The Summer of 72 - America

Here is a short story from "Junction: County Road 197 (mild adventure for the armchair ruralist). The book is available to read online at from a link at Chumuckla.Net Here is a little of how it felt to come back to the ship after a brief shore leave:

Soldiers and sailors throughout the land struggled to reach their units.

Crowds pressed them and jostled them in large cities and small towns. Sometimes people spit on them. Sometimes people threw rocks. It was common to receive an unkind, vulgar gesture from the natives. In some areas, they were simply shunned. People pretended they did not exist.

The uniforms were a dead giveaway. These soldiers were tools of U.S. military imperialism. They were not welcome. The times were troublesome. It was a dangerous country for American servicemen.

In peril, the young soldiers and sailors pressed on to join up with their comrades.

Some anticipated the hostilities. They camouflaged their appearance with civilian attire. They hoped to blend in with the nation's populace. Often as not, civilian clothes were merely a temporary ruse; the short hair, the innocent youth, and the green sea-bags were telltale identification. They were marked military targets.

Small battles took place. One-on-one encounters between an intellectual pacifist and the kid in uniform. The intellectual, who was probably a student of defunct world cultures returning to school after a weekend of revelry, sincerely tried to spark the ideal of pacifism in the young gladiator's heart.

Self-anointed moralists chastised the evil sailor, who was armed only with a comb, a cigarette lighter, dog tags, and his heavy (very heavy) sea-bag. " Warmonger!"

In crowded transportation terminals, the boy soldier was accosted by young religious devotees clothed in saffron robes. The youthful saffron inductees lectured the innocent military inductee about the evils of war. They asked for a donation to help the cause of peace. The soldier donated a dime. Later, another tribe espoused world peace. He donated a nickel. By the third time the poor soldier was asked for a donation to promote universal peace, his vote came down decidedly in favor of war.
Were it not for a generally silent but sympathetic underground network of people who cared, many American soldiers and sailors might have been lost before they could rejoin their units.

This was America in 1972.

I recall the summer of 1972. The USS O'Callahan crew returned to their ship. Sailors rebounded from their final shore leave. One pink seaman apprentice, with a smattering of adolescent whiskers standing defiantly at attention between the mountainous pimples on his cheeks, marched aboard with a Bible under his arm. It was newly purchased from a street vendor hawking the imitation leather-bound Book. The sailor had paid an extra twenty dollars to have his mother's name embossed on the cover in imitation gold. Others struggled aboard with the odor of a distillery clinging to the air about them.

The captain ordered the bow line cast off. He ordered the engine back one third. The ship's horn sounded one long blast, followed by three short blasts. We backed into the San Diego Harbor.

The O'Callahan steamed past Point Loma and made for open sea. Most were apprehensive, but the apprehension was tempered with a sense of adventure. We steamed west to join the 7th Fleet and do battle with an enemy. It felt good to be among our own kind, having passed through a nation of hostile strangers.

It was an odd time to be in uniform.

Years have healed the animosity among fellow Americans in those times. Today, there is a healthy respect for people in uniform.
That is as it should be.
(From Vic Campbell - at the time, a very green ensign and far from the familiar herds of cattle and crops of soybeans and peanuts in the Florida Panhandle).

A Sailor's Story (a gunner)

“FAITHFUL AND BRAVE”

MY TOUR IN THE U.S. NAVY AND ABOARD
U.S.S O’CALLAHAN (DE-1051)
Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class William E. Scroggins

U.S.S. O”CALLAHAN (DE-1051)
Commissioned 13 July 1968
Decommissioned 20 November 1988
____________

1968

In 1968 I reached my 18th birthday on January the 8th. At about 11 or 12 years of age I had acquired an intense interest in the sea and ships of all types. By my 18th birthday I had read everything I could get my hands on about the sea and seafaring. I had read all the classic sea novels, Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick”, Rudyard Kipling’s “Captains Courageous”, Jack London’s “The Sea Wolf”, Richard Henry Dana’s “Two Years Before the Mast”, Robert Louis Stephenson’s “Treasure Island” and “Kidnapped”, and all of C.S. Forrester’s Horatio Hornblower saga. I did not like high school and wasn’t doing well in my studies, my interest lying primarily with things nautical. I decided to quit high school and on January 24, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the recruiting station in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. I was sent to the old AAFES building (Army & Air Force Examination Station) in Dallas, Texas. There I was tested, given a medical examination and sworn in to the United States Navy as a Seaman Recruit (E-1). About 10 or 12 of us flew that night to San Diego, California. This was my first time to be away from home, so I was scared to death!

