WAR STORIES FROM PARADISE
You have traveled back to 1973! Entries
are
posted by the year the writer arrived, so be sure
to check either side of the year you're looking for to
find your old buddies, shipmates, and
sweethearts! I'll update this page as I
receive your warstory! No anoymous reports
- only if you're
willing to put yourself up to the ridicule of
the world will you be entered into this
Guestbook! Also, please note that the
email addresses listed are those at the me the
entry was received - some of them from
1997! Sorry if they don't work now...
Send in YOUR Story NOW using the convenient fill-in-the-blanks form! |
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April 1973-April 1974 Steve Park = stevebeepark@gmail.com I really enjoyed your Diego Garcia
pictures. It brought back memories. I was a Seabee there. I
noticed that the first barracks states that no Seabees
moved in. Although there were no Battalion
Seabees that moved in, there were about 30-40 Public
Works Seabees that moved out of the Hooches into the
1st barracks. Thanks for the posts. Sincerely, Steve Park
Norman Talbot Citizenship = USA Service = USN Outfit = NMCB-74 My_Warstory = Diego was an
experience Ill never forget. I
see other entries from the same deployment and i
remember some of them. I
remember when BU1 Stone died there from a heart
attack. I
was one of the "good timers" and I still have my
knee high blue tennis shoes we all ordered. I
have an album of pictures but it's in my home
somewhere yet to be found! I
remember Jimmy Don, Jim Peddiciord,
Brian
"bear" Barrington, William Greenwood, Gary Riddle,
Dean Hurst, Billy Chewning, Gene Clifford, Fred
Mavroudis and others. I
have dreams about that place all the time in which I
am re-deployed there again. I
wouldnt label them as nightmares but just dreams. I
had my 21st birthday there in Oct. right before rand
r to Bangkok.
Hopefully I will find my album and
post the pics-I have several. 1973 Larry Fowler BUCN Outfit = MCB 74 Gulfport
Miss. My_Quest = To Find Fellow
Seabees My_Warstory = Try to find
fellow Seabees who remember me. I started out on
BU1Charlie Donavan block crew and contacted Coil
Poison and ended up in the infirmary and after 30
days there was assigned to Senior Chief Jim Morgan
as Company Clerk.I was a witness in a Court Marshall
on the island. Looking for anyone who remembers,
ANYTHING ?????? 8 November 2017 Joelisa Cook
<vampirenerd4272011> Hey there! My grandad
Earshall Miller was stationed in Diego Garcia in
1972-1974. I was wondering if you remember him.
Mcb10. Construction mobile. Navy. He knew a
guy by the name of ezell? 1973 Albert Warner = one1inamill@hotmail.com Service = USN Outfit = MCB-74 My_Quest = to find shipmates and information about the deployment VT_of_a_Swallow = as fast as it wants to go My_Warstory = Tried to get a hold of the guy on here who was trying to get ptsd from the VA but the email was invalid. As I remember we had 4 deaths while there each 13 days apart. Bu-1 Stone (my platoon leader) and EO who got crushed by a crane boom A British Sailor who fell of the boat and got caught in the propeller and a Seabee got stung by a poison fish. anybody remember making and flying a giant kite? any shipmates who also went to Vietnam get ahold of me Dan Bower has started a news letter.
Apr 1973 - Apr 1974 Joe Huse Citizenship = USA Outfit = ACTU-4 My_Quest = To catch up with Navy
buddies Name = Alan Hubbard submit_by =
alhubb49@gmail.com Citizenship = USA Service = USN Outfit = MCB-10 My_Quest = Faulty memories VT_of_a_Swallow = However
fast she can My_Warstory = With my
birthday coming up I got to thinking about how Rod
Terry and I celebrated our birthdays on The
Rock. His birthday is 2 days before mine, so we
spent the day between getting drunk on some of the
cheap assed wine, something Rose`if my memory serves
me right. Don't think I've had as memorable a
birthday as that one. July 1973-July 1974 Ronald D. Harris = dexdor2000@yahoo.com Citizenship = USA Service = USAF Outfit = 307th Strategic
Wing My_Quest = I am trying to
find any of you guys that were at U-tapao '73-'74 and
witnessed the C-5 emergency landing that totally
trashed a step van trying to cross the flight line
through the jetwash VT_of_a_Swallow = Columbus
My_Warstory = I was riding in my redball van on flight
line. A C-5 had an emergency landing. Another step van
not sure what section tried to cut behind the taxiing
C-5 the van was blown down the flight line tumbling
over and over. I am still having
flashbacks and nightmares from this event. I can't
find the incident documented anywhere. If anybody was
there please let me know I need cooborated statements
to establish the validity of the incident. 1973/1974 David Fochs = meganfochs1304@hotmail.com Citizenship = USA Service = USN Outfit = NMCB10 My_Warstory = Looking for
anyone I might have served with. Home base was Port
Hueneme. Was sent to DG twice. I would love to show
some pictures to my kids. I've lost a lot of brain
cells since then, so I don't remember much. I do
remember a Ken Binger from Wisconsin. 1973/74 Alan Hubbard =
alhubb49@gmail.com Citizenship = USA; Service
= USN; Outfit = MCB-10 My_Quest = Faulty memories;
VT_of_a_Swallow = However fast she can My_Warstory = With my
birthday coming up I got to thinking about how Rod
Terry and I celebrated our birthdays on The Rock. His
birthday is 2 days before mine, so we spent the day
between getting drunk on some of the cheap assed wine,
something Rose`if my memory serves me right. Don't
think I've had as memorable a birthday as that one. march 73 for a uear jim "jock" gillespie =
Bermudez51@aol.com Citizenship = UK; Service =
Royal Navy; Outfit = Navcomsta receiver site My_Quest = to catch a
swallow; VT_of_a_Swallow = i will tell you when i
catch the bloody swallow My_Warstory = Sep 2015..
well lads its taken me over 40 years to put this in
but better late than never. I would love to hear from
anyone who remembers the 13 royal navy bods who
dropped in on the 13th march 1973 for a year. The
first night was a blast as our American hosts got us
pissed out our minds. What I remember as a bit of a
blur was getting dragged out of our hootch and
attending the commissioning ceremony next morning....
welcome to DG. seriously though I had a
great time, the Seabees and USN guys were great the E5
bar was greater. I spent a lot of time
working in the small sales shop flogging beer and wine
in the evenings and the Britrep even threw in a c141
flight to Mauritius for a "beer run", and 2 weeks
R&R in Hong Kong which sucked as the rest of the
island used Bangkok. Best year of my life and I
wish they would ship us back for the 50th
anniversary!!!!! To all of you wherever you
are god bless and may your hangovers be very small
ones. If anyone has any pictures
they would care to email..many thanks in advance. ps just heard from John
Bright, RN Medical Assistant who joined us in May 73
and who lived in the sick bay..ring any bells for
anyone?? A Question from STEVE L
CRESWELL = SCTRADINGLLC@GMAIL.COM (DG in 1974) Citizenship = USA Service = USN Outfit = MCB10 VT_of_a_Swallow =
2XPRS(>5x8}+16 My_Warstory = RECENTLY
ASKED VFW IF 1974 TOUR OF DG QUALIFIED US TO
JOIN THEY SAID NO I DONT WANT TO
WATER DOWN THE BRAVERY OF OUR GUYS WHO SEEN REAL
COMBAT BUT I FEEL OUR PRESENCE THERE DID A GREAT PART
IN BACKING CHINA AND RUSSIA DOWN IN 1975 FROM
COTINUEING TO SUPPORT NORTH VC. MANY GUYS WITH ME
THERE CAN TELL YOU ; IF IT WAS NOT A CONFLICT WITH
RUSSIA WHY DID THEY SPY ON US SO MUCH; WHATS THE
DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE WHO FLYS OVER WAR ZONE AND THE
ONE WHO BUILT THE AIR STRIP FOR HIM TO TAKE OFF BOTH
NEVER SET FOOT IN COUNTRY ONE VFW ONE NOT ? SEABEES
FROM 1975&BACK KNOW (CAN DO ) &WE DID ON
DIEGO ! COMMENTS PLEASE. STEVE
MCB10 1974 DIEGO EMAIL SCTRADINGLLC@GMAIL.COM OR POST ON THIS
SITE QUESTION IF YOU NEVER PUT ONE
FOOT IN COUNTRY &SERVIED ONLY ONE TOUR DIEGO 1975
BACK DO YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE A VFW. 1973-1974
Lost and Found! Hi
there, I am looking for anyone who may have served
with my father, David Davison. He was a Navy SeaBee in
Diego Garcia between 1973 and 1974, Equipment Operator
(E05) and his rank was CN. He was from St. Louis
Missouri, stationed out of Gulfport, Mississippi. Thanks
for your time, Christina
Davison <made4sunnydays@yahoo.com> 1973 Rick
White = rwhite4155@ol.com Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = Communications Station
- Plank Holder My_Quest
= Locate fellow "Fleet" Sailors, not that I didn't
have lots of buds in the CBs. My_Warstory
= 1973 – Spent the whole year there. Worked a rotating
shift in the Communication Center. Was one of the
first into the Air Conditioned barracks, shared with
some Brits, they taught me a lot about how to drink.
Spent most of my time in the hut, playing poker and on
the beach. Great place to visit, even one more time,
but that is it. Want to get in contact with some of my
old buddies and see how this time on Diego Garcia may
have had an impact on their lives, I know I will never
forget it. 1973-1974 James
Lord (J T) = jim1876@cox.net Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Seabees MCB133 I
REMEMBER THE GROUP OF GUY'S THAT BECAME GOOD FRIENDS.
I ALSO REMEMBER THE LONG DAY'S OF WORK AND THE LONG
NIGHTS OF PARTYING ON THE BEACH.I also remember the
Buddha statue that we got from R&R some will know
what I mean. I was also known to not like getting hair
cuts. The rock was a good learning experience for me I
would like to hear from others that were there.
especially the rat pack. 1973
& 1974 Robert
V. Bachtell = souljourneys.mm@gmail.com Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = MCB 4 HQ Company My_Quest
= reconnect with former CB's VT_of_a_Swallow
= speed of sound My_Warstory
= how are you all doin? just wondering if any of you
remember a guy named Bob whom worked in the post
office in Pueta Rico? On Diego I drove the ROACH
COACH. also cut hair off of your heads n the barber
shop. "(WHEN I WAS NOT IN THE BRIG")In the Pi. Partied
Hard Lots of the time with a few of you. if you
remember me please email. So very many stories to
tell......................... more may come 1973-1974
and 1974-1975 Wendell
Bumford = mcb10@roadrunner.com Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = mcb10 Aco. My_Quest
= Diego Garcia; My_Warstory = I was on the rock with
mcb10 twice once with a detachment in 1973-1974. We
were there to help mncb74 and with the main body in
1974-1975. It was a hard place to be, but met some
good people. We spent a lot of time in the tree house
in the jungle thinking of funny things to make it seem
better. Played a little softball. spent time at turtle
creek swimming and just getting away. We almost lost a
weapons carrier in the ocean. I always hated when the
desalt barge broke down and we had no fresh water. We
did something's we probably shouldn't have just to
make time go by. Don't miss the place just the people.
