WAR STORIES FROM PARADISE
You have traveled back to 1981! 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! |
|
81 to 83 Name = Lloydlapidus = lloydlapidus8@gmail.com Citizenship = USA;
Service = USN My_Quest = To find a
brother named Robert Jors. Best
friend on Diego Garcia My_Warstory = Survived
the invasion of Diego GARCIA ON
THE NIGHT THAT THE TIDE WENT OUT AND SOMEONE ON
THE RADAR SHIP THOUGHT THAT THE
REEF WAS AN INVASION OF AN ENEMY FORCE. GOT
EVERYONE UP AT 2 IN THE MORNING
GOING UP AND DOWN THE COAST OF ISLAMD LOOKING
FOR NOTHING. WE ALL DRANK OUR
ASSES OFF THE NEXT DAY LAUGHING ABOUT THAT ONE.
BUT NEVER WILL FORGET THE BROTHERHOOD
OF ALL THAT WE SHARED. William Schindler
= giman@cox.net Citizenship = USA Service = USN Outfit = USS
Proteus My_Warstory = I
was a General Medical Officer on AS-19 June 1981-June
83. Varied
between bore dome to red alert. Have remained friends
with some of my Corpsmen as well as the diving medical
officers. Wish
I could contact our XO tom price, and some of my
fellow officers
1981 Joe Ferrier = jferrier9@gmail.com Citizenship = USA; Service = USMC Outfit = MSSG-31 in support of 31st MEU My_Quest = Move to DG VT_of_a_Swallow = Faster than my brain cells? My_Warstory = Way too short maybe 24hrs and that's after a beach assualt! We sailed straight there from Perth and most of us didn't know we were going there as usual lol. The day of the landing I recall as overcast and I ended up on the beach with shore party people there, some deuce and a halfs and big forklifts from USS St Louis LKA-116's Mike boats. Sad to take away from the atoll but most imprinted in my mind is a C-5 taking off, my one and only view of that mirage as that's how sailing across the Indian Ocean often seemed. Low sky with twisters in the distance it was strange. The ocean seemed soupy yet calm not like sailing down the turbulent blue Pacific. Only liberty was a brief trek through the bush to a cinder block PX which I think was closed and didn't have any windows. This was very strange coming out of Kaneohe Bay and through PI, Pattaya, etc. No one had one beer that I know of and we packed up and headed towrd Africa. Flagship was amphib carrier Tarawa LHA 1 leading the venerable 31st MEU with 1stbn 3rd Marines which has the distinctive motto Fortunas Fortes Yuvat along with choppers from MAG24 and Harriers and Cobras from Cal. This was my second WESTPAC having just gotten back from my first 31st MEU and the ill-fated Op Eagle Claw off Iran where we were in reserve with 3/3 Marines. Everyone received the Expeditionary Medal for that Op. My best exp of DG is viewing Earth or pics and the stories here. I endeavor to live there undetected soon, as a dental floss tycoon. Getting us around
were the fast frigates Downes and Ramsey (guided
missle) as from my cruise book.
DENTON
(DIRTY
ERNIE) = Watermain-boy@hotmail.com Citizenship
=
USA; Service = USN; Outfit = USS WHITE PLAINS AFS-4 My_Quest
=
JUST THINK OF ALL PLACES I'VE BEEN My_Warstory
=
I REMEMBER WE PULL IN AND LOAD SHIP WITH SUPPLIES.WHEN
I WAS THERE WE WERE NOT TO HAVE LIBERTY ONLY A HAND
FULL. IT WAS MY TURN TO GO A SHORE. I WENT TO THE BAR
AND TO WATER EDGE, SOMEONE SAID DON'T GET TO CLOSE
HECKTER IS OUT THERE, A SHARK. 1981 Pete
Ewert
= petemwc@cox.net Citizenship
=
USA; Service = USN Outfit
=
Transit from USS America CV66 to Diego Garcia My_Warstory
=
I was transferring off the USS America enroute CONUS.
Route was from the America to a supply ship which
delivered me to Masirah AB. After waiting on the side
of the runway for about 6 hours, a C 141 arrived to
take me and two others to Diego Garcia. After residing
in Splinterville for 5 days we caught another C141 to
Nairobi, Athens, Lajes, and Norfolk. Reading
the
stories on the C141 page, which is what I was looking
for originally, I noticed the mention of a B52 flying
a CCA/GCA to a carrier in Westpac. As an fyi, it was a
CCA to the America but the aircraft couldn't decent
below 1500 ft due to the height of ships island and
antennas. Additionally, he didn't "dirty up" because
he didn't want to risk having to fly back to England
with his gear down. He did complete the CCA then came
back for a low pass to the side of the ship
"significantly lower than 1500'. 1972,
1981/1982,
1987 to 1995 Dave
Fisher,
Capt, USMM (Ret.), CAPT (SWO) USN (Ret.) =
callsign.BULL@tni.net Citizenship
=
USA; Service = Merchant Marine; Other_Service = USNR;
Outfit = USS R. E. Kraus; USNS Sealift Antarctic; SS
Green Valley, G. Island, G Harbour; MV Jeb Stuart My_Quest
=
Here in 2014, would like to go back for one last,
short look-see. My_Warstory
=
First went in '72 in USS Richard E. Kraus (DD-849) to
deliver crypto gear. It looked like "McHale's Navy"
then. Returned in '81/'82 in USNS Sealift Antarctic
(T-AO-176) with the MSC Near Term Prepositioned Force.
Didn't look too much different. Returned again in '87
to the four Afloat Prepositioned Force LASH ammo ships
- a couple of years as Chief Mate, the remainder as
Master. Dodge now a little more civilized. While there
in 1994, sortied the entire APF as Convoy Commodore
and CTG-159.1 for Operation Vigilant Warrior up in the
Gulf. Technically still a civilian, but assigned under
Allied doctrine. Left
in
late '95 to command the COMPSRON ONE flagship in the
Med. At the time I left (9 yrs on), I was "The
Mayor of DGAR," as the longest serving occupant. Like
to
go back one last time before I pass, just to see how
"my" island is doing. Have lumpia and a beer at
the "O." 1980
- 1982 Name
= Tom GIllespie = tomgillespienmcb40@Yahoo.com
See
his entry on the 1980 page. 1981 Name
=
Joe Vieira = mojo9504@yahoo.com Citizenship
=
USA; Service = USN; Outfit = Seabees NMCB-1 Delta
Co. My_Quest
=
Finding old friends VT_of_a_Swallow
=
God only knows My_Warstory
=
Diego Garcia My
story,
well, I went snorkling, started outside my hut and
went towards the lagoon, it was stupid of me, because
around 5 am almost everyday you could see 5 foot
sharks swimming around, but I did it anyway, I
remember thinking about Hector the whole time I was in
the water, but when I made it to the lagoon I tried to
stay along the shoreline, but thats when things got
hairy, the under tow was amazing, I tried to get back
to the beach, but I kept being pulled back out, I
started to hyperventilate, so I kicked when the
undertow pulled me me out which kepted me stationary,
then let the waves puch me forward, kepted doing that
till I made it onshore, if I did not have fins on, I
would not be here today, needles to say I NEVER went
snorkling again. Anyone remember the donkey that drank
beer? If anyone from NMCB-1 reads this, drop me a
line. I would like to have a reunion someday. Looking
for Terry Thorlton. Seabees Can DO. My e-mail address
is mojo9504@yahoo.com.
Thank you for this web site 1981 Scott
Marquardt
= scott.marquardt@gmail.com Citizenship
=
USA; Service = USN; Outfit = U.S.S. Halsey CG-23 My_Warstory
=
Snorkeling. Lived for it.
I
was snorkeling the lagoon when I spotted a shoal of
fish (maybe 16 of 'em) nearby. Black, and about the
shape and size of a medium bluegill. Red eyes, as I
remember.
We
were about 10 yards apart when they spotted me. To my
surprise, a delegation of perhaps 4 fish separated
from the rest and headed in my direction. They'd come
about 2/3 the distance toward me, when they REALLY got
my attention. Apparently drawing straws, then sent a
single ambassador to check me out.
He
(she? good grief...) approached slowly, with a
cautious side to side motion (apparently wishing to
observe me with both eyes). Paralyzed by how crazy
this was, I watched as the fish came within 3 feet of
me and then, to my shock, quickly fluttered to my face
and pecked my mask, then scooted rapidly back to his
fellows.
Then
he did the same thing a second time!
The
group then returned to the shoal, and they apparently
took no further interest in me.
That
was the day I decided that fish were
smart. ;-) 1981
off
and on thru 1984 Name
=
Brion Boyles, QMC (SW) USN RET = brionboyles@comcast.net
Citizenship
=
USA; Service = USN; Outfit = USS White Plains AFS-4 My_Quest
=
I seek the Holy Grail VT_of_a_Swallow
=
Is that an African or European Swallow?
My_Warstory
= So anyway, the USS White Plains(AFS-4) pulled into
DGar quite often in the 1980's, being a workhorse
supply ship for the carrier and amphib deployed
groups. On my second or third visit, I had already
grown tired of the enlisted barn, and didn't have
enuff stubble on my chin (or balls) to try to charm my
way into where I REALLY wanted to go...the hallowed
halls of the Merchant Seamans club. I had just made
the Porn Run to the Stars and Stripes Bookstore (man ,
they had a good selection, even AMPUTEE porn!)and
after waiting in line with my armload of Workout
Material ("Oh, yeah! I'll take a copy of Stars and
Stripes to wrap around 'em...THAT'LL fool EVERYBODY!),
I had worked up a thirst (among other things). I made
the trip back to the ship, hid my whack-stash in the
insulation/lagging in 3rd Division toilet stall number
three (never to be seen again), and joined up with
some shipmates who said they were going to the liquor
store and then party on the beach.
Liquor
store? Who knew!?!?
We
arrived at a flat chunk of concrete, surrounded by
chain link fence and covered by a corrugated sheet
roof, under which was piled boxes and bottles of about
every kind of hootch known to man. Lording over this
Kings Ransom of Libation was a fat little Filipino
Supply CPO, sitting in a folding chair next to a fan,
with a cigar box for change. I was not a real
hard likker kind of guy, and hated warm beer, so....I
decided to give Diego Garcias selection if fine wines
a try. I had never had REAL wine, other than Boones
Farm or Annie Greensprings, but hey, we were in an
exotic place...go for broke. Unfortunately, the fine
Chagoen palate for booze didn't extend far into the
realm of grapery. I found a gallon jug of
red....large, green, w/screw cap...that had a red and
white checkered label on it that read, "RED TABLE
WINE". Nothing else. No name, no "64 fluid oz.",
Nuthin. So I bought it, still feelin' kinda
sophistikated 'n all.
Our
little troup of merry pranksters then headed for the
beach (after an abortive attempt to sneak into the
Merchant Seamans club, with its' rumored orgies and
other bachanalia(sp)), where I consumed the best and
first bottle of real wine I'd ever had. Drank the
whole damn thing myself (no one else wanted any
"fag-juice") and laid down to catch a few winks before
the sun went down and we had to return to the ship
(underway at midnight). After a few minutes, someone
hollered, "HOLY FUCKIN'SHIT!" and my eyes shot open,
head spinning in circles trying to find what obviously
must be the only female on the joint. LO! and Behold!
a few inches from my face (and I was sitting upright
by now) and staring SKEE-WAR into my bloodshot eyes
was the goddamn hugest, ugliest, fiercest fucking crab
I have ever seen! He must have been as big as a
Volkswagen! I exploded into the air and
scrambled up the nearest coconut palm to escape my
imminent crab-meal-dom, and to quite a good height,
too...mebbe 20-25 feet. However, in my drunken state,
combine with fear and wobbly knees, I couldn't
maintain my grip and began sliding back down. For the
uninitiated, sliding down a coconut palm in
short-shorts (the mode of beachwear of the early
eighties) does NO GOOD to the insides of your
thighs...or undersides of your balls. A very...very...
long, slow descent to hell, I can assure you...but as
I neared the ground, the crab, as if to say,
"Shit...I've seen enuff...", just turned and cooly
sidled off in search of another psycho-game victim.
