USS Oriskany: First & Last Thoughts

Time is cruel to the body, but the memories will never fade. I will forever be 20, standing on the flight deck of the USS Oriskany - CVA34, watching the sun set over a calm sea. The smell of salt in the air, its taste in my mouth and the feel of hard steel beneath my feet and eager anticipation in my hart looking out across the sea to my newest adventure. With the coming of the next morning's horizon and the dawn of each passing day I lived like it was a given that I would be there to see it through with each rising sun. 

Now I lay my head down each night in anticipation of the next adventure that my dream will create from the gallant stories of that young man. For my body can no longer sail the seas, but my heart and mind will forever be aboard the rolling deck of a ship of war headed for the battle line.

I was stationed at Naval Schools Command, Treasure Island. That's a small flat island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. It was my first duty station. I was maintaining electronic test equipment for an Electronic Technician "A" school on the island. I just received my new orders. Sea Duty aboard the USS Oriskany CVA 34. I had never heard of Her so, I started asking others on the island if they knew anything about this ship. The "CVA" told me that she was an attack carrier of some kind but no one I talked to had ever heard of this "Oriskany" thing.

The orders also stated that before reporting aboard I would spend a few weeks in a "C" school learning something called NTDS (Naval Tactical Data System) SRC-16 radio transmitter - receiver system (one of the Navy's first all digital data communications networks) at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, somewhere close to San Francisco.

When I got to Mare Island and started the school, I also started asking around if anyone knew anything about this "Oriskany" ship. I found one old instructor that knew about her. He broke out into a huge laugh when I mentioned I was going to the Oriskany. He asked me who I pissed off. He said she was the OLDEST THING AFLOAT! Her SRC-16 system was serial number XN1 #1. That meant it was experimental model number 1 and was nothing like the machine I learned in school. Well, at least I now knew something about this thing called "Oriskany."

On the 17th of April 1973, I stood at the head of a pier in Alameda California. On my port side stood the USS Enterprise. Pride of the Navy, Queen of the sea. She was all decked out to start her sea tour tomorrow. Today she stood tall sleek and shinny. A necklace of aircraft around her island, She looked like an Ensign standing inspection, not a scratch or bruise on her skin, wrinkle in her uniform, and not a hair out of place. So beautiful and "sexy" - A sailor's "dream boat". I could almost feel her tugging at me, whispering a beautiful sea chantey in my ear, trying to lure me away from my destination on the opposite side of the pier.

On the starboard side, stood the Old Bitch of the Sea - Oriskany. Just back from her sea tour yesterday. There she stood, Her uniform of grey: dirty, torn, wrinkled and tattered. Her skin scratched, bruised, covered in soot, salt and seagull crap. As I walked up her after-brow I could smell her sweat. Sweat from hundreds of miles in scorching sun and rough stormy seas, sweat from dozens of weeks at Yankee Station with flight ops sometimes going 24 hours a day. She was old, ugly and decrepit and she smelled of death.

At the head of her brow I stopped, turned and saluted her ensign. As I turned a 180, grabbed my packet of papers to hand to the Brow Watch, I thought: What the hell am I doing here? Did I piss off God? Why couldn't I be ridding that sleek young thing across the pier? The world knew her name and who's girl she was. Why am I, not even 20 years old yet, why do I have to ride this lonely Old Bitch of the Sea that no one knew, and from the looks of her, no one cared about?

On 14 June 1976, I stepped out on her flight deck for the last time. Slated for decommissioning instead of being cleaned up primed and painted, she was being stripped of all of her equipment. As I looked around I saw Her uniform of grey, still dirty, torn, wrinkled, tattered and Her skin scratched, bruised, covered in soot, salt and seagull crap from Her last Westpac. She was older and probably a bit uglier, but she wasn't the old bitch of the sea that I thought she would be. Once you got to know her she became a Fighting Lady. "The Mighty 'O' "is what we called her. A bitch to her enemy, but a Mighty Fighting Lady to her crew. She was the last of her kind, the last Essex Class Carrier, the last of the mighty fighting ships that took back the Pacific from the Japanese. From Alaska in the north to all the little islands that dot her south, the Essex Class Carriers fought and won the Pacific war. No, Oriskany wasn't the old bitch of the sea, She was the proud mother of the modern carrier, the first "SUPER CARRIER." Without the Essex Class Carriers like Oriskany, we would not have the sassy, sleek and sexy carriers of today.