We were met at Lindbergh Field in San Diego by a Marine corporal. At first he was very cordial and politely asked us to follow him outside to the front entrance of the airport terminal. There we found another group of newly arrived recruits. On arriving outside the Marine had a sudden personality change and began screaming at us and made us stand in the formation with the other group at parade rest. He told us to keep our mouths shut and eyes straight ahead. Some of the group didn’t know what parade rest was and had to be shown. I had taken ROTC (Reserve Officer’s Training Corps) in high school and was familiar with military drill. The Marine corporal caught the guy standing next to me chewing gum. He made this guy spit the gum into his hand and stuck it on the end of his nose! We stood in front of the airport in formation for about two hours, our group growing larger as planes arrived from all over the country. A Navy bus finally arrived and we were loaded aboard and transported to the Recruit Training Center, U.S. Naval Station, San Diego, California. We arrived there at about 2230 (11:30 P.M.). We got off the bus and were led into an asphalt covered courtyard in the middle of a barracks quadrangle. The entrance to this courtyard had a sign on an archway which said, “WELCOME ABOARD! YOU ARE NOW MEN OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.” Inside the courtyard on the asphalt were painted yellow footprints which had black numbers in the middle. We were told to pick out a set of footprints and stand on them. The number that was painted on the footprints was used as a muster number for us for the next couple of days....... (Bill continues his story in a later post and includes his life aboard USS O'Callahan ... Come back later for more installments!)

Vietnam 72 - 73 Radio Archive

RE: GUNFIRE SUPPORT MISSIONS ON RADIO - RECORDED
I just went back and looked and listened again myself. Been a few years since I listened.
Had one of those "flashback" episodes from the severe deprivation we had onboard USS O'Callahan in the Tonkin Gulf. www.ussocallahan.org .

I recall a Marine telling me about his time in the 'nam and how he had such bad food and how bad the heat was. It just reinforced my severe bad experience with the Navy and the 'nam. War is, as General Sherman said, "heck".

Once, for SEV-er-al hours we lost our air conditioning (can a Marine imagine this kind of heat?) and there was a time when the crew's mess ran out of lobster for week, the crew having to subsist on only steak (no lobster and steak). As an officer who weighed about 130 pounds, I often made it my duty to sample the crew's mess to "be sure" the food prepared for the crew was up to "Navy standards". (The wardroom usually had something like tuna on toast because we officers were too cheap to allot all our food allowance to the officer's mess). For crying out loud! Some of the JO's had expensive car payments on sports cars that sat in a garage back home!

I recall that week when the crew did not have it's usual surf and turf to be a terrible disappointment to me - the psychological effects staying with me to this day. And the cooling system gong down like that! A Marine just would not understand! I know the Marines had it bad, but they just don't realize what it is like to have such great food and then lose it for a several very long days!
(above is reply to Rob Gagnon - below)
Vic Campbell http://www.eggzono.tv http://www.buzzcreek.com
From: Robert J. Gagnon (Marine) To: Vic Campbell Subject: Emailing:
yes, puts you right there!

2004 Reunion Report

From Tom Morrison:

U.S.S. O'CALLAHAN DE / FF 1051

" Faithful and Brave "

" HIGH-LINE NEWS"

Date: October 10, 2004
Subject: Reunion Association UpDate
Dear Shipmate's and Friend's;
For those who attended our ship's third reunion in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee a grand time seemed to be had by all - renewing old friendships, swapping sea stories and sharing personal memorabilia items. Activities over the weekend included: a tour of the Great Smokie Mountains National Park and the 1800's settlement known as Cade's Cove along with jaunts to local amusement parks and unlimited opportunities for shopping.

On Friday night, we all met in the hotel's hospitality room for a few hours and then adjourned to the hotel's restaurant for a delicious buffet of shrimps, teriyaki chicken and other great dishes.

On Saturday morning, most of the crew and their families met for a breakfast and a very entertaining Gospel music show at the Black Bear that featured the Blackwood Bros. Quartet and Gospel Singers. After breakfast, the tours and shopping events took place after we had all agreed to meet for a banquet at the Rocky River Grill and Brewery.