Good thing, too, because I was about as sliced and
diced and prepared for a crusty crab's dinner table as
one could get. The guys had to carry me back to the
ship as I couldn't walk, and the doc lathered me up
with enough ointment down there to keep me in 3rd
Division toilet stall number three for a week...if
there were longer any reason to be in there. From that
visit on, I stuck to the $#&! EM club or the phone
exchange....but have been a wine drinker ever since,
although I have never found a bottle as good as THAT
one. Regards,
Brion
Boyles QMC(SW) USN RET Woodbridge, VA
Dec
81
to Apr. 83 Name
=
Michael McGreevy submit_by
=
michael.mcgreevy@va.gov Citizenship
=
USA; Service = USN; Outfit = 30th NCR Det. My_Quest
=
Maintain Sanity VT_of_a_Swallow
=
Uh My_Warstory
=
Where to begin. When I recd my orders to the 30th I
remember saying to myself why that and where the hell
is Diego Garcia? I was transferring from a great
billet as Customer Services Officer for Nuclear
Propulsion Equipment at SPCC Mechanicsburg PA. I
couldn't figure out what I was going to do in Diego.
Found out when I arrived and was met at the airfield
by Master Chief Wambold and Master Chief Baker. I was
reliving another SK1 and would be watching NMBC 1 and
62 (at different times) issue construction equipment
spare parts. I thought that after amassing all of that
nuclear propulsion equipment knowledge I get to watch
green suited guys issue truck parts. Made no sense to
me but then again that was my detailer's idea of an
assignment where my nuclear knowledge would best be
utilized. I guess that's what I get for being a single
First Class and I couldn't say, "But Chief, my wife
she..." Diego Garcia was an interesting place and I
remember many things good and not so good about the
place. I spend fifteen months there and I recall one
Seebee asking me how I managed to do that. I told him
I emptied a lot of wine bottles. I do recall when the
support activity was taking over from the 30th as
senior command just as the large contingent of females
were about to arrive the support activity was issuing
a flurry of directives with the silliest one being
over holding hands. At any rate, the 30th was fun at
times and the Commodore Capt. Forney was a great
skipper is a Civil Engineer could be one. I still keep
in touch with the staff Yoeman Tom Mcintosh. He's down
the road from Pensacola in Panama City. I could
continue but suffice it to say Diego Garcia is forever
etched in my memory.
We
used to say in the 30th that somewhere,
sometime when you least expect it you will say, “Diego
Garcia”. One of the items I have from those days is a
copy of the history Under Two Flags. It was
compiled by a Navy JOC and a Navy Photographer with
the assistance of the Royal Naval Party. As soon as it
was published the Brits went out to confiscate the
copies because there was a reference to Diego Garcia
having been administered at one time through Mauritius
and the government of that island had turned Marxist
and the Soviets were trying to use them to create a
question of sovereignty over Diego in order to remove
us and the base. The Soviets really hated the fact
that we were doing more there than running a Comsta in
the wake of the U.S. Embassy takeover in Iran. I guess
the Soviets didn’t like the whole strategic nature of
the place. At any rate, the 30th Command
Master Chief, EOCM Wambold gave me copy and said,
“Mail it home” and he proceeded to tell me the story.
Since
those days I have met others who have served there.
Right now I work with a retired SC LCDR in this Vet
Center who was there in the ‘90s. I also met a Master
of one of the Pre Positioned merchant ships anchored
there. He was there in the mid eighties. He loaned me
a copy of a book that was published on the island
history and administration. I noted that the island
magistrate at that time was a British public official.
When I was there the magistrate was a Royal Navy
Commander. Being a member of the Commodore’s staff we
spent a great deal of time with the Royal Naval Party.
The Commodore (Captain Forney) gave the magistrate a
t-shirt that had printed across the front in bold
letters “LANDLORD”. Early in the morning on 4 July
1982, the staff Yeoman (YN1 McIntosh) and I were
driving in a jeep heading to the industrial site and
on the road at the point of the Brit Club (The House
that Jack Built) the Naval Party set up a road block.
They stopped us and said, “Tea Tax, pay up a quarter a
head.” Tom and I looked at these guys (and we knew
them very well) and we said, “Hey, wait a minute, we
fought a war against you guys over that and won.” They
said yeah but we were on British territory now, pay
up. The funds they collected that morning were split
with us for our respective welfare and rec. funds.
There really were some fun times there. There were
also some less than reassuring times as well. I can
save those for another time.
Jan
1981
thru Mar 1981 Henry
Botello
= write2hankb@gmail.com Citizenship
=
USA; Service = USN; Outfit = VP-6 Blue Sharks, Barbers
Point, Hi. My_Warstory
=
I was 19 yrs old on the beach when I saw the Marines
hitting the beach. We had just got word that Iran
released our embassy hostages. Ronald Reagan had just
been inaugarated president. It was the high point of
my military enlistment. I've retold the story many
times. I'll never forget Dodge! Miguel
Valentin
<cyberoptiq@yahoo.com> I
visited both during the timeframe '81 -'82 while
stationed aboard the USS White Plains (AFS-4) for
supplies...my first time to DG was when I returned to
duty from leave in April '81...was there for 2 weeks
waiting for the White Plains to arrive...nice place to
hang out for a short time but I don't know if I
could've done a year there without losing my mind...I
have a lot of pictures of us unloading from C-141's on
Masirah...quite possibly one you flew in...when I have
the time I'll see about scanning them...maybe I have
your C-141 in some of the pic's...let me know if
you're interested...
1981(fall)
to
1982 (spring) Jon
Sobolik
= sobolik@earthlink.net
Citizenship
=
USA; Service = USN; Outfit = Seabees The last detail
detachment from NMCB 40 My_Quest
=
To confess I am responsible for the lousy loaner boat
zone My_Warstory
=
CE2 Harry Buchert, CECN Michael Dasilva and I were
responsible for the useless boat zone as a consequence
of our visit to the forbidden British side of the
Island.
We
"rented" a boat from the marina for some fishing. The
two successful fisherman watched as Dasilva finally
hooked a red snapper. A dark object in the
depths streaked by and the struggling fish struggled
no more. Dasilva pulled out his first fish of the day.
Well he pulled out the head of a cleanly snipped
snapper anyway.
After
a while Dasilva wanted to drive but had never done so
before. I coached him on getting the right speed to
avoid plowing a swell or being overtaken. He did well
for a while until he nose dived the vessel. It
instantly filled with water and everything started
going overboard. I was in front and looked behind to
see ghost white faces. I commanded gun the motor. Huh?
I shouted gun the motor! Dasilva did so and most of
the water went out the back. It was rather funny to
see their faces.
A
short while later the motor died and I could not get
it going again. We drifted and finally "ship wrecked"
on the British side.
I
told Harry and Michael to go get coconuts to quench
our thirst while I made the fire. They saw that
my cigarette lighter was rendered inop from the
swamping and all I could do was start sawing with a
bow and stick using the old Indian method from back
home. After they left I realized that the Indain
method would not work because I was not Indian and
really had no idea how to do it. I disassembled the
lighter and used it like a flint striking a rock to
get a flame. I dumped boat gas on the wood and whoosh!
Instant bonfire.
The
fish would have tasted good about then. Dangling and
struggling over the side of the boat they were soon
discovered by other fish and they had been eaten
already.
Harry
and Michael return astonished at how well that Indian
method worked. After gathering our wits and relaxing
it dawned on them that it was awful big awful fast so
I had to reveal my secrets.
The
marina staff were supposed to do a sweep of the lagoon
near dusk. We saw them do a half hearted mini sweep
way off in the distance. They were unable to locate us
so they called for reinforcements to find the
castaways. About midnight the barge approached
our bonfire beacon and over the bull horn commanded us
to get in the boat and return to the marina
immediately. We shouted back that we could not.
This went back and forth. We finally just paddled out
with a drift wood 2x4.
They
promptly hauled us off to jail for being in the off
limits area until they verified that indeed the motor
did not work. We were released and shortly
thereafter the “rental” boat zone was reduced to a
worthless zone kind of like a swimming beach rope at a
lake.
So
I confess. I, CE2 Harry Buchett and CECN Michael
Dasilva were responsible for the useless boat zone as
a consequence of our visit to the forbidden British
side of the Island.
Oh,
I have stories about the monster eel grabbing my baby
toe as I shallow water kicked across the reef at low
tide. And a buddy surrounded by sharks. I’ll tell them
another time. 81-82-83
diego
Garcia Name
=
james turnmeyer submit_by
=
jamesturnmeyer@yahoo.com Citizenship
=
USA Service
=
USN Outfit
=
seebee/c-company My_Quest
=
old freinds VT_of_a_Swallow
=
don"t care My_Warstory
=
I remember all the things I read here.I was the raft
designer for both rafts.Spent time in lock up for
jumping back in the ocean after a shirt with money or
I.D. HEY I was drunk! Hi Hoppy, Animal,scott z.Bob
Stetham was a close friend,I miss riding motorcycles
with him. Got pics of scraper deal.coconut crabs,those
were good,you name it I was probably involved.Still
see and talk with Ivan, [mike Tatarinowcz ]Like to
here from all who remember.I would like to plan a
harley ride, Tim Boyd, if your out there. And if
anyone is wondering I never went to jail or
prison!
1981-1982
Name
=
Nick Hashey nhashey@msn.com Citizenship
=
USA Service
=
USN Outfit
=
NMCB-62 My_Quest
=
Just checkin things out VT_of_a_Swallow
=
Yeeeeowwwwwwwww My_Warstory
=
Well I dont remember anyone running a Scraper through
the hooches but I worked alot of nights off loading
the ships, Does anyone know what the 5 ton shuffle was
???? if not you werent a real Equipment operator
hahaaha anyhow I remember the Crabs by the thousands
running them down it made the roads pretty slick I
also hauled the asphalt for the paving crews that was
some hot work its been such a long time I dont
remember to many names of the guys that were there
with me but I like to say hi to all of you catch all
around some day 1981-1982 Christopher
Vidal
<vidalch_1@yahoo.com>
I
can't believe what the beaches look like. That was an
untouched paradise when I was there. Certainly no
sneakers and water bottles on the beach. Man what a
shame.
I
was thinking about trying to revisit. But now I dont
think I want to. Keep the memories the way they were.
I remember thinking .. oh no, not orders to Diego....
but when I got there ... it was magnificent ... man
..again .. what a shame.
Are
there any coconut crabs left ? I tell everyone about
those. Havent found a web site with those on it yet ..
got any leads. Thanks
Christopher
Vidal vidalch_1@yahoo.com
Dates_Aboard
=
1981-1982 Name
=
gino restivo <dagored6204@yahoo.com> Citizenship
=
USA Service
=
USN Outfit
=
NMCB 62 "A" Co. Diego Garcia My_Quest
=
life,liberty,and thepursuit of happiness VT_of_a_Swallow
=
It depends on what you're trying to get someone to
swallow My_Warstory
=
To answer Ollies post, his name was Brad Henry. I've
been in contact with a few guys from Alpha Co. over
the years. We all seem pretty good so far considering
age and miles racked up on the odometer. I think Henry
was from somewhere in the mid-western states, I don't
remember exactly where. Mickey White had said
something about Bob Stethem being attatched to Det
Diego Garcia 82-83. He might have been there for a
short time, but he was definitely on Guam because he
was part of Air-Det operation Kennel Bear on Tinian. I
know because Bob , NIck Hashey, and I sat on the deck
of a low boy trailer drinking beer and crackin jokes
one night. Oh the fun we had back then. Keep those
memories alive, they're part of what makes us who we
are today.
Oct-1981-April
1982 Name
=
David M Stump; davidbiskore2@aol.com Citizenship
=
USA Service
=
USN Outfit
=
US-3A loadmaster for VS-38 Red Griffons Miss Piggy My_Quest
=
contact others with me that used to run from Hector VT_of_a_Swallow
=
trick question monty python My_Warstory
=
At the time homesick,drunk,and horney. It might have
been 82 or 83. We all share special memories from A
special place. fishin in the cove, flips would clean
our fish.We sit outside the hooch cook fish play
guitar laugh,fight,cry and cuss. Oh ya, play pocker.