As I walked down her after-brow for the last time, I walked slowly so that I could savor her sweet sweat from missions to Korea and Vietnam, all the flight-ops involved in those wars along with the storms and typhoons we weathered. Along with her sweat is the always welcoming aroma of Subic bay with just a hint of Olongapo bar-maid perfume mixed with the breeze off shit-river.

...Sorry, I just couldn't help a little Westpac reminiscing. 

"I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, 'I served in the United States Navy'." - John F. Kennedy at the commissioning ceremony of the USS Oriskany in 1950 (my first ship).

ETN3 Harbit - Proud to say "I served on the USS Oriskany CVA 34"

       

 

 

January 28, 1973 in the South China Sea…The nuclear-powered attack aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) (Center), the attack aircraft carriers USS America CV-66 (left of center) and USS Oriskany (CVA-34)(above & behind Enterprise), the escort ships USS Bronstein (DE-1037) and USS Fanning (DE-1076) and the destroyers USS Corry (DD-817), USS William C. Lawe (DD-763) and USS Cone (DD-866) cruise together in the multiple aircraft carrier force at the end of the hostilities with Vietnam." Photographer: SA Larry Hayes

 

As I grow older I realize the magic of "belonging" to some place or time. I was on the USS Oriskany CVA-34 for an incredibly short time considering the length of my life at the present moment (74 years) and I remember the day I came aboard and the day I saluted her ensign for the last time. I did not realize it but I was taking a part of her with me and leaving some of myself behind. I now realize that I will never truly leave her, nor will she ever leave me. She is in my makeup today. The things she taught me I have used through out my life. Of all my education, the 4 years aboard her was by far my greatest learning experience. 

She was decommissioned on 30 September 1976. The old girl was slowly torn apart but she did not whimper or cry, she realized she had stood her watch and it was her time to be relieved.

 

She did not die because she lives with in the 10's of thousand of sailors that have crossed her deck during her watch and to me she will always be "the Grand Old Lady ...... the Mighty 'O'. The last Essex Class ship made. The last Great Warrior of WWII. 

ETN3 Harbit OE division, May 1972 - July 1976.

For more information visit:

A Day in WestPac Aboard the Mighty Oriskany

 

America's Mighty Essex-Class Aircraft Carriers Were Almost Invincible

Oriskany (CV-34)

Wikipedia - USS Oriskany (CV-34)

Angels of the Oriskany - Fire, 26 October 1966

USS Oriskany CVA34 on YouTube 

A SAILOR'S WORST NIGHTMARE - A FIRE AT SEA!

 For more on the Oriskany Fire: 

 

How Fire and Fatigue Almost Destroyed an American Carrier

 

USS Oriskany fire

 

The USS ORISKANY (CVA-34) fire and munition explosions

Hell Afloat 

"Fire, fire, fire in frame 42 This is no drill! This is no drill."

 

Fire in Hanger Bay 1

 

"I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, 'I served in the United States Navy'." - John F. Kennedy 

 

Queen Anne's Revenge

 

Named after Anne Bonny, the pirate queen, Queen Anne's Revenge was an early-18th-century ship, most famously used as a flagship by Edward Teach, better known by his nickname Blackbeard. Although the date and place of the ship's construction are uncertain, it was originally believed she was built for merchant service in Bristol, England in 1710 and named Concord, later captured by French privateers and renamed La Concorde. After several years' service by French sailors (both as a naval frigate and as a merchant vessel – much of the time as a slave trading ship), she was captured by Blackbeard in 1717. Blackbeard used the ship for less than a year, but captured numerous prizes using her as his flagship.