We had some great card games and a good uso show. I
can remember sitting in the hooch drinking and just
hanging out. Going to Bangkok was fun, went with
Charlie, don't remember the last name. Remember Steve
Creswell, Wendell Garnto and some others but can't
remember the rest. Remember being in the radio station
with some people, not good with names. 1971-1974 Name
= Paul Moore = pwmcx95@gmail.com Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = Machinery Repairman My_Warstory
= This was my first duty out of boot camp. Home port
then was in Davisville, Rhode Island. Don't remember
which battalion I was with (Think maybe MCB-74). Got
to island and didn't have any idea what to expect.
First time away from home. Stayed
7 months went back to Davisville, RI. Got
orders to go to Gulfport, MS. Got there and none of
the battalion I was sent to were there. I asked were
everyone was at. They said Portirico. I asked where is
next duty. I was told Diego Garcia. Nine
months later I went back to Diego Garcia for 8 months. I'm
the only person I know of that had two tours on Diego
Garcia. Most
of the time I was there I was the one machinist there. 2nd
time there received an award for repairing hydraulic
pumps at cement plant while there on first tour. March
1973- November 1973 Mike
Stoufflet = mike_stoufflet@hotmail.com
Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = H Company, NMCB 74 My_Warstory
= Just found this website and not sure how old it is. I was
reading the accounts of the plane trip to the Rock
about the plane stopping in Iran. I remember
it well as I too was on that flight. What I
remember was leaving Gulfport and flying north to the
Dakotas. We
took a right turn and ended up in Anchorage, Alaska. There was
snow on the ground and the only thing we had to keep
us warm was our field jackets. Think we
spent two nights there before flying over the North
Pole and landing in Iran. Just
remember we were kept in a fenced in compound and the
only excitement we had was watching a bug fly. I
also remember the rain storms that poured down and
seeing our equipment buried in sand and water. Hearing the
coconuts hit the roofs when the wind blew, and when
the USO show came someone stole one of the trucks to
meet the plane ended up in the water. Booze, food
and boredom! No
wonder half of us went nuts chasing sharks and crabs. At
least I didn’t have it too bad. I shared a
hut with a Storekeeper, a Cook and a Master-At-Arms. Think we
were one of the few huts that had a small well stocked
fridge, an electric frying pan and a coffee maker. Don’t think
I eat in the galley for over a month. Did get sick
of sliders, bacon and eggs…. 1973-1974 Pat Haley
<blackmorehaley@kpunet.net> I am Pat
Haley and I was an E-4 Engineering Aid with NMCB
4. I was on Diego Garcia in 1973-1974. I
read thru just about everyone war story and I never
saw anyone mention the horses of Diego Garcia. I
was lucky enough to take several photos of them on a
trip to the old plantation. If anyone can tell
me the final fate of the horses I would appreciate a
response. The other picture is a group
photo of all the MCB-4 Engineering Aids.
Engineering Aids were surveyors and draftsmen’s.
We were responsible for the location and elevation of
all construction. In 1973 life on Diego was more
similar to a penal colony then todays vacation
resort. We all became young men from our life
and death adventures on Diego. At that time we
all hated the place, but I believe it changed all of
us. We worked hard and long in the sun
during the day and party just about every night.
Drugs and booze was cheap and available and to this
very day I still cannot believe the Federal Government
and US Navy turned a blind eye and sent us to Bangkok
to recover. I still believe we were all part of
a government experiment studying how young men can
survive addictions and sexual diseases. I
survived with fond memories and I hope all my fellow
SEABEE’s are as lucky. If you remember me or see
yourself in the photo please contact me.
1973 Barney Meyer = bmeyer928@hotmail.com Citizenship = USA; Service =
USN;Outfit = nmcb 74 c co My_Quest = aspestosis on Diego
Garcia. I was on the rock from mar 73 until nov
73 i worked on the paint crew and the asphalt crew i
was just diagnosed with asbestosis. I just want to
know if any body has been diagnosed with the
same? 1973-1974 Dave
Glazier = glazierd@sbcglobal.net Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = MCB-4 My_Quest =
Go back in time- connect with those from the past
VT_of_a_Swallow = What ever you make it My_Warstory
= Got to DG and wondered where the hell we were and
why. Remember being told- in the Indian Ocean 3
degrees below the equator- and this would be a base
for future protection of oil shipping lanes coming out
of the Mid-East. Well 3 degrees below equator
was right and turns out there was a bigger plan that
matured to larger scale. Glad to have been part
of it (Easy said now almost 40 years later).
Worked concrete/masonry crews during
day-Barracks/Hospital, miscellaneous other stuff-Ran
Batch plant for a while and worked AFRTS in evening-
used to salute the Russian Trawler with "Back in the
USSR-from Beatles- until CO ordered cease order.
Remember the MIG used to flyover everyday around noon
for picture taking, and do the wing dip salute to all
of us? Remember the groups that used to fish and
catch sharks, had a few occassions where they cut them
open to reveal babies- crazy place. Remember swimming
in the lagoon out to the anchored rafts one day when
someone on shore yelled "shark"- turned around to see
a large dorsal behind me- made it to the rafts to look
and see a slow moving monster in the water- stayed on
the raft until almost sunset scared as shit, and
braved the swim back hoping not to be dinner for a
Great White. Seahuts for living- we added
on to ours with concrete floor, short block walls high
roof and open screening to give a open living room
where many congregated daily along with
rats/chickens/flies. Highlights- Bob Hope show-
DG then was a rare and beautiful place that many would
not see- great skies, stars, and pristine cleanliness
- Mail delivery- Fresh Milk and fruit-Lowlights- Being
away from the world- We were a
great group of hard working S.O B.'s, young and doing
our part; - commaradre was great, certainly a time to
experience.
'73-'74 George
Martin = georgemartin1950@hotmail.com
Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = MCB4 My_Quest =
wats a quest?? VT_of_a_Swallow = WTF is
that????? My_Warstory
= Just remembered working on the communication
center(?) in Puerto Rico(?), getting harrassed by some
fat chief, and one of the guys throwing a stainless
steel marlin spike from about 4 or 5 stories up at him
when he was leaving. We were hanging on the rebar for
support, our asses swaying in the wind. And Dave
Glazier(?) fukin around with the concrete pump while I
was hanging on to the hose. He actually had me in the
air 6 stories up spraying concrete all over the place.
Boy, was that ever fun. Oh
my........ I am
trying to get help from my former shipmates on
some information to help me with my VA claim, they
told me that I have ptsd, but they want more
information on what happened in diego garcia. I
can remember what happen but they want a little bit
more information from other people that had the same
experiences. I greatly appreciate it. Email: bmeyer928@hotmail.com Name:
Meyer, Bernard L Branch:
NAVY Rank: E-2 Rate: BUa
Company:
Charlie Company Extent:
March 1973- November 1973
This is my war story I was in
Diego Garcia from March of 1973
to November of 1973 in the
NMCB 74 in Charlie Company.
I worked with the asphault crew and the
paint crew. I went through many hardships when I was
on the island and it started before I even got on the
island with the plane ride over. I was on
the C141, and while we were departing
from Turkey to Diego Garcia they had
technical difficulties, and we had to make an
emergency landing in Tehran, Iran, and as soon as we
got off the plane we were told by Senior Chief Murphy
" Don't go outside you have no papers and they think
you are mercernaries, if you walk outside you will be
shot and there is nothing we can do about it". We
were there for 24 to 48 hours, I cant remember the
exact time but it felt like a life time. I
was only 19 and I never left home
before and I was scared to death. This experience
has never left me there is not a day that goes by
that I dont think about it. When I got to
the island I was there for about month and a good
friend of mine that I knew since before
I came to diego died of a heart
attack on the island. Then around the same
time BU Pelt went went snorkling and found a
body at the bottom of the lagoon, I was
never told who he was or how
he died. needless to say I never went near
the water since then. Then there was a crane operator
who died when the boom from the crane feel
on him and crushed him to death. What made
It worst of all is I had to stand watch over
the refigeration units where the bodies where stored
to make sure they didn't thaw. Every Time I tryed
to get leave they wouldn't let me go fearing I was
going to desert. I put in multiple times for
discharge for fear that I may die, but I
was turned down. Even after my term was up and I
was back stateside, the island never left me. I
have nightmares almost every night, there is
not a day goes that I dont think about all I went
through. If there is any body out there that was in
the same unit as me please contact me, I want to see
how all my shipmates are doing. Thanks for
listening Barney Sometime
in '73, I think George
Martin = georgemartin6644@hotmail.com
Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = MCB 4/C or D Company My_Quest =
Share some old stories VT_of_a_Swallow = Huh? My_Warstory
= Was checking the website for any new postings.
Thought it might be fun to share some stories with
guys from my company. Need to update everybodies email
addresses. Some things just "pop out". Like Snake
Booher getting his ass sunburned so bad he got put on
report for "Damaging Gov't Property". The Chinese
contractors where Ken Ha and I use to jog down to and
eat, teach English, get drunk, and have the General
Contractor drive us back to camp. Getting buzzed by
the MIG and then the MIG gettting chased by Phantoms.
The Golden Palace Hotel in Bangkok. Or, the the
special hooches assigned to the gay corpsmen. Would
like to hear from you guys. 73-74 Dennis
McIntosh = scot8787@yahoo.com Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = NMCB-4 /charlie company My_Warstory
= Read some of the stoies from other guys in 4 that
was on the rock and brought back memories.Use to hang
at the hut with buddy's like Jeff Hass, Gary Billings,
Al Hastings, Rick Debolt, Brad Richardson, and others
playing spades and hearts. My story would be walking
the reef for shells at midnight and a rain storm
started and all the sea snakes and morey ells came out
of the rocks and running everywhere and one ran up my
pant leg! Then it was a race to the beach once we got
the eel out of my pants without biting me. Another
good one was when Hastings and Chandler and a few
other steelworkers got the idea to catch the big shark
in the lagoon and built a big hook and nailed it with
chain to a piling on the dock and put steaks on the
hook and the shark took off with the piling. Dates_Aboard
= 1973 Name =
Paul Mozdzanowski submit_by
= mozdzanowski6291@charter.net
Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = MCB-74 My_Quest =
To visit the Rock one more time VT_of_a_Swallow
= It depends if it is liquid or solid???????? My_Warstory
= The flight was long and I remember getting off the
Plane C-141 at the far end of the runway. We all
got out and grabbed our seabags and were told to
stretch out and start walking towards the other end
picking up any paper, cigarette butts, pebbles etc on
our way in. Welcome aboard. The coral was
blinding. I saw many accidents there that I
recognize from the other posts. The guy that was
taken from the bottom of the ocean. THe guy who
had the crane accident and there was another that
beleive it or not tipped a ditcher on himself
going up a slight incling. He was medivaced off
the island and I never knew if he made it or
not. I was there when the nicest guy in the
world drove a truck through the chow hall.
I saw a man eat a sharks eye in the EM
club.
I remember having a few days left on the island and
one of the BU's decided he was going to swim
home. Ironically he was from my home town.
