A Veteran's Journey

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

1. Who said, “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”?
2. In what movie (and who said it), did we hear, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”?
3. In what song (and who sang it), did we hear the following?
   Let the sunshine
   Let the sunshine in
   The sunshine in

---

---

I’ve been slacking a bit in my blog writing over the past few months. There’s really not a good excuse, except… as my dad used to say… “I’ve been busier than a one-armed paperhanger working in the wind.”

Not too long ago, I volunteered for several church-related projects. I’ve written about the ERT (Early Response) Team mission, going to places that have been hit by a natural disaster. Those were eye-opening for me and extremely personally rewarding.

But lately, I’ve also gotten involved in local community “Rebuild” projects. I’ll spare you the details, but basically, I’ve worked on several projects to help others rebuild part of their home. Or, an addition, such as a handicap ramp. I’m not a carpenter, by any means, but I’m an okay handyman, so point me in the direction, let me know what you want, and I’ll work on it.

Last year, we built a handicap access ramp for a lady and her husband who needed the ramp for their son, a US Marine, who was going to be transferred from San Diego back to Gainesville. The VA requires certain accommodations (hence, the handicap ramp). Turns out his mom was a 30-year US Navy veteran (Radioman). Small world and, for me, a more personal connection.

Anyway, that’s been keeping me busy and, as I often tell my wife, “Out of trouble and off the streets.”

These are fun projects for me, working alongside other volunteers, helping to make someone’s life a little easier. I’m determined to continue these volunteer efforts for as long as I’m physically and mentally capable.

And in between all that, I wrote another book—it’s in the final editing stages now and I hope UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN will be published later this year.

But I digress…

Best Day in the Navy

The title of this week’s blog is, “My Best Day(s) in the Navy.”

As I get older (I’m 69 now), my mind often drifts back to those younger days. You know… when I had hair, weighed a few pounds less, and still had knees.

I spent four years in the US Navy from July 1973 through July 1977. Not all days were great, but I’ll attest they seemed to improve after boot camp (Orlando RTC, Jul–Aug ’73). Not that boot camp was all that hard, it was just an eye-opener for me, as I’m sure for a lot of my other veteran friends. Besides, I learned a new language.

Someone once asked me what was my best day in the Navy?

I had to think about that for a while and I’m still not sure there was any one best day.

It’s an easy cop-out to say my best day was the day I was discharged on July 8, 1977, after Three Years, Eleven Months, and 29 Days (But Who’s Counting). That’s the day I walked off the Afterbrow of USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and returned to civilian life. I’d served aboard her for 2½ years, including Westpac ’75, and a year in the Bremerton Shipyards, retrofitting for the newer F-14 Tomcats and the S-3 Viking ASW aircraft.

Maybe back then, it was a good day, but years later, it wasn’t my best day.

NAS Agana, Guam

I often think of my first few days at NAS Agana, Guam—that was my first duty station. I was just an 18-year-old kid, who’d just completed six weeks of ABH (Aviation Boatswain’s Mate-Handler) “A” School in Lakehurst, NJ who was going to be an aircraft Crash & Rescue firefighter.

While I’ll admit, those first few days of getting oriented to both Guam (a scuba diving paradise… at least, for me) and to the Crash Crew was exciting, it didn’t take long to get into a routine of 24-hours on and 24-hours off duty.

We worked two sections (Port & Starboard; I was Port) for 15 months straight. Toward the end of my tour on Guam, the Division Officer, Bos’n Joye, decided there were enough of us in Crash to offer what we called a “Kelly Day.” That meant every month or so, we’d get an extra day off.

It was a great day when I got my Private Pilot’s license (Single-engine, land) after 40 hours of flight instruction from the local NAS Agana, Guam aero club. That was cool: I could take passengers and fly around Guam, which didn’t take all that long since Guam is an island 32 miles long by 4-8 miles wide. Of course, there were those restricted areas, and a single-engine Cessna 150 (or Cessna 172) doesn’t outrun an Air Force fighter jet.

Then there was the “Freedom Flight.” My good friend Glenn Law and I flew out together on a Northwest Orient 707. We both transferred to USS Kitty Hawk, though Glenn arrived a few weeks earlier than I. That was a good day… not necessarily leaving Guam but transferring to a new duty station—an aircraft carrier.