 

In May 1718, Blackbeard ran the ship aground at Topsail Inlet, now known as Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, United States, in the present-day Carteret County. After the grounding, her crew and supplies were transferred to smaller ships. In 1996, Intersal Inc., a private firm, discovered the remains of a vessel that was later determined to be Queen Anne's Revenge, which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The shipwreck was discovered off Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina.

USS North Carolina

 

USS North Carolina, the lead ship of her class, emerged from the horizon, slicing through the waves with determination. Her nine 16-inch guns thundered, hurling 2,700-pound shells toward the distant enemy. 

 

The Imperial Japanese Navy fleet approached without hesitation, her for the dominion of the Pacific. With her engines throbbing, North Carolina charged guns blazing to open a gap in the enemy lines. 

 

North Carolina’s objective was easier said than done: protect the US Navy’s aircraft carriers at all costs. As both task forces clashed, her mission turned more difficult. 

 

Japanese aircraft swarmed the US vessels, ready to strike them down with either conventional bombs or devastating kamikaze attacks. Still, North Carolina, in her protector role, did not flinch and opened fire with more than 40 guns from her secondary armament. 

 

The sky soon turned into a deadly maze of anti-aircraft fire, smoke, and gunfire from American and Japanese fighters. 

 

Despite the relentless Japanese waves, North Carolina's thick armor openly defied the enemy bombs and torpedoes, with her crew focused on safeguarding the task force from being scattered by the enemy. 

 

 USS North Carolina fired salvo after salvo until her barrels ran hot, fending off her attackers as the sun went down…

The USS North Carolina (BB 55) was commissioned April 9, 1941. During her shakedown period she steamed into and out of New York Harbor so many times she earned the nickname "The Show Boat". She more than earned that nickname during her service in World War 2. The North Carolina participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific Theater carrying out 9 shore bombardments, sinking an enemy troop ship, shooting down 24 enemy aircraft and survived being torpedoed. Earning 15 battle stars, USS North Carolina was the most decorated American battleship of the war. The ship survives today as a museum in Wilmington, North Carolina.

 

North Carolina was the first battleship built by the USA in almost 20 years. First in Class and the first “fast battleship”. As such there were lots of adjustments to be made before it was fully operational. The more powerful drive caused lots of vibrations. That’s why she was in and out of port so much. The extra shake down resulted in the rear rangefinder being reinforced with extra braces.

 

 

 

The "Other" USS North Carolina 

USS North Carolina SSN-777 Virginia class attack submarine US Navy

 

North Carolina SSN-777 Virginia class attack submarine is the fourth ship of the Navy to carry the name North Carolina. The original was USS North Carolina (1820-1836), the second (ACR 12) (1908 - 1921), and the third (BB 55) (1940 - 1947). North Carolina received 12 battle stars for World War II service.

North Carolina (SSN 777) was built by General Dynamics Electric Boat Division in Groton, Conn., and Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., and joined the fleet in December 2006.

As the Navy's next-generation attack submarine, the Virginia class provides the U.S. Navy with the capabilities it requires to maintain the nation's undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. North Carolina has improved stealthiness, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and Special Warfare enhancements which enable it to meet the Navy's multi-mission requirements.

Virginia class submarines are able to attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces. Other missions include anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare; special forces delivery and support; and mine delivery and minefield mapping. With enhanced communications connectivity, the submarine also will provide important battle group and joint task force support, with full integration into carrier battle group operations.

North Carolina's keel was laid May 22, 2004. The first major milestone for the submarine North Carolina was the keel authentication ceremony held at the shipyard on May 22, 2004. The submarine's sponsor, Mrs. Linda Bowman, wife of Admiral Frank "Skip" Bowman USN (Ret), the former Director, Naval Reactors, inscribed her initials on a section of the pressure hull that were, subsequently, duplicated in weld by a shipyard worker, who, uniquely, resides in North Carolina. The pressure hull welding completed in September 2006, with work on the interior of the submarine continuing.