I was volunteered to go get him because I made a swim
from the fishing barge before when SEALS came to the
island looking for fresh meat to join their
ranks. (Thats a whole nother story).
I remember the beauty of the island and the
stars at night, the Russian trawlers and having to get
the Captains jeep from the ocean. Someone would
steal the jeep and during low tide drive it out on the
coral, turn it back to the island and turn the
headlights on. I hated duty on those
nights. We never got to go visit the other side
of the island but I've seen some great pictures. I
have often said give me the woman of my choice and all
the comforts of home and I could live there
forever.
After getting out I completed college, and spent a
total of 11 years in the active and reserves.
Lost my first wife to cancer in 1985. I have
since raised a family working construction part time
and am a full time Postmaster getting ready to
retire. I think a house boat on lake Mead sounds
good. Dates_Aboard
= 73-74 Name =
Phillip submit_by
= phillipvarnado@yahoo.com Citizenship
= USA Service =
USN Outfit =
MCB74 My Quest =
Varnado VT_of_a_Swallow
= going backwards not a lot My_Warstory
= I guess my biggest victory on "The Rock" was getting
over the hangover on my 19th birthday. EO1 Pritchard,
Stump Brewer, JJ "Pollock" Carroll carried me to the
em club and we got tore up from the floor up. We
worked at the rock crusher needless to say the big
rocks were safe for the next few days. Be good to hear
from some buddies from that era. MCB74
Alfa Co 73-74 [...] 1973 Paul
Mozdzanowski = mozdzanowski6291@charter.net Citizenship
= USA; Service = USN; Outfit = MCB-74 My_Quest =
To visit the Rock one more time VT_of_a_Swallow
= It depends if it is liquid or solid???????? My_Warstory
= The flight was long and I remember getting off the
Plane C-141 at the far end of the runway. We all
got out and grabbed our seabags and were told to
stretch out and start walking towards the other end
picking up any paper, cigarette butts, pebbles etc on
our way in. Welcome aboard. The coral was
blinding. I say many accidents there that I
recognize from the other posts. The guy that was
taken from the bottom of the ocean. The guy who
had the crane accident and there was another that
beleive it or not tipped a ditcher on himself
going up a slight incling. He was medivaced off
the island and I never knew if he made it or
not. I was there when the nicest guy in the
world drove a truck through the chow hall.
I saw a man eat a sharks eye in the EM
club.
I remember having a few days left on the island and
one of the BU's decided he was going to swim
home. Ironically he was from my home town.
I was volunteered to go get him because I made a swim
from the fishing barge before when SEALS came to the
island looking for fresh meat to join their
ranks. (That's a whole 'nother story).
I remember the beauty of the island and the
stars at night, the Russian trawlers and having to get
the Captains jeep from the ocean. Someone would
steal the jeep and during low tide drive it out on the
coral, turn it back to the island and turn the
headlights on. I hated duty on those
nights. We never got to go visit the other side
of the island but I've seen some great pictures. I
have often said give me the woman of my choice and all
the comforts of home and I could live there
forever.
After getting out I completed college, and spent a
total of 11 years in the active and reserves.
Lost my first wife to cancer in 1985. I have
since raised a family working construction part time
and am a full time Postmaster getting ready to
retire. I think a house boat on lake Mead sounds
good. 1973-74 NAME =
Charles A. SOULE MY QUEST =
YEOMAN, WELCOME ABOARD FOR CURRENT YEAR? VT of a
SWALLOW = Depend on velocity of initiator of swallow.
E-MAIL =
charles _soule2003@yahoo.com NATIONALITY
= United States Citizen SERVICE =
NAVAL UNIT =
lOGISTIC SUPPORT COMMAND RANK/RATE/JOB
= DISABLED VETERAN RECIEVING BENEFITS THROUGH VA
ADMINISTRATION
SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell
MY
WARSTORY = WAS TYPIST OF PLAN OF THE DAY. LEFT
OUT COMMANDS MASTER CHIEFS BUILDER'S MESSAGE AND
WAS CALL INFRONT OF EXECITIVE OFFICER, DEPUTY ISLAND
COMMANDER TO EXPLAINE WHY.
STOOD THERE AS YNSA AT SHARP ATTENTION AND THOUGH WHAT
TO ANSWER. ALL I
COULD COME UP WITH WAS, "NO EXCUSE, SIR" MATTER WAS
DROPPED AS QUICKLY AS IT HAD STARTED.
I HAD REMEMBER A SECRET, THERE ARE THREE (3) ANSWERS:
YES SIR, NO SIR, AND NO EXCUSE SIR.
MONTHS LATTER; I WAS GIVEN SAILOR OF THE QUARTER, AND
A WEEKS REST AND RELACTION IN THAILAND. 1973-74,
1975 NAME =
David Engel., EO3, D2C MY QUEST =
Immortality VT of a
SWALLOW = 139 mph E-MAIL =
dengel4@comcast.net NATIONALITY
= Texan SERVICE =
US Navy UNIT =
UCT-1, TAD MCB-4 in 73-74 RANK/RATE/JOB
= EO4---discharged in '76 MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Geo-political Rabble Rousing SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Drinking Story
MY
WARSTORY = Dg was actually attacked while I was there
with UCT-1 in '75. At that time there was a beach on
the lagoon side near the EM club and the de-sal
barges. An old rusted barge was hard aground on the
beach; it had been there since God-knows-when. The
hold was full of sand. Our unit was there to drag a
concrete-lined pipe out to a tanker anchorage but we
had some down-time. Don't give Seabees down-time. They
just start looking for shit to blow-up. And there it
sat---a big, fat inviting target. We'll get this rusty
tub off the beach for you. We'll blow it to pieces.
Which is what happened. One large piece of steel hit
the roof of the waterfront warehouse used by the DG
navy (the Mike boats and pontoon-can tugboat). All
occupants immediately surrendered. A subsequent shot
landed a bigger chunk right in the front yard of the
chapel (yes, DG had one of those---most of us heathens
couldn't have told anyone where it was). Navy
chaplains can get mad; I was laughing too hard to hear
his exact words. The attack on DG ceased. HERE'S
ANOTHER: Ron Kotz tells the stories better than
I do (go figure---he was a wordsmith, I was lower than
an E1). My best story would embarass the shit out of
Roger St. Jacques(73-74). Shout out to Steve
Skillington wherever you are. No one believes that
Double Diamond would sell for 15 cents a can. Before
my first trip there all the older guys in UCT-1 were
warning me about the heat and humidity at DG. I got
there and wore shorts and tee shirt every day. I slept
in a hammock under cocnut palms (except in high
winds). I thought "what the hell are they talking
about ---heat and hunmidity." I've lived in Houston
almost all my life except for 6 years in New Orleans.
DG was a breeze compared to New Orleans in August. I
got back to Davisville and asked those guys what the
heck were they talking about. I still didn't know
until I found out that they were from Minnesota,
Michigan, and Maine. One man's hell is anothers
heaven(almost). 1973 NAME =
Gary R. Crawshaw E-MAIL =
Later Good Buddy NATIONALITY
= american SERVICE =
Navy Seabees UNIT =
Charlie Co. Block tender RANK/RATE/JOB
= E3 only served 3 yrs MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Drinking Story MY
WARSTORY = My name is Gary. One of my war
stories. I was in NMCB 74 charlie Co. My boss was
Charlie Donovan. We would work 6 days a week on the
island. We finaly convinced Charlie to give us off
saturday. Well yours truly made dam sure we never got
another Saturday off Lolll.My buddy Ketchum woke me up
about 9 in the morning. We proceded to drink 3 bottles
of that fine aged wine of the highest grade Boones
Farm. Well that just wasn't enough. So we proceded to
go and get some more higer quality of fine wine 2 gals
of Tunder Bird Lolll. Well thats all she wrote. Wine
and me don,t mix and that is an understatement.I
decided I was going down to the quadrangle and wip up
on some officers. Charlie walked by me and held me
down and told me to get back up to the hooch. There I
proceded to punch out all the screens in the hooch and
finaly my dumb ass passed out. Charlie woke me up very
early Sunday morning with a staple gun and told me to
get busy. Shook his head and laughed and said no more
Saturdays for you. Well today I can proudly say I have
been sober for 13 yrs. Thank the LORD and it feels dam
good. GOD BLESS everybody Gary R. Crawshaw 1973 I
think. It's knid of a haze NAME =
Mike Rea MY QUEST =
Strollin VT of a
SWALLOW = As fast as it can go till it disintegrates
E-MAIL =
mrea46@hotmail.com NATIONALITY
= American UNIT =
Delta Co. RANK/RATE/JOB
= BU2 Worked on the Vortac site and the generator
building at the end of the island. MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = My Time There is Lost in an
Alcoholic Haze, Help Me Remember! MY
WARSTORY = I remember landing there and playing poker
(A LOT) on the end of the pier we built over the
water. Ran a block crew on the Vortac building.
Beautiful island clear water. Can't figure out why the
ppl there now complain, they have it made. Swimming
pool, etc. I remember
the rats running in the rafters of the hootch at
night. Bankock R&R was fun. Really not a bad
deployment. Jungle rules vollyball. Painting "Fu**
Russia" on the tops of the trailers in Russian for the
flyovers. We had to paint over them when the CO found
out. Jan 1973
to Sept 1973 NAME =
James Peddicord (Jim) MY QUEST =
Connect with friends from the Past on Diego Garcia
VT of a
SWALLOW = Who knows E-MAIL =
jimpeddicord@yahoo.com NATIONALITY
= U.S. SERVICE =
Navy UNIT = MCB
74 Charlie Company and maybe Delta Company
RANK/RATE/JOB
= I was a Bu3 at the time. I got out of the navy in
Guam on our next deployment Aug.1974. rejoined the
Navy as a fleet sailor Aug. 2006 and retired as a
chief Oct 1993. I retired in Guam worked for the U.S.
post office and U.S. Immigration and homeland
security. I ve been living in the philippines for the
last 3 years. Im 55 and thankfully perfectly fit and
healthy and having fun. I have been drug and alcolcol
free for the past 25 years.
MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = Please Select a Title For Your Story, or
Select 'Other' MY
WARSTORY = I have so many memories I would know where
to start. Read Ken Haedrichs stories who was a gud
friend of mine and it brought back alot of memories. I
worked on the hot roofing crew and was hauling up hot
tar to Jimmy Don when he got burnt with the hot tar,
and walked him to sickbay. I remember when we first
got to Diego Garcia there were few vegetables or fruit
it seems and getting constipated and going to my
friend at sickbay and he gave me some pills and told
me not to get to far from the head for a while. He was
right. I remember floating in the Lagoon from Point
Marianne to an area near the main camp on a 2 man raft
that I had brought over and going through a school of
Dolphins and swimming with them. I spent hours in the
water collecting shells. One shell in particular was a
cowrie or onyx found on the inside of the lagoon past
the causeway down towards the t Site that is not found
anywhere else in the world. The site I think has since
been destroyed by dredging. I remember riding in the
cattle car to work at the T site and I site. I
remember a guy stealing a euclid earth mover and
raming it through some sea huts. Diego garcia was my
first experience with atolls and how beautiful they
are and the sea and amimal life in abundance. I m sure
much of it has been destroyed by this time.