Anybody remember. My last name was Stump.I remember
Burguess, Tony Bradford from Indiana,Tim King senor
chief Michell. If this rings a bell please post. Diego
Garcia
Dates_Aboard
=
81-82 Brian
lostnrubicon@yahoo.com Citizenship
=
USA; Service = USN; Outfit = nmcb 62 My_Quest
=
Stevens My_Warstory
=
boy o boy do i remember henry's scraper ride that
night. i was woken up out of a drunken stooper to take
pictures and was drinking with them that night.
man every one in his hut except jeno use to raze him
so much. if i remember right he clip one hut and smack
the other. the thing that save every one was he had it
4 gear and his foot slip off the petal. also rememeber
that we all thought his was dead because the roof was
on top of him. then there was new years night we
had a xo inspection and that made us rip out all the
bars that we had builted, then we got a jerry can o
diesel the one more but i could not get it started.
well i think it was jeno who finnaly got a can of
mo-gas and pour it on all that wood. now i
pretty drunk by then and i lit that pile up and at
that same time i was standing in a puddle of gas and
diesel and burnt my foot real bad. boy we had
the firemen going in circles that night with litting
all those dumpster on fire. also remember when
the first women came on the island a 3 class boatswan
mate build like a line backer. 1 class master at arms
and one fine one and man she had everyone crazy.
well i could go on for hours but not going to right
now. you have my email address now and if you want to
talk more just email me. in closing i hope that
jeno see this and if you know were his red head is at
please let me know. also found my best friend
buddy E going to email him now i just hope that his
email is current. 9 months 7days and 11 hours thats
the time the flight home and the stop over in athens
were oly olson got drunk. for now see ya later Brian
Stevens
1981,1982-'83 Larry
Ramsey
mw.stout@sbcglobal.net Citizenship
=
USA Service
=
Seabees Outfit
=
NMCB62 Alpha Co. My_Quest
=
The Holy Grail VT_of_a_Swallow
=
European or african My_Warstory
=
On my first deployment tothe rock I got put into HQ.
Co. in the CTR. Got to live with the fleet types and
another couple of Bees. Drank more than I ever had
before in my young life. Crist the booze was cheap and
plentiful. Gallon upon gallon of MOJO. I guess that
the Navy had to do something to keep us happy. Or was
it just to keep us numb and not thinking about the
world.I only went off the deep end once and got into a
serious fight. The night that we were about to get on
the plane to haed home of all nights. Don't drink they
said. Did I listen? Hell no! Drunk off my ass and
fighting with a hut roommate. Didn't like this guy
from the first time that I met him and I had to live
in the same hooch for 8 months. I seem to remember a
guy (EO Type) that lost it an put a TS-24 scraper into
Doug Vanziles hooch. "all I saw was my TV coming off
the wall then was looking up at the bellypan of a
goddamn scraper".
I remember there was a bucking barrel down by the
donkey gate that good for more than a few laughs after
a bunch of that soda pop with the foam on top. Greg
Campbell, Geno Restivo and some others that I can't
remember. Pulling those damn ugly spiney lobsters out
of the tidal pools and cooking them up. I seem to
remember the was a hooch on the lagoon side of Camp
Cummins that was called "Gilley's Diego". Dont
remember ever going in. Must have been Chief club or
something.
Wnet
out in the lagoon with Curt Carlson, Chris Thomas on
one of the little Boston Whalers that you could get to
go fishing in. We went across the lagoon as the tide
was coming in and it was a scary ride for this
flatlander. I swear that I saw Hector trailing the
boat just waiting for that boat to roll over. I had
never seen wave so damn big in my life. Scared the
shit out of me. I have never been back on any big
water since. Had a group of Seals come on the island
during field exercises and kicked our ass in about an
hour. Took over the armoury and beat up one of the
guys on duty because he wouldn't let them in the gate.
Gutsy.
Well
i'm tired of pecking at this box for now. Would like
to hear from Greg or Randy Campbell, Chris Thomas from
Ga., Doug VanZile from AZ. Got a call from Geno
Restivo last weekend. Talked for a long time. Great to
hear from him.
1981 Barry
West
<chuckufarley2a@yahoo.com> In
1981,
after departing my duty station at Pinecastle EWR, in
central FL, I was flown to McChord AFB where I got
onboard a C141 which took me from Mc to Nairobi,
Kenya, and then into Diego Garcia, or, as we Navy
types called it, Doggy. Don't remember tail number,
etc, cause I was dead tired, and couldn't think of it
now, 27 years later for any amount of money. Spent
about
a week on the 'footprint', waiting for the USS
Independence to come into range so they could ferry us
out to her on CH-46's. When they did, I was sooo glad
to get off of Doggy, had bought a new pair of boots
and my feet had gotten badly blistered, because they
weren't quite right. I
don't come to sites like this one very often, in order
to keep the nightmares and 'active' dreams to a
minimum, but, appreciate those who take time to build
and host them. (PS,
Dad
retired, in 1970, the same year I went to basic, in
Orlando, from McCoy AFB, as he had been in B-52's
during his AF service.) As a zoomy brat, I saw lots of
birds flying in and out of various bases, including
141's on Guam, at Travis, in Keflavik, Iceland, in
1971, and too many places to mention, (and heck, I
probably can't recall them all, anyway.)
I
would like to take this opportunity to join your
gov't. A nice cushy job, doing almost nothing,
daily sounds like just the right thing for me.
Spent 18 years in the USN, now I want to take a cruise
where somebody ELSE has to do all the work. Carriers,
while
smoother sailing, are still not Royal Carribean cruise
ships.
80-81
81-82
NAME
=
harry kern E-MAIL
=
harryelectric@comcast.net
SERVICE
=
seabees RANK/RATE/JOB
=
ce3 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
= its a wonder we have any brain cells left. the weak
ones would start lining up at 8 am.remember ron guim,
pat ward, denny walls, buzz sawyer, louis rico, dave
slimgen,john kovacs paul willis ed knickles joe
procter ham, wedge, others that names escape me
,is it any wonder
Oct
1981
to Sep 1982 NAME
=
Dominic Lopez MY
QUEST
= To leave my mark VT
of
a SWALLOW = Who really know? E-MAIL
=
cinimod61@hotmail.com
NATIONALITY
=
American of Mexican Ancestry SERVICE
=
USN Seabees UNIT
=
30th NCR, Det DG RANK/RATE/JOB
=
EO3 then, EO1 Ret now. 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
= Gawd! So many to tell. I hated going there but had a
great time! My first deployment. Arrived as
Commodore's driver. He drove himself so I got stuck
doing office work and delivering and picking up
message traffic at the COMSTA. NMCB 1 was the resident
Battalion when I arrived. Was still there when NMCB 1
det DG returned. Bitched and bitched to EQCM Wambold
bout being stuck in an office. He thought he'd teach
me a lesson by sending me to work with NMCB 62's
Asphalt Laydown Crew, Local 62014, anyone remember
that one? Paved a hell of a lot there! EO1 Therian was
the Sup. EO2 Fruchie was the crew leader. Met up with
EQCM Therian on my last deployment to Rota in 1999
with NMCB 3. Was there in DG when that booter ran the
scraper through the huts. I remember ALICE's. Had my
card. EO2 Tim Bryan and I shared a hut in 'D' circle.
Tim was with 62 and worked MLO. I remember the Dallas
Cowboy Cheerleaders, drinking, the outdoor theater,
and the weeks the package store would run dry! I also
remember drinking, fishing, drinking, calling the wife
via MARS ("over"), drinking, turtle cove, drinking,
coconut crabs, drinking, jack-off chits, drinking, Mr.
Hand meeting Mr. Happy, drinking, taking tae kwon do
lessons from Mike Kim of 5's det, drinking, mail call,
drinking, Ole Olson, drinking, Ole Olson dressed as
Santa and receiving a card with a dollar in it that
read "Have a brew on 62", drinking that brew, rising
from a hangover opeing the hooch door and being
blinded by the white sand, drinking, Bozo's Big Top,
drinking, R&R in Angeles/Clark AFB, drinking, oh
and drinking! Was there when the first women arrived.
Knew one of them EN3 Stewart from a NAB Coronado. She
was pisst off because someone stole her bra and
panties from the laundry. She said what really pisst
her off was that somewhere on the island some asshole
had them hanging in their locker bragging about how
they laid her to get them! Hated being away from home
for so long. My first born child arrived while I was
there. We worked hard and played hard! I learned much
about being an EO while there. Learned much about
being responsible from the Commodore's staff Master
and Senior Chiefs, Wambold, Baker, Catano, Kennedy,
Molino, and YN1s Greg and Tom and SK1s Garcia and Ski.
Every deployment after that in 4, 40, and 3 I paved
asphalt. Wouldn't exchange the experience for nothing.
Guess it was a love/hate relationship.
2/1981
to
2/1982 NAME
=
Alan Mason MY
QUEST
= Finding old Comrades VT
of
a SWALLOW = ????? I was a UT..... E-MAIL
=
alanmason1120@hotmail.com
NATIONALITY
=
American SERVICE
=
USN Seabees UNIT
=
Public Works RANK/RATE/JOB
=
then e3 MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = I'd Like to Share Precious Memories of
Drinking/Fishing/Snorkeling/Sailing on Diego Garcia MY
WARSTORY
= Just hope I hear from somebody I was stationed
with. Many stories to tell. I
eventually went to NMCB 74. It was fun and
strange all at once.
1980
to
1984 RBRM - 1993 with BJS NAME
=
John L MY
QUEST
= Returning just for the Expat club sunsets and
Margaritas E-MAIL
=
johnjel1234@yahoo.com
NATIONALITY
=
USA RANK/RATE/JOB
=
Contractor with RBRM and BJS MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Want to Return When the First REAL Club Med
Opens SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= After having been gone from the island for
approx. 10 years I took a job with BJS to see how
Diego had developed. I had been there from 1980
with RBRM during the construction years.
In
1982 the Navy approached RBRM and told us they had
10,000lbs of frozen lobster tail they wanted to
sell. Since we had our own food budget we bought
the lobster and started Surf & Turf every Friday
night at the expat mess hall.
When
I returned in 1993 I was in the O club and noticed
that someone was getting a lobster dinner for their
birthday. I thought "No it couldn't be the same
lobster we bought in "82." Guess what! It had no
taste and was really tough.
So
much for lobster at the "O' in 1993. By now I would
think it is all gone.
1981
Wayne
Harris
<xncb07@peoplepc.com
Ted,
I
was on diego in 1981 with usnmcb 62 then I was
BU-3 Wayne Harris, I have a cruise book if it would
help.
1981
to
early 82 NAME
=
joseph "joe" lee carter MY
QUEST
= to find out what happened to me, i was killed on the
island VT
of
a SWALLOW = cant remember E-MAIL
=
musiclover68usa@yahoo.com
NATIONALITY
=
american SERVICE
=
navy UNIT
=
under water welder RANK/RATE/JOB
=
petty officer E6 MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Interested World Citizen SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= i was an under water welder on the islandfrom 1980
to 82. a few months after i was there, i was
killed. im afraid the navy has told my mother
and little brother an,(at the very least) inaccurate
story. i would be eternaly greatful if someone could
get the real story to them before my mother joins me.
my
mother and little brother were told that several other
buddies were killed with me. they said the boys and i
had been out celebrating a buddies birthday and were
on our way back from where ever we were, riding in the
back of a pickup truck, we were drunk(ofcourse) and
getting rowdy in the back when the driver leaned out
the window and yelled to us to settle down and when he
turned back around he was drifting off the road, he
jerked the wheel to get back in the road and the truck
flipped over killing most who were in the back. in
fact i think they said that ALL had been killed. now
surely if this were true, someone would have been
thrown clear i would think. i was half puerto
rican/cuban and half white though i looked mostly like
a medium dark skinned puerto rican. my buddies called
me joe, and i loved to play guitar and bass. if anyone
knew me please get ahold of my little brother charlie
at musiclover68usa@yahoo.com
From:
"Dan"
<voyeur777@cox.net>
Date:
Sat,
2 Feb 2008 10:50:20 -0800 I
was on the USS Dixon AS 37 . It was the first ever
west pac for the boat . But cant find any info from
are time on DG. We were thear about 5 months . in 81
or 82 I think. I wish i wasnt so drunk the hole time
on shore. Did catch a 250 lb. hammer head off the
fantail of our boat ! That was fun. Well Enjoyed you
web page . Brings back old times for me. Thank You.