In October 2006, the ship's Commanding Officer, Cdr. Mark E. Davis reported aboard.

On May 5, 2007, the submarine was lowered into the water for the first time and moved to complete her construction.

On December 12, 2007, North Carolina got underway for her first builder's sea trials. The successful trials led to her second builders trials just before Christmas. Following the third and final round of builder's sea trials in February, Northrop Grumman delivered the submarine to the Navy on February 21, 2008.

The ship was brought to life during her commissioning ceremony at the Port of Wilmington in North Carolina on May 3, 2008. More than 6,500 guests, including submarine veterans and battleship North Carolina alumni attended the ceremony welcoming the submarine as the 4th vessel named after the "Tarheel State."

Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES)

In 1946, Joy Brigh Hancock was appointed Director of the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). Hancock began her Navy career as Yeoman (F) during WWI, when women were mass recruited as a result of shortages in clerical positions. In 1942 she was commissioned as a Lieutenant in WAVES and quickly rose in rank, by the end of the war she was established as the program's Director. Photograph courtesy of Captain Joy Bright Hancock, USN (Retired).

John Philip Sousa

 

On May 1, 1925, “The March King” visited “Old Ironsides.” John Philip Sousa—renowned composer, conductor, and the creative force behind “The Stars and Stripes Forever”—visited USS CONSTITUTION, a fitting meeting of two enduring American symbols.

Sousa’s connection to the U.S. military ran deep. He began his musical career in the United States Marine Band, eventually serving 12 years as its director before founding the Sousa Band. During World War I, he accepted a wartime commission to lead the Naval Reserve Band and was later promoted to lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve.

With compositions like Semper Fidelis (the official march of the U.S. Marine Corps) and The Stars and Stripes Forever (the National March of the United States), Sousa helped define the sound of American patriotism.

His 1925 visit to USS Constitution brought together a legendary musician and the nation’s most storied warship—both built to inspire.

Photo Credit: Painting of Sousa by Capolino. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2023864822/

Sea Links

 

USS Constitution Museum

The USS Hornet Museum 

The MG Midget

 

I had a 1961 MG Midget (top picture) that I raced on dirt tracks in California. It is my all-time favorite car. When I wasn't racing, I was riding around in the hills. It wasn't fast by today's standards but it was FUN! 

 

What made the MG Midget a favorite among British sports car enthusiasts?

 

The MG Midget, produced between 1961 and 1980, was a small, affordable sports car that captured the spirit of British motoring. It was designed as a lightweight, nimble roadster, ideal for fun driving on country lanes or urban streets. Its compact size and responsive handling made it accessible to both novice and experienced drivers.

 

Initially, the MG Midget came with a modest 948cc engine, but over the years, it was upgraded to larger and more powerful versions, including a 1275cc engine that significantly improved performance. The car’s simple design, combined with its sporty look—complete with a folding soft top and minimalist interior—made it a classic example of British sports car engineering.

 

The MG Midget also enjoyed popularity in motorsport, particularly in club racing and rallying events. Its affordability and ease of maintenance made it a practical choice for enthusiasts who wanted to experience racing without breaking the bank. This sporty reputation helped sustain its appeal over nearly two decades.

 

Today, the MG Midget remains a beloved classic among vintage car collectors. Its charm lies in its simplicity, spirited performance, and the nostalgic connection to an era when driving was about the pure joy of the road.

The Angel of Intramuros

Wars are started by rulers and politicians. Ordinary working men and women do the fighting and killing. It is also ordinary working men and women that do the dying, along with the poor and innocent children. There are no two sides to a war, there is only one because all of mankind suffers. Whether you willingly participate, are forced to participate or are just an innocent bystander, you suffer. Rulers and politicians do not understand all will suffer when they start a war. 

