama beat the hell out of Nebraska, with Kenny Stabler and Ray Perkins doing their thing. Kenny and Ray teamed up on a long pass in the first quarter and it was Katy bar the door. We fell in love with skiing while up there, though we never took it up. I think, had we been 10 years younger, we might have.

At work, I started a Preventive Maintenance program that no one else would have tried, but we were dumb and optimistic enough to establish it, and we made it work. When we first initiated it, the men were not convinced it would work, and being normal technicians, were lazy about putting it into action, but some FIRM convincing on my part finally got action. As we got further into the program, we started getting positive results and the more results we got, the easier it became to continue the program. From then on we had it made, and everyone started having a damned good time, because we had less breakdowns, and less calls at night and on weekends for emergency repairs. Work got to be fun, and everyone associated with that group became a winner.

On 16 November 1966,  I was promoted to Senior Chief Petty Officer. Of the twenty nine Chiefs that took the test at Whidbey, only 4 were advanced. Either the others failed the test, or made too low a passing score to be advanced. The next day, I invited all my men to celebrate with Ann and me at the Queen Ann Motel that evening in downtown Oak Harbor. I invited Bob and Mickie Pierson to dine with us, then we all adjourned to the bar with all the rest of my men to celebrate. We celebrated till the tab reached the limit I had imposed (My first month's raise). Besides getting promoted, it was my 39th birthday. I was fast nearing 40. We had a ball.

To be in charge of maintenance of so complex an operation was a challenge, but I more than met that challenge. An excerpt taken from one of my evaluations of the period.

I was promoted to Master Chief Electronics Technician while serving as AOinC of Navy Radio Transmitter Station, Summit, Canal Zone

Our first home in the Canal Zone located on Farfan Radio Station   Our second home at Summit Transmitter Station just south of Gamboa.  It is a HUGE home and Ann loved it. Ready to go to work...Uniform of the Day was always whites in the Canal Zone.                                                             Ann and me in front of our home at Summit.

BACK TO THE WEST COAST --


OF PANAMA

June 1967 En Route to NCS Panama. We visited our parents. While there we took the kids to visit the Birmingham Zoo, the Zoological Gardens and the Japanese Tea garden, Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, and all the relatives and outlaws. The day finally came when we had to prepare to leave. Paul, My step-father-in-law,  and I drove our car to Charleston to ship it via sea to the CZ. We caught a Delta flight and flew back that night to Birmingham. On Tuesday 13 June at 1150,  we boarded Eastern flight #287Y for Atlanta, and after a very brief layover boarded Eastern flight 955Y to continue on to Miami. We arrived over Miami in the midst of the huge thunderstorm. Planes were stacked up all over the Everglades. Eventually, our flight had to return to Tampa to refuel. Finally, back over Miami, we were given permission to land. We had requested our Eastern pilot to radio Pan American to be sure to hold our flight for us if we were delayed too long. We were late three hours when we landed.

We hurried and fussed, finally corralling all our carry-on luggage (which was a lot for 6 persons moving to a foreign country), and dashed to the Pan American check-in counter. It was a long walk between Eastern's gate and the Pan American gate, but we grabbed a passing Red Cap to help with the luggage. We got there and found that indeed, they had held the plane for us. We boarded, and then waited a bit longer so they could get our meals aboard. They didn't want to load the meals if we didn't show up. At last, Pan American flight 83Y departed Miami for Tocumen Airport in Panama, Republic of Panama. (R. de. P.) with all the Sharpton's aboard.

After a flight through and around storms with huge anvil shaped clouds, we saw the lights of Panama beneath us, and as we flew over the Isthmus, we saw the lights on the tall transmitter towers of Naval Radio Station (T) Summit. Little did I know that I would soon be the Assistant Officer in Charge of that facility a very short time later.

We landed at Tocumen Airport on the outskirts of Panama City, Republic of Panama, and stepped out into the highest humidity I believe, that we had ever experienced. It was just like walking into a steam bath. That humidity took some getting used to, but eventually we were to get used to it, and not be bothered to much by it. We arrived at 2230 on the 13th of June, 1967 and was met by RMCS Cecil Jeffers, our sponsor. At the time, he was Ass't Officer in Charge of the Transmitter Station, the job I was to assume on his transfer back to CONUS. He showed us to our temporary quarters at Ft. Amador, on which NAVCOMMSTA BALBOA was a tenant activity, and which is the headquarters for the Army's Southern Command (USARSO). We had departed Oak Harbor the 2nd of May, so we had been travelling for almost 6 weeks.

