My First Ship...Forrestal

This week I think I'll do a walk down memory lane. The above is my first ship. She is the USS Forrestal (CV-59). This is how she looked when I left her in December 1982. I remember many things about her, beside being the biggest ship I had ever served on in my naval career. She had a crew of just under 6,000 men. They were divided into ship's company (permanent party) which number around 2,550 men and the embarked air wing (visiting party) with the remainder. She could feed the crew in about 2 hours in 5 different messes and 3 separate ward rooms. Enlisted men eat in the mess and Officer dine in the ward room. The only exception is that Warrant Officers eat in a mess for some strange reason, as they are commissioned Officers...crazy system. The Forrestal was also fast for a big ship. She had 8 boilers which feed 600 lbs. steam into four main turbines producing 250,000 shaft horse power. That is enough to propel the ship over 36 knots. Her true speed is classified, but it is greater than 36 knots. I used to work on the ship's Bridge. It is those top row of windows on the island. I had to wash those by hand as a seaman. That was an adventure all it's own to climb over the railing knowing your about 60 feet above the deck. I visited many wonderful places while stationed on her. If you have questions just leave a comment.

This morning I had to visit the Doctor at the Veterans Affairs Hospital. Everything is about normal. I will soon own a hearing aid for my left ear. I hate it, but I need help hearing. He also wants me to visit the mental health people to discuss some issues pertaining to traumatic events the are service connected.

Tomcat Boogie

I joined the United States Navy while I was in school. I departed for boot camp 3 days after I attended my high school graduation. What a shock! Just watch the movie "Full Metal Jacket" . This will give you a sense of what I went through. My Recruit Company Commander was a chap by the name of Pie...Petty Officer was his first name or MS1 to his friends. This guy could cuss! Every other word was profane and he would string the filthy words together in links of six to eight words. I, for one, was impressed. It is hard to admire some nasty mouth man with a horrible disposition, but I did. He did a good job and the reward for suffering through this was Quartermaster A school in Orlando, Florida. I would finally see Disney World!

Quartermaster A school lasted about 8 weeks. I was so proficient at reading charts and plotting positions that I graduated with honors. This meant that I would be given first choice of a ship from a list. I picked an aircraft carrier...mainly because my father always wanted to go aboard one and look around. Also, I thought about sea sickness a lot back then and this way I was sure I would avoid it's unpleasantness.

The USS Forrestal (CV-59) was America's first super-carrier. Built with an armored angled deck, she could launch and recover aircraft at the same time and the deck could withstand hits from hostile bombs and such. Her length was over 1,000 feet and her width was 252 feet. She carried over 80 aircraft. I was in awe of it all the day I came aboard and for weeks after. The above photo is of a F-14 Tomcat. This is how the aviators flew...on the edge. Honing their skills was a must during that era. Those days seem so distant now, but I can still go back in my mind and smell the jet exhaust and hear hear the roar of those big war birds.