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These true stories chart the first career of a small
town Kansas lad whose first love was the Navy. From 1949 to 1957
the career path fit the recruiting posters at the time perfectly:
Join the Navy
and
See the World.
And see the
world, - he did! |
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| The below short stories are in
rough chronological sequence from the fall of 1949 through July 1957. The
first fourteen stories (1949 - 1954) are college-based navy experiences
and summer cruises. After commissioning in the regular navy (supply corps) in 1954, the
stories touch upon the highlights aboard a small seaplane tender, the
Gardiner's Bay (AVP-39), and a minesweeper tender, the Hamilton County (LST-802)
serving in the Pacific area.
Settles Site Map |
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The Test |
A note to report
to the high school principal's office sets the stage for
The Test
that would start an adventure for the next seven years.
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Beaver Country |
Coming from the
high plains,
Beaver Country in Corvallis
turns into a drizzling surprise. |
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Uncle Sam's Travel |
Four poor college students gamble on a 6,000 mile cross-country
trip in an old Plymouth using
Uncle Sam's Travel. |
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The Real Navy |
Getting the word
in
The Real Navy is an awesome
telescope into the future. |
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Slip in the Deep |
The Statue of
Liberty risks sharing her fame with the battleship Wisconsin
after her notorious
Slip in the Deep. |
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Sucking Sound |
Surviving the
first cruise, the return train trip to Oregon develops a
mysterious
Sucking Sound. |
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Navy Watch Business |
Reflecting upon
the career options, only a single barrier prevents escaping
the
Navy Watch Business. |
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Wild Blue Yonder |
Recruiting
pilots is the Navy's agenda in the
Wild Blue Yonder,
but the script gets lost in a horrible
surprise. |
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A Marine Affair |
Little Creek
recruited a different kind of sailor in
A Marine Affair, and a fatal
mistake for a brother. |
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Crusty Shellback |
Kissing the Royal Baby's belly is the
price of admission to become a
Crusty Shellback,
and enter the Ancient Order of the Deep. |
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Tin Can Sailors |
Refueling while underway graphically
illustrates the magnificent thrill ride of the
Tin Can Sailors
aboard the USS Tabberer (DE-418). |
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The Contract |
To serve your country does not mean
resigning from life, although
The Contract stands in the way,
- or does it? |
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Miracle at Kansas
U. |
The Navy's
habitual ritual
gives way to an absolute miracle on the Kansas University campus, and I am
secretly its only benefactor. Praise the Lord!!! |
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Dealing with Doctors |
A horrible
oversight threatens to destroy a house of cards while
Dealing with Doctors,
the first of many bureaucratic super-blunders. |
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Ready for Sea |
Getting
Ready for Sea
at the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens is complicated by the
survival demands of the southern climate. |
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The Mother of All Journeys |
All reasonable preparation is inadequate
for enduring a trip half-way around the world in 1954:
The Mother of All Journeys. |
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The Gardiners Bay |
Surviving
the journey, I am safe at last aboard the Navy's secret little
cruise ship,
The Gardiners Bay
(AVP-39). |
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Nationalist Navy |
The
two-China policy gives rise to the
Nationalist Navy
that strikes terror in the Taiwan Straights near mainland China. |
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Station Ship Hong Kong |
As the
Station Ship Hong Kong,
we slave away in the world's
greatest liberty port, - but somebody has to do it. |
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The Paper Tiger |
Misjudging the
gravity of the captain's relieving ceremony,
The Paper Tiger is shot and
goes down in flames. |
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AVP to the Rescue |
The little
seaplane tender is called from Hong Kong to Viet Nam in order to
do its thing:
AVP to the Rescue |
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Spuds and Slit Skirts |
The great
potato famine returns in Nha Trang, revealing more surprises
than the eye can see in
Spuds and Slit Skirts. |
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Mary Soo |
Back home in
Hong Kong, we are ordered to terminate our intimate relationship
with the notorious
Mary Soo
and her many hard-working girls. |
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USS Hamilton County |
Are you sure
the
Hamilton County
(LST-802) is a supply ship? Who says? |
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Load List from Hell |
A freight train