We had a large completely furnished duplex; the furnishings were sparse but adequate for temporary living. We noted at once that because of the high heat and humidity, it was going to be tough sleeping, even though the houses were wide open to errant breezes. The walls were mostly screened windows, no glass in them whatsoever, and with wide roof overhangs. During the rainy season, it rains copious amounts of water, daily. Let me further add that the rainy season extends from the first day of spring until the first day of winter, a total of nine months. During the winter months, the weather is great, the humidity is relatively low, and the temperatures are moderate, similar to early summer in the states.

We didn't report for work until after we had spent a few days of exploring the area. We found the Canal Zone to be clean and neat, whereas when we left the Zone and entered the Republica de Panama (R de P), we found it to be dirty and littered with junk of all kinds.

Much of the Pacific end of the Canal zone is taken up by military installations. The installations listed in the table are located within 10 miles of Balboa on the Canal's Pacific terminus.

Our first permanent quarters were on the Receiver Station at Farfan, which is a tenant activity of Howard AFB. The Navy has housing there plus the Enlisted barracks, garages, swimming pool, small EM Club and mess hall. Our duplex was within 150 yards of the swimming pool and barracks. We had palm trees all around, and it was a very tropical setting. One of the first things we did was to purchase a 22,000 BTU air conditioner and install it in a window. We then installed clear plastic sheeting over all the window openings, turned it on and never turned it off during our whole stay in the Canal Zone, with the exception of the few hours it was being moved from one home to another. I mean it ran continuously for three years.

I commuted to work at the Transmitter station until RMCS Jeffers rotated back to the States. It was about a 20 mile drive which was time consuming and inconvenient. My commute took me past NAVSTA Rodman, Ft. Amador, Albrook AFB, and Ft. Clayton getting to work, plus go through downtown Balboa. So I had a fair drive each way.

We assumed the position of Assistant Officer in Charge of the Transmitter Station, and moved into the house designated for that billet. It was the largest house we have ever lived in. I imagine it was about 3,600 square feet of living area. It was about 60 x 60 square, 2 stories, with the ground floor sectioned off into 2 screened play rooms, and 1 maids quarters with bath, and a wash room with bath. I mean, it was awesome. We loved it. We had enough furniture for it also. We had 2 couches and nine chairs, all rattan, in the living room, along with the normal accouterment of coffee tables and desks, a very nice formal dining room suite and a large kitchen which Ann didn't have to clean. She had a maid who came 5 days per week to do all her chores. She sat around like Mrs. Van Astorbilt, just running around and getting sassy.

The transmitter station was located about 15 miles up the canal on the road to Gamboa. Gamboa is a small CZ town with a school, huge swimming pool, community buildings and quarters for many CZ workers. It is a company town, just like Balboa and all the other CZ towns, wholly owned and operated by the Panama Canal Company. While in the CZ, our children attended CZ schools at Gamboa, Ft. Howard, and junior high school at Curundu.

The Canal Zone Zoo was located right across the Gamboa Road from the entrance to the transmitter station. They had all kinds of wildlife that was indigenous to the area, along with all the flora and fauna of the area. We used to spend hours walking in there and enjoying it.

In 1969, I took the test for Master CPO at the Receiver Station at Farfan. When I got home, I told Ann that I had to get an eye exam, because I had trouble reading that test. I was squinting at all the questions. I really hadn't noted my eyes being that bad till then. As a result, I went to the eye clinic at Gorgas Hospital to be examined, and they prescribed glasses for me.

I passed the test, and was promoted to Master CPO in 1970. I had finally reached my goal. Only about 1% of the Navy ever make Master Chief, so I felt quite proud of myself. I was the senior Navy Enlisted man in the Canal Zone. As a result of the promotion, I was reassigned as Assistant Electronics Maintenance Officer of the Communications Station, and we were transferred again, back to headquarters downtown. After a few months in that position, I was wishing I was back at Summit. For starters, we had to move from our huge home to another duplex, this time aboard NAVSTA Rodman. Secondly, it was all office work, and I seldom got a chance to get outside, and the inside work was too confining. But I had it, and I made the best of it.

