Comments

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  Joe Rhea March 4, 2009 at 10:59pm

  JIM, I TRY DO GET IN AS MUCH RIDING AS I CAN YEAR ROUND BUT IT'S NOT MUCH FUN ON THOSE DAYS BELOW 32. WE JUST GOT 8" OVER THE WEEKEND AND MONDAY OFF WORK. i KNOW 8" DOES NOT SOUND LIKE MUCH FOR YA'LL IN MONTANA & ALASKA. BUT THE COLD AND SNOW SUCKS
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  JIM COWAN March 4, 2009 at 8:51pm

  AS FOR ME..........I THINK SPRING FEVER IS HERE IN MONTANA..........I AM SO TIRED OF SNOW AND COLD...ONE DAY IT'S 50 DEGREES, NEXT IT'S 11 BELOW......AND TO THINK I COMPLAINED WHEN IT DROPPED BELOW 70 IN SAN DIEGO..........GO FIGURE.......I LOOK FORWARD TO DUSTING OFF MY HARLEY AND GETTING SOME RIDING IN........SOON I HOPE...........CATCH YOU ALL LATER..............JIM
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  Norman "Dutch" Johnson February 15, 2009 at 9:20pm

  I am glad to share it. I have a couple more that I will post. These may be the last photos of any intact foundry onboard a US Navy ship. Are there any decom'd tenders left that have not been scrapped?
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  aldo crose February 14, 2009 at 7:59pm

  Thank's for the photo of 81-A on the Puget Sound. It was like a 2nd home to me. I was stationed on her three times while in the Navy and I shure did enjoy her. Al Crose MLC
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  Norman "Dutch" Johnson February 8, 2009 at 10:30am

  

  
  USS Puget Sound AD-38-Foundry, in Brownsville, TX just before scrapping. Maybe the last picture of 81A.
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  Joe Rhea February 7, 2009 at 10:09pm

  We all had a mentor and I had mine ML1 Jim Barner. When I came onboard Shenandoah in 1983 as a young cocky molder he took me under his wing and really taught me a lot about not only the navy and being a molder but gave me some good life lessons. He kept/got me out of so much trouble back in my early days. I had the honor of being a sideboy at his retirement (we were both Chiefs). I always made it a point to take the young guys under my wing and try to do for others what Jim did for me.
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  JIM COWAN February 7, 2009 at 9:03pm

  I BELIEVE WE ALL HAD SOMEONE IN OUR EARLY CAREER THAT STARTED US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. SOMEONE THAT CHEWED YOUR ASS WHEN YOU NEEDED IT......AND SOMETIMES JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE PAYING ATTENTION. THE MAN WHO I CREDIT WITH KEEPING ME ON TRACK WAS ROY CALVIN THORNLEY ML1. I REMEMBER COMMING ABOARD THE USS ORION FROM ML"A" SCHOOL, AND REALLY BUSTING MY BUTT TRYING TO SHOW I COULD DO WHAT A MOLDER WAS TO DO.....I WOULD SEE OTHERS IN THE SHOP GETTING SPECIAL LIBERTY AND I HAD NONE. I THOUGHT I WAS DOING SOMETHING WRONG......ONE DAY ROY CAME UP TO ME AND ASKED ME IF I WONDERED WHY I DIDN'T GET ANY SPECIAL LIBERTY, I SAID YES........HE TOLD ME BECAUSE I NEVER ASKED FOR IT...........HE CREATED A MONSTER......I WAS NEVER SHY ABOUT LIBERTY AGAIN.......ROY WAS THE FIRST SENIOR MOLDER THAT TOLD ME I WAS DOING A GOOD JOB.......HE SURPRISED ME ONE DAY WHEN A JUNIOR FIREMAN WAS GIVING ME CRAP ABOUT SOMETHING I TOLD HIM HAD TO BE DONE IN THE SHOP.......ROY CAME OUT OF THE OFFICE AND SAID WHEN FIREMAN COWAN TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING , IT HAD BETTER GET DONE.....HE BACKED ME UP AND THAT MADE ME FEEL MORE CONFIDENT. AFTER ROY RETIRED IN 76 OR 77, I NEVER HAD ANY CONTACT WITH HIM UNTILL AFTER I MADE CHIEF AND WAS SITTING IN MY OFFICE AT SSC, THE PHONE RANG.........LOW AND BEHOLD IT WAS ROY, HE SAID HE RAN ACROSS MLC WATFORD IN CHARLESTON AND FOUND OUT I WAS A CHIEF. HE CONGRADULATED ME ON MY ACHIEVEMNETS AND SAID HE KNEW THAT OF ALL OUR CREW ON THE ORION, I WOULD MAKE CHIEF. THAT WAS THE BEST COMPLEMENT I COULD HAVE RECEIVED.....AND FROM THE MAN I CREDIT WITH STARTING ME ON THE ROAD TO MAKING ME A MOLDER AND A CHIEF. THANKS ROY
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  Glenn Kamppi February 7, 2009 at 7:45pm

  Many of you guys may remember Charlie Whiteside as one of the most hard-ass Chiefs you ever met. But old Charlie taught me a lot about the Navy, being a Molder and ultimately about being a Chief, even though he never knew it. Whenever he talked to us or dogged us out about something, he would say "Take it for what it's worth." That always stuck with me and I thought about it alot over the years. The first time I went up for ML3, I missed the the cutoff by 22/100 of a point. Charlie tried everything in his power to find me an extra point so I could put on my crow, but it was a no-go. I appreciated him for trying. Charlie was a damn good Chief, even though way back when, us young and dumb Firemen thought he was just a Lifer Dog. I tried to find Charlie in San Diego every time I went there, to no avail. I wanted so badly for him to see me in Khaki's and tell him how much he helped me in getting there. My Chief's hat is off to Charlie, may he rest in peace.
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  Glenn Kamppi February 7, 2009 at 7:31pm

  The small town of Arlington, Washington (population 16,000+) is where I've lived for about 11 years now. You guys are not gonna believe this, but there are THREE Retired Molder Chiefs living here: Richard Harris, Jerry Barbon and myself! What are the odds of that?!?
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  John R Sellars MLC USN RET February 7, 2009 at 1:16pm

  David W Asche, I Thank You so very much for all the work you put into the USS Hector Foundry. I came aboard in '76 and am very thankful the bricks were "buried". I had a great time on the Hector with Molder Holmes, and Charlie Whitesides. Thanks again David.