loaded with minesweeping gear arrives dockside for storage aboard ship
according to the
Load List from Hell |
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Wooden Ships: Iron Men |
Our little flagship administers the acid test of
survival to the cat's whiskers in minesweepers, the MSO:
Wooden Ships: Iron Men. |
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The Wardroom Rat |
An unwelcome
intruder, apprehended, captured, and subdued, is revealed as
The Wardroom Rat. |
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Honolulu Hang-up |
On its maiden voyage
to the Western Pacific as a minesweeper tender, the Hamilton County
develops a serious
Honolulu Hang-up. |
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Contrast in Cultures |
A navy wife's first visit to a unisex restroom in
Nagasaki City uncovers a major
Contrast in Cultures,
and marginal skills. |
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Typhoon T |
Three days in the
eye of a typhoon outside of Subic Bay,
Typhoon T,
cracked like an eggshell but not broken, pounds its way
into a Sasebo drydock. |
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Cumshaw Navy |
Of all the
compartments aboard a navy ship, the commanding officer, a product of
the
Cumshaw Navy, has
no compartment for a slippery concept. |
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Sayonara U.S.N |
Bailing out of the Navy
offers several weeks of separation celebration in San Francisco:
Sayonara U.S.N. |
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Ship Pictures |
This is a personal
collection of digitized 35mm slides taken between 1951 and 1957 from
somewhere in the world:
Ship Pictures |
Visit
the author's other websites
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When an old
monkey is in charge, there is no limit to the amount of mischief he
can create. From a scarcity of projects, the old monkey has
commissioned two additional websites fit for today's modern
bloggers. Crawl into the old monkey's new canopy at
http://monkeytales.net, or
http://oldmonkeytales.com.
A fresh set of new stories and a few
unpublished photos complete the websites with a magnificent new
index page called sliding-door. For those of you who wish to
comment on any of the posts, feel free to do so. You may even
register via email to receive automatic news of any fresh posting.
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Surviving childhood and adolescence was a miracle and a blessing.
The smaller towns in Kansas, the rural culture, the schools, and the
great people offered an incomparable milieu for whatever was to
follow. These short stories cover the highlights while
surviving from early childhood through adolescence. Piece of
cake!
http://kidsshortstories.net/ |
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The first career was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride for
seven years with the U.S. Navy. The first four included college
training through the N.R.O.T.C. at Oregon State and Kansas
University with summer cruises each year. The last three were
shipboard tours as a Supply Officer on the Gardiner's Bay (AVP-39)
and Hamilton County (LST-802) in the Western Pacific. The ride was
awesome!
http://navystories.net/
You are here now! |
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These short stories document the winding road of unusual,
unexpected, humorous, and outrageous experiences that all
persons encounter while interacting with other folks, all of
whom are living and struggling on the funny farm. These short
stories document the funny farm on the open range.
http://trueshortstories.net/ |
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In
1993, the retirement plans are detailed and ambitious, none
of which are actually followed. As random events often
become our master planners, we move to Florida where I start
four more careers: 1. photographer, 2. webmaster, 3. world
traveler, and 4. golfer. This picture and 600 more are
displayed by category at
http://spectacularscenery.com/.
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209.jpg) |
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While searching for an enduring project, Barack
Hussein Obama's election provides a virtually
limitless opportunity to respond with
shock and awe.
His ultra liberal voting record plus the rogues'
gallery of former and current associates should
provide years of fascinating stimulus material.
A collection of white papers has already been
posted, and he has yet to be sworn into office.
What a magnificent goose.
http://obamasgoose.com/
http://baracksgoose.com/ |
This is a
collection of stories about other kids as they grow up,
and do what kids do. A few are liberally sprinkled with
pictures. One picture is X-rated for parents, but the
kids will thoroughly enjoy it, 'cause they are still
kids. Want to know which story includes the picture?
No telling!
http://bobandlois.net/bobandlois_files/kidscorner/kids.htm |
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Seated on
a one-legged milk stool, I am hanging uselessly on the
hind one strictly for the camera. Taking pictures has
been a hobby since elementary school. These photo
albums are a collection of random personal and general
interest photos. Check these albums out to see if one tickles
your fancy.
http://bobandlois.net/bobandlois_files/picturealbums/picturealbums.htm |
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