One thing we did often was party. Since I was the senior Naval enlisted man, Ann and I were invited to many parties given by our sister services. We were friends with the Command Sergeant Major of the Army forces there, the Chief Master Sergeant of the AF, the Marine Sergeant MajorHugh Lewis. Every service usually had a birthday party annually, but of all the parties we attended, the Marine Corps birthday ball held annually on 10 November is the best. At the time I was there, the Navy never had a billet for Master Chief of the Command as they do presently.

     Bowling was the one thing we did for fun, and we did lots of bowling. Ann and I bowled at least in 4 leagues per week, and in the winter of 69/70, I bowled in 5 leagues. . I raised my average up to 175. We bowled in leagues on all the bases. Most all of our friends were bowlers. People like Lee and Pat Carpenter, Ski and Jean Wisnoski, Jo and Doc Dougherty, Rudy and Brenda Hudson of Athens, Ala., Ted and Grace Carlton, Clem Monge, a civilian tech, Linda and Cecil Jeffers, Bob and Peg Benoy, Jackie and Fred Williams, Joan and Ken Painter (next door neighbors), and Doc and Pat Eades. There are many others, but at the moment, their names escape me. Ann and I won a box full of trophies, most of which we have already disposed of, but we still have a few for memories sake. Ann won Most Improved Bowler in several leagues, as I did, and she won many 1st or 2nd High Game Handicap or High Series Handicap trophies. Neither of us were ever able to attain a "Scratch" trophy.

Friday, 21 June 1968 is a day I will always remember. It is the day that I was admitted to Gorgas Hospital, for what they termed Supraventricular Tachycardia, etiology undetermined. What all that means is that my heart got on a tear and wouldn't slow down, and they were undetermined as to what caused it, or what to do about it.

The way it occurred was so unusual. It was a very humid Friday afternoon, and I had taken off from work at noon. I had been next door at my OinC's quarters, where we had been drinking beer and playing Ping-pong with RMC "Ski" Wisnoski and Lt. Laukitis. We had been having a good game, but I had quit to go home to get ready to go bowling. After I showered and dressed to go bowling, I noticed that my heart hadn't slowed down to it's normal pace. Before we left for bowling, I told Ann about it, and she made me call up Doc Eades, our resident Corpsman and tell him to meet me at sick bay. He met me and when I told him what the problem was, he listened a second or so with his stethoscope, and called Ann to come get me and take me to the hospital at Gorgas, about 20 miles away. She sped across the Continental Divide, down Gorgas Highway, through Balboa and around Ancon hill to Gorgas Hospital. She drove right up to Emergency, and told them I had a heart problem. They put me on a gurney, took a listen and hooked me up to the EKG machine. After a quick EKG, they got together to decide what to do. I mean, my heart was really pumping away and it was so loud in my ears that it was really hard to concentrate on anything else. But I felt no discomfort either, just apprehension.

They gave me a shot of Xylocaine, and IMMEDIATELY my heart relaxed to a normal beat, and at the same time, just suddenly, everything got so QUIET. Not that it did, it was just that my heart had quit beating so hard and fast....it was back to absolute normal. I could hear again, and I was ready to get up and go on to the bowling alley. They wouldn't let me do that. I told them that I was well, with no problems, but they would not hear of that. They put me in Intensive Care Unit for five days and then kept me in a ward for five more days. On Monday 1 July 1968, Ann retrieved me from the hospital and I returned home, tired and weak, but pronounced ok and fit for duty. I'll never forget that ride back home that day. It had been my first first- hand experience with a hospital, and I was glad to be back with my loved ones!

Activities in the CZ

(or messaround time)

 While in the Zone, we were both active in civic affairs that had to do with the furtherance of the Navy. Ann was instrumental in starting a chapter of Navy Wives Club of America. She, along with a few other interested wives, worked until they were able to get enough members to receive a charter for the club. Ann was the first President of that particular local. At the same time, I was instrumental in starting a chapter of the Fleet Reserve Association in the Canal Zone. I was also elected and installed as the first President of the local Chapter.

Charles was into scouting in a big way. Probably one reason was Marine Staff Sergeant Cunningham. He was a great Scoutmaster, and Charles doted on that guy. Chuck was so active that he made Life Scout before we returned to the USofA. He was also tapped for the Order of the Arrow during their annual camporee. Ann and I attended the ceremony and watched as it was presented to him in an inspiring ceremony. It was very impressive. He was fortunate in having known Sgt. Cunningham and the Boy Scouts. They did and were into everything from swimming to you name it. He continued his love of scouting, making it almost to Eagle. Unfortunately, we moved during that process, and he never again could generate the interest needed to continue in Scouting.

