And Counting
USS CORRY DD-817
Going “down front” for the newspaper this morning brought memories. Memories of yore, one might say, if “yore” is still a word. Yep, just looked up “yore” online, and it is. This morning on St. Andrews Bay is warm and humid, almost threateningly so. Threateningly as in you think this is hot and humid, just wait ‘til this afternoon.
What came to mind is going topside early morning on a destroyer pierside at U. S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for reftra -- refresher training -- on a January morning, 1959. Castro and his band may still be in the hills. Beautiful blue sky filled with clouds, hot, muggy and still. Underway later for work at sea with the DesDiv, overnight exercises with me napping in the crypto shack waiting to outdo the other crypto officers in the DesDiv, another day at sea and back into port, GTMO for the weekend. Officers Club tonight for Añejo and soda. Out on lovely Guantanamo Bay all day tomorrow in a sailboat with my friend the ship’s navigator, Ensign Senese from Boston. He’s a good friend until we get in the sailboat and he’s skipper. Don’t ever crew for Don Senese. But the washtub full of iced down bottles of Heineken makes all things well, so much so that after a couple of Heinekens the skipper can go to hell.
An Episcopalian too, Don enjoyed his home parish, which instead of coffee after worship served Bloody Marys. Then martinis at home, family tradition. After his three-year Navy obligation Don returned to Harvard to major in Russian.
We’re still at sea, this time in WestPac with USS TRIPOLI. Our “homeport” these eight months of 1969-1970 is Naval Station, Subic Bay, Philippines. Topside of a January morning, same again, exactly like GTMO ten years ago. Hot, humid, blue sky, wet looking clouds on the horizon. Been in the Navy going on thirteen years now. First night out enroute to WestPac was the most miserable of my life thus far, having left Linda, Malinda and Jody at home in San Diego. My thoughts that night: "abcdef this, it’s too far to jump overboard and swim back to SD, and I've got too much time invested to quit, but I’m out of this chicken outfit the day I hit twenty years."
As with Guantanamo Bay years earlier, weatherwise Subic Bay was like growing up on St. Andrews Bay. Friends with Louis, another ship’s navigator. Reuben sandwiches and beer at the O Club, where they also served a Rachel sandwich, same as their Reuben but cole slaw instead of sauerkraut. Bought my first Seiko watch at Navy Exchange, Subic Bay, a Bell-Matic. Automatic wind that went rrrr-rrr-rrrr when my arm moved. Good watch, $35 in 1969, still runs. Think I gave it to Jeremy.
LCDR Lou Costa made Commander on the TRIPOLI same as me. Some months senior to me, he donned his new stripes onboard, while I was given my new stripes and hat with scrambled eggs by Admiral Heffner the day of arrival at my next duty station, 1971. Fourteen years and counting.
Subic and especially GTMO always come to mind on a morning like today. It's all good, and I wouldn't change one second of my past, not one second. But the counting's done, now it's all +Time.
TW+