Dan
1981-1982
NAME
=
Brian Storrer MY
QUEST
= You tell me. VT
of
a SWALLOW = It is hard to record. E-MAIL
=
marathonmarineusa@yahoo.com NATIONALITY
=
American SERVICE
=
Navy UNIT
=
USS Mars (AFS-1) RANK/RATE/JOB
=
MM3 A-Gang 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 Sailing Story MY
WARSTORY
= Real simple. Traveled here from station just outside
the Persian Gulf. Two times to be exact. Since there
was no pier in those days we ran small boats from the
ship anchored in the lagoon. I was the engineman on
many, many of those trips. I loaded lots of drunken
sailors onto the motor whale boats and almost as many
drunken officers when I worked the officers or
captains gig. Saw some really cool rays a couple of
times. On liberty once my friends and I headed out
into the jungle and tried to open a couple of
coconuts. Then some guy came by on the dirt road in a
jeep and gave us a ride back to the beach. Really
exciting stuff. My good friend re-upped and was
rewarded by being assigned to Diego Garcia for one
year. It was either that or Beirut or maybe the USS
Ranger. All about equally bad duty stations. Bottom
line. I never forgot that place and always was amazed
at far out on a limb Uncle Sam really was at that time
in the region. Take Masirah Island for example. That
is a story for another day.
1981
1982
NAME
=
EO-3 Soltys MY
QUEST
= Lets get the info right I love you guys VT
of
a SWALLOW = eat me E-MAIL
=
doughunterman@aol.com
NATIONALITY
=
us SERVICE
=
navy UNIT
=
nmcb-62 81-82 RANK/RATE/JOB
=
eo-3 soltys MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Other SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= eo-3 slowinski passed away last fall. he was a piece
but we would all stand by him.
june
1981
- june 1982 NAME
=
bryant french MY
QUEST
= get to heaven VT
of
a SWALLOW = 23 mph E-MAIL
=
frenchybryant@yahoo.com
NATIONALITY
=
african american SERVICE
=
navy UNIT
=
t-site,,,electronic tech. RANK/RATE/JOB
=
ET 3,,,,THEN,,,,,GUARD NOW 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 Fishing Story MY
WARSTORY
= HELLO ALL, I GOT TO DEIGO GARCIA IN JUNE 1981, 20
YEARS OLD, MY BIRTHDAY WAS MAY 29, I SPENT THAT DAY IN
THE P.I., ANGELES CITY, THE BEST BIRTHDAY IN MY
LIFE,MY FIRST TIME OVER SEAS, I WAS LIKE A KID IN A
CANDY STORE.
I
WENT TO CLARK AIR FORCE BASE EVERYDAY TO GET A
PLANE TO D.G.,,BUT IF YOU GO TO THE BACK OF THE LINE
THE PLANE GETS FULL THEY TELL YOU TO COME BACK
TOMORROW AFTER A WEEK OF THIS I WAS OUT OF MONEY, NO
SLEEP FOR DAYS PARTY MY ASS OFF, WENT TO BED WITH MORE
WOMEN THEN THE LAW ALLOW, I WAS READY FOR D.G., I ASK
THE MAN IN CHARGE TO PLEASE PUT ME ON THE
PLANE, HE LOOK AT ME WITH PITTY AND SAID GET YOUR BUTT
ON THE PLANE.
THAT
WAS THE START OF MY 1 YEAR ADVENTURE ON D.G.,WHICH WAS
NOT THAT BAD, IN 1981 THERE WHERE NO WOMEN ON DEIGO,
3000 MEN AND THE SHEEP WERE SCARE. I NEVER READ THAT
MANY BOOKS IN MY LIFE OR SAVED THAT MUCH MONEY.
I
WORK AT T SITE, 17 MILES FROM DOWN TOWN, PASS THE
DONKEY GATE. OUR C.O. WAS COMMANDER
SISSON, A VERY GOOD C.O.,,,HAS ANY ONE SEEN THE
SHARK HECTOR LATEY?? HE'S
PROBERLY DEAD, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DONT KNOW
HECTOR, HE WAS A 27 FT. HAMMER HEAD SHARK, WHO LIVED
IN THE LAGONE SOME TIMES. I WORK
PART TIME AT THE EM CLUB BEFORE THE PHILIPINES
CONTRACTORS TOOK OVER. THAT WAS A GOOD TIME,
FIGHTS EVERY NIGHT, NO GLASS IN THE CLUB.
THE
FISHING WAS THE BEST IN THE WORLD, I HAVE A PICTURE
WITH A 60 LB RED SNAPPER, AND A 40 LB
GROBBER,,IF MY EX WIFE WOULD JUST GIVE ME MY SHIT BACK
I WILL SHOW YOU,. BUT NOTHING BEATS THE DUMMY
WHO GOT BIT ON THE ASS BY A SHARK ON THE BEACH, HE
THOUGHT IT WAS DEAD.,,I SAVE A GUYS LIFE ON THE REEF
OUT FROM THE CHIEF CLUB HE GOT BIT BY A JELLY FISH AND
COULD NOT SWIM IN, IT WAS JUST THE 2 OF US AND I HELP
HIM GET IN, THINK GOD I WAS THERE.
1981
NAME
=
Ron C VT
of
a SWALLOW = E=MC Light E-MAIL
=
five-ton1@hotmail.com
SERVICE
=
Navy UNIT
=
NMCB-1 RANK/RATE/JOB
=
BU-3 MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= Well my journey started by sitting in a hot hanger
for hours while they kept us awake till we could go to
our huts. One
story
sticks out in my mind. I was there when the only women
on the Island where at sick bay or they came off the
tenders anchored in the lagoon. I would take Sunday
walks down the beach on the sea side and would come
across some very pretty women sunbathing topless ye
ha. But
this
one time the bee’s had just finished up the first of
the new concrete 3 story barracks were the old fire
station used to be in the Seabee camp, but we still
parked our 5 tons and duce in a half’s there at night.
Well
this
one chief petty officer that worked full time at the
base hospital she was real pretty and everybody called
her hard hats had the biggest rack going on the island
at that time. The
job
I was working on we were building 20’x80’ butler hut
for the air force up at the airport well we decided to
work thru the night, but around midnight I hopped into
my 5 ton and started back to my hut for sodas for the
guy’s well I pulled up behind the new concrete
barracks people had started moving in a few days
earlier, and there were know curtains on any of the
windows. Well
to
my surprise who walks out from around the corner with
no cloth on, but hard hat wow what a body and a great
rack well here I sit in my 5 ton looking right in at
her at first she didn’t know I was there I tried to
hit the lights switch to turn them off and kill the
engine quickly, but being so dark the truck I fumbled
for the switches because I couldn’t take my eye’s off
of hard hats. Well
after
about a minute or so while she was drying herself she
looked up and out the window and to her surprise
because the 5 ton was so high there I was smiling wide
eyed at her well she grabbed the sheet tore it off her
bed and covered herself and raced back around the
corner to the bathroom. When
I
got back to the guys with the sodas I told them what I
seen well after that we all took turns going for soda
if we worked late. Those
images
will be burned on my mind till I go to the grave.
1981
NAME
=
Keith L. Spooner MY
QUEST
= To sail the seven seas, yo ho ho and shot of Tequila
and San Miguel VT
of
a SWALLOW = how the !@## do I know. E-MAIL
=
spoons2512@aol.com
NATIONALITY
=
All American SERVICE
=
USN UNIT
=
Uss Dixie AD14 S6 Div. RANK/RATE/JOB
=
DP3 - Vet. MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Want to Drink A Lot, Cheap SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Fishing Story MY
WARSTORY
= Fishing story not about me, but about the rediculous
amount of others that hung out on the fantail every
night until the early morning hours catching
everything from nothing to 5.5' to 7' shark, that is
why I didn't drop a hook in the water, those fish bite
back, I'm used to fishing for Bream and Bass, etc., I
remember a fella bringing up a shark, I backed up a
tad cause the big boy was pissed, thought the damn
shark wouldn't stop floundering around (good word for
a shark jerking around) but anyway the fella finally
was able to slit the sharks gut, gees what a putrid
smell (another good word) but out come one sneaker,
everyone sorta stopped and stared at the shoe, we all
probably were wondering if there had been something
attached to the shoe when it was devoured, the fella
that caught the shark took the shou went to the head
and washed it off, well I hope, and mailed it
home. Anyway thats it. Hope everyone has a great
Thanksgiving and don't forget to put in a word for the
troops in the Middleeast.
Keith
Spooner
Nov.
22, 2006
1981
NAME
=
Mickey White E-MAIL
=
mikew3439@sbcglobal.net
NATIONALITY
=
USA SERVICE
=
Navy Seabee UNIT
=
NMCB 62 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
= Bob Stedham was on Det Diego in 83, he wasnt in Guam
or if he was not for the whole deployment. I have
Pictures
81-82,
83,
99-00 NAME
=
Andy Bigelow E-MAIL
=
cdrcab@mailcity.com
NATIONALITY
=
USA SERVICE
=
Navy UNIT
=
NMCB 62 and NAF RANK/RATE/JOB
=
CDR (Ret.) SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= First deployment after joining the Navy and NMCB 62
as an Ensign. Arrived advanced party and
departed delayed party ('81-'82: 9 months). Last full
Battalion deployed to DG. There were no Dets during
this deployment. Living in a Seahut was a unique
experience. Nothing like going into the Seabee Camp's
Enlisted Club and sending guys back to their huts to
put on some clothes. At least a towel! Or
have a guy try to crush his fellow Seabee's with a
scraper. Be careful of who you pick on as they
may not think it's funny especially around large
pieces of construction equipment. Good thing he
didn't know how to operate it correctly. We did
such a great job they let about 40% to 50% of the
battalion go home about 3 months early then the
Regiment doubled our workload as we had to tie up all
the loose ends as the last Battalion. Saw the first
group of females, that were perminently stationed on
island, arrive. Interesting, especially when we
heard they had been told to stay away from the Seabees
and out of the Seabee camp during their briefings
before arriving on island. Volunteered to go back as
AOIC of the "Last Det." with NMCB 62 ('83: 8
months). Chief "Huck" worked hard to complete my
JO training. Tough not being the big boys on the
block as the Seabee population dropped from 900-1000
to less the 150. Could not keep the NAF MA's from
chasing a wayward Seabee into the Seabee Det camp.
Always made for an interesting evening when this
happen. Went back as PWO ('99-'00: 13
months). Things change but still stay the same.
PW was located in the old Craft Shops (leather,
woodworking, Audio/visual) we (NMCB62) completed in
82. Had the power go out 20 minutes before
midnight 31DEC99. Not Y2K just a failed
lightning arrester but it made for an interesting
30-40 minutes at every Y2K party on island unitl power
was restored. The original Seahuts are all but
gone though they are bulding new one in the
contractor's camp. Seabee's are back, they
realized they still needed them on island and
currently have re-established Seabee Dets on DG.
Diego Garcia is one of the best kept secrets.
The family separation is tough but if they ever do
allow families to come on board, nobody will want to
leave. Made full circle - First deployment
during first tour then last assignment before payback
tour and retirement.
JUNE
1981
NAME
=
RAYMOND J DOUGLAS E-MAIL
=
TESSIED702@aol.com
NATIONALITY
=
AMERICAN SERVICE
=
US NAVY IS THERE ANY OTHER BRANCH UNIT
=
TPU SEABEES / MAA INVESTIGATIONS MAKING COPIES OF
REPORTS RANK/RATE/JOB
=
E1 AIRMAN THEN, NOW RETIRED AFTER 20 YEARS W.
