Fleet Week, or Navy Days, as it was known locally at the time when I was serving in the Navy, has a long tradition in San Diego. The very first celebration of the prototype of Fleet Week, or Navy Days, was held in San Diego during the California International Exposition of 1935. This was a […]
Lowering the Colors for Navy Days in San Diego, California Read More »
On the U.S.S. Chicago, there was a ship’s whaleboat, a small motorboat that was pointed at both ends (we carried several on the ship) which ran regularly between the Broadway Pier and our ship when we were in port in San Diego. We went down an “accommodation ladder,” which was a narrow flight of portable
Accommodation ladder (and whaleboat) watch Read More »
On one memorable occasion, one of my friends in the ON Division missed the first step on the ship’s accommodation ladder as he moved from the whaleboat to the Chicago on a particularly rough day, with a storm brewing. He ended up floundering in the water. In the rough waves, the whaleboat was sometimes high
These letters commend the U.S.S. Chicago after the 1971-1972 WESTPAC deployment, which was my first cruise. This deployment was highlighted by the success of Operation Pocket Money and the mining of Haiphong Harbor. The original documents were posted in the officers’ wardroom. The text of each letter is copied from The Old Bluejacket website. http://oldbluejacket.com/chicago.htm
Commendation Letters to U.S.S. Chicago CG-11 in 1972 Read More »
WESTPAC TALES: When the U.S. Navy Mined Haiphong Harbor (Operation Pocket Money) by DS2 William Gary Pickens First, let me explain how I happened to be involved in this military action…. After I enlisted in the Navy (as an alternative to being drafted into the Army) during the Vietnam War, I was sent to Boot
When the U.S. Navy Mined Haiphong Harbor (Operation Pocket Money) Read More »
WESTPAC TALES: One night in the wee dark hours of the morning sometime in the spring of 1972, when I was a brand new sailor, with a month or so of shipboard experience on the U.S.S. Chicago CG-11 under my belt, I was awakened by a call to GQ (General Quarters, or battle stations). I
My first (ghostly) adventure on the U.S.S. Chicago Read More »
March 16, 1970 — Day One On the day when my enlistment in the U.S. Navy officially started, my parents drove me to the Federal in Building in Denver Colorado. It was a bleak and snowy day, and we had to get up very early to get me to the building on time. I had
Naval Boot Camp Adventures Read More »