A Veteran's Journey

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

1. Who said, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”?
2. Who said (and what movie), “I don’t know. I’m making this up as I go.”?
3. In what song (and who sang it) do we find the following lyrics?
   Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane
   Ain’t got time to take a fast train
   Lonely days are gone
   I’m a-goin’ home
   My baby just a-wrote me a letter

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A quick word…

I proudly served in the US Navy, 1973-77 and had two duty stations: NAS Agana, Guam and USS Kitty Hawk, an aircraft carrier. My rate was ABH (Aviation Boatswain’s Mate) and my primary job was Crash & Salvage firefighting and Yellow Shirt director on the flight deck (V-1 Division).

I have many great memories of my time in the service and share them in this weekly blog, “A Veteran’s Journey.” I blog twice a week: Tuesday morning is the “main journey” and Friday afternoon I blog a “Navy Friday Funny.”

Most of my blogs are about the Navy, but every month or so, I’ll blog about my dad, who served with the 80th Infantry Division, and my father-in-law, who served in the 82d Airborne and parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, both in the ETO during World War II.

I share these blogs on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Reconnecting… and memories

Over the past eight months (I started blogging in November 2019), I’ve heard from many sailors who have been stationed in various locations around the world. I’ve even “found” a few former shipmates.

It’s always great to reconnect with shipmates I knew and served with. I also know that through these blogs other shipmates have also connected up. It often brings back great memories to share together, and one shipmate may remember something you’d forgotten.

Funny how that works: different viewpoints.

Hopefully my blogs may trigger a pleasant memory, but I know other times they may hit a sore spot. I hope that doesn’t happen often. But we all faced many of the same obstacles, challenges, and enjoyed many traditions. I try to focus on the more positive experiences, though periodically I find it necessary to mention events that went awry. It’s a fact of being a military veteran.

In these challenging times of COVID, this is one way for me to keep busy. I know we’re all facing daily struggles we’ve never seen before, there’s no doubt about that. So, I hope these “journeys” help bring back some good times you experienced during your time in the Navy.

We are all in different phases of our lives, but we all have something in common: we served in the United States Navy and to me, I’m proud of my military service. I hope you are, too.

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And now… on to Hong Kong

USS Kitty Hawk’s Westpac ’75 cruise took us first to Hawaii for a short stopover, then for a two-week transit to the Philippines for our overseas forward deployment. We’d be in and out of PI from May 1975 until we left to come back to the states in December 1975.

From PI, we cruised to two additional overseas ports: Hong Kong and Japan. Even though there was scuttlebutt on the decks about heading southwest to Christchurch, New Zealand (and crossing the equator), that was a no joye.

Two things stick out for me from our Hong Kong visit: one, a tattoo which I blogged about earlier. The second, “slightly” more embarrassing event, was that while I was in control of the B&A crane (Boat & Aircraft), I sent a 1,500 pound hoist through the windshield of the Admiral’s barge.

That was NOT a good day. But, I digress…

We left Subic Bay, PI on August 7, headed northwest for Hong Kong. At that time, it was still under British rule and we would be there for a week. China was closed to Americans, but I “heard” several shipmates who “found a way” to cross the border for a day to explore.

Dress White’s Inspection

When we left PI, it rained for four days straight. I’m not talking a little “Seattle-type” drizzle. I’m talking a continuous, big ‘ol frog-strangler torrential rain like we have in Florida. It was pretty miserable on the flight deck, even though we all wore rain gear.

We were scheduled for a “white’s inspection” on the flight deck, too. That made a lot of standard Navy issue sense—forty-plus knot winds with rainstorms.

Heck, we never wore our white uniforms… they were stuffed away in a locker somewhere onboard. Well… we did when we were on Shore Patrol duty, which only happened a few times (for me) on Westpac ’75. And, oh yeah, when we manned the rails. So, I guess there were times when we actually broke out the white uniforms.

But, because of the inclemate weather, the Old Man finally decided that instead of having a ship-wide white’s inspection, each division would hold their own on the hangar deck. Well, hats off to the skipper for that call.

We arrived in Hong Kong on August 13. We didn’t have a pier to pull up alongside like we did in PI, Japan, or Hawaii. Instead, we anchored in the harbor near Green Island and took ferries to get to the port.

We also had “max liberty,” meaning we only needed to be on the ship if we had duty. Several shipmates’ wives had flown to Hong Kong to spend time with their husbands. We didn’t see them all week, but when we did, they all had a big ol’ grin. But, I digress…

It turned out that I had duty the first day in port… bummer. But, I made a few extra bucks from some guys who didn’t have enough cash: “Lend $20, payback $40 on payday.”

The Admiral’s Barge

I was one of a few in Crash who knew how to operate the Boat and Aircraft (B&A) Crane, which was a huge crane that swung out from the starboard side of the ship over the water and could raise and lower either aircraft or boats.

The Admiral was on board Kitty Hawk and wanted his barge (boat) in the water. “No problem,” I said. The Admiral’s barge was kept aft on the hangar deck, so the V-3 Division Yellow and Blue shirts towed it to Elevator #3, which had been lowered to the hangar deck level. Bos’n Robuck, the Crash Boss, was with me to make sure everything went smoothly.