WILLIAMSON RECRUIT SHIPMATE FOR THE NEST FOUR YEARS. MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= BACK IN JUNE 1981 I HAD FOUR MONTHS IN THE NAVY. I
HAD NEVER LEFT MY HOME IN UPSTATE NEW YORK BEFORE THIS
TIME, I HAD NEVER BEEN OUT OF NY. EXCEPT TO BOOT
CAMP. I WAS ENROUTE TO THE USS KITTY HAWK FOR MY TOUR
OF DUTY. I SPENT TWO DAYS ON GUAM, AND ONE NIGHT IN
THE PHILLIPINES. I HAD NEVER HEARD OF DIEGO GARICA
BEFORE. I LANDED ON AN C5 FROM CLARK. THE AIR FORCE
PUT ON A BUS, AND TOOK US DOWN TOWN DG AS THEY PUT IT.
THERE WAS ABOUT 10 OF US BOOTS HEADED TO CV63. I GUESS
THEY THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY TO TELL DOWN TOWN DG. WHEN
WE GOT THERE WE REALIZED WE HAD BEEN MADE A JOKE OF.
WE SHOPPED IN THE SMALL STORE THEY HAD THERE. THEN WE
HEADED BACK TO THE WOODEN, AND SCREENED IN HUTS, WHICH
TURNED OUT TO BE OUR HOME FOR THE NEXT 30 DAYS. AS WE
PASSED BY THE ROLL OF HUTS ON THE BUS THE AIR FORCE
TOLD US TO REPORT BACK THERE THAT WAS WHERE THE NAVY
LIVED. WE HAD TO PICK UP OUR BEDDING EACH MORNING SO
THE SAND FLEAS WOULD NOT GET INTO TO OUR BEDDING. MY
FIRST NIGHT THERE I WAS SO SCARED, IT WAS THE DARKEST
NIGHT I HAD EVER SPENT. I REMEMBER LISTENING TO NOISE
THAT REMINDED ME OF A TARZAN MOVIE. THEN I HAD TO USE
THE BATHROOM, WHICH WAS APPROXIAMTELY 100 FT AWAY FROM
OUR HUT. I HELD IT UNTIL I HEARD ANOTHER PERSON
HEADING OUT TO USE THE RESTROOM THEN I FOLLOWED BEHIND
HIM.DG WAS THE FIRST PLACE I SWAM IN SALTWATER. I
LOVED THE PLACED LITTLE DID I KNOW HOW MUCH I WOULD
REGRET EVER LEAVING DG TO GO OUT TO SEA. ONCE ON BOARD
THE KITTY HAWK I DID NOT SEE LAND FOR THE NEXT 120
DAYS.
1981
NAME
=
lenny grindstaff E-MAIL
=
gstaff64@yahoo.com
SERVICE
=
navy UNIT
=
NMCB 62 SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = I'd Like to Share Precious Memories of
Drinking/Fishing/Snorkeling/Sailing on Diego Garcia MY
WARSTORY
= Funny, how the memories fade for some of you guys. 1.
The
fight was not between two seabees. It was
between two fleet tweets and our
Seabee.
Our Seabee got hit with a rake. The fight was
the Seabee's fault. He
had
a really big mouth and wasn't liked very much by Delta
Company. And no,
he
didn't die. 2.
The
Proteus was the ship stationed there. 3.
Hector
was a Hammerhead Shark 4.
Bob
Stethem was know as ROB to his friends. And he
didn't make the Det Diego
Deployment.
He was main body Guam. 5.
Ole
Olson was a much better CO then John (holy
rolling)Elkins
1981
AUSTRAIL
LIGHTNING
we
got
to diago on nov 1981 i stayed till march 82 what a
sh------ maritimesam@aol.com
October
1981
to January 1982 NAME
=
Joel W. Gossman MY
QUEST
= To share with other inmates of the rock. VT
of
a SWALLOW = Is that an African Swallow....? E-MAIL
=
mast_elec929@hotmail.com
NATIONALITY
=
American SERVICE
=
USN UNIT
=
MSCO Indian Ocean USNS Jupiter RANK/RATE/JOB
=
RM2 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 the Club MY
WARSTORY
= I remember drinking a lot of alcohol at the Brit
Club. My advise to you is not pick a fight with a
stevedor on the merchant ship, especially when you and
him have been drinking for three days. I wound
up in the hospital the next day not knowing what th'
fuck happened with a broken fucking jaw. We
where best friends for the rest of the tour.
79-80;
81-82
Grady,
Dave
[Dave.Grady@city.pittsburgh.pa.us]. I
was in nmcb 62 and did a couple of tours in 79-80
& 81-82, Great website Feb.
1981
toJanuary 1982 NAME
=
RM2 Joel William Gossman MY
QUEST
= To be recognized as Dodge Resident VT
of
a SWALLOW = European or African? E-MAIL
=
nast_elec929@hotmail.com
NATIONALITY
=
American and proud of it SERVICE
=
United States Navy UNIT
=
Msco Indian Ocean USNS Mercury RANK/RATE/JOB
=
RM2 now a civilian MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Professional Adventurer Looking For The
Ultimate Get Away SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Fishing Story MY
WARSTORY
= I remember the flight to DGAR. What a
fiasco. We left Norfolk, Virginia during the
blizzard of 81' (just two hours before we departed
CONUS a plane had struck a bridge in Washington, D.C)
the atmosphere was heavy with trepidation. What the
hell where we doing? Does anyone realize its
snowing?? I guess after three days waiting in the
terminal (typical MAC flight) to depart, getting
started was a better option. We loaded the C-141
and began our adventure. Here I was sitting in
this red jump seat not three feet from a tank and jet
engine. The crew started handing out ear plugs.
Earplugs? What the hell do I need with these I asked.
The crewman advised me that it may get a tad loud in
the cargo bay during our flight. LOUD? Loud is not the
word. It was unbearable, but I had my earplugs. I
should have known this was goung to be an experience I
would never forget. I remember sitting in this C-141
and looking out at the other "passengers" and thinking
this plane sounds alittle funny. Something is not
right. It is a bit unerving when you see the
crew scrambling about with the urgency of impending
doom. We where told to fasten ourselves and sit
tight. Sit tight? What the hell is going
on? Then we heard the "BANG". The plane sputtered and
I could feel the speed of the plane deminish. The poor
crewman who was taking care of the passengers was
scrammbling around the inside of this craft like a
monkey in a cage. He was tying equipment down,
crwaling on top of the secured engine and buttoning up
all loose articles in the plane. I could
remember thinking, "this is it?, I'm going to die in
this plane over the Atlantic Ocean? Well that was when
the jet engine sprung its straps and shifted about two
feet towards me. I could'nt move I was secured in my
jump seat. Well after about a half hour of struggling
with this engine the crewman had it secured and
settled. He sat down next to me, sweating,
shaking, and thoroughly exhausted, he turned to me and
said, "you O.K?" I replied I was fine but the shit in
my pants is making me smell funny. I am glad to say
that was the only in flight incident we had.
After what seemed to be an eternity this crewman
announced that we will be making a "QUICK" stop in
Rota, Spain to take a look at the plane. Well this
"Quick" stop turn into three days. Three days
restricted to the terminal at Rota, we could not leave
the seating area in the terminal, no food, nothing to
drink (the soda machine was empty), three days of
sitting, because you could'nt sleep in those damn
chairs. Finally we where told to reboard our aircraft.
At last off to DGAR. Off to DGAR? This is the
military, Ronald Reagan era. Somewhere over the Med we
had another problem, only this time they did not let
anyone know what it was. We where told we would
be making a stop in Athens, Greece to "check things
out". We where told it would be a "short stop".
Yeah right. Three more days and one more
terminal. By this time we where like sheep, just
tell us where to go and where to wait. I figured
Greece what an opportunity, I wanted to get out of the
terminal and visit the Acropolis, drink some Uzo,
sample the local flavor, like hell! We sat in
the terminal the whole time (now remember we haven't
bathed and are wearing the same close we had on in
Norfolk) sticky, sweaty, annoyed, and very
uncomfortable. It seemed like a month, I felt like I
was in an old Twilight Zone episode. Finally we where
ready to continue our quest and boarded the plane like
young school kids going on a field trip. We got
settled in, they fed us some food gave us some
Coca-Cola and said we where on our way to DGAR. Well
that was as far from the truth as you could get. Next
stop, Kenya, Nairobi. Thats right Kenya,
Nairobi. Emergency landing at the International
Airport in Kenya. This time we where'nt there for
three days, we where lucky, we got stranded for five.
But this was different. This was a civilian airport,
surely we could circulate, buy souvenirs, taste some
of the local food. NOT. We where instructed about the
local government and there not so loving accord with
the United States. Be careful and stay together
we where told. Right, here I was, a boy from The
Bronx, in Africa. I didn't care what anyone told
me, I was going to see this place. So, I carefully
left the safety and security of the United States
Consulate area and ventured out to the streets.
I was enjoying my "Freedom" taking in the local
flavor. I jumped in a taxi and told the nice
driver to take me to the Bush. Here I was all
excited to see Africa in its natural state. My
mind was on Lions, Elephant, Zebras, Giraffe, and
Safaris. I did not know that Africa had old Starsky
and Hutch episodes on their TV's. This driver took me
to the nearest whore house. Well not wanting to
disappoint my driver,I accepted his invitation to
sample the local flavor. In Africa apparently the
price for a good time was well below the American
market. $2.00 got me a lay and lunch. After we
where done with our "TOUR", the drivcer took me back
to the airport and dropped me off where I was picked
up by two machine gun toting policemen, and huridly
escorted back to American Consulate for a toungue
lashing. The next four days where spent between the
terminal seating area and a really nice bar upstairs
in the passenger lounge area. Drinking Tusk beer
and eating local food it turned out to be a pleasant
experience.
Back
to my trek. Finally we where headed to DGAR. I still
remember looking out of the window and seeing lights
in the middle of the ocean and thinking about the
solitude and remotness of this place and dreading the
12 months I had to serve there.
The
plane landed at 2:00am, we taxied, stopped and sat for
about an hour. The plane door opened and I could
feel the heat and smell that smell, a smell only
residence of Dodge know, on to the orientaiton .
We where told all the does and don'ts, all the
restricted behavior and introduced to "the Brits".
My
first night on the rock was spent drinking on the
beach on the lagoon side of the island thinking how
beautiful this was, and it was truly an experience I
treasure. The sun was coming up and we finally
saw our first site of Dgar in the light of day. What
the hell did I get myself into? This place is
like McHales Navy, Pith Helmets and Jungle
Boots. A veritable tropic paradise spoiled by
the United States Navy.
My
time in Dodge is full of memories of good times fun in
the sun and endless days of drinking and
merriment. That is my memory, and we all know we
remember the good and block out the bad.
As
I get older and nostalgic, I think of Dodge with
fondness and hope that one day I can revisit this
tropical paradise that only a few luck people have had
the fortune to live.
We
are truly a unique bunch of visitors to a very unique
place on this big planet we call home.
1981
NAME
=
Dan "herbie" Giampietro MY
QUEST
= to seek out old members of nmcb 62 VT
of
a SWALLOW = wicked quick E-MAIL
=
danotoo@comcast.net
NATIONALITY
=
American SERVICE
=
Navy Seabees UNIT
=
NMCB 62 MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Want to Drink A Lot, Cheap SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = I am a Born Liar, and Want To Tell About
All The Sex I Had on Dodge MY
WARSTORY
= no stories sure but i do remember heny running that
big as scraper through those trailers i thought
foe sure he killed someone
1981
(I
Thinks NAME
=
steve MY
QUEST
= tell the truth VT
of
a SWALLOW = never had a swallower in dg E-MAIL
=
slvs@frontiernet.netwhitw
NATIONALITY
=
white SERVICE
=
seabee UNIT
=
pier / pole setter RANK/RATE/JOB
=
electrian E5 MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= Does anyone remember the day the power went out in
DG. This my story and I'm sticking to it. I was
minding my own business when someone in a truck pulled
up to set a utility pole. (It wasn’t me and I’m
sticking to my story because my Chief told me to.)
