My own feelings about the draft are mostly of gratitude for having it.
3 weeks after leaving GE, June, '59, I received a note From the draft
board, (I lived in Oberlin, Ohio, a college town stuffed with Far Left
students and faculty), that in 3 weeks, I was to report for a
physical.
The next day, I get a phone call from a lady in the draft
board, who advises me to "shop around", and if another service will
take me, then I can forget the induction physical. I took the
physical and written exams for both the USN and Coast Guard, passed
both, but the CG was quicker, and I received orders for the boot camp
in Alameda, CA, to commence September '59.
After boot camp, my first ship was home ported in Honolulu. I
spent most of the next 22 years in the Far East, South Pacific, and
home ported in Kodiak, AK, our biggest Base.
In boot camp, we were told, "you gotta go out. You don't have
to come back" (on a rescue case). How neat is that? On ship #4, after
reporting aboard, I was sent to the USN Pearl Harbor diving school, as
our diving compliment was down to one. (3 total) I was already a
qualified rescue swimmer, so the Captain knew I would make it through
the 2 month school. 3 of the young deck Kids had already washed out.
It was boot camp again. In the dive school, 7 of the 35 students were
USN Seals, fresh out of Airborne jump school. Whatever our
instructor, Chief Miller, threw at us, they wanted more. When they
didn't get more, they would Accuse the instructor of being a "candy
ass".
When I left the ship, the Captain had told me, "you will be
number one in your class". I made #2, one of those Seals was number
one. During our morning 7 mile run, those Seals would be chanting
their Airborne ditties,
"Airborne, Airborne, have you heard?,
we're
gonna leave on a big ass bird.
Cause way down south in Vietnam,
Uncle's in a Terrible jam.
So stand up, clip up, shuffle to the door,
step right out and count to 4.
And if that chute don't open up,
scrape me Up in an old tin cup".
The class consisted of mostly navy
guys, a couple of USMC, and a couple of Air Force guys. (The Country
Club guys). I was the only CG in the class.
The U.S. Coast Guard is the Senior sea service, founded in
1790 by Alexander Hamilton. Then, the Revenue Cutter Marine Service
Was a left over from King George III's Revenue Cutter Marine Service,
and we retained that name until the 20th century when the Lighthouse
Service and the Rescue lifeboat service was combined with the Cutter
Marine Service and named the Coast Guard.
My own feelings about the church, is that those Red Coats in the
Vatican, are Living like war lords, instead of the way Mother
Theresa did, don't seem very Christian to me.
Summary of my Vietnam tours,
13 months on the Cutter Taney,
now currently a museum ship, the only Pearl Harbor survivor from the
Dec. 7 attack. The Roger B Taney was commissioned in 1936, the year
of my birth, and home ported in Honolulu, T.H. (territory of Hawaii).
She was moored in Honolulu Harbor, Pier 6, at the Hawaiian Electric
building and successfully defended it from attacks. The Taney is a
327' riveted hull, steam turbine, teak decks ship.
I reported aboard Jan, '69., We deployed to Vietnam, March, to
support our 82' patrol boats in the Mekong river, that stretches 90
miles to Saigon. The 82 footers got cut up pretty bad by the Viet
Kong, but the Taney, their supply And refueling ship, received no
casualties. We also supplied gun fire support to the USN and Air
Force between the Mekong Delta and the DMZ. Again, zero casualties.
Safer than any freeway today.
My 2nd tour was short, only 2 months, August and September,
1974, after the pull out, when there were only 50 USMC At the Embassy,
to help the crew of the former Cutter Cook Inlet, a 311' Aviation
Seaplane tender, ported in the S. Vietnam Base at Vung Tau, the
entrance of the Mekong river, learn the bridge navigation equipment.