Laura was also very active in girl scouting and swimming while in the CZ. On one occasion, I went camping with the girls. I had a very good time, keeping all the boogers away from them. They were camping on Ft. Amador, on a spit out into the Gulf amongst all the old forts, in a very beautiful spot from which you could see water off on both sides of the camping area. She won several ribbons swimming on the Rodman swimming team. She swam in several meets in the CZ.

Janet started school in the CZ. Her first school was at Howard AFB, but we soon moved to Summit,which necessitated her transferring to the Gamboa schools and then back to Howard AFB again. Janet was the sweet "daddy's girl" and caused many a tender thought in my mind.

Wayne enrolled in kindergarten at Howard AFB during our last year. While living at Rodman, he learned how to ride Laura's bike, even before he could sit on the seat and reach the pedals. I don't know how he did it, but when I finally realized he was riding a bike, I was amazed.

In March of 1970, we bought our first and only poodle. He was a pure bred toy and he was a beautiful champagne color. His name was Jenny's Little Bit of Sundown. We called him just "Bit, Little Bit", or, or as I called him most of the time "Bito" pronounced "Bee-to". He was an intelligent and lovable dog. We paid $200 to Peter Stephenson and Bito was worth every penny. We probably got at least $10,000,000 worth of love from that dog. He was always a joy to have around, and we often joked about the fact that he cost more than all our kids put together. "Bito" was an integral member of our household, a veritable member of the family. We had another pet, though you could better call it a wild animal, though it was only a small marmoset. We called her "Squeaky", because when she talked, she squeaked. She liked to eat dead flies and bugs and most anything else you might want to give her, even an old Marlboro cigaret. She survived also until we had been in Gautier several years.

We did our swimming and picnicing mostly at Ft. Kobbe beach, where there were a really nice sand beach and Bohios adjacent to the beach for picnicing. Of course all the Bohios were thatched in the tropical tradition, and were very apropos with the setting. I have always wanted one in my back yard, but don't have the palm fronds to make one.

For TV, we had SCN and of course, we could watch all the Panamanian stations, but we couldn't speak Spanish, so we didn't watch too much of that. SCN (Southern Command Network) had TV only during the evening hours. Mostly we listened to SCN radio, and we subscribed to the Miami Herald, and to a couple of English speaking Panamanian papers, which were very good newspapers. One was the Panama American. Each political faction had their own paper in Panama. Just prior to our departing, we bought a mola from a gift shop in the El Panama Hilton. It was run by Flory Saltzman. It was the Innovacion Gift Shop El Panama Box 1719 Balboa, CZ. It is priceless and still hangs in our living room.

BACK TO THE Big "E"

In early 1970, I received orders assigning me back to duty aboard the ENTERPRISE. I didn't feel like I deserved that type duty again, and I communicated my views on that subject to the detailers in BUPERS in Washington, to no avail. So in due course, we had to pack up and leave. We had really enjoyed our tour in Panama. All of our family had been very active in things they enjoyed, and we all hated to leave all the dear friends we had made. But that is one liability of making friends when you are in service of your country. You risk having to leave, and saying all those good-byes sometimes leaves an empty feeling in the pit of your tummy.  Many friends came to see us off on the Cristobal and joined us in a party in the spacious lounge aboard ship.

We got all our furniture packed and moved a few days prior to our leaving. We had elected to return home by sea on the Panama Canal Company's ship CRISTOBAL, which makes regular trips between New Orleans and Cristobal, CZ. This way, we could carry our auto right along with us and we could drive right home from dock side in New Orleans. I had to deliver the auto to the ship docked in Cristobal a day prior to our sailing. We departed on 17 June 1970 for the USA, heading for the mouth of the Big Muddy and New Orleans. We had been in the CZ three years and 4 days. It was Ann's birthday.

