Baby turning dress whites into 'yellow'
jackalope47@hotmail.com Aaron
Wayne
My first child, Cindy, was born on December, 1967.
On Christmas day, I went to see my new daughter and to give my wife, Shelley, a
watch I
had b
ought her for Christmas. On December 27, I left for the 1968 westpac cruise
which was to become part of the history books. First San Diego, then on to
Hawaii. When we were a few days out of Pearl Harbor, we received the news about
the 'Pueblo' and were informed that we were headed for the sea of Japan.
Shelley sent letters with news from home and pictures of Cindy, which I carried
with me most of the time.
One day, "General quarters, all hands man your battle stations.", was
not
followed by "This
is a drill.", but by the chilling announcement that "This is not a drill."
The Russians were coming straight at us! As I ran to my station, I checked my
pocket for the letter and picture of Cindy.
We were the first American warship to reach station. During the next month and a
half, we froze, we did not have enough real foul weather gear for everyone. I
remember all hands not on watch being called to shovel snow off the flight deck.
And to think this was one reason I left Wyoming to join the Navy in the first
place. After what had seemed an eternity, we sailed for Viet Nam, leaving
sub-freezing temperatures for 100 degree weather and humidity that soaked the
life right out of you. I often took the most recent picture of my new baby out
of my pocket and smiled, despite what my shipmates and I were going through.
When, finally, our tour was over, we reached Long Beach and snuggled up to pier
echo, mwife and daughter. I
climbed into the back seat and my mother-in-ly mother- and father-in-law were
waiting with my aw handed me my daughter for the
first time. I hugged Cindy close, and as babies will do, she promptly turned the
front of my dress whites yellow.
Picture caption: Rus
sian
Bear Bomber flying over US Navy Aircraft Carrier
Now, after thirty-four years, Shelley and I are still together and Cindy is
expecting our second grandchild. But what I still remember after all these years
is that Christmas eve in the hospital, when I handed Shelley her present and she
looked up and said: "But I didn't get you anything."
Yes you did, Darling, yes you did.
Photographer Mate 3rd Phil Spivak
Pnspiv@aol.com remembers the war conditions
off the coast of Korea. Leaving his safe warm rack to go to his general
quarters (battle) station.
"we went to general quarters when the Russian bears were flying
in. I worked nights and we were on 12 hours and off 12hours so I was in my rack
when we went to general quarters. When he alarm went off I was in a deep sleep,
I grabbed my clothes at the end of the rack and started to bolt up the ladder
(frightened out of my wits) In my haste I cracked my knee on one of the
steps and had to hobble to my station. Which as I recall was under a table
in the photo lab.
Read more about the USS Yorktown's
involvement in the communist North Korean seizure of the USS Pueblo
click here
Yorktown
Boatswain Mates;
they were the "keel" of the ship
When the US Navy started there were no "boiler tenders",
"radiomen", "meteorologists" or "navigators." Everyone was a
US Navy sailor...thus everyone in the US Navy in 1776 was a Boatswain Mate.
The Boatswain Mates, also know as the "deck crew", or "Boats" handled all the
REAL Navy chores such as manning the six inch guns, maintaining the ship by
chipping paint and repainting as the salt spray attempted to eat the steel that
made up the Yorktown, steered the ship, conducting the underway replenishments,
and even acted as "sideboys" so that visitors to the Yorktown would receive an
impressive welcome when coming aboard the Yorktown. Boatswain mates would
have to dress up in their dress uniforms along with full medals so that the
visitors could walk onto the Quarterdeck as Boatswain Mates stood at attention
in two lines and saluted while another Boatswain Mate blew the Boatswain's
whistle. Being a Boatswain Mate on the Yorktown was REALLY
being a US Navy sailor.
Everyone remembers reporting aboard their
ship after boot
camp and being ordered to go to the bridge to "polish the
navigator's balls." That of course are the two balls on either side of the
compass, set there to compensate for the compass needle pulling to the steel in
the ship. Here are a few other amusing stories about how sailors tease
sailors.
Rey Colón Boatswain Mate Petty Officer 3rd Class
(BM3) USS Yorktown 1966 to 1969. Certified Helmsman on board the USS
Yorktown CVS 10 sewcani@isla.net
remembers;
"I was 
on
board going on my first year and I was still rated as a Seaman Apprentice when
Hanson, BM3 ordered me to go to the Boatswain's locker and bring back a "bucket
of water line".* Well I being already wise and knowing what was going on I
decided to "skate" all day. When I return with a bucket full of water
with a rope in it, I
told him "here it is. There's your water line!"
That didn't go to well with Hanson, and he tells me "you know
Colon,
your going to get ahead in
this navy". From that day on I had the "head" as my cleaning space until I was
promoted to full Seaman two months later. I learned never try to out salt
an old salty."
Picture: 2nd division manned
one of the four Yorktown
6" guns, the helm and operated the
underway replenishments.
*the water line is that part of the ship
that meets the ship hull in the water. There is no way you can get a "bucket of
water line".
See Seaman Colon's Helmsman Certificate
click here
submit your Yorktown Sea Story
click
here
Join the USS US Navy
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