Total Recall: More Reminiscences from the Usna Class of 1952

By Jack O'Connell

This book is a follow-up to the first published book of reminiscences by the naval academy class of 1952As We Recallpublished in 2015. It includes tales of life in the service (navy, marine corps, and air force) or afterwards. The stories have been lightly edited to retain the original flavor of the authors memories. The naval academy class of 1952 is unique in having more general and flag officers graduates than any class since the end of World War II. It also includes four astronauts, another record.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532029127

Jack O'Connell

Jack O'Connell, the Editor of Total Recall, a book of reminiscences by Naval Academy graduates from the Class of 1952, is a retired Navy Captain. He holds a BS degree from the Naval Academy and an MS degree from the Naval Post Graduate School. He specialized in submarine warfare after serving in an aircraft carrier and a cruiser.

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Total Recall

More Reminiscences

from the USNA Class of 1952

Edited by

Jack O’Connell

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TOTAL RECALL

MORE REMINISCENCES FROM THE USNA CLASS OF 1952

Copyright © 2017 Jack O’Connell.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-2911-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-2913-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-2912-7 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 08/02/2017

Table of Contents

Introduction

Foreword

My Adventures byRay Amor

An Old Friend of the Familyby Garnett Bailey

The Summer of 1950by Cy Blanton

A Ship for an Emperorby Al Bress

Chiang Kai-shek Arriving by Al Bress

Underway Replenishment Event by Ronald Campbell

Memoirs of USS Snohomish County (LST-1126)

by Ronald Campbell

Close Call! by Ronald Campbell

My First Command – A Learning Experience by Earl Chinn

A Serious Cold War Problem by Hork Dimon

About Jim Gooding by Jack Sheehan (deceased),

Jerry Zacharias, and other classmates

Admiral Arleigh Burke by Frank Hannegan (deceased)

Cockroaches, Cold, and Paint by Frank Hannegan (deceased)

Recruiting Stewards on Mindanao by Bob Hill

Celery Stalk Diplomacy by Bob Hill

As I Recall by Carl B. Hilland

The Proudest Day of My Forty and

One Half Years of Naval Service by Fox Johnson

My First Ten Days in Command of

USS Stark County (LST-1134) by Fox Johnson

Memories of an ATYPICAL AIR FORCE CAREER and

finding classmates in sometimes surprising placesby Tom Julian

Early Navy Wings for ’52ers by Bill Knutson

My Greatest Challenge by Walker Larimer

Reminiscences by Jim Link

Full Power All The Way Across The Pacific

by Tom Lyons (deceased)

Camelot by Bob Morris

Booze Overboard by Jim Nunneley

An Unexpected Gathering by Jim Nunneley

The First Man Overboard Drill by Jack O’Connell

A Fleeting Brush with Greatness by Jack O’Connell

USS Albacore (AGSS-569): Trials and Errors

by Jim Organ (deceased)

A Naval Officer (Jack of All Trades) by Robert G. Reed

A Close Call by Bill Rowden

1952 Newport to Bermuda Ocean Race by Richard H. Scott

Women In Navy Ships (WINS)

by Harry A. Spencer, Jr., (deceased)

My Memories by Red Stein

Miracles Sometimes Happen by Wendell Stockdale

Advance man by Tom Thawley (deceased)

On the Road to Mandalay by Larry Valade

Deploying In an Early Missile Ship by Larry Valade

The Horse Marines by Ken Weir

The Voice of GOD by Charlie Wiseman

USS Pomodon (SS 486) Battery Explosion by Jack Young

The Panama Canal by Jack Young

Introduction

As We Recall was published in 2015 as a compilation of stories contributed by members of the USNA class of 1952. The individual stories dealt with events from midshipman days, events in their careers as Air Force, Marine or Navy commissioned officers, and later events.

Jim Sagerholm served as editor for As We Recall but had more material than he could fit into the book. At a class gathering in 2015, Class President Jack Young requested that I take the remaining unused tales, along with additional material from classmates, and weave them into a sequel. For better or worse, here they are.

During our years at Bancroft Hall, 1948 – 1952, the Air Force Academy did not exist. The Air Force solicited volunteers from graduates of Annapolis and West Point and commissioned them as 2nd lieutenants - USAF. About a quarter of the USNA class of 1952 graduates chose commissions in the Air Force. Therein lays a tale.

The infamous leave a shoe for ‘52 final parade at Worden Field just prior to graduation, led that afternoon to a hastily convened council of war held by the Superintendent to decide on a suitable punishment for the graduating class. One proposal was to send the entire graduating class to sea as Passed Midshipmen, a rank that had gone by the boards many years before. However, saner heads finally realized that those who accepted Air Force commissions had been sworn into the Air Force several days earlier. They were already 2nd lieutenants USAF, and therefore were untouchable. As a result, the class graduated and those going to the Navy and Marine Corps got their commissions on schedule. Good timing is everything!