USS Kitty Hawk

After several weeks of liberty back home in Gainesville, Florida, I flew out to San Diego in March 1975 to catch my next duty station. The only problem for me was that Kitty Hawk was on a 30-day RIMPAC exercise, preparing for her next cruise, Westpac ’75. I had to wait at the San Diego Naval Station in a temporary holding company doing nothing but cleaning our barracks, then being cut loose for liberty at noon. Those were my most boring 3 weeks in the Navy. Not good days at all.

When Kitty Hawk returned to her home port at North Island, I made a beeline to check in. Once processed, my good friend Glenn came down to get me and escorted me to the V-1 Division berthing compartment. Now that was a good day—reporting aboard my new duty station.

Talk about a change of décor… wow! I thought our barracks room in Guam was small—with four of us sharing a room. My “room” was now 2’ x 6½’ x 2’ middle rack. Not enough room to sit up in my rack, barely long enough to fit my 6’4” frame. But it didn’t take me long to appreciate the comfort of “home,” especially after working 16-18 hours on the flight deck.

Liberty Calls

During Westpac ’75, we visited PI (Philippine Islands), which was our overseas home port, Hong Kong, and Japan.

About half-way through the cruise, there was scuttlebutt that we’d visit Christchurch, New Zealand, which would mean we’d cross the equator and an opportunity to meet King Neptune & his court to transition from a Polliwog to a Shellback. But alas… that never happened.

I think every cruise has those types of rumors floating about the mess decks.

My first time into Olongapo, PI was… how shall I say? An experience.

A new country, lots of beer, lots of cheap food, plenty of great music, and a plethora of “social entertainers.” The fact that PI had Marshal Law in 1975, meaning we had to be off the streets by midnight, sort of gave you the idea that PI might be a little dicey at night. I never experienced any problems in PI; not in Olongapo nor the long Jeepney rides out to Subic City.

Hong Kong was a little different, of course, but we were only there for six days with max liberty—that meant we only needed to be aboard the ship if we had duty. All other times, we were able to explore. I did take advantage of that, though. Several of us took tours to the top of Victoria Peak (the highest mountain in Hong Kong), overseeing Hong Kong harbor, and out to Aberdeen, the floating city.

Because Hong Kong didn’t have a pier large enough to accommodate an aircraft carrier, we anchored out in the harbor. To get to and from shore, we took ferry boats. From atop Victoria Peak, Kitty Hawk was quite an awesome sight in the harbor.

Then, there was Japan. Again, max liberty for our six days in port. And again, I took advantage of tours. Several of us took a bullet train from Yokosuka to Tokyo and spent the day exploring. Those were good days, too.

Liberty calls were unique for each port. My only regret was that while I took advantage to explore the areas around Hong Kong and Japan, I didn’t tour PI. I spent most of my time ashore in the bars and restaurants.

But from what other seasoned sailors told me, “You spend your first cruise in the bars; your second and other cruises, you’ll find there’s more to PI than the bars.”

My Best Day(s)

This may sound a little crazy, but most of my great memories were while I was aboard Kitty Hawk, working in Crash on the flight deck. And, after the Bremerton Shipyards, as a Yellow Shirt director in Fly 3.

The hours were long, but being on the flight deck during flight operations, working 16-18-hour days, it’s hard to describe the constant adrenaline, the continuous movement of a well-orchestrated dance of aircraft, and the confidence of a close-knit team of flight deck personnel.

In addition, the fresh ocean air, the clear moonlit nights, and the magnificent multi-dimensional show of sparkling stars…

Those, to me, were my best days in the Navy.

Until we meet again,
Andy

---

Get your FREE copy of my novel, NEVER FORGET (see below).
No obligations, nothing to fill out.

Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and the author of several books. His newest novel, NEVER FORGET, is the story of A Vietnam Veteran’s Journey for Redemption & Forgiveness. NEVER FORGET is FREE (eBook, PDF) for all veterans. Download your FREE copy HERE.

Answers

1. Marcus Aurelius.
2. Forest Gump (1994), Mrs. Gump (Sally Field).
3. Let the Sunshine In (1969), The 5th Dimension; written by Gerome Ragni, James Rado, Galt MacDermot.

Previous blogs mentioned in this post:

• #128—Into the Aftermath
• #4—From Civilian to US Navy
• #17—From Sailor to Civilian
• #53—You Always Remember Your First…
• #54—Westpac ’75 Aircraft Carrier Squadrons
• #35—US Navy “A” School (ABH)
• #20—Port Call: Philippines
• #43—Port Call: Hong Kong
• #23—Rough Seas: Sea of Japan