Well the guy (not me) thought he had to maneuver his
truck to get closer to a building to set a new utility
pole. Well he broke the golden rule that says you
always lower your boom before moving the truck. I’m
sure he thought because he had such a large open area
to swing the truck around he could break the rule this
one time. Well you probably guessed it; he managed to
sideswipe the main power feeder causing the power
plant to shut down the entire island. This guy at
least had enough sense to stop and back the truck up
off the feeder. Thank god he did not panic and jump
out of the truck otherwise you would have never heard
this story. This incident made the front page of the
DG news paper. The local Filipino’s reported they seen
a milk truck hit the power line. The boom on the truck
had a few arc marks, nothing a little grease couldn’t
cover. That Chief must have learned this in a savior
training. I hated DG but love it today.
1981
NAME
=
Andy Arel MY
QUEST
= Find some old pals.. E-MAIL
=
megk62@yahoo.com
SERVICE
=
Navy UNIT
=
Alfa Co. NMCB 74 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'm looking for Geek and JD Martin and
others.... WTF is everyone?? Acid
Andy
was the nick! I've
seen
Phil and Jack over the years.. would like to find the
rest of yous'un....
1981
NAME
=
Joe Phifer E-MAIL
=
phiferdusty@aol.com
NATIONALITY
=
american SERVICE
=
United States Marines Corps UNIT
=
Bravo 1st. battalion 3rd. marines 1st.
marine brigade BLT.1/3 USS>TARAWALHA1 1979-1982
NAME
=
ed crays MY
QUEST
= find other NMCB3 seabees VT
of
a SWALLOW = Dimples from Subic E-MAIL
=
crayzys@aol.com NATIONALITY
=
Italian SERVICE
=
US Navy Seabee's UNIT
=
Naval Mobil construction battalion 3 gold team RANK/RATE/JOB
=
EM3 equipment mechanic 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
= Jolo's pics wanted, wheres the pic of dimples Dave?
Who remembers Florida club and the brown derby?
1981
to
1982 NAME
=
ABH3 Joseph Scott Brown MY
QUEST
= To Surf the World VT
of
a SWALLOW = HUGH? E-MAIL
=
josephscott13@sbcglobal.net
NATIONALITY
=
Texan SERVICE
=
US Navy UNIT
=
Crash Crew RANK/RATE/JOB
=
ABH3 Now Free MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = I'd Like to Share Precious Memories of
Drinking/Fishing/Snorkeling/Sailing on Diego Garcia MY
WARSTORY
= We were just a bunch of kids haveing a bunch of
fun!!! Robert Earnest,Vince Chaput,Ed Plouff,Gorman,I
wish I could find you guys!!! And others
I
can't remember their names because of the booze. Don
King was our super,great guy!!! We made boards out of
plywood and surfed,we snorkeled and fished everywhere
that was restricted. If you were not supposed to be
there we were there.We made the best of it.Get in
touch with me. Lets swap stories.One night Earnest and
I were on the runway waiting for a plane to
land,smokeing a little hash in a beer can pipe we
thought we were seeing things when Marines started
comeing out of the bushes behind us.I drove up and
down the runway avoiding them.They captured the tower
and everybody back at the crash shack but not us. This
is just a fraction of the fun we had on the ROCK.Thank
you to everyone who made my time there one of my
favorite memories.I love all of you guys,and hope to
hear from you soon.FUCK THE BRITS!!!!! ABH3 Brown
1981-1983
NAME
=
Scott Zoeller MY
QUEST
= remember the old days... VT
of
a SWALLOW = african or european? E-MAIL
=
scott_zoeller@hotmail.com
NATIONALITY
=
usa SERVICE
=
U.S. Navy Seabees UNIT
=
NMCB 62 RANK/RATE/JOB
=
BU3 and BU2 on the Rock BU1 later MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Other MY
WARSTORY
= I was asigned to NMCB 62 Delta Company in 1981. We
made the endless journey through Frankfurt to the
exclusive resort publicly known as Diego Garcia. It
always seemed that Delta Company was the bastard
company of the Battalion. We did the construction
support of Charlie Company. I ran a crew of texcoat
freaks. Paul Barnett and John Case were memorable men
as well as Kirby O'Brien (Our Hut Slut), Curt Boos,
John Laspisa and countess others. No women on the
island except some visitors from the ships and a
brit named Carmen. It was the last great Hurrah for
the Seabees in the island's history. It was wneh Henry
crashed the scraper into his hooch and nearly killed
his hoochmates. I think he was getting shit about
golden showers. He was a hell of an operator cause he
smashed that hut ofter making a hairpin turn into the
camp. They sent him away quick. We lost power in the
huts I was in for a few hours. Needless to say when it
came to emergency construction rerpairs the ballation
had it all. We had great fun with the loyal british
subjects on the island. No not the BritRep...the cats,
chickens and the delicious coconut crab(did I say
delicious?) Ireturned
with
Det Diego the following deployment when the main body
went to Gwam. Much lower key this time. I remenber
Proctor's Builder's test. I bet they don't do those
anymore. I did Texcoat again this year. My boss was
John Weiss. A bit of a hard ass but a hell of a guy.
He embodied the seabee style of if its done its good
and if its not done its bad. We must have erected half
a hundred premade bus stops. One of my workers,
Bob Steathem was coerced into jackhammering a concrete
pull box at the runway porject run bu some olf fart
CE1. I remember pulling the compressor off the job,
getting into a pile of shit over it and then the Lt.
found out it was a 13800 pull box that would have shut
down the airfiels if it was breached. Made an enemy
out of the CE1 but saved Bob from possible
electrocution. (Bob was killed by terrorists on flight
TWA 847 after leaving the battalion and becoming a
diver. A gentle and good man.) The best thing about
Diego this time aroubd was that there were
GIRLS. Not just TAD but women assigned to the
NSF and NAS. I made some great female friends, best of
which was Alice Marsh and Vicky Reinhart. It gave the
island some civility wit women aboard. The det made a
raft called the Lil DILIGAF for the raft race. We
did'nt win but it was a good time both to the raftsmen
and we who watched the race. They would not allow beer
on the rafts. A little inginuity and the flotilla
became a floating beer barge. We had a bit of shit
when one of the women was the focus of a rake attack
between 2 guys in Alpha Company but I don't remember
if that was the Det or the Main body Deployment. We
left the island as the last detachment and moved to
Gulfport for another few months then on to Rosy Roads.
April,
1981
NAME
=
Mike "Juice" Pajewski MY
QUEST
= To sail back to Diego (On top of the water) VT
of
a SWALLOW = 15 knots E-MAIL
=
check the Cincinnati Homepage NATIONALITY
=
USA SERVICE
=
US Navy - Submarine Service UNIT
=
USS Cincinnati (SSN-693) RANK/RATE/JOB
=
In 1981 - EM2(SS) Today
EMC(SS)
(Ret) MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Drinking Story MY
WARSTORY
= SKI Mount Diego The
joke
amongst the crew of the Cincy was that there was a ski
lodge on Digeo Garcia. We even sold Lift Tags to raise
money for beer. The tags were labeled SKI Mount Diego
I
flew out to meet the boat on a C-141. The Cincinnati
crew wore red ball caps as a matter of pride. When I
arrived, no one had a red ball cap and I was very
confused. A
few nights later I went up to the boat deck on the USS
DIxon to use the MARS radio phone. While waiting my
turn, I was approached by no less than three women
from the crew, offering oral gratification in exchange
for my ball cap. Turns out the WAVES on the Dixon were
having a competition to see who could collect the most
ball caps. I quickly realized why there were no red
caps to be found on the boat.
1972,
NMCB
10, 1975 NMCB 40, 1981-82 PWC NAME
=
Ted Martinez (Marty) MY
QUEST
= To go back for a couple of weeks VT
of
a SWALLOW = E-MAIL
=
ttema49@aol.com
NATIONALITY
=
Hisp/Amer SERVICE
=
U.S. Navy (Seabees) UNIT
=
EO RANK/RATE/JOB
=
After 24 years retired as EO1 MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Want to Drink A Lot, Cheap SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = There I Was, Passed Out on The Beach MY
WARSTORY
=
Love
My Tour
81-82,
82-83
NAME
=
Andrew Perkins MY
QUEST
= stroll down memory lane VT
of
a SWALLOW = ? E-MAIL
=
aperkins@simplynet.net
NATIONALITY
=
Oklahoma SERVICE
=
NMCB62 UNIT
=
MLO, Satelite Dining Facility RANK/RATE/JOB
=
CE2 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 was there in the last full battalion, and right
back after home port in the last detachment. I
remember "Henry's Revenge", and was real surprized
when I got back with the detachment to see "new"
hooches on that corner. It was surprising the
amount of damage a pan scraper could do to a hooch. Since
the
main choices on the rock were to 1. get religeon, 2.
become an alcholic, 3. become a fisherman, I got drunk
and went fishing with a lot of the others. I
remember, (I think) drinking a case of Bud a day, many
days in a row. Since Jim Beam came in those nice
bowling pin bottles, it was fun to rack the empty's up
and bowl them down with coconuts. I have never
forgotten the morning after head ache from drinking
frozen Sangria, or a night drinking just plain
Mojo. I don't think I would want to do that
again. I
remember Alice's over by the laundry, and how
disapointing it was to see it converted into the QD
when we got back on the det. I
remember Ole Oleson dressed up as Santa Clause in the
back of a jeep throwing batallion christmas card at
morning quarters. I still have the patch, and
have it framed with my "A" school certificate.
1981
NAME
=
Joe Nihill MY
QUEST
= I seek the Holy Grail VT
of
a SWALLOW = European or African? E-MAIL
=
joe.nihill@comcast.net
NATIONALITY
=
US SERVICE
=
Military Sealit Command, Indian Ocean UNIT
=
USNS Mercury RANK/RATE/JOB
=
Chief Storekeeper MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Other SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Fishing Story MY
WARSTORY
= One night, after analyzing the predatory habits of
"Hector", myself and the Chief Machinist set out to
hook the beast. Having fashioned a nicely
crafted (and rather large) hook, we caught a nice
grouper, sliced him open and inserted the hook for the
night's hunt. Having no other suitable fishing
line, we decided to use 1/2" manilla rope hooked up to
one of the aft deck winches. Right on schedule,
at 21:30 hours, along he came looking searching for
any unfortunate and drunk that may have fallen off the
liberty launch. None to be had, he found his way
to the bait and, without hesitation, swallowed it
whole. After about an hour of fierce battle,
including 5 rounds from a .30 carbine, we gave up -
cutting the line. I
am interested to know if anybody boated him or -
hopefully to find out if he's still out there. Joe
Nihill
1981-1982
NAME
=
donald mount MY
QUEST
= gse friends VT
of
a SWALLOW = way friggin fast E-MAIL
=
namtd3033@adelphia.net
NATIONALITY
=
american SERVICE
=
usn UNIT
=
naf ground support equip. RANK/RATE/JOB
=
asm3 asm2 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
= remember the raft the lagoon race?we [gse]
came in 2nd.where are you guys?chief g. ken porter
jc?heres a {one that got away story}hector had been
spotted near the pol pier.got 5 gal. bucket of beef
blood from the galley.along with 2 ripe whole
chickens.had been to pi for rnr and brought back ahook
as big as my arm.set up 2 jin poles on back of a 5 ton
flatbed truck.tied hook to steel cable baited the hook
with bothchickens threw the bucket of blood with holes
punched in it out far enough for the outgoing tide to
carry sent the baited hook out let out abt 150'of
cable. then commenced to getting drunk.tj swan and san
migle beer. wasent to long before line got tight
started singing then snapped like a high powered
rifle.the 5 ton seemed to raise off the dock.by then i
was higher than a georgia pine.did we hook
hector??? what a rush
1981-1982
Subject:
Sign
me up! Date:
Tue,
9 Aug 2005 22:05:06 -0400 From:
"Joe
Nihill" <rnihill@comcast.net>
Stationed
aboard
USNS Mercury (T-AKR-10) December 1981 - February 1982.