Manila, 1945. The city burned as the Battle of Manila raged between American forces and the Japanese Imperial Army. Streets once filled with life had become graveyards of shattered homes, bloodied rubble, and the cries of the dying. It was in this chaos that Sergeant James Calloway, a U.S. soldier, stumbled upon a scene that would haunt him forever.

Through the smoke and ruin of Intramuros, he saw her—a young Filipina girl, barely a teenager, clutching a lifeless infant wrapped in a bloodstained cloth. She was barefoot, her dress tattered, her eyes hollow with grief. Calloway rushed to her, but she did not react. She simply stared ahead, as if she had already accepted death.

 

Gently, he lifted her into his arms. She did not resist, but her lips trembled. “Nanay… Tatay… nasaan sila?” she whispered in a weak voice. ("Mother… Father… where are they?")

 

A nun rushed past them, cradling another child, her face streaked with tears. The convent had been bombed, and the orphans she cared for were either missing or dead. The girl in Calloway’s arms had been one of them.

 

As he carried her through the wreckage, stepping over bodies and smoldering ruins, Calloway felt the weight of war crushing his soul. This wasn’t victory. This wasn’t liberation. This was tragedy.

 

Reaching a makeshift medical station, he laid the girl down. A medic checked her pulse and gave a solemn nod. She was alive, but barely. As Calloway turned to leave, she gripped his hand.

 

“Will you find them?” she asked.

 

He wanted to promise her, to tell her that her family would be waiting. But he had seen the massacre at Intramuros. He knew the answer.

 

Instead, he knelt beside her and whispered, “I’ll stay with you.”

 

She smiled weakly before her eyes fluttered shut.

 

Decades later, Calloway, now an old man, still remembered that moment—the war, the girl, the broken city. He never learned her name, but in his heart, she remained the Angel of Intramuros, a symbol of the innocence lost in war, and the reminder that some wounds never heal.

 

Photo credit: John Tewell

Depression (updated 5/17/25)

If you have never suffered from depression, you do not know what it is like. You may know someone who suffers from depression, in that case, you only know the person. Without suffering yourself, you do not know the suffering of depression. 

Depression normally starts with a traumatic experience; something that works against everything you have experienced and have been taught, both  academically and spiritually. The act or process of finding a reason or reasons for the traumatic experience cannot be fulfilled because there is no reason on earth for or against the experience. Your unsatisfied emotions cause you to become indifferent to everything and everyone. Your emotions and feelings fade away  and nothing has meaning. The ability to discern or judge what is true or false, right or wrong is gone. You become a being without love and without a soul. 

I lived for almost 10 years with depression. I saw almost every doctor and psychiatrist in the San Diego/LA area. The drugs they gave me only masked the symptoms to the people around me. There is no cure, but you can learn to live with it. I don't know why or how but after about 10 years I started to become human again. It was probably the two friends I had in San Diego that didn't give up on me. They didn't like the things I did and said but they did try to understand. It probably had a lot to do with the things my Mother said to me on the phone, though she was far away in Chicago, she didn't give up on me either. 

There is no cure for depression, once it gets inside you, it is there forever. All I can do is be cogent of it and understand my change of emotions and feelings. I must constantly remember to suppress the cold and darkness of depression because if I let down my guard, it will rise again to the surface.  

Understanding, even just a little bit, makes a deep and lasting impression on a man suffering from depression. When you put a victim of depression down, you give the daemons more power, they rise to the surface, causing the pain and suffering to begin all over again. 

Nothing on earth can cure depression, only Grace from the Healing Hand of God can give give man the strength and will to battle the daemons and win. 

Family and Home (updated 5/16/25)

 Family

What does family mean to you? Take a minute to maybe write down your own definition of a family. If you compare your definition with others, you would find both similarities and differences. For example, would your definition of family include:

1. A friend or neighbor who is not a blood or legal relative
2. An adopted or foster child
3. Children who were once step-siblings after the remarried couple divorces
4. A married couple without children
5. A person who cannot live independently on their own
   
6. A sibling who married outside the family’s religious faith and/or race
   
7. A beloved family dog or cat
8. The spouse of a deceased friend
   

You might be surprised to learn how others respond to these different family types. In fact, you might be surprised at how you respond. What would be your reasoning for including a particular family type or leaving them out? Defining who is and is not family is foundational to your identity, communication, and how you live your life. 

