Re: Whew! More Pleasant Story

[Jim Davis <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

On Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 11:11:04 PM UTC-4, ABLE1 wrote:
> On 10/1/2020 9:45 PM, Jim Davis wrote:

>=20
>=20
> Soooooo Jim,
>=20
> When and where did you serve?
>=20
> I served on board the USS Providence CLG-6 that was 1st Fleet Flag when
> I got on board in 1965 and then we deployed across the water to be the
> 7th Fleet Flag.  Where ever the Admiral wanted to go............. we
> did and then some.  Discharged in 1967 for Treasure Island, Calif.
> Was given a check for $325.00 to buy a one-way ticket home to
> Philadelphia.  I turned it into Travelers Checks and put
> my thumb out and got short and long rides across country.  Took
> me 3 days to make it home.  Sadly it took 3 days.  Have always
> wished I would have made it take 30 days or more.  But, the
> experience was well worth it.  Lots of stories for another day.
>=20
> Les

I think we covered this didn't we?

Well --------
I went to boot camp at Bainbridge Md 1956. I had a high school diploma ( ba=
rely !) so I qualified to pick what I wanted to "strike" for ( remember tha=
t term ? :-) I chose electronic technician but my math wasn't good enough s=
o I chose communications. After boot, Communication training was at Bainbri=
dge also, so I worked in Supply and Fiscal for a couple of months waiting t=
o train. Supply and Fiscal is the receiving storing and delivering of food =
to the various mess halls on the base and there were a lot of them. Had to =
be a few thousand enlistees on the base, stationed and going through boot t=
raining. (I could tell you some really great stories about working there. W=
e'll see where this thread goes)

Anyway, Communications consisted of learning Morse code teletype and facsim=
ile communication and operation and midlin to minor maintenance of the equi=
pment. I picked up Morse code and typing pretty good. Ultimately at the end=
 of my enlistment I passed my second Class test and was sending about 100 w=
ords a minute and receiving 50 /60 wpm Morse Code. On Teletype I could type=
 faster than the machine which maxed out at 120 wpm. =20

So I had met and gone through boot training with 4 other guys. We all went =
to Communications Training together and we called ourselves the "Seaman Die=
 Five". We had been reprimanded amd up on the carpet so many times for bad =
s*&t we thought we were going to remain Seamen for the rest of our enlistme=
nt. But we had a way of making the Chiefs and Officers laugh. It was kind o=
f a love hate thing. They screamed at us but we always made them laugh. So =
when we all got chosen to go to a special assignment after Comm training, I=
 think it was the command at the school's way of saying Thanks for the Memo=
ries !!!=20

When we looked at the assignment billitt it said Crypto Training ComServLan=
t Norfolk Virginia, --- Destination: Eleuthera BWI. for all five of us. We =
didn't have a clue what that was but we knew that all 5 of us were going to=
gether.

In a couple of days we were down in Norfolk Virginia getting an "Atomic Top=
 Secret Clearance" They did a total background check on all of us. Visiting=
 our parents, High School, friends and neighbors. after a few weeks we star=
ting training on what was then the latest encryption equipment and technolo=
gy. I think it was about 6 weeks or so. Then, as we finished, it was around=
 the holidays and we all chose to go home for Christmas and were to report =
to Patrick Air Force Base Cape Canaveral in Melbourne Fla. the day after Ne=
w Years Day. Now they call it Cape Kennedy.=20

So the five of us met in Norfolk and they put us on a commercial flight to =
Melbourne and we got there the day before New Years Eve "  HA ! ( I've got =
some great stories about THAT weekend I could tell you TOO!) To save money =
--- all five of us stayed in the same room. You can let your imagination ru=
n with that.

We knew by then that the Air Force was going to put us on a MAPS Flight to =
an island in the British West Indies called Eleuthera. I mean, ya gotta rem=
ember, we were all 17/18 years old and had never been anyplace before. So w=
hen the plane landed there and we got off and saw where we were, it was lik=
e the greatest Christmas present ever ! Even though we were looking at it t=
hrough bleary hungover eyes. When I look back and remember how we must have=
 looked to the Air Force Officers when the cab dropped us off at the base h=
eadquarters. It was like the scene from a three (five) Stooges movie. Missi=
ng clothing, Dragging our seabags up the steps. Ryan's ripped dirty pants, =
Pyles puke stained jumper ----Jack still "literally" crying about the fact =
that when he went home for Christmas he caught his girl friend in the back =
seat with another guy. Unbelievable !! We had to pull him out of the 1 foot=
 deep fish pond on main street in Melbourne where he was going to drown him=
self. On New Years Day we lost him. Didn't know where he was. We were walki=
ng around town and we finally found him spread out on the front steps of th=
e big church dressed in his whites, with a bottle in his hand, where he'd c=
ome to pray that his girl friend would come back to him.=20