Several
times in the first part of 1973 NAME = AW2
Kevin Young MY QUEST =
Reliving old times VT of a
SWALLOW = 9.8 m/s every second until this occurs. He
will then maintain the same speed all the way down
until he hits the ground. Then his velocity is zero
m/s. E-MAIL =
fasteddy@serker.com NATIONALITY
= USA SERVICE =
USN UNIT =
VP-40 RANK/RATE/JOB
= Anti submarine operator Petty Officer 2nd Class
MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell
MY
WARSTORY = Walking in the lagoon about knee deep and I
stepped on an octopus. Scared the hell out of both of
us. The water boiled around my foot an the octopus
left in a cloud of ink. Or may be I could tell you
about our 2nd flight engeneer deciding to sunbathe
nude on the beach. Light skinned German decent. Fell
asleep on his back. Woke up about three hours later.
It was three weeks before he could put on a flight
suit to go Back to Iwakuni Japan.
1973-1974 From:
Mike Bell <MAB2049@aol.com> just
wanted to let you know I was on diego garcia in 73-74,
was the navcomsta postal clerk sent to the cb's. It was a
hell hole back then. no barracks just tents and
huts. but was a good time. see if anybody
remembers the russian sub pulling into th
harbor. the barrackis were finished in 74 and I
was able to move into th airconditioned rooms.
they were great compared to the huts. please
contact me if you have any questions.
thanks
mike
bell pcsn
USNMCB 10
Det Chagos 1973 / Mcb 10 Main Body 1974 NAME
= BU T.A. Grant MY QUEST
= My Best VT of a
SWALLOW = 0 mph E-MAIL =
superiormasonryb@sbcglobal.net NATIONALITY
= USA SERVICE =
USNMCB 10 UNIT =
Pipe Line - Block Crew RANK/RATE/JOB
= My rate was a BU however at the request of SC Asher
I did a mess hall tour with the UTs on the water
pipeline.
MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit 'How I Put One Over On
My Senior Chief' Story MY
WARSTORY = I thought I spent alot of time on Diego. I
see these civs posting decades on the isle.5-73 TO
12-73 , then 7-74 to 3-75 , I have my share of
stories.This one is about a guy ,(I assume), he became
known as the Phantom Shitter. Every time there would
be a concrete pour scheduled,we'd go out in the
morning and someone would have taken a big old dump in
the forms. It did'nt matter if it was the roof on the
gym , the deck in the barracks , or a colum or lintel
on the block walls. There would be this smelly gift
left for us the night before.Nobody was ever caught ,
or copped ,however there was plenty of speculation. If
you finally cop to this , I promise it will be our
little secret , RUBEN M. Jan 73 to
Sept 73 NAME = Bob
Grunow Jr MY QUEST =
Deputy Island Commander's Yeoman E-MAIL =
www.bglakecity@charter.net NATIONALITY
= American SERVICE =
USN Seabee MCB-74 UNIT =
Deputy Island Commander Yeoman, Captain's Yeoman
RANK/RATE/JOB
= Yeoman MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell
MY
WARSTORY = I worked for the Deputy Island Commander
Leon and helped him administer the island drug
test. Man, was everyone on drugs? I was
offered more money to take guys names off the
list. But that was all up to Leon. After a
while I got moved in the Captains yeomans
office. What a great job there. But I sure
remember alot of guys dieing over there. Anyway,
after I got out of the Navy I got married and our
first home we had a flood and I lost all my
pictures of Diego Garcia. If anyone has any
extra photo's they could send me. Please E mail
me. I remember playing volleyball and softball almost
everyday over there.
1973 NAME =
Mike F. MY QUEST =
To find what was the drinking water use from the
desalt barge was it lead pipes E-MAIL =
mjfster@gmail.com NATIONALITY
= white SERVICE =
Navy RANK/RATE/JOB
= E-3 MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Other MY
WARSTORY = I was station there in 1973 with the see
bees, I Have stomuch and Liver cancer. just want to
know what kind of water did we drink? I know it was
from a desalt barge , but were the pipes that carried
it us leaded or not, Thank you. 1972-1974 NAME =
RONALD D. MCKINNEY MY QUEST =
UNSURE E-MAIL =
RHNMCK@FUSE.NET SERVICE =
NAVY SEABEE COMPANY 312 STEELWORKER UNIT =
STEELWORKER MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Other SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell
MY
WARSTORY = This is Ronald D. Mckinney's first daughter
and I am trying to find out just little bits of
information on him. He passed away seven years
ago and some things just don't add up with what he
told us and what we have found out on our own.
My father was a bery intellagent man. Loved to
write and loved music. I'm sure he was a drinker
and a smoker. If anyone out there knows anything
about him or remembers him can you please help me
out. I would be glad to hear from you.
Rhonda
December
January 1973 NAME =
Daniel Dubac MY QUEST =
Picture of me with Dallas Cowgirls on Navy Ship Stars
& Stripes E-MAIL =
andbal@relymail.com '73-'74, i
think NAME =
George Martin MY QUEST =
trying to remember when the hell i was there.....
VT of a
SWALLOW = wtf? E-MAIL =
surfaces5542@sbcglobal.net NATIONALITY
= Californian SERVICE =
Seabees UNIT = MCB
4 C company RANK/RATE/JOB
= BU3 worked the batch plant and drove the t/m's
MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = My Time There is Lost in an
Alcoholic Haze, Help Me Remember! SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = Other MY
WARSTORY = ok, some of it is coming back... got better
ones ( re: Bangkok and the Golden Dragon Hotel),
but this one I can remember better. Couple of buddies
(Randy "Snake" Booher & Kenny Ha) decided that we
needed to see more of this island paradise and took of
on bikes. We got to an area that looked like it had
prairie dogs. As we started going past the
holes, these red crabs started coming out of the holes
snapping their claws and chasing us down the path.
Some of them were kinda big and their claws could
reach past the pedals. Since Snake was from Lookout
Mtn Tenn, he had never seen anything like this and
slowed down. Of course Kenny & I had to make a
difficult choice. Turn around and get Snake or
pedal faster and survive to tell the story.
Well, I'm telling the story. Anyway, Snake had to keep
kicking them away so he could pedal. I think this was
the time his handlebars became lose. Well, he
made it out, but when we got back to the hooch, we
told everybody about the crabs, so after drinking a
little beer we decided that crab had to taste better
than the "beef" hamburger we had usually been treated
to. We went back in a couple of duece n halves.
Armed with sticks and potato sacks we must have caught
a couple of bags full. But not before we started
tossing crabs at each other just to see if they could
fly, I guess. Anyway, we did a lot of good work
there. Anybody remember the Chinese contractors
on the other side? They were dredging the area
for the "advance Trident submarine base" we were
suppose to be building.We found out what we were
building by reading time magazine and seeing the pics
the mig kept taking every week. What was the
Austrailian's name who mooned the admiral's plane? jan, 73 to
mar, 73 NAME =
COTTON aka K. L. Wells MY QUEST =
Survivor VT of a
SWALLOW = Who cares E-MAIL =
cotton88z@hotmail.com NATIONALITY
= american SERVICE =
mcb 62 delta co UNIT =
paint crew with fat albert and tommy tull RANK/RATE/JOB
= civilian working as a civil servant on the army base
here at home Ft. Riley Kansas. I was a
builder for 4 yrs 2 mo. and 29 days for uncle sam and
loved it.diego garcia, ncs guam, edzell scotland,
yokosuka japan and homeward bound to dorothy and toto
land, aka Kansas MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell
MY
WARSTORY = I was in a haze for a few years, courtsey
of Uncle Sam, But am thankful for the time and many
great friends. Our reunion, our third is in october
2006 , and I am still looking for john somma, wally
ellis, steve mitchell, turk, hobo, jim bolding, dave
crafts, tinker,and others. my address is
cotton88z@hotmail.com Also gone but not
forgotten, Leo Chabot RIP November
1973 through June 1974 NAME =
Bill Weatherly MY QUEST =
To find budies that may have suffered the same loss as
I have; Hepatitis C VT of a
SWALLOW = Ask Monty Python, He's a Brit! E-MAIL =
Not Now NATIONALITY
= American SERVICE =
US Navy, MCB-4 UNIT =
Delta Company, BOQ, and Medical Facility, Block
Crew!(Shit Can Crew) RANK/RATE/JOB
= BUCN while in Diego, BU-3 during Guam Deployment and
several NJP's. Now, who cares, not military. MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = My Time There is Lost in an
Alcoholic Haze, Help Me Remember! SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = There I Was, Passed Out in My Room
MY
WARSTORY = I remember so many! How about the
time BU-2 Nelson had to ask the shit can crew to
return the beer. Freighter pulls into lagoon and
freight offloaded via whirly crane onto mic-boats and
beach landed. R-T forklifts used to
offload palletized freight onto lowboy trailers
(including beer). One person stationed at a
critical slowwwwwww turn in the jungle who jumped
aboard trailer and started flinging cases of beer into
jungle. Yeah, we gave it back, almost all of it.
Then there
was larry Fish BU-3, from Klamath Falls Oregon who
started a race riot on the ball field that no one
could stop. I Remember Fish being busted to E-1
before recoevomg a bad conduct discharge. Then there
was the desalination barge! Yeah running out of
water after scrubbing up and having to walk to the
lagoon to rinse the soap off.
Most
importantly! I would like to hear from any other
Diego vet that has contracted Hepatitis C. I am
in the process of trying to show a connection to the
VA. Please call me at (907)563-9621.
Thanks, Bill Weatherly 1973,1974
M.C.B. 10 Echo Company NAME =
James McDANIEL, known as Chicken Man Mc Daniel
E-MAIL =
burnumupbarnes@yahoo.com MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Please Select The Category That
Best Discribes Your Interest in Diego Garcia SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell
MY
WARSTORY = Hello I AM ChickenMan McDaniel, this is my
story. The first time I was on Diego Garcia was in
1973 with Echo com. ,I was a steel worker . Believe it
or not I realy did not now where I was going,
volenteered for the asighnment . As it turned out
there I was out in the middle of now where, stuck on
an island, with a bunch Sea Bees, Englishman and no
women!!! So when it came time to go on R.R. It was
time to go to Bangcock, Thailand. While I was there
the Thai Gov. was ovar thrown have lots of pictures
still to the day. Then it was time to back to home
base,tour was over after six months of deployment.
Rretun time 1974 to 1975 of January. M my dutyies were
building add on to officers mess hall, then laying out
duct work to hospital,on to barecks five ,then on
laying out rebar for swim pool,and fianlly back to
camp maintenence where I stayed the rest of tour .Now
there was a time a bunch of fellow
steel workers went on a shelling exspadishion. When
all the sudden the guys out front started to run with
out saying a thing, all the sudden I new why I yelled
out bees very big bees I was hit twice and was on very
fast run . Still to the day I have two scars one on
each leg. Most memerable moment was when Miss U.S.A.
show , came to town. I thought of all the ladys Miss
Minesota was best looking sexy. Still I do have my
California drivers licence that Miss Ill. sighned my
base ball glove was stolen out mail whn I sent it
home, which all the Miss U.S.A. Sighned. I use to do a
chicken call when I was playing in the out field and
it seemed every one would hit the ball to me.