We had a delightful cruise. The service was impeccable and the weather all the way was fine. We enjoyed the sun and the sea. It was the first time Ann and the kids had ever seen the great ocean, and finally, they got to experience a little of what I had seen lots of. We had a great waiter in the dining room...and the food was out of this world. All good things end, and all too soon, after about 4 or 5 days of steaming north across the Caribbean, through the Yucatan Straits, and crossing the Gulf of Mexico, we hove into sight of the Mississippi River and commenced the transit of the river to New Orleans. We moored in Algiers, on the south side of the river across from New Orleans, on 22 June at the Gulf Outpost, and after we watched our car and household effects unloaded, we went through customs and waited for our car to be brought around. It wasn't long before we had loaded our luggage, and had headed for the GNO (Greater New Orleans Bridge) and I-59 to Birmingham.  

BACK TO THE "E"

Upon completion of my tour in Panama, I received orders assigning me back to duty aboard the ENTERPRISE. I didn't feel like I deserved that type duty again, and I communicated my views on that subject to the detailers in BUPERS in Washington, to no avail. So in due course, we had to pack up and leave. We had really enjoyed our tour in Panama. All of our family had been very active in things they enjoyed, and we all hated to leave all the dear friends we had made. But that is one liability of making friends when you are in service of your country. You risk having to leave, and saying all those good-byes sometimes leaves an empty feeling in the pit of your tummy.

We got all our furniture packed and moved a few days prior to our leaving. We had elected to return home by sea on the Panama Canal Company's ship CRISTOBAL, which makes regular trips between New Orleans and Cristobal, CZ. This way, we could carry our auto right along with us and we could drive right home from dock side in New Orleans. I had to deliver the auto to the ship docked in Cristobal a day prior to our sailing. We departed on 17 June for the USA, heading for the mouth of the Big Muddy and New Orleans. We had been in the CZ three years and 4 days. It was Ann's birthday.

We had a delightful cruise. The service was impeccable and the weather all the way was fine. We enjoyed the sun and the sea. It was the first time Ann and the kids had ever seen the great ocean, and finally, they got to experience a little of what I had seen lots of. We had a great waiter in the dining room...and the food was out of this world. All good things end, and all too soon, after about 4 or 5 days of steaming north across the Caribbean, through the Yucatan Straits, and crossing the Gulf of Mexico, we hove into sight of the Mississippi River and commenced the transit of the river to New Orleans. We moored in Algiers, on the south side of the river across from New Orleans, on 22 June at the Gulf Outpost, and after we watched our car and household effects unloaded, we went through customs and waited for our car to be brought around. It wasn't long before we had loaded our luggage, and had headed for the GNO (Greater New Orleans Bridge) and I-59 to Birmingham.

A New Home

We arrived in Birmingham and visited around with the family for a day or so and went up to Cullman to see everyone up there. I had already decided to move the family to Cullman while the Enterprise was in overhaul. She was back in Newport News for her 2nd overhaul. I had almost made the complete round trip again. It seemed like my career was a sequence of deja vu's. We found a tri-level home in Hanceville that was located on a beautiful hillside, nestled in amongst beautiful oak and pine trees, that was very nice and comfortable. As soon as our furniture arrived, we moved in and set up housekeeping for the very first time in Alabama. We made sure everything was set up before we had to leave for Newport News and the ENTERPRISE.

I flew into Newport News, Virginia and landed at Patrick Henry Airport, and taxied to the shipyard. I had left from the exact same location, same pier and ship in six years earler, just a few months shy of 6 years before. I reported aboard at 1555 30 July, ready to spend my last year in the Navy aboard the Big "E". I finally wrestled my suitcases aboard and got things half way settled in.

One of the first things I did was go up to the 06 level where the OE Division office was and meet my new Division Officer and introduce myself. It was the same office that I had left, with very little change, if any and the same office layout. I was to occupy the adjoining desk to the one I had earlier. Only this time, I was sitting with a different task to accomplish. Last time, I was an ETC and had the job of Division Training Chief, but this time, I was the Leading Chief PO, the boss of all the enlisted men, and there was about 100 of them, including CPO's.

I had known two previous LCPO's of the OE Division. The first one was ETCM Brinson, back when we were commissioned and I was an ET1. The next one was ETCS Peter Kice, who had relieved Master Chief Brinson, and was LCPO when I left earlier. I never, ever in my wildest dreams, ever expected to hold that job. It was probably one of the better jobs in the Navy for a Master Chief ET, in terms of power and prestige, but the job demanded a lot of the person holding it.

