A Tribuke To Me Pappy

Popeye has always been one of my Dads favorite cartoon characters, and at times he has mimicked him pretty well. And since they were both in the Navy, it suited him.

Since my first posting about my Dad's Naval Service many people suggested that I post a Tribute with more information. And since his health is declining, I have been working feverishly on a detailed history to put on a DVD for my family. I have been searching online for information on his ship and some of the places and things that he saw while on his tour of duty.

I won't bore you with all of the details but will try to pass on a little information.

My father entered the Navy at the age of 17, he had to have his parents sign for him.

He had his basic training at the Great Lakes Training Center in Chicago, IL, below is a photo of him there.

Here is a photo of him home on leave, before shipping out to California.

This is the ship he served on during his Pacific crossing to China.



Here is a photo of him in Hong Kong. It was taken by a street vendor and developed in solutions in mud puddles in the road.

There he was transferred to CA-130, the USS BREMERTON, a heavy Cruiser at Wosan, Korea.

He served aboard the Bremerton as a Fireman Second Class (not as in the traditional firefighter sense but as a boiler tender, a holdover title from the old coal fired days) and his duties included the desalination of sea water into fresh water for the ship and crew. He also piloted the Captains Gig (launch) when they were in port. Transporting officers from ship to shore and back.

Some of his ports of call were: Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tsingtao China.

Yokosuka, Sasabo, Japan with sightseeing trips to Tokyo and Yokohama.

Yokosuka above and Sasebo below.

Guam , Saipan and Pagian Islands in the Marianna's.

Manila, Luzon Island, the capital of the Philippine's.

These photos are from Manila when they celebrated their Independence July 4, 1946.





And the Bikini Atoll after the Able and Baker Nuclear Bomb Tests, the first bombs tested as part of Operation Crossroads. A huge fleet of surplus warships was amassed for these tests. The famous and the infamous, German and Japanese, but the bulk were American. And on these ships were the test subjects: a variety of livestock.

My dad said the aftermath was horrifying. The stench of death. The pitiful crying of the surviving livestock, the hungry and thirsty, the sick, and the dying.

Some of the ships were towed back to the US for study, some were sunk, others were sold for scrap.

And very happy to be returning home after a very interesting tour of duty.

Some of his remembrances:

Chinese Fire Drills at basic training.

Surviving a Typhoon at sea, with walls of water surrounding the ship and waves battering and lifting and dropping the ship. Tossing it about like a cork, like nothing you've ever seen in a movie.

The garbage pickers; sharks at sea and Sampan's at anchor, all looking for something to eat when the leftovers from the galley were tossed overboard.

Drinking hair tonic for the alcohol and spending days recovering.

Target Practice with the BIG guns. Loading, storing and unloading ammunition.

Being treated well by everyone no matter where he was overseas.

And finally I will end with an excerpt from another seaman:

....In years to come, when the Sailor is home from the sea, he will still recall with fondness the ocean spray on his face when the sea is angry. There will come a faint aroma of fresh paint in his nostrils, the echo of hearty laughter of the seafaring men who once were close companions. Now landlocked, he will grow wistful of his Navy days, when the seas were the largest part of him and a new port of call was always just over the horizon.Recalling those days and times, he will stand taller and say: "ONCE I WAS A NAVY MAN!"