Jack O’Connell

Editor

Foreword

In the summer of 1948, none of the young men who comprised the newly-arrived class of 1952 had any inkling of the future that awaited them. World War II had ended just three years previously, and those who had served in that great conflict were now engaged in civilian pursuits. The aggressive tactics of the Soviet Union in central Europe were largely shrugged off by the Western powers, but there was a growing awareness of the need to counter the spread of Communism. China was deep in a civil war that was a harbinger of things to come, but most Americans chose to ignore the events in Asia.

As for the plebe class that summer, their attention was concentrated on trying to acquire the nautical knowledge being imparted by the inimitable Shorty Metzger, Chief Boatswain’s Mate, whose salty vernacular was especially impressive. Shorty taught those plebes the essence of being a crew rather than an assembly of individuals. It was the sessions with Shorty that saw the genesis of the strong bonds that bind the class of 1952 to this day.

During their four years by the Severn, the class of 1952 saw the peaceful world that was expected to follow the defeat of Germany and Japan become a world beset by the threat of a different type of totalitarianism, led by the USSR and China, the latter having fallen to the Chinese Communist Army in 1949. Of direct consequence to the class was the invasion of South Korea by the Communist North in June of 1950, an event that sparked the so-called police action that is known as the Korean War. One of the last casualties in that war was Marine Second Lieutenant Mort Cox, of the class of 1952. There would be more losses in aviation accidents and in the Vietnam War.

Upon graduation on 6 June 1952, the members of the class proceeded to initial postings in the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force. Subsequent years were occupied by becoming adept masters of the skills needed to fly supersonic jets, to handle ships and lead crews, to descend to the depths in submarines, and to fly to the moon For some, the decision was made to pursue careers in civilian fields of academe, medicine, business, and religious ministry. Regardless of the path chosen, the classmate bond has remained strong.

Now we, the class of 1952, are in the twilight of our lives, and the memories of events and deeds are recorded herein as a follow-on to As We Recall, published in 2015, to ensure that those memories will live on after we no longer can recall them. Until then, when three or more shall gather, let them raise their voices in our alma mater:

Now college men from sea to sea

May sing of colors true,

But who has better right than we

To hoist a symbol hue;

For sailor men in battles fair

Since fighting days of old

Have proved the sailor’s right to wear

The Navy Blue and Gold.

We came from near and from afar

To don midshipman blue;

We brothers formed by Severn’s shore

The Class of Fifty-Two;

We served in peace and fought in war,

Our cause we knew was true;

We’re Navy, Air Force and the Corps,

The Class of Fifty-Two.

_____ Jim Sagerholm

My Adventures by

Ray Amor

I AM A FIRST GENERATION AMERICAN and the youngest of eight children. My mother and father and two sisters were born in Spain. Four more sisters were born in the USA. I had one brother, an AMM2 who served in the U.S. Navy during WW 2. Spanish was my first language. I married Martha Prosser on March 20, 1953, gaining a wife and a stepson. We have three married daughters who use Amor as a last or middle name. I learned that the first rung on the ladder to success is discipline – doing something that you do not want to do. The second is hard work, and the third - continuing education.

On the 1949 Youngster Cruise, USS Missouri docked in Portsmouth and we stayed in a London hotel. I met some Spanish musicians who said that they had reservations but the desk clerk said they did not. I asked the clerk to show me the names of those who did had reservations. I spotted a Spanish name, and the musicians got their rooms. They insisted I go to their rooms where they unpacked Spanish food and wine. When they returned to Spain they published an article in "La Prensa which called me Un Guardia marina Yanqui, Oriundo De Santander and gave my name as Ramon Bedia Amor Hijo De Padres Santadeinos. My uncle saw the article in La Prensa and mailed it to my mother. I have it, framed.

When I was serving in VP-26, Greenland was a frequent place to land while charting the Arctic. I can recall going to the Officer’ Club to eat, and ice and snow were melting everywhere. On our return, the walk back to the BOQ was on ice. The sun was still above the horizon but the temperature had dropped below freezing. The sun never set during the summer. The BOQ had no windows. It was like a large refrigerator, but it kept the cold outside. After using the toilet, you had to use the attached handle to pump waste out. After three weeks in Thule in summer, you get accustomed to no darkness. The midnight sun in Thule, Greenland is a marvelous sight. Polar bears and their cubs resting on icebergs would leap into the sea when we flew towards them.

When on USS Forrestal (CVA-59) in VAH-1 flying the A3D Sky Warrior, two of my A3D crew members were AO2 Jimmie L. Lindt (bombardier-navigator) and A3D E. J. Lacey. They were both top notch. Jimmie Lindt went on to become a Lieutenant Commander and record 990 A3D carrier landings. He retired in Alabama.

Our most exciting flight of that tour was a 3.9-hour mission-simulating bombing of Paris. Lindt was an excellent navigator and when we approached Forrestal on return, the Tacan (homing instrument) pointed dead ahead. The cruise also brought much sadness. The aircraft flown by the squadron operations officer, Commander Wilson, hit the flight deck ramp while landing. The A3D went off the angled deck in two pieces. All four on board were lost.

We had a maintenance chief in VAH-1 named Borje who had relatives in Lebanon. One time Chief Borje rode a camel for six hours to visit his uncle. He often told me about the camel ride and the odor.