Sep 1973 -
Feb 1974 NAME = Ron
Henderson MY QUEST = VT of a
SWALLOW = E-MAIL =
rph4@cox.net NATIONALITY
= US SERVICE =
USN Retired UNIT = OIC
Satellite Comm. from Harold E. Holt RANK/RATE/JOB
= Then CWO2 now retired RMCM MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell
MY
WARSTORY = Enjoyed my stay in Diego Garcia working on
the installation of the site and doing a lot of
snorkeling for shells. Accumulated a great
collection. Went back to H.E. Holt as Comm
Officer then on to Commander Carrier Group 2 in the
Med. Retired and am now an administrator and
associate pastor of a large local church in Baton
Rouge, LA. Would like to hear from someone I served
with. 1973 to
1974 NAME =
Craigster MY QUEST =
To hold the EM-club "Grail" VT of a
SWALLOW = Only me and the troll knows E-MAIL =
craigstersparky35@msn.com NATIONALITY
= Poor white boy SERVICE =
Navy UNIT =
NMCB-4 RANK/RATE/JOB
= E-3 at the time. retired MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Want to Return When the First REAL
Club Med Opens
SUBJECT OF
MY STORY: = I am a Born Liar, and Want To Tell About
All The Sex I Had on Dodge MY
WARSTORY = I have posted a War Story before, but I
recently transferred some of my old 35M slides to
digital. I want to post them now.
Has anybody watched the movie CASTAWAY with Tom Hanks
and said "Oh $%^&*(" That was almost
real. A coconut on the tin roof hootch at
3:00am. The screaming squirts after eating green
coconuts. The wierd fish that we caught with
ribeye steak chunks that we snagged from the chow hall
at night. I gave the steaks out freely because
my chief hated me and put me on mess cook duty at
night. How about gaurding the dead people in the
reefers at night. I also saw the Mig
flyover. How about the dead rat that was in the
ice cream mix and clogged the pour spout on the
machine for the outside movies. The Brit Govenor
would not allow the showing of the movie "Deep
Throat". Anyway
everybody have fun and have a good life. Later
Days, The Craigster AKA Mickey Bitsko. Webmaster,
How do I attach photos? Craigster -
Unfortunately the ones you sent were too tiny.
If you can rescan them in a larger format, then
send them to me direct again.
Early mists of 1974 NAME = Michael C. Linson MY QUEST = Grail of Irreverence VT of a SWALLOW = African, European, or N.
American? E-MAIL = mcl181"at"netscape.net NATIONALITY = National SERVICE = USN UNIT = VP-47 TAD/TDY RANK/RATE/JOB = AX-sumthun -Got out as a Frocked
AX-2 MY INTEREST IN DG IS = Green Eco-Freak Who Hates
How the Brits Have Taken Such Good Care of The Island SUBJECT OF MY STORY: = I'd Like to Share
Precious Memories of
Drinking/Fishing/Snorkeling/Sailing on Diego Garcia MY WARSTORY = Actually, I never got drunk in the
Navy, nor anywhere else - never was too popular... At anyrate, it's been fun to brag that I've
spent time on an island with no women on it, and I'm
out to make up for lost time. The nervous look
on women's faces is almost as spectacular as the
tropical scenery on the island...
Sept 1973 to March 1974 NAME = John Lakedon ETN 3 MY QUEST = gain immortality by posting this on
the web VT of a SWALLOW = damn fast E-MAIL = ajlakedon1@netzero.com NATIONALITY = US SERVICE = USN UNIT = Navcon Sta satelite com det Tad from HE
holt in Australia RANK/RATE/JOB = Did 8 years and got out MY INTEREST IN DG IS = My Time There is Lost in
an Alcoholic Haze, Help Me Remember! SUBJECT OF MY STORY: = Please Select a Title For
Your Story, or Select 'Other' MY WARSTORY = Was sent to that hell hole when
the middle east heated up in fall of 73. Played on the
com centers softball team and kicked as on all the
seabees, took 1st place. drank a lot of beer and
shelled the reef at the transmitter site, and ocean
side from the downtown area to the reciever site were
I worked as tech on An -TSC-54 sat com system. Got a real nice tan
that lasted almost a year from the time I left the
island. Other than that, was exposed to my first
expoilts of the stupidity of the USN and the military
all together. Saw waste like one would not believe and
its ahrd to believe its still going on today. Made some good friends
and somwe bad friends, but mostly good. Most people
dont believe I was ever there but who cares. We had a
good time but it was better when we left.
1973 "Watson, Dan" <Dan.Watson@netapp.com> A friend forwarded me a link to your Diego
Garcia web site. I really enjoyed browsing the
pictures, especially the old ones. I was with NMCB 62 when they deployed to DG, and
I finished my active duty tour (I was a weekend
warrior) in March '73, hopping on the C-130 to
Bangkok, happy to be leaving. No promises, but I have a bunch of slide
pictures from my time there. I will have to dig
them out and learn how to use the scanner I bought a
couple of years ago! One of these days ... Have fun, Dan Watson
June 1973, also June 1972 until November 1972 NAME = Dan Welander MY QUEST = See more pictures on the
island. I was with MCB 10, and one of the 1st
Americans on the island. E-MAIL = dwelander@andersencorp.com NATIONALITY = American SERVICE = Navy UNIT = USN MCB 10 RANK/RATE/JOB = PN2 SUBJECT OF MY STORY: = There I Was, Passed Out
on The Beach MY WARSTORY = One of the 1st Americans to arrive
on the island. We went by boat from
Bangkok. I lived in a tent for 3 months, they in
a plywood quonset hut. I spent 7 or 8 months on
the island. I have been to Diego Garcia
twice. I came back in June 1973, with the
battalion. The second time I was there was for
only a few weeks. I would like to find pictures
of the battalion from back in 1972 and 1973. I
remember a lot of R&R in Bangkok and Sydney.
1972,1973,1974 NAME = jerry cripe MY QUEST = retirement VT of a SWALLOW = english or african? E-MAIL = jerry.cripe@navy.mil NATIONALITY = wasp SERVICE = US NAVY UNIT = NMCB-10 RANK/RATE/JOB = MY INTEREST IN DG IS = Want to Drink A Lot,
Cheap SUBJECT OF MY STORY: = Please Select a Title For
Your Story, or Select 'Other' MY WARSTORY = NO STORY. NAVY MADE ME STAY ON THE
ISLAND AND BUILD STUFF.
1973 LES BYWATERS
<lesb@canberra.plus.com> Subject:
A Brit on DG
Hi
Name
is Les Bywaters, ex-Royal Air Force ground crew.
Visited
your DG site and had a very pleasant hour looking
around. You have a tremendous amount of stuff there
which makes interesting reading - and nostalgic in
some places.
Why
nostalgic? And why especially to a Brit Air Force guy.
Well, during 1972/73 I was stationed on RAF Gan in the
Maldives (about 400 miles north of DG). Gan was
a similar coral island to DG, but smaller and was one
island of a group called Addu Atoll. Gan was an RAF
staging base, in fact, the whole island was the base,
until it shut down in 1976. The DG nostalgia comes
from an event that I took part in during late 72 or
early 73.
The
RAF flew a party of Royal Marines from the UK (about a
dozen or so) to RAF Gan where, after a night-stop, we
on Gan then flew them on to DG in our resident
Hercules (C-130). This RN/Marines party was, I
believe, the first bunch of RN Marines to be sent to
DG.
I
remember well, as we flew south over the azure
tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, watching a whale
for ages and wondering if it was a Russian sub just
under the surface - and should we report it.
Eventually we saw a rising smudge of what looked like
smoke on the horizon - this turned out to be a massive
rising column of coral dust from the construction
works on DG.
We
landed on the pristine white concrete at DG,
unfortunately leaving a set of long black tyre marks,
and were directed to a spot near the end of the
runway, close to the sea shore. There we were
told to remain in the aircraft while de-contamination
measures were carried out. A couple of US guys,
dressed in green overalls with gas masks came on board
and sprayed the whole interior of our Hercules from 2
foot long, dark green aerosols. Pungent stuff, made
your teeth itch. Later we were told, (jokingly),
that we suffered this indignity because we'd marked up
their nice, new, clean runway! I also seem
to remember being told that we were the first
"foreigner" to land on their runway.
Anyway,
we all disembarked and were "wined and dined" by the
SeeBees. We visited a couple of bars and then I
visited with the guys running the DG AFRTS radio
station. This visit was because I presented a
broadcast Country&Western show on our own "Radio
Gan" while I was on the island. I was just a regular
RAF guy, did the DJ/presenter bit on a voluntary basis
- as did all the Radio Gan presenters. Having
previously tuned in to Radio Diego, Anyway, I had
brought with me to DG some of our BBC radio shows, on
LP, as "exchange goods". Had a great day with that
crew, and a lot of beer, unfortunately I don't
remember names, but did get a bunch of AFRTS LP-type
records to take back with me. One of the
"sayings" on DG radio at that time was "It's a great
day. If you're trucking around the island, take Radio
Diego with you, you'll enjoy the music and we'll enjoy
the ride."
During
our visit, as with all "visiting" service units
world-wide, our RAF guys indulged in "swaps" with the
SeeBees, exchanging T-Shirts, lighters, bits of
uniform, badges, hats etc, in a flurry of trading over
a few beers. Then, having seen to the bedding down of
the RN Marines we'd brought, we took off. We got
permission to do the obligatory lo-fast flypast and
then flew round the entire atoll with the rear ramp
down so we could all get pictures. Finally,
after another lo-fast we literally flew off into the
sunset.
Great
memories of a great day. I've attached a couple
of pics for your interest. One is from the rear
of our Herc showing part of the construction site
(don't know where though). The second is a pic of our
departure. I'm the guy with the hand luggage (full of
AFRTS LPs) bringing up the rear. The aircraft is an
RAF Hercules (24 Squadron) in the RAF "tropical" camo
of the time. You may note the day-glo emblem high on
the fin. This was a Road Runner (Beep! Beep!) which
was the emblem of our section on RAF Gan - Staging
Aircraft and Servicing Flight (SASF). The third pic
shows a Project Reindeer Zippo that I got that
day, and that I still have and use. Also, for
your interest, an aerial of RAF Gan. Not a large base
compared to DG, only 600 blokes on it - and no women!
Thus our motto - "Not Having". But a great place to be
stationed for a year, although most of us didn't know
that at the time!
A
month later, back on Gan, we had a visit from a USAF
C-130 from DG. Bit of an emergency this was though as
one of the US personnel at DG had acute appendicitis
<sp?> and the RAF, on Gan, had the nearest
hospital facilities to carry out the operation.
He was OK and stayed with us for a week or so.
Right,
good site, I shall visit again.
