I remember my time on the USS Anchorage LSD-36, we had been out to sea for about month and 1/2 and we were going to pull in to the Philippines two days later.
They decided to have a steel Beach Party and I had my lawn chair and was in shorts, and laying in the sun and fell asleep for two hours....
GUESS WHAT HAPPENED? Ya I got so sun burned that I could not hardly walk without pain and I had blisters on my legs...
WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE PULLED INTO PORT?
I stayed on board and only the last day before we were going back to sea did I get off the ship and have some liberty...... NO............. I never did that again
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Hi Scott, We had a Great Captain and he was one of the best I ever served under when I was on the USS Anchorage LSD-36 and his name was Captain Read.
When we had working parties at sea, often, he would get in line with us and help pass cargo along from flight ops, and he would ask our our families were and even come down to the mess decks and sit with us at times just to see how we were, Ya he was a really Great guy.
And yet we all respected him and would go way out of our way for him. Did you know that when it came time for him to transfer, the whole crew signed a request to Rear Admiral Saffell asking that he not be transferred and many of the crew literally cried the day he left.
He was a Great role model because He showed that he really cared about the crew and he showed that when he would pass you by and put on his hand on your shoulder and ask how the family was?
At the Steel Beach Parties, even through He was a Captain, he acted like us...in that he joined in on whatever the crew was doing and he was always one that made you feel good when you felt bad. I loved that Captain and when I retired from the Navy and went to work in Retail Management I used his approach to those who worked under me. I took an interest in them and helped them to achieve success.
I never asked them to do anything I was not willing to do either and as a Store Manager for Factory 2-U, My store was #One in the District two times in a role and the employees all liked me because I took an interest in them as He did in us
Kind of miss those days at Sea...... (Sometimes).... But not the ruff seas at all
Ya Steve they threatened me that they would think about writing me up but that it was so funny how I walked that they changed their mind and told me don't do it again. I was in much pain too hahahha I can look back on it now and laugh but like you, it was not funny then...
i remember having a fantail picnic onboard the USS Oklahoma City back in 1976. food was great, Capt. Butcher joined us, and some of the guys formed a band and played....... ill try to post the pics of this shindig later!
I remember being shirtless on guard duty on the USS CHEVALIER DD 805 IN VIETNAM IN 1972 and burned my shoulders so badly that the scabs that formed across my whole back area were nearly 1/4 inch thick and I was told they were going to write me up for destruction of government property. They didn't, but I was in so much pain that I couldn't work for a week. Now I have these huge freckles that spot my shoulders from that sunburn. A reminder of those days.