Best
Regards,
Joe
Nihill
81-82,
84-85
NAME
=
Wayne TJ Tajiri E-MAIL
=
HLSChief@msn.com
NATIONALITY
=
Japanese-American SERVICE
=
US Navy UNIT
=
NCS - SatComm RANK/RATE/JOB
=
First tour- ETSN -to ET3, 2nd tour ET3 - ET2 MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Fishing Story MY
WARSTORY
= During my 2 tours there, I caught more GTs than
anyone could shake 2 sticks @. Going out on the reef
off off of R site, and catching a good tide, and
catching/releasing GTs & large groupers one after
another. One night back in 82, when the liberty
launches came to the floating dock right in town, I
fished there after the last launch ran. It was
about 0100 when I started fishing. I kept 10 GTs
(uluas & papios in Hawaii), released 3 others, and
lost about 6 other bites that I could not
control. The only other witness was a MAA that
was making his rounds, but he was cool & didn't
kick me off the dock. (It was off limits to
fishing). I fought & landed all the fish
solo, the largest for that night was about 40
pounds. I gave most of the fish to the filipino
contract workers in the galley, trading for
butter....I think. During my 2nd tour, there was
the Diego Burger RIGHT next to the NCS barracks.
Tony and his guys must have gotten 500 pounds of fish
from me at least during that tour. Diego Burger
took real good care of me....
9/81
to
7/82 NAME
=
Donald Boatman MY
QUEST
= Where's the plane VT
of
a SWALLOW = the speed of coral filling up
a TS/24 bowel E-MAIL
=
driverdon60@yahoo.com
NATIONALITY
=
AMERICAN USA SERVICE
=
US NAVY SEABEE NMCB-62 UNIT
=
alfa battalion transportion RANK/RATE/JOB
=
EO2 Aco primary T.T. driver. Went my way after Guam 83
MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Professional Adventurer Looking For The
Ultimate Get Away SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = There I Was, Passed Out in My Room MY
WARSTORY
= And yes there I was asleep and EO2 rogers came into
my bread box (what it seemed like) woke me up,got to
go see what henry did? sure enough dam drunk drove a
TS-24 scraper right into jenos hut!remeber it very
well.Also big Brad CM3 stole a jeep and drove it into
the lagoon one night and some other seabee drove a
5ton cement bulk tanker into the the lagoon one other
time,As I recall diego turned alot of people mad? So
as I read from others olsen made it to ADM what a
crook.My time on diego wasn't all that bad but after
9.5 mths I didn't think I was ever going to leave
,best part was getting a front row seat for the dallas
cowboy cheer leaders and working the night ship off
loads and then trying to sleep and the darn CE'S kept
turning off the power during those hot days.Anybody
hear from eo doug lewis or jergeson?? carry on
seabees.
Sept.
11th
1981- April 15th 1982 NAME
=
Daryl Hopkins MY
QUEST
= The Big Pay back! VT
of
a SWALLOW = .21 E-MAIL
=
fourmutts4@aol.com
NATIONALITY
=
American SERVICE
=
USN Seabees UNIT
=
NMCB-Fighting Forty RANK/RATE/JOB
=
At the time I was a BUCN I retired in 1996 on the
T.E.R.A. Program as a BU2 after 15yrs 4 months.of
service best decesion I ever made. MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Other SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= How I survived the rock, mostly playing softball
fightingand drinking pretty much in that order, I
think my first fight involved the beat down of Wade
Hoveys good friend Ken Korzinowski. it involved short
sheeting some racial slurs and then the
beatdown. ofcourse their good buddy skippy
Baldwin coverd for them i got restriction and extra
duty but it was well worth it. to many other brawls to
tell. the softball was great the Forty Thrashers ruled
the whole time we were there I think our record was
56-9. One of the names that will stand out in my mind
forever is Tom Gillespie probably my closest friend at
the time. I wonder how many people remember the night
the lights went out and some fleeters rolled a jeep
out near the runway. The weed was being passede around
that night PI purple hair if I can remember correctly.
As far as the rake incident that was mentioned in one
of the above stories, the guy didnt die his name was
Mike Wyrick he may be dead now but he survived the
rake to the head but was slightly brain damaged.
I do remember the late night drunken bonfires and the
mid-night coco nut raids on the chiefs hut. And what
the hell happened to Joe proctor, Andy Skoggs, Willie
Williams, Pat Bohrig, Mike Hawkridge or how about that
fat ass and yes I mean the fat assed Jeff Padfill,
Eric Morales, Mike Hodorff, Big floyd Parsons the
welder I remember the tim Skippy Baldwin pulled a hot
torch out of floyds hand and burned his leg what an
ass. Hey Ralph Corbelli How you doin! so many names
Rich ( pierre ) Carden, Rich Dees, Clinton Bogan,
Ponch the Skinny mexican american kidd are you still
livin, Taco Attalino, Daryl Bauer, Eddie Yapow, Rus
Borman, Steve Henry, Paul Urtell, curtis king, Tom
Hale, Bill Penny, Tiny Montgomerey he was really hughe
so many names I cant remember so many more and you
know who you are. How about the chow hall at the time
no real milk. and the beer was terrible I think.
I assume I drank the taste buds out of my mouth. but
know they are back and i havent slown down since. well
if you know me get back at me.I wrote this page before
but it may have been a little to much I see it didnt
make it to print hopefuly this will. take care
all and see you when I see Ya! D.HOP!
1981-1982
NAME
=
Vince Chaput MY
QUEST
= Find old friends VT
of
a SWALLOW = spit E-MAIL
=
vchaput@comcast.net
NATIONALITY
=
western american SERVICE
=
NAVY UNIT
=
NAF Crash crew/Transient line RANK/RATE/JOB
=
ABHAA working class MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = I'd Like to Share Precious Memories of
Drinking/Fishing/Snorkeling/Sailing on Diego Garcia MY
WARSTORY
= Would like to find Edward William Plouff or Russell
Macomber
1981-1982,
365
days, 11 hrs., 4 min. NAME
=
Jim Anthony MY
QUEST
= Tell your readers about a place called Joe Mama's by
the Beach VT
of
a SWALLOW = 32 ft per sec. E-MAIL
=
redman57@hotmail.com
NATIONALITY
=
USA SERVICE
=
USN UNIT
=
Air Field Operations GEMD RANK/RATE/JOB
=
ET2 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
= When a group of us were living in tin roofed huts
(hootches)and sending most of our military pay to
NFCU, we found drinking an absolutely must have. But,
expensive by island standards an the clubs that were
run by iron fisted CPO's, who were only interested in
lining their pockets at our expense. We therefore
decided it was in our best interest to open our own
club. Rob Roy, Jake Botz, myself and several other
hootch mates added an addition to our hootch (Pictures
to follow). It was a screen porch with palms built in.
The drinks cost 50 cents and beers were a quarter. The
place was called Joe Mama's by the Beach. We`were able
to melt into an alcoholic haze and ignore the bullshit
that was constantly around us. This included an attack
by the coral reef and the resulting call to arms of
500 drunk SeaBees with M16's in hand.
september
1981-
september1982 NAME
=
Vince Chaput MY
QUEST
= get back to old friends VT
of
a SWALLOW = E-MAIL
=
vchaput@comcast.net
NATIONALITY
=
American SERVICE
=
Navy UNIT
=
Line crew/crash crew air station RANK/RATE/JOB
=
ABHAA E-2 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 'How I Put One Over On
My Senior Chief' Story MY
WARSTORY
= Chief Gerber: I pissed chief gerber off so bad he
tried to drown me in the lagoon at a bbq on the other
side of the island where missy used to party with us.
After bieng late for my first time to work, I showed
up still drunk from the night before. Chief Gerber
gave me 24 hours emi. after picking up cigarrette buts
for 8 hours I brought the bogus punishment up to
senior chief Galvan who in turn scolded chief gerber
for such a cruel punishment for such a small
offense.Especialy since I covered the ass of the
asshole who complained about my tardyness after bieng
late on a regular bassis with no repercussion.Since
that time gerber hated me so bad he would not let up
on me.since he was in charge of choosing my next duty
station after my tour he thought he would get back at
me by sending me to a next tour in a place I didn't
want to go so again I went over his head and called my
classifier via autovon and picked my own duty station.
When gerber found out it made him furious.Thats when
he chose the opportunity to try and drown me. If it
wasnt for my boss petty officer Sawyer I probably
would have drouwned.
1981
NAME
=
Jim Phillips MY
QUEST
= Fun VT
of
a SWALLOW = About 50% of the square root of four times
its term vel. E-MAIL
=
jim485@hotmail.com
NATIONALITY
=
Aussie SERVICE
=
na UNIT
=
Cruising through on a yacht RANK/RATE/JOB
=
First Mate MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Professional Adventurer Looking For The
Ultimate Get Away SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Sailing Story MY
WARSTORY
= Well, there we were, crossingg the Indian Ocean in a
47' steel yacht. I was with my parents and a
younger brother (9) and sister (1). I turned 11
the day after we left DG, so we were there anchored in
the lagoon on the 23rd and 24th of August, 1981.
We
had been sailing 10 days from the Cocos Islands and
really wanted to step ashore and stretch our legs,
especially us kids. Even though the authorities
would not give us permission to go ashore, they did
sell us some fresh food. A US yacht also came in
at the same time and were treated the same way.
I understand that now they totally discourage even
entering the lagoon.
Anyway
we sailed north to Salomon Atoll and anchored for a
week or two at Boddam Island. There was a French
yacht also there and two guys living ahsore as
modern-day Robin Crusoes. The ruins were all
there - cementery, church, manager's house, wrokshop
etc. The fishing was fantastic - we invited the
French across for dinner and threw in the fishing line
as they arrived. And my brother and I found a
shaded concrete slab where we could use our
skateboards. Unfortunately, one of the Robin
Crusoes (French from Djoubiti) fell 8 m out of a
coconut tree and broke his arm. With his written
permission, we turned on our EPIRB (not strictly
correct, as it wasn't a life-threatening situation,
but he wanted to get help from DG). An hour
after turning on the EPIRB, a US warplane did two low
flyovers directly over the beacon and at right angles
to each other. We then heard no more from them.
A
couple of days later, we sailed over to Peros Bahnos
and then off to the Seychelles with the Frech guy and
his broken arm.
I
understand that now there are dozens of yacht anchored
at Salomon and Peros Bahnos and that the Brits process
their paperwork fortnightly. Quite different
from the old days when we were all left on our
own. The German and French hermits had been
there for 6 months living off the lagoon with a sack
of flour, a few tools and some fishing gear.
Before
we arrived, other yachties had been telling us stories
of the leftover diesel on Peros Bahnos that had been
abandoned after WWII. By the time we arrived,
however, there was one drum left with fuel but it had
been mixed with water, so we gave it a miss.
My
memories are of a beautiful place. I plan to get
back to those northern islands someday. I feel
quite sorry for the Ilois who got booted out of the
islands though. I wonder how the tsunami treated
the Chagos islands last week?
