American Sailors and United States Marines at War and Peace: Navy Sea Stories and Marine Corps Legacies

Copyright © 2011 Donald Johnson

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With gratitude,

I dedicate this book to the Marines we sailors would take ashore for battle and those who may have served with me on board U.S. Navy ships,

To all those Marines and sailors who have lost their lives in the War on Terrorism, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

To my Uncle Gene, a Marine who fought so valiantly in the Battle of Bunker Hill in Korea and to a good friend, Bill Bostwick, an aircraft carrier Marine who served during the Korean War. Both have gone home to be with their maker.

For your extraordinary loyalty and service in the protection of this great country.

We call the

United States of America.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1— I Am an American Sailor

I Am the American Sailor by MUCM J. Wallace, USN

Reflections of a Black Shoe by VADM Harold Koenig, USN (Ret)

Mariner’s 23rd Psalm By Captain J. Rogers

A Sailor’s Christmas By Unknown Author Contributed by Donald Johnson

The Real Chief Petty Officers By Unknown Author Contributed by Donald Johnson

The Navy By Unknown Author Contributed by Donald Johnson

Chapter 2— I Am A United States Marine

My Rifle: The Creed of a US Marine by Major General William H. Rupertus (USMC, Ret., deceased) Contributed by Donald Johnson

Staff NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) Creed By Marion F. Stuckey

NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) Creed By Marion F. Stuckey

A Marine’s Prayer Marion F. Stuckey

Chapter 3— Navy and Marine Corps Humor

MRE Dinner Date By Unknown Author Contributed by Donald Johnson

Navy Humor By Unknown Authors Contributed by Donald Johnson

THE SEABAG By Paul Brinkley Contributed by Gary Grahn

One of God’s Better Inventions By Unknown Author Contributed by Donald Johnson

Duck By Tony Partlow

Can’t Take A Navy Chief Anywhere By Unknown Author Contributed by Donald Johnson

The Character of a U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer By Author Unknown Contributed by Donald Johnson

Chapter 4— World War II Experiences

A Submarine Sailor on Wake Island By Donald Johnson

A Tall Good Looking Sailor – Vern Thompson By Donald Johnson

The Boys of Iwo Jima by Michael T. Powers

My Uncle Don’s Assignment to the Naval Armed Guard During WWII By Donald Johnson

The Closing Of Navy Base 3150 on Iwo Jima By Oscar E. Frederic

Chapter 5— Korean War Experiences

Diary Memorandum By Howard Frasier

My First Korean War Poem By Howard Frasier

Reflections - 1952 By Howard Frasier

My Uncle Gene, A United States Marine By Donald Johnson

Reflections - 1953 By Howard Frasier

Marine Landing Exercise - 1953 By Howard Frasier

My Uncle Corkie and the Navy By Donald Johnson

Chapter 6— Vietnam Era Experiences

The Day Jessie Died By Donald Johnson

Burial at Sea by Lieutenant Colonel George Goodson, USMC (Ret)

No Water for Showers - Supply to the Rescue By Les Bates

It Was Truly the Old Navy By Les Bates

The Greasy Guadaloop By Donald Johnson

The Swap to the Passumpic By Donald Johnson

Boxes and Boxes of Pencils By Les Bates

Playing Practical Jokes at SATCOM Guam By Tom Mauser, RMC, USN (Ret)