A couple of my chiefs had been PO1's alongside of me on my previous cruise aboard. Now here we were back, me as MCPO but they were still struggling CPO's, still trying to make the grade. As I went to work in my new job, old memories flooded back to me of things that had gone on almost 10 years previous. Even old memos and papers were found in files that I had originated on my previous cruise. As I lived and worked, I was homesick and alone, as I had never been alone like this since I had married Ann.

This was to be the longest year of my life, although I have to admit, it was all my fault. I again had really screwed up and let my so-called smartness get the best of me. I should have moved Ann and our family back to Hampton, and might have, with the exception that the Navy had told me that they were only going to be for approximately 3 more months. That three months turned into over 9 months, as they had encountered unforeseen problems in the refueling process. So Ann and I both suffered a long period of uncalled for loneliness. Although I was flying home every few weeks or so, and getting to be known on United Air Lines, it wasn't like going home to my family every evening.

I was also keeping AT&T busy, calling collect to 205-352-6067. At least one thing in my favor...Ann accepted all those collect calls, even though I had messed up again!! We enjoyed the weekends we had together that Fall. We enjoyed the football games at Hanceville. We made all that we could. We rooted Doyle Baker (Hanceville's quarterback) on to several victories. It was the first time we had ever been to high school football games, and we really loved them, especially on those cold nights when we had to roll up in our blankets. We had several of them.

I took 16 days annual leave on 18 December to spend the holidays at home. During that holiday, the old Alabama Hotel in Hanceville burned to the ground. Dad and I went down to see it while the coals were still hot. It had been there as long as I could remember Hanceville, another proud old landmark gone forever never to be rebuilt, similar to Birmingham's proud old Tutwiler Hotel, Terminal Station and Mobile's Battle House. Up until the mid-40's Cullman had 2 fine old hotels, the Alabama Hotel and the Cullman Hotel. They are both gone now. Even the Rexall Drug Store is gone. Where will it end. In Europe, cities seldom change and people can see their heritage of homes and buildings that have stood for centuries. Is Cullman more progressive, now that there are no hotels in the city? Excuse me, I got off into another of my famous sermons!

In February, we finally got underway, and headed for the ship's homeport in Alameda, California. Here I was going back to the west coast again, but this time, taking the l-oooo-n-g way there. Our trip was going to take us across the equator along the same path we had traversed earlier on our "round the world" Operation Sea Orbit, except this time, we were going in the opposite direction. We stopped in Rio for a week, and it was during the week of FESTIVAL, or as they call it in New Orleans, MARDI GRAS. They really have a ball down there. We went to one staging area where they were building some floats. It was really something to see, all those cariocas working on those floats. It was so colorful. Of course, we spent lots of time on the beach at Ipanema. That is the beachfront you see in all the pretty pictures with the beach lined with all the beautiful hotels. The Assistant DivOff and I hung out in a couple of those sidewalk cafes, drinking beer and sightseeing. We saw some pretty good sights.

That's when I decided I had better buy Ann a pretty ring. We went to one of those stores that had branches in Switzerland, Paris, New York, and Amsterdam which specialized in diamonds and gold jewelry to buy Ann a ring. I think I got her a pretty one. I should have had her birthstone put in it, though I don't know whether I could have or not.

Of course, it was summer in Brasil. We had departed Newport News in early February, arriving at the Equator on the 12th at 30ø53' longitude. We celebrated the normal raucous rites of entering King Neptune's domain and Davy Jones Locker again. I have been crossing it since the first one occurred onboard the USS Shannon DM-25 while we were headed for Recife, Brasil.

We left Rio, and continued south to round Cape Horn again. We were supposed to stop for a week in Santiago, Chile, but political considerations nixed that visit. I was disappointed, because, I had always wanted to see that beautiful country. It is said to be reminiscent of Switzerland.

Eventually we arrived in Alameda, and my time on the Enterprise was getting short. We made several cruises of short duration. We took one trip to San Diego, where I went on liberty to get a good meal and to visit Lee and Pat Carpenter, some good bowling friends from the CZ, but other than that it was more or less staying aboard, reading and playing cards. Once or twice the Assistant DivOff and I went ashore in the San Francisco area. On one occasion we went to Pleasanton and had doughnuts in a coffee shop bakery in the downtown area of Pleasanton. It hadn't grown much since we had lived there in earlier.

Amplification of the good times in the Assistant EMO's own words......