Cheers
Les
Service = Royal Air Force John Needham = templist@btinternet.com Citizenship = UK Outfit = 24 Sqn Royal Air Force My_Warstory = First RAF C-130 THE TRUTH On the 18 February 1973 doing a morning
pre-flight check
(I was flight engineer on 24 Sqn XV222) a request
came down as to how fast
could we get airborne. Thinking this was for
circuits and bumps, a slow
response (as in no response) till told of CASEVAC
(casualty evacuation) task
from Diego Garcia. Seems Gan Radio had overheard a
USAF C-130 having to abort
flight to DG for technical reasons. Anyway, 30
minutes later we were airborne
flying South to what we thought would be a
tactical landing onto a desert
island dirt strip. Surprise, surprise! There waiting for us
was a long strip
of concrete. We requested permission to land. DG
air traffic asked us who we
were. We told them that we had heard they had a
medical emergency and we were
there to pick up the person. The scene reminded me of the pacific
islands during WWII.
A long bit of concrete with dirt piled up along
the sides. We landed and took on board the patient
and an American
doctor. I was told the guy had intestine blockage.
So, taking off and landing
at sea level, against normal operating procedures,
I did a manual
pressurisation of the aircraft to keep pressure
change inside to minimum. Two hours later the patient was on the
operating table in
RAF Gan hospital. One week later we flew him (and
the doctor) out to Singapore
on out twice weekly resupply flight. A couple of weeks later the Royal Navy
group were flown
into Gan from Singapore by our crew. The next day
the other crew flew the group
and some Gan personnel down to DG for the day.
They were treated royally coming
back with tales of the day. On the 2 March, we were again headed to
DG, this time to
CASEVAC one of the Royal Navy guys to Singapore.
We landed in the middle of a
tropical rain storm. When we came to a stop we
shutdown the outboard engines
because of the ground equipment all over the
place, turned into wind and were
stuck there, unable to turn because of the wind.
After a few minutes the wind
dropped and we were able to get onto the parking
pan. As well as taking on
board the Royal Navy guy, we also uplifted some
fuel. Having started our
engines, the captain asked if I had the fuel chit.
I hadn’t, so down out of the
aircraft to ask the American ground crew for the
paper work. They denied any
knowledge of giving us any fuel. They had quickly realised that we were
operating two
crews on the aircraft and they had ‘rewarded’ the
wrong crew on the day visit.
So, their way of showing appreciation of us saving
one of theirs was to ignore
the fuel uplift. The USAF C-130 landed at RAF Gan because
of shutting an
engine down. They too were expecting a coral strip
and were surprised to find a
long concrete runway. A few days later (and a few
beer parties), having had an
engine change they did a big show of farewell and
took off. Only to do a
circuit and land again. At the end of the runway
they stopped and we saw a
figure jump out of the aircraft, duck into the
nose wheel bay and back into the
aircraft. They took off again and this time, all
the wheels came up and off
they flew. So, there you have the real background
story to Les
Bywaters picture and story.
1973 to 1974
NAME
= Craig Hemenway Nickname Mickey Bitsko
MY
QUEST = Just memories
VT
of a SWALLOW = European or African?
E-MAIL
= craigstersparky35@msn.com
NATIONALITY
= Viking/Scottish
SERVICE
= USN MCB 4 Charlie company
UNIT
= Steel worker. Night time runway repair, Night time
mess cook, Helped out biulders, Not much high steel on
DG except towers.
RANK/RATE/JOB
= While on DG I was a SW, I am now on a disability
retirement,I was electrocuted on a inspection job at
6.9KV about 500A. I was a large equipment Agricultural
Automations expert with various University
Credentials. PG&E lit me up by accident, at
least I think it was an accident.
MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Want to Drink A Lot, Cheap
SUBJECT
OF MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Drinking Story
MY
WARSTORY = One morning we fishermen met at the dreaded
quarter deck "Glorified Sea Hut" it had a bad boy cage
out back under coconut trees. We jumped on what was
called a large aluminum "about 45'" Lark boat and we
drove out into the lagoon. While out in the lagoon
towards the outer Islands the engine quit and then the
radio quit, We were rescued by a mike boat. One
guy fell out and was rescued. I used steak from the
chow hall for bate. I hooked a large at least 16 foot
great white shark, nobody wanted to bring it onboard,
it was seen by all on board and it finally broke my
120LB line and steel leader. I think the Quarterdeck
was D15? The Lark boat had tractor wheels. We had a
garbage can full of beer. We brought in at least 2, 6
foot sharks and barbecued them on Sunday afternoon our
only day off. Dean Robinson and Horney Bob were on
board that day.Fred Bohnsack did not want to
go. We had a large barbecue on the outer
edge of the Sea Huts overlooking the Indian Ocean. We
would put the fish and "sharks and tuna" in the shower
to keep them wet then invited all for party time. Does
anybody remember Blue Nun wine.
Does
anybody remember stomping rats in the chow line or
throwing forks and knives at rats running along the
beams in the chow hall.
I
was the one who would take FNG's out from the EM club
and take them hunting for the real Coconut crabs "NOT
LAND CRABS" in the jungle very late at night.
After
DG we all went to Guam.
Later
days Dudes.
Early 1973,
with MCB-74
NAME
= Ken Haedrich
MY
QUEST = To not go broke before I die
E-MAIL
= kenhaedrich@hotmail.com
NATIONALITY
= American
SERVICE
= USN
UNIT
= MCB 74
RANK/RATE/JOB
= BU striker at the time/today I'm a freelance writer
MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane
SUBJECT
OF MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Snorkeling Story
MY
WARSTORY = I arrived on Diego early in 1973, catching
up with MCB 74, just a dumb 18 year old kid fresh out
of BU A-school. This was quite a cultural switch for
someone who grew up in New Jersey and thought NY state
was exotic.
A
fellow named Charlie Van Pelt, another BU who had gone
to boot camp and A-school with me, and myself were out
swimming in the lagoon a few days, I think, after we
arrived. We're just screwin' around and Charlie yells
to me: There's a guy down there! I didn't think
much of it, but he was really freaked out - so I dive
down and there's this kid, sitting on the bottom of
the lagoon, and I knew right away the guy was dead,
drowned. We pulled him up, shouted for some medics,
and I'm telling you it was one freaky experience to
see this bloated dead guy just laying there on the
beach - not a pretty sight at all. I don't remember
the guy's name, but I do remember I stayed away from
the lagoon for quite some time after that.
That
was just the start of a real string of bad luck for
our batallion. An EO was killed taking apart a crane,
a diver died in an accident, and in the hooch right
next to mine a BU1 had a heart attack and died one day
when he went back to his hut for a nap, I think. I
don't remember his name, but he was a good buddy of my
platoon leader, a great mason from NY city somewhere,
maybe Brooklyn. I think his name was Donovan. Maybe
someone knows him. Let me know. Also, a BU by the name
of Jimmy Don splattered hot tar all over himself,
working on a roof. He was in bad shape for a while.
Looking
back, it was the best of times and worst of times -
really lonely at times, because I was fresh away from
home, but probably one of the most vivid experiences
I've ever had. The work was hell. I humped block and
mixed mud for 8 months straight for the BEQ's. I've
never been in such good shape since. They used to make
us take a shitload of salt tablet everyday, so we
didn't dehydrate.
I
remember this happened, and I never have been able to
figure it out: one day me and some guys were walking
away from the job sight and a figgin' bird swooped
down and attacked me, knocking my helmet right off. He
came in for a few more tries. Still don't know what
kind of bird that was. Anybody know?
Yes,
I'd go back in a minute for a visit. A buddy in the
merchant marines has been there several times and says
it looks like a country club today. Not then: it was a
paradise, but a rustic one, plywood and screen hooches
and more than a few rats.
Anybody
remember any of this?
Ken
Haedrich
73-74
NAME
= Dave Tilki
E-MAIL
= Tilki@msn.com
SERVICE
= USN
UNIT
= Air Ops / Air Cargo, NAVCOMSTA
RANK/RATE/JOB
= EOCN/EO3, Retired from reserves in 2000 as a EQCM
MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = My Time There is Lost in an
Alcoholic Haze, Help Me Remember!
SUBJECT
OF MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Drinking Story
MY
WARSTORY = I see all the stories about San Migel being
the official beer. I worked at air ops, taxied
the plane in , then ran the forklift unloading
cargo. 1 141 a week at the beginning, then
2 a week Wed and Sat. I got to know many of the
Air Force loadmasters and began "importing" cases of
San Migel from PI. We had to be careful the Brit
Rep didn't catch us, it was sure better drinking than
that preserved Bud. The one time we ran out of
beer (everyone knew a Bee cannot function without
beer) a local British ship resupplied us by helo , 200
cases at a time, with 1000 cases of Double
Diamond. With its high alcohol content and most of us
having been "dry" for a while, it was one drunk
night. Was also a member of the official "Donkey
Roundup Team" We chased them all up to about Pt
Marianne and they closed the fence at the donkey
guard. The next day they were right back at the
airport.
Remember
the first C-5? Spring of 74, it was on its way to
Israel, could not even go down the taxiway, it was too
big, had to park on the runway overnight. What
ever happened to the new chow hall, its only use was
to show movies on the outside wall?
April, 1973
through November, 1973 NAME = Arthur
E. Coords (Operations Yeoman,
NMCB 74) MY QUEST =
Retired educator: I often prepare aquatic articles for
family magazines. VT of a SWALLOW
= ...probably depends on the grub... E-MAIL =
ESPIGADERA@cs.com
NATIONALITY =
U. S. A. CITIZEN; SERVICE = U. S. NAVY; UNIT = The one
and only Operations Yeoman in our Battalion,
NMCB 74 RANK/RATE/JOB =
Several months later, in February, 1974 I returned as
a senior to finish school at Florida Southern College,
graduating in 1975 and going on for two more years to
University of Florida in Tampa, Florida. Later,
taught high school and mostly elementary school. I
wrote the children's book THE SPACE APPLE STORY, The
Children's Tribute to the Seven Challenger Astronauts,
published in 1992.
MY INTEREST IN
DG IS = Naturalist/Ecologist SUBJECT OF MY
STORY: = I'd Like to Share Precious Memories of
Drinking/Fishing/Snorkeling/Sailing on Diego Garcia
MY WARSTORY
= In my very rare spare time on
Diego Garcia, because we lost several servicemen to
drowning, I was also paid to teach about four
servicemen to become lifeguards. (I was also a
International American Red Cross Water Safety
Instructor Southeast Asia.) I did enjoy an occasional
sail in the lagoon on the few sailfish boats that we
had there. Our battalion helped build the
blueish buildings (before they were painted) made from
blue coral reefs which were the aggregate used in our
concrete. I was the operations yeoman and helped
prepared the MONTHLY, OPERATIONS REPORTS which
Navy Construction Battalions received around the
world. We returned to Gulfport, Mississippi during the
month of November, 1973. Since I had been a
fleet sailor ported in Nea Makri, Greece for two
years, going to Diego Garcia and enduring the humid,
no air conditioning...once-in-a-while we used fans to
cool our sweat, an a sudden rain shower cooled us off,
was eight months (seemed like eight years!) of an
unusual experience. Those sailors and especially
those of battalion 33 who were there just before us
endured very hot conditions. Now, I understand
that there is airconditioning. I bet those
coconut crabs still try to prevent jeeps from
traveling on the dirt roads we drove on....especially
at two o'clock in the morning, deliverying a red cross
message or picking up a sudden red cross message for a
sleeping serviceman who would be informed that he was
on the next flight out to attend a parent's sudden
funeral.