Vietnam Veterans or Just Blue Water Sailors? By Donald Johnson

Chapter 7— Post Vietnam Experiences The End of the Cold War

My Time Spent On Guam By Doug Cooper

The P-boat By Donald Johnson

The Devil Dog Ship By Donald Johnson

Chapter 8— Middle East Experiences

My Last Navy Assignment - The Indy By Donald Johnson

My Sister, A Combat Stevedore By Donald Johnson

Michael Scott Speicher, KIA, MIA or POW By Donald Johnson

Where Do We Get Young Men Like This? By Donald Johnson

Heroes in Afghanistan By Donald Johnson

Navy SEAL Hero in Iraq By Donald Johnson

Conduct Becoming a United States Marine By Donald Johnson

Chapter 9— Special Tributes to Sailors and Marines

Bury Me With Sailors By unknown author Contributed by Donald Johnson

Why The American Flag Is Folded 13 Times By Donald Johnson

Cemetery Escort Duty Author Unknown Contributed by Donald Johnson

A Tribute to My Family of Veterans By Donald Johnson

Bibliography

Acknowledgements

My first book, It Wasn’t Just a Job; It Was an Adventure, was not well written or edited. I have received some bad reviews as a result. My second book was better written and edited and I have yet to see any bad reviews, but there could be some out there. It bothers me that people can be so cruel in their criticisms. My goal was to tell stories, mine as well as those of my friends. The writing style of each of us is different. There are no action-packed stories. These are stories that tell about everyday life in the Navy. If you become too critical of what people tell in words, then the stories will stop and we will lose any history of our veterans. I ask all of those who read my books not to be too critical. Just read the stories and if you can connect, then we have done our job. If you don’t connect, then we evidently have not told enough stories.

As I started to write my stories for this book and edit those stories contributed by others, I knew that without their input this book would not have been possible. I have included stories from Marines and about Marines.

Since moving to Oregon to pastor a small rural church, I have been introduced to so many veterans, especially those who served in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.

This small church when I first began pastoring only had eight men, six Navy veterans (including myself), one Army veteran and a non-veteran who supported our country by his patriotism.

My first acknowledgement goes out to Pam Venegas, my neighbor across the street. She did all my proofreading and editing after I was through doing both. She only had a couple of questions on what I wanted and then went to work reading and correcting. I thank you, Pam. You are a great friend and neighbor.

I first want to thank Vern Thompson for serving in the Navy as one of The Greatest Generation and for his oral stories about his World War II service in the Navy. He provided information about his brother who was taken prisoner after the Battle of Wake Island. This information gave me the insight into what happened on Wake Island after December 7, 1941 and assisted me in my research in writing the story.

Oscar Frederic who was once a member of this small church is now a snow bird and lives in a small farming community about 15 miles from Independence, Oregon. He served during World War II in the Navy. He provided me with his written story about his time on Iwo Jima as a small boat operator (coxswain).

Vern and Oscar are both godly men whom I highly respect for their Navy service, their Christian beliefs and their membership in The Greatest Generation.

Les Bates is a Navy Limited Duty Officer whom I met during my days working as a test evaluator for McGraw-Hill’s California Test Board via Kelly Temporary Services. We sometimes worked on the same contract and when we didn’t, we would sit at lunch or on breaks and talk about our Navy days. In other words we would sit and tell sea stories. Les provided in writing a few of those stories, I thank him.

Gary Grahn, a friend of Les’, also contributed a story and that just adds to the book.

Doug Cooper and Tom Mauser were stationed on Guam at about the same time as I, they wrote to me about one of their experiences on Guam. Their stories sure brought back memories.

Tony Partlow contributed a humorous item about an incident while on USS Independence.

Master Chief Musician Wallace wrote an article entitled, I Am an American Sailor that I have included it in this book.

Vice Admiral Koenig wrote an article entitled, Reflections of a Black Shoe that had descriptions that brought back memories for me.

I obtained a written article by Lieutenant Colonel Goodson about his time as Casualty Assistance Calls Officer (CACO) during Vietnam. Lieutenant Colonel Goodson had one of the jobs that I never would have wanted that was to inform spouses and families about the death of their loved ones. Death is a reality in the military especially during war time. As they say, Someone has to do the job. better him than me. I have deep respect for anyone doing CACO work.

Last but not least is Howard Frasier, a Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War. I met Howard via the Internet when I was researching my Uncle Gene’s Marine Corps time in Korea and Howard was able to provide me with valuable information about what units my Uncle Gene probably served with. I thank him for that.

I have tried to give credit where credit is due in many of the stories that I wrote. If I have missed giving credit, I apologize. Please send me an e-mail so I can correct that.

Have fun reading. You can send any comments to my e-mail at dongoose@aol.com.