I lowered the B&A Crane hoist so the guys on the elevator could hook up the barge to the massive 1,500 pound pulley. There were three Boatswain’s Mates in the barge to ensure sure everything was hooked up properly. They used a heavy shackle to connect the four straps to the hook on the pulley. Nothing major, this was standard operating procedure. Seas in the harbor were four to five feet, but Kitty Hawk was so heavy and so big, it didn’t sway much.

I operated the crane to lift the barge and the three BMs slowly off the elevator, then slowly swung the crane so that the barge was over the water. Easy, peasy. Next, I slowly lowered the barge until it was in the water—all SOP.

While it was not rough seas for the carrier, it was pretty rough for those guys in the Admiral’s barge. They struggled to wrestle with a 1,500 pound pulley in four to five foot waves.

It wasn’t easy. Every time they signaled me to lower the hook so they could undo the shackle, they got bounced around. Finally, one last time and they were able to undo the shackle. But at that particular moment, the barge lunged backwards and the 1,500 pound pulley went right through the windshield of the Admiral’s barge.

It was not a good day for them or me.

We all worked hard trying to prevent such mishaps, but with the rough seas, it was next to impossible. I was worried I might get written up for that incident, but I heard nothing more from it. In fact, Bos’n Robuck told me I did an outstanding job, despite the high seas. I guess if he was OK, I was OK.

In the military, you periodically get “atta-boys,” meaning a job well done. But, in the same sense, one “oh crap” will cost you about 25 atta-boys. Fortunately, I didn’t lose any atta-boys that day.

The Admiral had his barge, albeit a little wacked up, but I’m sure the BMs were able to fix the windshield.

Finally… Liberty

I got liberty the second day in port, so I headed out with a few friends. The exchange rate in 1975 was five Hong Kong dollars for one U.S. dollar. Steve Cummings, who had just been promoted to a third class petty officer and went from a Blue shirt to a Yellow shirt, Smitty (Jimmy Smith), and I decided we would find a tour and see the sights. We knew we could always grab some beers later at the China Club, a popular hangout for sailors.

We found an all-day tour that took us up to Victoria Park, the highest mountain in Hong Kong, to have a great overlook of the harbor. Kitty Hawk was certainly the biggest ship in the harbor, and she was just outright beautiful. We all felt proud to be a part of her crew.

We also spent a little time at Tiger Balm Garden, which had a seven-story pagoda. It was built by Aw Boon Haw and his family in 1935 for a cost of $16 million Hong Kong dollars.

Part of the package included a boat tour through Aberdeen, the floating city in Hong Kong. Here, entire families lived on small boats called sampans, usually tied up parallel to a pier. That means if you wanted to get to the boat on the outside, you had to step onto the other boats between it and the pier. I’ve never seen such a crowded place on the water. I don’t know how they did it.

We ended up at the Tai Pak Restaurant, a floating restaurant with exquisite decor. They served us a full six-course meal that was absolutely fantastic. I had learned earlier in the Philippines not to ask what I was eating, especially if it tasted good. I didn’t want any surprises.

Because this was a floating restaurant, water cost 3 Hong Kong dollars, which was equivalent to about sixty cents in U.S. dollars. Beer was free, and we could drink all we wanted. I really enjoyed that place. Lots of great food spread out over a long period, and all of us on the tour had a great time.

Cost of Living “Comparison”

I wrote my parents and told them Hong Kong was a wonderful place and that I was actually going on tours instead of hitting the bars. That was something I never did while in the Philippines (tours, that is; I certainly frequented the bars).

I started comparing the cost of beer: $1.50 US a bottle in Guam, 40 pisos ($.45 US) in PI, and $4 HK ($.85 US) in Hong Kong. It was a crude currency comparison, but I think they got the picture. The same item in different countries cost different amounts.

It is amazing how the world economy works—just compare the cost of beer and you’ll have a good idea of the cost of living. Am I the only one that did that?

Oh yeah. One thing I forgot to mention about the ferries to/from (specifically, BACK TO THE SHIP)…

The trip from Kitty Hawk to the port was during the day. The trip back, at least for me, was usually after a full day of touristing, one or two (or more) drinks at the China Club. Some nights were a little later than others.

But every trip back to Kitty Hawk from the port was, how shall I say? “rougher” than the trip in. You’d think one would learn a lesson here, but since someone else was driving the boat, it really didn’t matter.

Tell me I’m not the only one who experienced this? Go ahead… I’ll wait.

Back in PI

We returned to Subic Bay on September 4 for a much needed rest. We had almost two weeks in port, though we had a normal 0730 to 1530 (7:30 to 3:30) work schedule. I took advantage of the “down time” aboard ship, even taking duty for several other shipmates.

I thoroughly enjoy my six days in Hong Kong, primarily because it was a new country with new traditions and the fact that I took time to explore the area.

Stay safe, my friends.

Until we meet again,
Andy

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.

Previous posts mentioned in this blog:

• #23 – Rough Seas: Sea of Japan
• #15 – Tattoo: Yes… or No
• #32 – Port Call: Philippines

Answers

1. C.S. Lewis.
2. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
3. The Letter, Box Tops (1967); written by Wayne Carson Thompson.