 

My personal definition of "family" includes all of the above. I would consider opening my home to a close friend or neighbor who might have lost their home to weather or fire related circumstances. An adopted or foster child that I have grown to love. Children who were once step-siblings and have no where else to turn (Lolly & I have one of those). A married couple with or without children who have lost everything and needs help. A person who cannot live independently on their own. I would not turn away a sibling who married outside my or the family’s religious faith or race. Inclusion of those who need help into my "family", whether or not they are "blood" relatives, is part of my belief, faith and trust in God. 

 

Rather than simply defining family by a dictionary definition, each individual should look to define a family by their own standards. You can have several families in your lifetime, even several families at once if you choose, such as your spouse's family, your "blood" family, work family or family of friends.  Regardless of how you define your family unit, whether traditional or unique, your definition is of the family unit that works for you. As the saying goes, "Family is what you make it." Whether made up of blood relatives, friends, pets, or a combination of these, your family can offer you the support you need to thrive.

Part of navigating life’s many challenges, finding and being welcomed as part of a family is one of our most central needs and a gift we can offer to others. We also take comfort in knowing there is no one way to be a family. This knowledge helps us understand and appreciate families in all their breadth and richness as they develop and change over the course of time. Rather than put up roadblocks, we all have an opportunity to benefit, learn from, and support families among our neighbors, community members, and among our own household and extended family. 

There is no perfect family, we do not have perfect parents, we do not marry a perfect person or we do not have perfect children. We sometimes complain about each other. We sometimes offend one another. We are sometimes disappointed with each other. Yes for so many reasons at various times we find it hard to get along with one another. For these reasons, there is no healthy marriage or healthy family without the exercise of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the medicine of family joy and happiness. Forgiveness is vital to our emotional health and spiritual survival. No matter the offense or who is the offender. Without forgiveness, the family becomes an arena of conflict and a fortress of evil. Without forgiveness, the family becomes sick and unhealthy.  Forgiveness is the healer of the soul, the purification of the spirit and the liberation of the heart. 

 

No sin is too big to be forgiven. He who does not forgive does not have peace in his soul  and can not have communion with God. Unforgiving is Evil and a poison that intoxicates and kills the one who refuses to forgive.  Keeping forgiveness  in your heart is a self-destructive gesture. Those who do not forgive are physically, emotionally and spiritually ill. 

 

The family must be a place of life and not a place of death; a place of forgiveness, a place of paradise and not a place of hell; A healing territory and not a disease; an internship of forgiveness and not guilt. Forgiveness brings joy where sorrow has brought sadness; of Healing where sorrow has caused  disease. 

 

A family is a place of support and not of gossip and slander of one another. It must be a place of welcome not a place of rejection. Shame to those who plant evil about others. The individuals who form a family are not enemies. When anyone in a family is going through a challenge they need support of others in that family.

Home

What images does your mind conjure up when you think of home? The house where you grew up? Family? Friends? A city or town? The house where you presently live? Or is home a state of mind?  

When I think of home I think of love. It is where I get love and give love, freely with no strings attached. Home to me, is not a “place” it is a collective group of personal attitudes and emotions from the people around me that accept me and my life as it is, with no apologies, no expectations and requiring no changes.

 

Home is a feeling of belonging, where my beliefs are not held against me; where my action or inaction are not judged; where my words are not manipulated or taken out of context. It's a place of peace and happiness and a reflection of my identity.  

 

Home is a place of caring and sharing. Caring that comes from the heart, based on God's love for us and our sharing of that love with those around us. Home is a place of caring and sharing with no expectations, judgements of past or present life experiences or restrictions.