Introduction

This is the third book in a series of books that are part of the legacy I am leaving for my children and grandchildren. I decided to publish a third book to tell more of my stories and to tell the stories of a few more of the Greatest Generation. The predecessor to this book, "American Sailor" had few stories telling about what Marines did. I now have some stories from Marines telling about their experiences in Korea. To fill out the book more Navy humor was collected to lighten the affects of war. Plus to give the other part of our Navy, the Marines, equal time was needed in telling some of their stories.

The book begins with three chapters that have short stories or poems about the Navy, the Marine Corps and a humorous chapter. Where would we be without some humor? The rest of the book is broken down by era. World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, post-Vietnam, Middle East and Southwest Asia conflicts. The last chapter is a tribute to our sailors and marines.

The World War II chapter has stories about some of the Greatest Generation with one of them about my Uncle Don. Oscar Frederick tells his story of the aftermath of Iwo Jima. Harold Thompson was a prisoner from Wake Island. Researched information of the battle and the POW camps was pieced together so the reader would know what happened to him. Harold’s brother, Vern Thompson was a Navy veteran of World War II. His story is told.

The Korean War chapter has a poem, a few stories and diary entries from a Marine, Sergeant Howard Frasier. Stories are better told if they come from the mouth or pens of those who experienced war. The author’s Uncle Gene was a Marine in Korea. An attempt is made to tell part of his story. And the same is true when an attempt is made to tell part of the story of the author’s Uncle Corkie, a sailor serving towards the end of the Korean conflict and afterwards.

The Vietnam War chapter begins with a tribute to a high school friend who was killed in Vietnam while the author was in Navy boot camp. Contact was made with one of his brothers, who gave the go ahead tell his brother’s story from the author’s perspective. Stories are told about the author’s time on the Guadalupe and Passumpsic.

The post-Vietnam chapter has a story about the author’s time on the Peoria and Belleau Wood his two favorite duty stations.

The Middle East and Southwest Asia chapter has a story about the author’s time on the USS Independence, also stories about the sailors and marines who have earned the Congressional Medal of Honor. This is one of the few conflicts of which are still ongoing as of this writing. The author shares the story of his sister’s story her story about her Navy Reserve unit and its deployment to Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm.

 Chapter One

I Am an American Sailor

This chapter is written with the thoughts of sailors on what a sailor is. The first story is written by a Master Chief Musician on his thoughts about who the American sailor is.

The second story is the thoughts of a retired Vice Admiral. At one time, the Navy did not allow for its officers to be called sailors. Sailor was reserved for enlisted men and women only. Officers are just like the enlisted men when it comes to everyday living at sea. They just happen to be the leaders and therefore are called officers out of respect for their positions. Today officers and enlisted are called sailors.

The third story is the sailor’s 23rd Psalm with the fourth story actually being a poem about a sailor’s Christmas.

The last two stories in this chapter represent an unknown author’s thoughts on the backbone of the Navy, Chief Petty Officers and an unnamed electronics technician’s story about his Navy days.

Remember these stories are the thoughts of sailors put to words.

Quotes

A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guarantee of peace.

— President Theodore Roosevelt,

2 December 1902,

second annual message to Congress.

A powerful Navy we have always regarded as our proper and natural means of defense; and it has always been of defense that we have thought, never of aggression or of conquest. But who shall tell us now what sort of Navy to build? We shall take leave to be strong upon the seas, in the future as in the past; and there will be no thought of offense or provocation in that. Our ships are our natural bulwarks.

— President Woodrow Wilson,

8 December 1914,

an Annual Message to Congress.

I Am the American Sailor

by MUCM J. Wallace, USN

Hear my voice, America! Though I speak through the mist of 200 years, my shout for freedom will echo through liberty’s halls for many centuries to come. Hear me speak, for my words are of truth and justice, and the rights of man. For those ideals, I have spilled my blood upon the world’s troubled waters. Listen well, for my time is eternal - yours is but a moment.

I am the spirit of heroes past and future. I am the American Sailor. I was born upon the icy shores at Plymouth, rocked upon the waves of the Atlantic, and nursed in the wilderness of Virginia. I cut my teeth on New England codfish, and I was clothed in southern cotton. I built muscle at the halyards of New Bedford whalers, and I gained my sea legs high atop mizzen of Yankee clipper ships.