We had another great dinner that night with good conversations and we raffled off some caps, shirts and an author signed book - won by (who else?) the Commissioning Commanding Officer Cdr. Robert L. Brown. Following the banquet we returned down the road to the hotel to convene a ship's meeting and discuss our future plans and arrangements for our next reunion in 2006. It was agreed, after some discussion, that new officers should be elected to guide our association through the term of 2004 through 2006 and that additional subjects should be voted on. The results of the meeting are as follows:

1. Richard E. "Andy" Anderson was nominated, seconded and voted in as President and Chairman for the 2004 through 2006 reunion activities. Home Phone # (619) 276-4250 Email: None at this time.
2. Joseph H. "Joe" Allen was nominated, seconded and voted in as Vice-President and Treasurer for the 2004 through 2006 reunion . Home Phone # (608) 868-3235 Cell # 608-346-3235 Email: jha218@charter.net
3. Andy Anderson and Joe Allen appointed Thomas L. "Tom" Morrison as Ship's Historian and Storekeeper responsible for memorabilia and items to be available for purchase such as ship's patches, caps, shirts, etc.
   (Home Phone# (310) 575-0061 Email : 86buggy@comcast.net
4. General discussions about where to hold the next reunion in 2006 resulted in a vote being taken and the crew unanimously agreeing that Las Vegas, Nevada would be the place. It was decided to determine the specific dates for the reunion at a later time. And a Updated news Letter will be sent to paid up members.
5. Following a lively discussion on the subject of the www.ussocallahan.org website status, Chairman Anderson and Vice-President Allen agreed to contact the previous reunion committee members about taking over the operation of the
   website. Details of the transfer and person/persons who will be responsible will be published when negotiations are completed.
6. It was also unanimously agreed that yearly dues would be set at $10.00 per person per year ($20.00 for 2004 through 2006) and that a PAID receipt would be issued by the Treasurer.
   
   Please make your check payable to: IRISH SONG Reunion Association
   and mail it to: c/o: Joseph H. Allen
   6007 N. Greenvale Dr.
   Milton, WI 53563-9489

Treasurer’s Note:

"Shipmates, REMEMBER that dues keep this association afloat and if we don’t receive dues we'll have to "Abandon ship!". But also, if you are having a financial problem and you can't afford to pay your dues, please contact me and let me know. Our Association will carry you on the books until you can get back on your feet. One last point; please provide your phone number and current email address so we can keep our records up to date. Thank you; Joe".

7. The following shipmates and guests attended the reunion banquet and ship’s meeting:

• Andy Anderson
• Aubry Sharp
• Cdr. Robert L. Brown
• Joe Allen and Wife: Bernie
• Dwight Ledbetter and Wife: Linda
• Tom Morrison
• David "Yogi" Reynolds and Daughter: Kim
• Mike Ponsack
• Ron Kobeluch and Wife: Mary
• Cdr. Paul Viscovich and Wife: Christine
• Ed Boruff and Wife: Jerrie

Please take a few moments to keep our Crew's Roster up to date by printing out, completing the attached flyer and mailing/returning it to our Treasurer.

CREW'S ROSTER UPDATE : " PLEASE PRINT INFORMATION "
Your First Name
Your Last Name
Spouse’s Name
Your Former Rank or Rate
Years you served on The O'Callahan:
Active Duty Dates : 19_____ through 19_____
Current Mailing Address:
StreetAddress
City , State Zip Code:
Home Phone Number : Area Code __Phone #__
Cell/Mobile Phone Number : Area Code___Phone #__

Current Email Address:
PLANKOWNER ? Yes / No ______________
Retired Military ? Yes / No ______________
Can we share your information with our other shipmates? Yes / NO_____
May You Have Fair Winds and Following Seas till we meet again;
YOUR TREASURE & VICE PRESIDENT : JOSEPH H. ALLEN

This is the first post for our blog. Anyone can respond to a post, but only selected members of the association will be able to make initial entries, add photos or video. All crew members are encouraged to offer material for posting through one of the blog team members. The intial set of posts on this blog contain material from association email in the past year. It is a good way to catch up on news of the association. Current news will be added after that! Our main website at www.ussocallahan.org remains the "go to" point for all other material or links to useful resources.