Gender
Male
Claremont, NC
Birthday: November 5
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Gender
Male
Location
Claremont, NC
Birthday:
November 5
Rank
Seaman
Where were you or your family stationed?
uss James E Kyes DD 787
Veteran of Foreign War
The Cold War
Current Status with the US Navy
Honorably Discharged
Start date of your service
February 14, 1957
End date of your service
October 1, 1959
Comments
James when I was in Japan, we had a small Ham shack and I got to be friends with a second class RM that was a ham. he had a 2 watt transceiver in his car and we would work "Skip" and talk to Alaska and other places on voice. Neet, but i thought I was such a Hot Shot with code I didn't like voice very much. ha When I got out I thought about getting a Ham rig, but like you say, the cost then didn't fit in with trying to work my way through college and then a new marriage. Have thought about it several times since then but just never seemed to be convient to purchase the set up. Maybe one of these days...Yeah...Another hindsight thing...Funny story...when I was in Jr. High, I had a friend that got me to join the Boy Scouts (briefly) and he was working on a Morse Code badge. I started working on one also, but NEVER could get the code down. Then I end up in the Navy doing Code and darnn good at it if I do say so. Funny how things happen. I would love to take a cruise on a Tin Can these days and see how they communicate with the new gear. It wouldn't be like the good ole days, but then nothing is..
I know about Formosa patrol....Steaming along at at least 5 knots. ha Water was like glass while we were there. Several of the guys fished off the fan tail. Like you say, we RM's seemed to stay busy. We also pulled station ship Hong Kong that cruise. Nice liberty. When we came back to Long Beach, we went into dry dock for repairs and such. When we were getting ready for sea trials, I got orders by name, as RMSN., Never heard of that before, that got me shore duty at Kami Seya,Japan where all I did was receive code, work Radio teletype and single side band comms. Great Duty station. I extended a year there and tried to do it again to go up for RM!, but the co told me it would be six years or nothing, so I went home. I probably should have stayed in as I had a chance to go to Rota Spain and I understand it was a good base also. As you say, hind sight is always 20/20..ha Loved my job. though....
I think any major Naval station stateside treated their sailors like dogs.
Now shore duty in New Orleans was great! Very little Navy (one reserve destroyer) they treated us great!
San Francisco was like that for the west coast. I remember once going up there for the day on a bus and when my buddy and i got off, people just stood around and looked aat us. Didn't go there but twice. I guess i got spoiled with West Pac and Shore duty in Japan. Seems like I remember being around the Kyes some back then, So old now, I can't remember toooo much . ha ha
Hi James.. Noticed your comment about Norfolk. I was a tin Can sailor on the USS Mckean DDR-784 60-61 then off to Kami Seya Japan for duty at the Naval Radio Receiving Facility. Always heard from the east coast sailors that Norfolk was a tough place to be. Signs in the yard saying "Sailors and dogs keep off the grass" Glad I stayed on the west Coast....ha ha
I served on the Mahan DLG-11 from 63 to 65. We ran plane guard for the Mighty O, CVA-34 around the Tonkin Gulf for a few months. Lots of liberties in Olongapo, Yokosuka and Hong Kong. Here is a picture of us doing a highline in the South China Sea with USS King, our sister ship then.
I had two old schools - MMC Moore as our Company Commander in Boot and God Bless his heart HMCS Garrelts in Corps school. The Senior actually gave every one of us a silver dollar on graduation - damn I wish I kept that coin!
Hi James: Never got near a ship. navy corpman who spent all his 4 years hearing marines call me "Squid" and then when they were sick and needed help it was "Doc"! Go figure it out. It seems the ones whose rank was over corporal were okay but pfc`s and below seem to have had a terrible hatred toward any corpman around. I guess that is what gave me the sour tasdte taste about the navy and the service in general.
Welcome aboard!