Yes, I am the American Sailor, one of the greatest seamen the world has ever known. The sea is my home and my words are tempered by the sound of paddle wheels on the Mississippi and the song of whales off Greenland’s barren shore. My eyes have grown dim from the glare of sunshine on blue water, and my heart is full of star-strewn nights under the Southern Cross.

My hands are raw from winter storms while sailing down round the Horn and they are blistered from the heat of cannon broadside while defending our nation. I am the American Sailor, and I have seen the sunset of a thousand distant, lonely lands. I am the American Sailor. It was I who stood tall beside John Paul Jones as he shouted, I have not yet begun to fight! I fought upon the Lake Erie with Perry, and I rode with Stephen Decatur into Tripoli harbor to burn Philadelphia.

I met Guerriere aboard the Constitution, and I was lashed to the mast with Admiral Farragut at Mobile Bay. I have heard the clang of Confederate shot against the sides of Monitor. I have suffered the cold with Peary at the North Pole, and I responded when Dewey said, You may fire when ready Gridley, at Manila Bay. It was I who transported supplies through submarine infested waters when our soldier’s were called over there. I was there as Admiral Byrd crossed the South Pole. It was I who went down with the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, who supported our troops at Inchon, and patrolled dark deadly waters of the Mekong Delta.

I am the American Sailor and I wear many faces. I am a pilot soaring across God’s blue canopy and I am a Seabee atop a dusty bulldozer in the South Pacific. I am a corpsman nursing the wounded in the jungle, and I am a torpedoman in the Nautilus deep beneath the North Pole. I am hard and I am strong.

But it was my eyes that filled with tears when my brother went down with the Thresher, and it was my heart that rejoiced when Commander Shepherd rocketed into orbit above the earth. It was I who languished in a Viet Cong prison camp, and it was I who walked upon the moon. It was I who saved the Stark and the Samuel B. Roberts in the mine infested waters of the Persian Gulf. It was I who pulled my brothers from the smoke filled compartments of the Bonefish and wept when my shipmates died on the Iowa, White Plains and Cole. When called again, I was there, on the tip of the spear for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

I am the American Sailor. I am woman, I am man, I am white and black, yellow, red and brown. I am Jew, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist. I am Irish, Filipino, African, French, Chinese, and Indian. And my standard is the outstretched hand of Liberty. Today, I serve around the world, on land, in air, on and under the sea. I serve proudly, at peace once again, but with the fervent prayer that I need not be called again.

Tell your children of me. Tell them of my sacrifice, and how my spirit soars above their country. I have spread the mantle of my nation over the ocean and I will guard her forever. I am her heritage and yours.

I AM THE AMERICAN SAILOR

Reflections of a Black Shoe

by VADM Harold Koenig, USN (Ret)

I like the Navy.

I like standing on the bridge wing at sunrise with salt spray in my face and clean ocean winds whipping in from the four quarters of the globe - the ship beneath me feeling like a living thing as her engines drive her through the sea.

I like the sounds of the Navy - the piercing trill of the boatswain’s pipe, the syncopated clangor of the ship’s bell on the quarterdeck, the harsh squawk of the IMC, and the strong language and laughter of sailors at work.

I like Navy vessels - nervous darting destroyers, plodding fleet auxiliaries, sleek submarines and steady solid carriers.

I like the proud names of Navy ships: Midway, Lexington, Saratoga, and Coral Sea - memorials of great battles won.

I like the lean angular names of the Navy - ‘tin-cans’: Barney, Dahlgren, Mullinix, Parks, and McCloy - mementos of heroes who went before us.

I like the tempo of a Navy band, blaring through the topside speakers as we pull away from the oiler after refueling at sea.

I like liberty call and the spicy scent of a foreign port.

I even like all hands working parties, as my ship fills herself with the multitude of supplies both mundane and exotic. Which she needs to cut her ties to the land and carry out her mission anywhere on the globe where there is water to float her.

I like sailors, men from all parts of the land, farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England, from