The Sea, It's Memories Never Go Away

 

I was a Sailor on some of the greatest Navy ships afloat. So, let me share with you a glimpse of the life I so dearly loved. I liked 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 I liked the sounds of the Navy - the piercing trill of the boatswains pipe, the syncopated clangor of the ship's bell on the quarterdeck, harsh, and the strong language and laughter of sailors at work.

I liked Navy vessels -- plodding fleet auxiliaries and amphibs, sleek submarines and steady solid aircraft carriers. I liked the proud names of Navy ships: Midway, Lexington, Saratoga, Coral Sea, Antietam, Valley Forge, Oriskany - memorials of great battles won and tribulations overcome.

I liked the lean angular names of Navy "tincans" and escorts, mementos of heroes who went before us. And the others - - San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, St.Paul, Chicago, Oklahoma City, named for our cities.

I liked the tempo of a Navy band.

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

I even liked the never ending paperwork and all hands working parties as my ship filled herself with the multitude of supplies to cut ties to the land and carry out her mission anywhere on the globe where there was water to float her.

I liked sailors, officers and enlisted men from all parts of the land, farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England, from the big cities, the mountains and the prairies, from all walks of life. I trusted and depended on them as they trusted and depended on me -- for professional competence, for comradeship, for strength and courage. In a word, they are all "shipmates"; then and forever.

I liked the surge of adventure in my heart, when the word was passed: ''Now Hear This - Now set the special sea and anchor detail - all hands to quarters for leaving port!" I truly liked the infectious thrill of sighting home again, with the waving hands of welcoming family and friends waiting pier side.

The work was hard and dangerous; the going rough at times; the parting from loved ones painful, but the companionship of robust Navy laughter, the "all for one and one for all" philosophy of the sea was ever present. I liked the fierce and dangerous activity on the flight deck of aircraft carriers, earlier named for battles won but sadly now named for politicians: Enterprise, Independence, Boxer, Princeton and oh so many more, some lost in battle, and sadly many scrapped. And so tearfully seeing our great ones being sunk to make a reef, truly sad indeed - such a waste.

I liked the names of the aircraft and helicopters; Sky Raider, Intruder, Sea
King, Phantom, Skyhawk, Tomcat, Corsair, and many more that bring to mind offensive and defensive orders of battle.

I liked the excitement of an alongside replenishment as my ship slid in alongside an oilier and the cry of "Standby to receive shot lines" prefaced the hard work of rigging span wires (high-lines) and fuel hoses echoed across the narrow gap of water between the ships and welcomed the mail, fresh milk, fruit and vegetables that sometimes accompanied the fuel.

I liked the serenity of the sea after a day of hard ship's work, as fish flitted across the wave tops and sunset gave way to night, and the bosun's mate's after-supper call over the speaker system: "Let's have a clean sweep down, fore and aft, empty all trash over the transom. The smoking lamp is now lighted".

I liked the feel of the Navy in darkness - the masthead and range lights, the red and green navigation lights and stern light, the pulsating phosphorescence of radar repeaters - they cut through the dusk and joined with the mirror of stars overhead.

I liked drifting off to sleep lulled by the myriad noises large and small that told me that my ship was alive and well, and that my shipmates on watch would keep me safe.

I liked quiet mid-watches with the aroma of strong coffee - the lifeblood of the Navy permeating everywhere. I liked hectic watches when the exacting minuet of haze-gray shapes racing at flank speed kept all hands on a razor edge of alertness.

I liked the sudden electricity of "General quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle stations," followed by the hurried clamor of running feet on ladders and the resounding thump of watertight doors as the ship transformed herself in a few brief seconds from a peaceful workplace to a weapon of war - ready for anything.

I liked the sight of space-age equipment manned by youngsters clad in dungarees and sound-powered phones that their grandfathers would still recognize.

I liked the traditions of the Navy and the men and now women who made them. I liked the proud names of Navy heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut, John Paul Jones, Burke, Osborn and Jenks.

A sailor could find much in the Navy: comrades-in-arms, pride in self and country, mastery of the seaman's trade. An adolescent could find adulthood. In years to come, when sailors are home from the sea, we will still remember with fondness and respect the ocean in all its moods, the impossible shimmering mirror calm and the storm-tossed dark blue water surging over the bow.

Then there will come again a faint whiff of stack gas, a faint echo of engine and rudder orders, a vision of the bright bunting of signal flags snapping at the yardarm, a refrain of hearty laughter in the wardroom and Chief's quarters and mess decks.

Once ashore for good we grow humble about our Navy days, when the seas were a part of us and a new port of call was ever over the horizon.  

 

"I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, 'I served in the United States Navy'." - John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

 

USS LONGBEACH CGN9 - PROUDLY SERVED!

 

They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships

 

It was 2:00am, I was just off the mid-watch. It was a boring 2 hours, just form-filling out administrative stuff. When my relief came I stepped to the mess deck for a sandwich and coffee. With my sandwich finished I topped off my coffee and headed for my rack, but on this night, I took a detour out on deck. With my mug of coffee in one hand, cigarette in the other and one foot resting on a tie-down, I looked out over a calm sea. As I stood there, the world around me disappeared, it was just me and the sea. It was as if I was looking into the eyes of God, listening to his angels singing the hallelujah chorus. 

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

The Sea is mentioned many times in the Bible. Jesus once walked on the sea. I think the passage I like the most comes from Psalms 107: 23-31:

"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!"

President John Kennedy commissioning of the USS Oriskany CVA 34, the ship I was standing on.

"I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, 'I served in the United States Navy'." - John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

"The first time I saw the stars out at sea, I was 20 and almost cried. Now at ... well, over 70, if I could see them again, I know I would."

 

Sea-Fever

By John Masefield

 

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

 

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

 

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.