I'd already been assigned to 2 of these 311' AVP's. The CG had handed
over 3 of these AVP's, and they all made it to Manila when Jane
Fonda's Buddies descended on Saigon the following April. The former
Cook Inlet was in tough shape; fresh water was stored in 55 gallon
drums on the fantail. Noon chow consisted of a watery vegetable soup
with tiny chunks of fish. No wonder those kids were so skinny and
healthy.
My time in the U.S. Coast Guard was Sept. '59 to Feb '81.
After that, I sailed as 2nd mate with the Scripps Institute of
Oceanography. The longest overseas voyage with Scripps was to the
Galapagos, with refueling and revictualing in Lima Peru and Panama.
Over the years, I've remained in contact with Fr. Richard
Ouellette, Fr. Bob Carlton, Fr. Phil Bowers, classmate Frank Gerace,
Former California Judge Ed Hill (former name Hoar), and classmate
Richard Esposito, who left GE June '59, same Time I did, and Joined
the USN and became an engineering officer, achieving the rank of
Lieutenant Commander, ( O4).
More stories from Jim, added July, 2023
In my 22 years in the USCG, I did 2 tours in Vietnam, the first 1969 -
1970, on the Cutter Taney, interdicting gun runners from Hanoi. My
billet on that ship was Signal bridge supervisor, using the signal
searchlight at nighttime interceptions to light up Jane Fonda's people
from Hanoi.
In the 2nd tour, I was sent to Vung Tau, the South Vietnamese Navy
base at the mouth of the Mekong river to assist the crew of a large
cutter we'd left to their navy to learn the bridge navigation
equipment. Noon chow was always a watery veg soup with itty bitty
chunks of fish. No fat asses on that ship. they all looked like
skinny underfed children.
That ship, the former CG Cutter "Cook Inlet" from Boston MA, did make
it safely to Manila when Jane Fonda's buddies descended south, April,
'75. My time on the former 310' Cook Inlet was the fall of 1974, after
the pull out with only 50 U.S. Marines at the Saigon embassy.
The Guard was always involved in U.S. wars. In WWII, we lost
a larger percentage of our people than the Army, Navy, Marine Corps or
Air Force, ‘cause we manned the landing craft and the ammunition ships
in convoy. Betcha didn't know that.
After 22 years in the CG, only in the Pacific, from Tonga and Fiji in
the South to the ice edge above Nome AK, it was a Technicolor life.
After the CG, I obtained a 2nd Mate's deck license and sailed with the
Scripps Institute of Technology, on their ships ported in San Diego.
Most of that marine research work was on the West Coast, and South to
the Galapagos, tedious at times, compared to the Guard where routine
sailor work could be interspersed with excitement and brief moments of
terror.
Please let your young people know there are options, provided
they're in shape and know how to read beyond 3rd grade level. When I
was sailing with Scripps, I spent a lot of shore leave time with
Edward Hill in San Francisco and Richard Esposito who lived in the
Oakland hills above the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital. We three spent time
together, and enjoyed the annual Christmas gatherings at the Webster
St house in S.F.
After departing Glen Ellyn and receiving our draft
notices, Richard joined the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of LCDR,
(Lieutenant Commander.) My level was Senior Chief in the navigation
rating of Quartermaster. Way more interesting than being hidden in
the bowels of an immense aircraft carrier, so huge you sometimes
didn't know the ship was underway. And the Guard is the senior sea
service anyway, founded by Alexander Hamilton from the remnants of
king George III's Revenue Cutter Marine Service. we even maintained
that name until the turn of the last century when the Lighthouse
Service and Lifeboat Service were joined with the Cutter Marine
Service, renamed the U.S. Coast Guard.
Let those young kids know too, that the CG is way ahead of all the
other services in recognizing and promoting women sailors. When I was
on active duty, we had women captains of cutters whilst the USN was
keeping them parked behind IBM Selectric typewriters on shore
stations. Our enlisted people too, are in charge of the swift rescue
cutters. From the time I was E6, I qualified as underway watch
officer, limited in the USN to officers. It's a cast system over
there.
Jim Cox