My concept of home has been shaped by culture, both my wife's culture and mine, along with our families and experiences. Home is a place where I can reflect on the past, a place where I can talk about the present without fear of judgement, retribution or resentment and a place to dream about the future. Home is that little slice of paradise that is completely my own. Home is also something I am willing to share with those who try to understand me and my life without judgement or resentment. 

Home is a place where "love your neighbor" is a way of life, not just a commandment we say should be followed. I've grown to adopt a sharing way of life. It's closer to the path that Jesus took when he walked the earth. It has made me and the people around me more tolerant of each other and more joyful.   

My wife and I are under 2 Flags, from 2 Countries, of 2 Cultures, but of 1 Heart. Families should also be of one heart and that heart should be nurtured through love, respect for each other, caring for each other and sharing that love, respect and caring with all those we come in contact with. In my heart, mind and soul, family and home are both one and the same. Family is not people, Home is not a place; they are both feelings and emotions that are born out of respect, love and caring.  

My "Special" Home 

Most of the places I called "home" in my younger years have changed so much, I probably would not recognize them today and in many of those places, the memories have faded with the changes. When you move around a lot, a move tends to turn a former home into just a place you used to live. But there is one "home" that has resisted that change to being just a place, a home that although I miss it, I can never go back to. 

 

That's because it isn't a "place" its a feeling inside of me, a feeling from my soul. That "feeling" is made up of many different things. Its working my butt off for 3 or 4 days with no sleep, when I did sleep it was in my workspace or battle-station in a rickety old chair, kicked back on a workbench with my feet propped up on a stool; it's living on coffee and mid-rats for months at a time; Its bracing for incoming rounds; its standing inspection in the blazing heat on the flight-deck of a carrier; its underway replenishment working parties and 24 hour flight ops; its trying to make your way from one workspace to another during a cat 4 hurricane. Then just when I felt myself wilting to the deck from exhaustion, not caring about anything, a friend shoves a cup of coffee in my hand offers me a cigarette and tells me to take a break on the fantail. 

 

The fantail is a special place on a ship. Especially at night when the stars are out. Its quiet, so quiet you can hear the silence of the sea. The fantail is for thinking and dreaming, sometimes they are both the same. The fantail rejuvenates you like nothing else, after about 10 minutes I was always ready to jump into the chaos of the next catastrophe. 

Shipboard life is different from every thing else, it can't be explained, it can only be experienced and once experienced, it never leaves you. You hate it because of the endless work, hard and rough times but you also love it with a love that can not be explained. Again, it can only be felt. Sometimes I think that if I was asked, I'd go back but I know that would be wrong. At my age, I would not be able to keep up with the younger sailors, I would be a burden and I just could not do that to a shipmate. Nothing can compare with being on a warship headed for enemy lines. ... And you haven't lived until you've lived through a WestPac Liberty.

 

President John F. Kennedy at the commissioning ceremony of the USS Oriskany said:

"I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, I served in the United States Navy."

I agree.

 

Chicago (in progress updated 1-10-25)

I was born in Chicago in the old - Cook County Hospital. Chicago, on Lake Michigan in Illinois, is among the largest cities in the U.S. The City of Chicago is located on land that is and has long been a center for Native peoples. The area is the traditional homelands of the Anishinaabe, or the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. 

 

I don't remember much about Chicago; just going to my Grand Parents apartment, my Uncle Bob's house and my Uncle Charles's house. Uncle Bob had a ton of kids, I remember my Mom telling me he worked on the docks unloading ships from the lakes and that he worked on merchant ships during WWII. Uncle Bob was Mom's brother. Uncle Charles was Dad's brother, he and Dad both worked at Fisher Body Division of General Motors. Dad and Uncle Charles were mechanics working on the big machines that stamped out parts for General Motors cars. 

 

I'm not sure of where we lived when I was born, whether it was somewhere in Chicago or Oaklawn. I have a birth certificate somewhere around here, it might have where we lived on it. As soon as I find it again I'll check.  