So Anyway, the base was barely a year old with all brand new buildings faci=
lities, vehicles, and the latest communication equipment available. New bun=
ks in cubicles of 4, personal lockers and central closets to keep personal =
stuff. Individual tiled showers, From the barracks which was up on a hill y=
ou could see the Caribbean from one side and the Atlantic from the other. T=
he uniform of the day was tan shorts, a white T shirt, tan baseball cap, wh=
ite socks and boondockers ( shoes for you civilians) And, depending upon wh=
at duty you were on --- a loaded Colt M1911 45 cal pistol. There was only a=
bout 200 or less personnel. Lot's of people walking around armed though. Pr=
obably about 10 officers always armed and the rest enlisted men or civilian=
 personal

The base was TOP-top secret at the time so we got the best of everything. W=
hat they had done is planted a 180 degree array of hydrophones out off of t=
he continental shelf. The base had what was called a " T " Building (Termin=
al) where all of these hundreds of hydrophones were terminated and fed into=
 equipment that "listened" to the ocean for the pulsing of ships propellers=
. This information was collected and compiled by Sonar men, the data was gi=
ven to Communication and we encrypted it and sent to to various places. Mos=
tly by teletype but during special operations and EVENTs. we sent via Morse=
 code. Seems each ship has it's own unique Sound that once identified can b=
e tracked. There were 4 such bases on the western Atlantic and I think five=
 or 6 on the eastern Pacific and the purpose was to identify and track Sovi=
et atomic submarines.=20

As it went ---- according to shipping schedules available around the world,=
 the embarkation, path, stopping points and final destination of 99 % of th=
e ships is readily available. If it was in our area, we would receive the s=
hips information track it and attach it's prop signature and transmitte the=
 information to ComSerLant in Norfolk Va. This info was encrypted. At that =
point no matter where that ship went it could be identified. "Unregistered"=
ships would be visually identified and the info recorded and those that cou=
ldn't be identified were considered to be "Possible Hostile" or "Hostile" a=
nd tracked. This is where the "Atomic" came in for our crypto clearance. So=
 in effect ---- the Soviet subs were identified by process of elimination.

During my stay was just at the beginning of the effort of the US to get a s=
atellite up after the Russians sent up Sputnik. With the Hydrophones we wer=
e able to direct the pickup ships to where the satellites splashed down.
This was done via Morse Code. No Voice comm allowed.

So, as it turns out, I spent almost 3 years on a tropical island. Between t=
he drama and excitement of occasionally tracking a Soviet subs and the sate=
llite splashdowns, we lived like we were on vacation. Scuba diving, Spear f=
ishing, Spelunking, Snorkeling, taking weekend or week long trips to Nassau=
 in the Bahamas or to Miami. Sometimes we'd sneak a jeep out of the motor p=
ool and drive down the beach and live on the beach for a few days or a week=
. We'd throw all our gear along with a shitcan full of ice, beer and steak =
in the back of the jeep and take off. We worked 3 day watches, 24hrs off. 3=
 eve watches, 24 off, 3 mid watches 24 off --- three times. Then we got a w=
eek off.=20

I played the guitar back then and I got a little 4 piece rock and roll band=
 together. Sax, guitar, bass, and drums. Conniving with the officers, we go=
t the Navy to supply us with a new saxophone and a set of drums under the g=
uise of entertaining the troops. We'd play at the enlisted men's club and  =
   =20
when the officers heard what a good time every one was having they had us p=
lay at the officers club. Then the brown baggers. ( personnel who lived off=
 base with family (and brought their lunch in a paper bag)) wanted some ent=
ertainment so we got a gig playing for them down in a little bar called The=
 Clear Tide in the main town Governors Harbor. I got to know Alex the barte=
nder too well during this time. That along with the fact that a fifth of vo=
dka was $3.00 at the ships store. I can remember crawling on my hands and k=
nees more than once, (a lot) from the bar to the base bus to get back to th=
e base. Cause if you missed it, there was no way to get back to the base be=
fore muster the next morning. A lot of time, depending on who the officer o=
f the day was, they would call about 20 or thirty names at muster, getting =
"Here Sir" for every one of them and there would be only about 15 people st=
anding in line. A little lax but everyone did their job or someone else wou=
ld fill in for them. We all took what we did seriously but had a lot of fun=
 doing it. And the basic "Seaman Die Five" always kept the troops and offic=
ers laughing. Jack Reed was the comedian that always got us on a roll. Ever=
y time someone was going to get chewed out he'd start and get the rest of u=
s going and by the end of it every one would be cracked up and laughing. He=
 was also the one who got us in the most trouble too !

When my time was up. I went to the Exec office and told him I wanted to shi=
p over if I could stay at the base. He said I could stay in the " T " progr=
am but he could only guarantee me 6 months on the island and after that it =
would be up for grabs if I could get posted there longer. I figured that th=
ere was probably some Yeoman up in ComServLant who would take a look at my =
record and set me to get stationed up in Nova Scotia for the next 3 and a h=
alf years. the northern most base in the program. So ---- I opted to get ou=
t. I got a MAPS flight to Miami. Stayed for a week then flew home. Met my w=
ife, got married at the age of 21, my wife was only 18, had 2 kids by the t=
ime I was 22. Both of us worked hard and by the time I was 26 we bought a h=
ouse and ------ the rest is another whole story.   =20