The Admiral’s chief of staff on the Forrestal flew a C-45 to Madrid and I went with him. I wanted to visit my father’s sister Filomena at 23 Avenida De Barcelona. When she responded to my knocking on her door, I introduced myself in Spanish. She did not believe I was Ray Amor because I could speak Spanish. After a short while, after telling her, her own brother’s name (my father’s), she finally believed me.

After completing a one-year management course at NPGS in California, I received orders to the Philippines and the base in Cavite. While going through Philippines Customs, two agents said there was a $100.00 fee to bring our dog in. That was when it was great to have had Philippine midshipmen in my USNA 13th Company, Al Melchor and Reynaldo Alcarez. Melchor was an assistant to Philippine President Marcos. When I told the customs agents I knew Melchor and was going to call him, they immediately released my dog and apologized. Captain Alcarez learned I was in Cavite. He came to welcome me, visit and talk about life at USNA.

We lived in a Quonset hut at Cavite, and you could not believe how termites had eaten an entire storage shed. Since then I buy termite protection for every house we have owned. We spent a lot of time in the Philippine markets. Their mangoes and pineapples were fantastic. In Manila, you quickly learn to bargain for anything you want.

In some respects, the Philippines were like the old west of gunslinger days. Thugs robbed the base bank at Cavite and gunfire was exchanged. One Marine died. The robbers drove through a pre-arranged hole in the surrounding chain link fence with their loot.

Special Services provided a number of services that made life enjoyable. They leased a commercial jet and all seats were sold for a five-day round trip to Hong King. Hong Kong is for everyone.

Special Services also had a large fleet of vehicles to rent, with a driver provided. We never had any problem touring. In 1970, we spent New Year’s Eve in Baguio. About 90 miles north of Manila, Baguio is a famous resort community. There I bought some 4-inch diameter 1898 U.S. silver dollars.

Much later, in 1997 we decided that China was a must visit location. While waiting for our flight we met some people who had just returned. Their biggest tip was to have American dollars in small denominations. All the pre-arranged hotels and dinning arrangements worked to perfection. Walking along the Great Wall was an adventure we will never forget. A visit to a cloisonné manufacturing facility was a real eye opener. Cloisonné is a process where a pattern is placed on a brass fixture and then placed in a gas –fired metal oven until it is red hot. When cool, another color can be added and again heated until the brass fixture is fully painted. We bought a completed pitcher. Since our return we started looking for cloisonné and now have a significant collection. During our China visit we also went to a Chinese grade school and observed an English lesson.

During our tour, the food provided was plentiful. However, none of us ate the fish there after seeing China’s waters. China has virtually no clean water because there are no waste water systems, and their streams and lakes are polluted.

The soft drinks were all hot and flat. Breakfast was all American and the best meal of the day.

The Yangtze River Dam project was in progress while we were there. When completed, the river level will rise 95 feet, consequently villagers were moving their possessions away from the river. The Yangtze River dam is a disaster, triggering landslides and endangering the millions who live in its shadow.

The emperor Qin died at age 39 on 10 September in 210 B.C. An underground display of the Emperor’s soldiers was discovered 29 March 1974 by farmers digging a well about one mile east of the emperor’s tomb. Our trip to China came twenty years after discovery of the tomb. We saw many workers using mesh screens to search the soil for artifacts. In 2007 estimates were that in three pits, more than 8,000 terracotta soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses exist. More pits are expected to be found. Although the terracotta armies are not as famous as the Great Wall, it is also a must see area. Large groups wait to gain entrance. Everything is protected by a huge arched roof.

An Old Friend of the Family

by Garnett Bailey

I WOULD LIKE TO DESCRIBE ONE of my first events after our commissioning. As you may remember, Marine graduates were given our oath of office by the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC), General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., USMC. He put out the word that he wanted to meet personally and greet each new lieutenant and his family after the graduation. I ran back to my room, hurriedly redressed in my new uniform, and met my family on Tecumseh Court for pinning on of bars and photos. While there in my splendor, I felt a tap on my shoulder; looking over my shoulder I beheld four of the largest stars in the universe on his shoulder! Saluting – I believe – and stuttering, I introduced my father, Tom, my mother, Grace, my brother, Jimmy Bailey, and my fiancée, Marguerite Elizabeth (Rita) Lovern. The general spoke to each of them, and returned to my father for more questioning. He asked my father the following questions: Were you in World War I, and in the Navy? Were you a corpsman with the Marine Corps? All answers were in the affirmative; the general thought for a moment, and said, You were stationed at my quarters in Portsmouth, Virginia during that time. My father gulped, and said, Yes, what a memory."

Two years later found me in the 1st tank battalion, of the 1st Marine Division, FMF, in Korea. The CMC had reached the end of his term of office, and was visiting his Marines for the last time. We were on his schedule for a visit. The officers lined up in two rows; the CMC and my Commanding Officer (CO) then proceeded down the ranks, with the CO introducing each officer by his rank and name. The CMC shook each hand after being introduced, and said a few words. When my turn arrived, he said, "Lieutenant Bailey, I had an idea that I remembered your father Tom when I saw him;