 

Famed for its bold architecture, Chicago has a skyline punctuated by skyscrapers such as the iconic John Hancock Center, 1,451-ft. Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) and the Neo-Gothic Tribune Tower. The city is also renowned for its museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago with its noted Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works.  

 

Chicago is also an international hub for finance, culture, commerce, industry, education, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. It has the largest and most diverse finance derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures alone. 

 

Chicago Walking Tour

 

Chicago Travel Guide

Welcome to Illinois

Map of Illinois 

Illinois History 

Illinois Territory 1776-1818 

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Votive Ships

One of my Internet friends sent me this story about emergency conditions at sea and what Catholic Sailors in days of old did to placate the situation. Being a Catholic and once a Sailor, I found this ancient custom interesting. 

 

I went through a hurricane on the carrier USS Oriskany. The storm was so strong it sent waves over the pilot-house which was almost 80 feet above the waterline. ... Time to start praying as these old mariners did...

 

The following is just some of what I came up with after just a few minutes of searching. ... 

 

A votive ship, sometimes called a church ship, is a ship model displayed in a church. As a rule, votive ships are constructed and given as gifts to the church by seamen and ship builders. Votive ships are relatively common in churches in the Nordic countries Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, as well as on Åland and Faroe islands, but are known also to exist in Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.

 

The practice of displaying model ships in churches stems from the Middle Ages and appears to have been known throughout Christian Europe, in both Catholic and Lutheran countries. The oldest known remaining votive ship is a Spanish ship model from the 15th century. A model ship originally displayed in Stockholm Cathedral but today in the Stockholm Maritime Museum dating from circa 1590 is the oldest surviving example in the Nordic countries.

Votive ships are quite common in France, in coastal towns either as model ships or as paintings they are known under the Latin term of Ex-Voto.
The church of Sainte Anne d'Auray in Brittany has the biggest French collection of marine ex-votos, but the practice even extends to the Mediterranean French shores, including Corsica.

 

Lisa Nichols Hickman: Epiphany and votive ships - The traditional votive ships of Finland teach lessons on stewardship. Lisa Nichols Hickman is pastor of New Wilmington Presbyterian Church in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

 

Sacred Vessels - SHIP models have a long tradition in religious rites and imagery.

 

Glasgow Cathedral - Votive Ship

 

The devotion of the votive ships in Canada

 

Turku Cathedral Votive Ship

 

Models of ships in churches

 

1638 St. Mary Magdalene Church of Kawit (Parokya ni Santa Maria Magdalena) is one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. Vicariate of St. Mary Magdalene celebrated its Golden Jubilee in November 2011. It was initially said to be built of wood as early as 1638 through the help of six Filipino families from the towns of Maragondon and Silang, Cavite.Saint Mary Magdale Church It belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Imus, the diocese that has jurisdiction over all the Catholic parishes in Cavite. The town Kawit which was formerly known as Cavite Viejo during Spanish occupation was frequent by Spanish marines and slowly turned into a "Red Light District" and to help solve the bad reputation of the place Manila Archbishop Miguel Garcia Serrano (1618–1629) ordered to place St. Mary Magdalene as patroness of the town. Some people and researchers say that it is possible that she may not be the original patron saint of the town since most of the old parishes in Cavite was consecrated to the Virgin Mary. The Church is known for healing and helping resolve personal problems. Mary Magdalene (original Greek Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνή), or Mary of Magdala and sometimes The Magdalene, is a religious figure in Christianity. St. Mary Magdalene's statue , the antique and miraculous life-size image of Mary Magdalene in Kawit, Cavite has a "mark" in the middle of her forehead, it resembles a mole and no living local in Kawit knows why the statue has such a mark. Speculations suggests that this is the symbolic mark of Jesus's finger tips during the resurrection when he had appeared to Magdalene and said Noli me tangere (Touch Me Not). Some suggests that this mark is to clearly identify her identity from the Virgin Mary.