There
were absolutely no women on the island when we were
there except for an occasional USO show. It was
considered ISOLATED DUTY and some servicemen, working
eighteen hours a day, found it difficult, especially
because of the heat and because two weeks could pass
by without a mail plane due to a
typhoon in the Indian Ocean somewhere. Many of us (due
to the Vietnam War about a thousand miles away) could
not believe that we would actually get off that
" ROCK ", but we did and the U.S. NAVY actually
flew us off on a large commercial jet...that Diego
Garcia runway was just barely long enough as we saw
the ocean hardly feet below our wheels!! We lost
five servicemen while I was stationed there.
When a reefer unit (cold food storage) was cleaned-out
and we got extra lobster, etc. we knew that a body was
being stored in there until a flight out was possible.
We slept in hot seahootches with the music of the
lagoon waves all night. I do not remember every having
mosquitoes, but greyish sandsharks patroled shallow,
lagoon waters. There was talk from that old
fishing barge that someone caught a large, struggling
fish...and while reeling it in, a huge dark shadow
approached that struggling fish... there was suddenly
nothing! The stars are huge at night on Diego Garcia.
The shells at zero tide are plentiful and beautiful.
The coconuts were plentiful and we wore helmets to
protect our heads from falling nuts!
There
were passive, but deadly sea snakes and stonefish.
Cone shells were supposed to have a poisonous spike. I
saw a white moray eel on the oceanside. We wore
cut-offs, but neat, shorts and many of us grew beards
until we returned stateside. Because of that Vietnam
War and the uncertainty of surviving
all that, we probably couldn't enjoy that Island of
Diego Garcia as people do now...and only us ugly guys
lived there...no women were stationed there at that
time. All of us were very, very delighted to land in
Anchorage, Alaska, go through customs and make that
short flight down to Gulfport, Missippi. Because of my
working eighteen hours, especially on Sundays
sometimes, I gained a lot of weight as a yeoman...it
surprised me when I actually took time to look in a
mirror stateside. But, months later, many of us were
free....veterans looking for our freedom as I finished
school, several years using the timely veterans bill
and my experiences helped me to teach school,
appreciating what I have and remembering those
servicemen who came home early, in a bodybag. Diego
Garcia was extremely hot, but the Vietnam War nearby
at that time often interferred with a youngman's
dreams and hopes. I lost several highschool friends in
Vietnam...mostly, I realized that other elementary
school teachers, mostly female, have no idea about
what Veteran's Day or real veterans actually went
through....too many Americans take our freedoms for
granted....I realize now that the Island of Diego
Garcia, as a communication's station and other
purposes is a very important strategic location for
our involvement in the middle east area. We
Americans need to know what is
constantly happening in the entire world so that we
are prepared to defend freedom...just being there
warns other nations!! Looking back, I am glad I
was a part of that Diego Garcia project and I am very
proud to find such online....KEEP UP THE WONDERFUL
JOB!
73? Also
in ' 77 MCB 62 NAME = Wm. (
Joe) Schick
MY QUEST = You
Know who you are. I have'nt forgot the loan. VT of a SWALLOW
= Very tasty BBQ
E-MAIL =
joeschc@aol.com
UNIT = MCB 74.
RANK/RATE/JOB =
Steel worker; fab. re-bar,tanks on cosway,steel in
fresh water tanks and more MY INTEREST IN
DG IS = My Time There is Lost in an Alcoholic Haze,
Help Me Remember!
SUBJECT OF MY
STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY WARSTORY = I
will save this for anuther time,great sight. Been here
lets see......7 hours and will be back for more.
I do have a story or two. Be
Safe "Joe" 1973 and 74
NAME = Ray
Headley
E-MAIL =
diplomat012001@yahoo.com
SERVICE = US
Army - US Army Hospital Bangkok; UNIT = Maintenance
& Inspection of medical equipment
RANK/RATE/JOB =
SSG E 6 (now retired, touring the USA in a motorhome,
today I'm in Florida) MY INTEREST IN
DG IS = Want a Job as Far Away from My Wife as
Possible SUBJECT OF MY
STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY WARSTORY =
You folks had no medical equipment technician on the
island, so a liason arrangement was made that somebody
would come out to DG on a quarterly basis or on
emergency response as needed. On one routine
call, the medical x-ray was down. I arrived in
time for supper and the evening ceremonies, planning
to get the x-ray back up first thing next
morning. We flew out in C 130's in those
days. Unfortunately as the bird left next
morning, it raked the rear door over some survey
stakes in new runway construction, and tore out some
of the hydralics. Plane was loaded with guys and
circling in the area to dump fuel. Got the old
x-ray fixed, glad to say, plane landed with no
problems - just another day's wait to get off DG. Sure
was a nice change to get out of Bangkok and enjoy the
shelling and wild scenery in "paradise". 1973-74 NAME = nick
palmer; E-MAIL = npalmer1@nycap.rr.com NATIONALITY =
mute; SERVICE = usn; UNIT = fuel farm; RANK/RATE/JOB =
seaman MY INTEREST IN
DG IS = My Time There is Lost in an Alcoholic Haze,
Help Me Remember!
SUBJECT OF MY
STORY: = There I Was, Passed Out in My Room MY WARSTORY =
but not a room a hut. looks like a resort now August 1973
until May 1974
NAME = Al
Jarrell
MY QUEST = Hook
up with other friends that was on DG E-MAIL =
ajarrel@msn.com
NATIONALITY =
American; SERVICE = MCB-4; UNIT = Bravo Company
installing underground power at Charlie and Comm site;
RANK/RATE/JOB = CE-2 MY INTEREST IN
DG IS = Want to Drink A Lot, Cheap SUBJECT OF MY
STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY WARSTORY =
We helped out on the desalt barges and was always
playing poker with the boys from the Ozarks. One
night decided to do some fishing off one of the barges
and hooked a 5' shark got it up on deck and started
giving birth to a bunch of baby sharks. We were
in sharks up to our butts and did not know what to do
with all them little man eaters. Threw the
mother back and kept a couple little ones to put in
the fish pond. Put them in the pond and they ate
all the other damn fish. Live and learn.
Also
if anyone remembers the time when they flew the Air
Force captain in for a court martial and she hit the
beach early in the morning after the night shift was
off then you have been to DG with the Fabulous Four
(MCB4).
[editor's
question :Since I didn't start flying in there
until 79 and wasn't PCS until 87-88, I wasn't there
for the desalt barges. How did they work?
Where were they?]
Ted,
the desalt barges were how we got our fresh
water. There were 4 barrages tied together that
basically brought in sea water processed it through a
distillation process and pumped out fresh water to
base. They would have 2 on line and 2 would be
down for maintenance and cycle them like that the
whole time we were down there. They were real
close to the water towers. In fact they were
just across the road from the softball field and right
next to the club. We were suppose to take the
Navy shower to conserve fresh water but never saw
anyone there do it.
Also
the desalt crew was part of Bravo company and whoever
chose this crew must of had a flash of
brilliance. Everyone of these guys were from the
south around the Ozarks and they new more about
distillation then any 10 engineers in the
battalion. That was a good thing and a bad
thing. Good because they were the hardest
working bunch of fools I have ever seen, bad because
it gave them access to top quality supplies and they
extended their knowledge of distillation into the
development of a couple of stills on the island.
Damn near got caught when some of the Brits got in a
card game with us and got a nose full of good ole
'white lightning'. I swear to God those Brits
were climbing the palm
trees and
barking at the moon that night. Funniest damn
thing I have seen in my life.
I
think they knew we had a still because the Brit Rep
came in front of the battalion and in a back handed
way explained to us what the queen expected from us as
guests on the island. Wrong thing to do to a
bunch of rank Seabees that had not seen the world for
7 months. From that day forward international
relations between the "Limey's" and "Yanks" were not
much better than in 1776. It was rather humorous
in a way to see the British Navy and the "Bastard
Children" (Seabees) of the U.S Navy. The Brit's
were so prim and proper and of course the Seabees were
some of the rankest individuals on the face of the
earth at that time. I was always amazed at the
fact that the Seabees were always held in a mystic
belief somewhere between a troll and orger but when it
came to hunker down time who were the first ones they
turned to for help. Anyway to come to a
conclusion we decided that the Brit Rep did not want
his boys "drinking our buffalo piss and barking at the
moon". That would have be very disappointing to
her Majesty. Nov 1973 - May
1974
NAME = Ron
Annis
E-MAIL =
rannis@pmt.org
SERVICE = navy
mcb4 b company; RANK/RATE/JOB = I was a ce3
doing underground cable work, phone and power
MY WARSTORY =
No bad war stories. Still trying to remember
some of that place it's been along time
ago. About the best damn fishing and shelling a
guy could ask for. I was damn glad to get away
and go to Bangkok for a week. That was a good
place to party every night. Hated to leave that
place. I don't think the land crabs are any
bigger in the world than what d.g. has. I always
had the damn things in my cable trenches with
me. I actually made the diesel engine on the old
deuce and a half run backwards one day going out to
the job. Scared hell out of me.
Guess
I'm proud to say I helped build the place somewhat and
I hope America still contiues to whip Osama's ass and
the rest of those crazy idiots.
Jan 1973 - June 1973
NAME = Terry Mross MY QUEST = Memories and
Pride VT of a SWALLOW = The same
as a Seabee heading for the club E-MAIL =
terrymross@yahoo.com NATIONALITY = American;
SERVICE = Navy; UNIT = Electrician with NMCB 133;
RANK/RATE/JOB = CECN MY INTEREST IN DG IS = My
Time There is Lost in an Alcoholic Haze, Help Me
Remember! MY WARSTORY = Not only did
I help set concrete power poles and underground cable,
at night I worked on the radio station as "Norton"
with Mike "MO" Malone and J.D. "Roadrunner" Norton.
After what has happend in New York I can say I'm very
proud that I was one of the early ones who helped
build this strategic base even though at the time it
sucked! Go get 'em, America! Here's a pic of the "Rat
Pack". We were a bunch of skuzzies, huh. I
can't remember half these guys' names. I think
they were considered the "pot smoking hippy
freaks". [Editor's note: Yeah, and now
(2012) they are all at least 57 years old and qualify
for prescription pot for the service-connected
glaucoma!]
1973 NAME = Alex Mc
Grath
MY QUEST =
Contact my old mates
E-MAIL =
alex_mcgrath@eu.irco.com
NATIONALITY =
Irish; SERVICE = Royal Navy; UNIT = Communications;
RANK/RATE/JOB = REM. Plank Owner
MY INTEREST IN
DG IS = My Time There is Lost in an Alcoholic Haze,
Help Me Remember!
SUBJECT OF MY
STORY: = There I Was, Passed Out on The Beach MY WARSTORY =
Just like to contact members of RN Party 1002. It all
is a little hard to remember due to the amount of beer
knocked down. Good times ...bad times..... overall I
am glad I was there.
jan 1973 to
sept 1973
NAME = Garlin
Willigham
MY QUEST = Find
some buddies
E-MAIL =
wrench@pvtnetworks.net
NATIONALITY =
anglo; SERVICE = US NAVY; UNIT = NMCB 74 Rock
Crusher; RANK/RATE/JOB = EO3
MY INTEREST IN
DG IS = Geo-political Rabble Rousing SUBJECT OF MY
STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY WARSTORY =
The best part of that fubar rock was LEAVING FOR 6
days of R&R in Bangkok and LEAVING period.
I
learned a hell of lot on that little coral atoll,
Refrigerated air is the only way to go when you can
get it, there are some really beautiful but deadly
fish in the ocean, the little things in life count,
there are worse places than Gulport, MS, 70 degree
weather can actually freeze your ass off during a
typhoon, how to work my ass off 10hrs a day 6 days
aweek just for the experience, ass holes come in many
sizes and colors, friends come in many sizes and
colors, actually being there was not all that bad
after I left. All in all I was a typical
SeaBee...bitching and griping. I do feel like a
part of a elite group that served on Diego MF Garcia.
(use your imagination on the MF) and I really wouldn't
trade the experience(s) for anything. Actually, I
wouldn't mind going back for short (3 hrs tops)
visit. Maybe even just a flyby might work.
My
brother SeaBees my hat is off to all who served from
the beach landing to present day. Little did we
mushrooms know what a pearl of the free world that
Diego Garcia would become. Most people have no
conception of what a major military installation that
small coral atoll has become. 1973 - 1974
MANNY MOLINA
<manny363636@aol.com I cant believe
this sight is here. To cool. I spent a year on Diego
Garcia, I arrived in my dress blues on Jan 20 1973 and
departed Jan 20 1974. When I arrived I was an E-2 and
when I departed the rock I was an E-3. A UTCN and
plank owner of the NAVCOMSTA. I have nothing but great
memories of the place, I've blocked out all the bad
stuff I guess. I would love to find some of my old
buddies from back then, and would be honored to serve
the gov. Manny Molina former UTCN 1973 and out
of the Navy a OTA1 in 1991 1973 NAME =
STARK,W.F.
MY QUEST = TURN
TWO
VT of a SWALLOW
= U DONT KNOW DO U E-MAIL =
WFSTARK@HOTMAIL.COM
NATIONALITY =
USA
SERVICE = NMCB
US NAVY
UNIT = 133/CREW
LEADER OF ROOF FORMING ,BEQ1,2 /RAWIN BUILDING RANK/RATE/JOB =
BU2 DISCHARGED IN 75/BACK TO E-1 MARRIED MY INTEREST IN
DG IS = Other
SUBJECT OF MY
STORY: = Other
MY WARSTORY =
TITLE; "DIEGO I GARCIA" SLOWLY TURN STEP BY STEP INCH
BY ....
MY STORY IS
DRIVING A 2 1/2 TON TRUCK OVER LAND CRABS ON THE ROAD
TO FEED THE BIRDS ON THE WAY TO THE JOBSITE,THEN
DRIVING THE SAME 2 1/2 TON TRUCK OVER THE BIRDS ON THE
ROAD TO FEED THE CRABS ON THE WAY BACK FROM THE
JOBSITE.
Oct. 1973 -
july 1974
GERY BASTIANI
<gbastian@bellsouth.net> NATIONALITY =
redneck; SERVICE = seabees; UNIT = mcb-4 a co. RANK/RATE/JOB =
was a cm3 then. got in 75 but returned in 81 as a ut.
retired in 97 as a ut1 MY INTEREST IN
DG IS = My Time There is Lost in an Alcoholic Haze,
Help Me Remember! SUBJECT OF MY
STORY: = There I Was, Passed Out on The Beach MY WARSTORY =
spent a many of nights at the em club, and passed out
on the beach. Just barely making it to morning muster
eveytime.
1973-1974 DAVE JOHNSON
<djohns82@gte.net MY QUEST = to
remember ......
VT of a SWALLOW
= fuc.....fast
SERVICE =
nmcb-62, UNIT = alpha Co heavy shop My Time There
is Lost in an Alcoholic Haze, Help Me Remember!
This is a No-Shit Drinking Story
MY WARSTORY =
what about the c-130's.....what a ride.....and the
shit'ers burning them.....and the party's....wow what
a good time...the club...the drive in.....and bob hope
and red fox to ...i still have the newsletter with the
bob hope show pic's in itand my yearbook from 75 rota
with nmcb-62....the golf course...oh i long to
remember those days....now i work in florida with many
types of navy radar systerms for ships and sub's too
also the nexrad weather radar i work on many of the
1st systems...we also do radar tracking systems for
fire control systems...never thought i would be
working on this stuff. good luck and nice page dude
can do ...anytime anywhere anyhow
1973/73
AND
1977
DONALD L.
MORRISON <DMorr90276@aol.com> U.S. NAVY
SEABEE'S
UNIT = DET.
CHANGOS --DET. CHIEF MCB 62 -- CA
CO. CHIEF RANK/RATE/JOB =
1972/73 EOCS 1977
EQCM RETIRED JUNE 1977 MY INTEREST IN
DG IS = Professional Adventurer Looking For The
Ultimate Get Away
1973 GREGOR MCADAM
<UT3MAC@webtv.net>
I
was there in 73 I think..MCB4. All we had was seahuts
to live in,lots & lots of donkeys,chickens,FLIES
UP THE ASS and Double Diamond Beer. Once every couple
of weeks a shipment of beer would come in but if you
didn't get right over to the club (quanset hut) and
snap up some cases, you're SOL and stuck with the DD
or Pabts Blue Ribbon.
We
had a radio station that used to play "BACK IN THE
U.S.S.R.' (BEATLES) for the Russian trawler that was
always off shore. The DJ also played that song--I
don't know the name of it-- about running off the
British in 1814 or something like that. Problem
was he played it so fuckin' much he pissed 'em all off
and our Capt. almost had to shut down the station!
We
used to build fires sometimes on the beach by our huts
on the lagoon side. I remember on night we were low on
firewood and we went to find some. I made it as far as
the mini golf course,if that's what you want to call
some ragged out wooden structures in the dirt with
slabs of concrete for the ball to roll on. Anyway that
windmill sure got the fire going again.
My
squad was laying in the fire mains at the far end of
the island by the new--at the time-- power plant or
pump station, I can't remember for sure what it was.
It was a good ways out there and all the roads were
coral and lousy with donkeys. There were tankers up
and down the roads spraying them down with water all
the time, the big ones like earth movers, one day this
clown pulled up to that building out where we were in
on of them only he didn't stop in time (or he didn't
WANT to), but he didn't hit the building,he hit the
jeep parked in front of the building and crushed it
like a beer can. Our Senior Chief wasn't to
jazzed about that . He wound up having to drive a weps
for the rest of our deployment and I think the kid
wound op bustin' tires for the rest of the time.
Anyway...
I've got a buddy in the Merchant Marines and he was
there a few years ago and told me the place is nothing
like I've described it to him. I'm glad! It is a very
beautiful place. The two things I liked best about it
was R&R in Bangkok, and leaving.
1973 BARNEY MEYER
<OHMIES@TOGETHER.NET> What is Your
Quest? TO GET BY Were you ever
on Diego Garcia? DAMM RIGHT. I was
on Diego Garcia in 1973 with NMCB74. What a trip
that was. I wish I was back there now.
Retired from fed gov after 25 years.
1973-1974 STEVE QUINCEY
<Steve@Quinceysj.freeserve.co.uk> What is Your
Quest? To contact other fellow Brits out there
I
was the first British contingent out there for RN
Party 1002 and we commissioned the island and I have
the plank certificate to prove it. It was lovely
to see the link and my ugly face is the one on the
pier on the right at the top, the one underneath
is my best mate, later my best man at my wedding Ben
(Grahame) Boner (actually, this photo is on Dave's web
page at http://members.aol.com/DIEGOGRCIA/index.html).
1973-1974 JIM HECKER
<jjimrh@earthlink.net> Were you ever
on Diego Garcia? March 73-February 74 "Plank
Owner"
First
8 months lived in hooch H6. Don't miss the "once a
month" fresh fruit from Mauritius but do miss the
island. I have my "plank owner"
certificate on my wall at home constantly reminding me
of that island far away.
I
was an ET3 and worked at the com center. I
remember grabbing free hamburgers and a milkshake and
then walking to the movie theatre. I don't
remember the projectionist's name but it was fun to
see him riled up and cut someone down over the PA with
his razor wit. Liked to toss gravel on the
movie projector booth's metal roof since the
projectionist was a master of put downs. He'd get on
the PA and cut anyone to shreds with just a few words.
Several
of us had gone shelling one night and we were
returning to downtown on Diego Garcia bikes. We
happened upon a herd of donkeys and started to chase
after them on our bikes. We were able to run
with them for a short while but they took a turn and
we lost them. I also remember the coconut crabs
raising their big claws while we pedaled by. On
a moonlit coral dust road, these big crabs looked
alien, as if they could grab my tire, lift me and my
bike and toss me a few yards!
A
rat would get in our hooch (H6) some nights. We
could hear him scratching on the metal roof. We
rigged a trap for him one day. We got a standard
mouse trap with cheese, tied it to the long wooden
roof brace (2X4) that ran the length of the hooch, and
set it on top of this 2X4. We all went to work that
morning, wondering if we'd catch him. That
evening, we came "home" to our hooch and found that
the trap had worked. Hanging from the rafters on
a rope was this trap with a rat in it. What a
sight to come home to.
I
worked at the ATCU vans a couple times, mainly check
out of some equipment because by then the vans weren't
being used. But they were maintained just to
insure they would still function if everything else
came crashing down (land lines to the transmitter were
cut about once a month it seemed) and I remember
thinking where the vans were located it was like a
small paradise because they actually had green grass
growing there and some egg laying chickens! But
the guys had to wear hard hats when mowing the lawn so
they wouldn't get bopped with falling coconuts.
I
worked at the golf hooch some nights, handing out
clubs and balls and selling beer and pop and snacks
for the movie crowd. One night I was sitting there and
a rat came falling out of a tree, flew right past my
head and landed on the floor just behind me. He
scampered out before I could do anything. I
figure it was a miscalculated grab for a bag of chips!
Comments:
Jim collects stamps and would like to buy or trade
stamps from Diego Garcia and Mauritius.
1973-1974 and
1972-1973 (a two time winner!) DONALD F. KUNZ
CMCS USN (Ret) <seabees@pioneerplanet.infi.net> Sept. 72-April
73 July 73- April 74 Navy Seabee was
on Diego Garica with MNCB-10 and NMCB-62 building the
runway, also paved the road from A-CO yard to Nav Fac.
We atarted building the bowling alley, lived in wooden
huts up on the hill in the compound, by the muse
generator. [editor's note: The Senior Chief is looking
for Seabees who are interested in the Navy Seabee
Veterans of America, check out their web site, http://www.nsva.org] |
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