1981
NAME
=
Malcolm Swain MY
QUEST
= to change my email address to sellsell59@comcast.net
VT
of
a SWALLOW = infinite at light speed E-MAIL
=
sellsell59@comcast.net
NATIONALITY
=
US SERVICE
=
Navy UNIT
=
Aircrew, VP-48 RANK/RATE/JOB
=
AT2 then. retired ATC now MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Professional Adventurer Looking For The
Ultimate Get Away SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Please Select a Title For Your Story, or
Select 'Other' MY
WARSTORY
= Just
want
to change email address to:
sellsell59@comcast.net and cell# to (469)951-1742 Would
love
to hear from anyone, especially former VP-48 members
1980
'81
and'82 NAME
=
wayde hovey MY
QUEST
= try to get back a few lost brain cells VT
of
a SWALLOW = all i know is it just ain't fast enough E-MAIL
=
nmcb40cc@yahoo.com
NATIONALITY
=
SERVICE
=
Navy UNIT
=
nmcb40 charlie co RANK/RATE/JOB
=
got out as a BU2 after Rota Spain dep 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
= hell we were passed out all over the damn
place had some of the best times on that shitty
little island got some great pics of our crew
drunkards everyone of them i'll scan some and post
some if it's you in there give me a shout most of my
memories are lost in tomenting Tisue you know
what i mean i'll get those pics posted give a
hollor ror an old drunkard
1981-1982
NAME
=
Fred Casebolt MY
QUEST
= To get back to the PI one day VT
of
a SWALLOW = Depends on what brand of booze your
drinking E-MAIL
=
fcasebolt@yahoo.com
NATIONALITY
=
US SERVICE
=
Navy UNIT
=
Tech Control RANK/RATE/JOB
=
RM2 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 was drinking heavily one evening with a bunch of
friends and our Senior Cheif. We were all shit faced
and laughing it up outside the Cheifs barracks. Along
comes the CO (can't remember his name) I had been
stationed at Navcomsta San Miguel with him when he was
the XO there. He walked up to me and poored a beer
over my head and said Merry Christmas asshole and
walked away.
Well
not to be out done and to take the dare laid down by
all my friends I walked over to him where he was
talking to the good ol senior cheif. I reached into
the shit can full of beer and ice. Pulled out a beer
opened it and poured it over his head and said Merry
Christmas Mother Fucker. Well
needless
to say the good ol senior cheif all most shit right
there on the spot. (He had not seen the beer being
poured on me) The
CO
laughed it off and we all had a great time.
The
best part was seeing the look on the senior's face.
Dec
'81
- '83 NAME
=
McNeil, a.k.a."Mac" MY
QUEST
= Find old friends and acquaintances. VT
of
a SWALLOW = E-MAIL
=
lotlot66@prodigy.net
NATIONALITY
=
U.S.A. SERVICE
=
U.S.N. UNIT
=
NAF RANK/RATE/JOB
=
AT-1
sept
81
thru may 82 NAME
=
Richard M. Carden Jr. MY
QUEST
= just trying to rember the past VT
of
a SWALLOW = who cares E-MAIL
=
wild66tang2 ATIONALITY
=
AMERICAN SERVICE
=
SEEBEES UNIT
=
NMCB 40 (det) RANK/RATE/JOB
=
buca then,fresh out of a-school. Ret. in 96' as BU2 MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = My Time There is Lost in an Alcoholic Haze,
Help Me Remember!
SUBJECT
OF MY STORY: = I'd Like to Share Precious Memories of
Drinking/Fishing/Snorkeling/Sailing on Diego Garcia
MY
WARSTORY = Don't rember a lot from my time in/on hell.
Do rember our killer softball team. Two people who
most stand out are Daryl Hopkins and Tom Gulispie.
These two made my time on DG a time to rember. Just
wish I could. I was there when women were first
wecolmed on the island and I recall a fight that broke
out between two bees over a piece of tail and one of
them being airlifted off the island. Worked on the
officers club while I was there. Would love to go back
and see how things have changed. Anyone rember me,
drop me a line. Would love to here from you.
1979
-1980
AND 1981 - 1982
NAME
= Garland D. Evans
MY
QUEST = Work
VT
of a SWALLOW = 8,999 MPH
E-MAIL
= nmseabee74@aol.com
NATIONALITY
= Texas
SERVICE
= USN Seabees
UNIT
= NAF and NMCB 74
RANK/RATE/JOB
= Retired SWC
Jun
81
- Jun 82
NAME
= Jack Nunes
MY
QUEST = To recal what Beer they use to feed that
Donkey!!
VT
of a SWALLOW = Well when the first 50 woman arrived
there was some spitters and some swallowers.
E-MAIL
= jnunes22@msn.com
NATIONALITY
= US
SERVICE
= USN
UNIT
= Radioman C-Site...
RANK/RATE/JOB
= E-1 when arrived, E-5 when departed.
MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane
SUBJECT
OF MY STORY: = I'd Like to Share Precious Memories of
Drinking/Fishing/Snorkeling/Sailing on Diego Garcia
MY
WARSTORY = Several-
1st
- Went home for christmas vacation, was bumped several
times at Clark AFB spent 2 weeks with RM3 Morris
party'n, with no vacation charged to us. Ran out of
cash took a ride to Subic to get some cash then back
to Clark.
2nd
- Out fishing in one of them small boats you rent, and
engine goes out, 2 of us stuck with 1 oar, anchored
before we got sweept out to sea, used shirts on
fishing poles after a few hours, and one of the ships
in the harbor sent out a rescue boat.
3rd
- Got laid on the island, not many could say that in
1982....
4th
- First 50 woman to arrive, was a treat woman in
t-shirts in the air conditioned communication center,
headlamps galore!! Sat through my 1st sexual
harrassment claim verses another RM, after he dumped
his girl.. Yawn.. Of course he was inocent.
5th
- Due to timezone, when orders to leave island I
passed up USS Lexington (how did I know it was a
training carrier). Got the USS Platte AO-186 out of
Norfolk, TTY school in San Diego, than off to New
Orleans as Plankowner on the Platte.
I
remember buying one of the first VCR's on the island,
cost $999, VHS tapes were about $99, I am sure glad I
bought the VCR and not the Beta or whatever that other
one was called.
Drank
often, BBQ'd often, saw several USO shows, Pat Benatar
etc, a bunch of Navy chicks got arrested for selling
the coochie in 1981, off the tendors.
1981
NAME
=
Bruce L Adler
E03 Also known as Taz MY
QUEST
= Hi to anyone from NMCB62 E-MAIL
=
bladler@prexar.com
NATIONALITY
=
American SERVICE
=
Seabees UNIT
=
a rock crusher RANK/RATE/JOB
=
E03 MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Stroll Down Memory Lane SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= I remember, when E03 Henry drove through the hooch
with the scraper, there was 6 of us in there but
luckily everyone made it out ok. Just wondering if
anyone else is out there that knows Mike Siney???
Oct
81
to Oct 82
NAME
= Jeb Evans
MY
QUEST = Enlightenment
VT
of a SWALLOW = 786 kph
E-MAIL
= jmevans@micropac.com
NATIONALITY
= US; SERVICE = USN; UNIT = NAF AIMD; RANK/RATE/JOB =
AT3
SUBJECT
OF MY STORY: = There I Was, Passed Out in My Room
MY
WARSTORY = Was literally passed out
in my room the night we were "invaded." I was
told the next day that they tried and tried to wake me
to fight the "invaders", but couldn't. Not a proud
moment. We had some kind of division party that Friday
night (that night remains one of the three or four
biggest drinking nights of my life). Was 19
then. Also remember waking up in the hooch
with gecko lizards walking around on me.
I
remember this guy, who was about 25 at the time, (he
claimed to hate DG more than anyone) who was two weeks
away from his year when he decided that he had to have
some lovin with this 18 year old kid who just got on
the island. He was in the process of getting into some
big trouble for that when I left for VA-22.
Always wondered what happened to that guy.
I
was DG Oct 81 to Oct 82. Was NAF AIMD. Rate was AT3.
Is it possible to get an NAF patch (not NSF), or any
other NAF stuff? I appreciate it. Thanks,
1981,1982
NAME
= malcolm hargrave
VT
of a SWALLOW = who cares when they fall the fall
E-MAIL
= malcolm@csplus.com
NATIONALITY
= us
SERVICE
= navy
UNIT
= navcomtelsta
RANK/RATE/JOB
= rm2
MY
INTEREST IN DG IS = Other
SUBJECT
OF MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell
MY
WARSTORY = hi was there in 1981-end 1982, was at
T site, and comsite, I was there when they brought the
first women there i stll have black and whit
photos, of when i was running the photo
lab. I remeber working at t site, and we were
out on the beach during low tide, an we found a foot,
that was detached from a person then we found an arm,
at that point we had to call the base commander, i
believe his name was Sisson, we then had to get a
report to subic, and send the pieces to be autosy,
come to find out possibly a big groper got one of the
fillipinoe workers that was fishing on the wrong
restriced side of the island
1980
through
84. ROB
HODGES
<hawkeye6936@attbi.com
See
his
1980 entry...
I
was there in 81/82 and again in 83w/VP46 first full P3
deployment NAME
=
Michael Dion MY
QUEST
= To communicate with NAF shipmates VT
of
a SWALLOW = Depends on the size of the mouthful E-MAIL
=
M80on@hotmail.com
NATIONALITY
=
Me SERVICE
=
The only 1,USN UNIT
=
NAF AIMD AX3 then 2 DIFAR and MICRO-MINI Tech 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
= OOOO69! I wanted the Bingo caller but Kirk Bingoed
first. I did eventually get my 1 shot but I will save
that info. I was known as the "Bus Driver" by some,
Marcel by others and as a non conformist in general.
My first duty station and my best, I think about the
"Rock" nearly everyday though I could not wait to
leave while I was there. I was on watch the night the
hunk of coral was mistaken as the beginning of an
attack by hostile forces of the Mauritious military. I
was ordered to drive the Dodge van {Cal Lab} that was
our main transpo, into town to pick up the Chief
{Jasper Tolbert Clark} and the Div. Officer. after
picking them and several dept. personell we went to
the airfield and streched out down the ocean side of
the runway armed to the lips with, with, awww, a
flashlight, OK? We were certain that cammied
commandoes would be coming over the "Scavvy" any
second! Of course it ended rather quickly when the
Radar tech aboard one of the ships in the lagoon
realized his mistake! It was compounded when one of
the Brit police went to the other side of the Island
to investigate and fell out of radio contact for some
reason and was thought to have been, I don't know..
killed? It turned out that he had only meant to take a
moonlight drive in a jeep with a passenger of a sex
contrary to his own. I had so many friends there yet I
have only recognized a few who have written here,
Karen Dufour, Dan Kell are two that I knew. I was also
assigned to VP 46 when we made the first full P3
deployment to Diego. I was there for the Quake, we had
Tshirts printed with the details, 7.2 or 4 I do not
remember for sure. We called it the "Totally Tectonic
Tricentennial" as it was the first recorded Tectonic
Plate shift in this part of the world in nearly 300
years. I have so many stories of this place including
how I was there the same time as my younger brother
James Dion. I think we were the only siblings there
during our time. I worked for AFRTS during my off time
operating the Television board 3 nights a week I hated
all of the PSA,s and I had my own 2 hour radio show
every Sunday night, "Portraits in Jazz with Marcel". I
loved Diego and I miss it everyday, any others feel
this way? Thanks so much for this site. I wish I had
discovered this sooner. At this time I am self
employed as an Artist and a Junkman. I sell both!
1980,
1981,
and 1982 NAME
=
Larry Ortega <AKAZILLA@AOL.COM> see
his
1980 entry 1981
VP-48
KadenA DEPLOYMENT NAME
=
Malcolm Swain MY
QUEST
= to find my crew, Crew-6 VT
of
a SWALLOW = infinite at light speed (186k mps) E-MAIL
=
xman112259@aol.com
NATIONALITY
=
US; SERVICE = USN; UNIT = VP-48 AIRCREWMAN;
RANK/RATE/JOB = then, AT2 (IFT) now, ATC retarded MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Professional Adventurer Looking For The
Ultimate Get Away SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = This is a No-Shit Drinking Story MY
WARSTORY
= There we were, 3 days in Oman, 2 days in DG. Back
and forth from DG to Oman, with 12-hr
Mother%&**(()#'s every day in between. This went
on forfukinever! Every spare moment that wasn't
crew resting or actually in the aircraft, was spent in
a drunken stupor, just dreaming about getting back to
Cubi ONE MORE TIME! Got real good at gettin' a tan and
swimming drunk, damned wonder the whole crew didn't
drown. We once launched on ready
one
and wound up in Misawa after a RO1N in PI. It was in
December and we froze our asses off in Misawa, we all
showed up there with surfing baggies under our flight
suits, UNBELIEVABLE, but true. This was VP-48 crew-6,
call me , Aloha (214) 914-2201.
Jul
81-
Jul 82 Armando
A.
Castaneda <ArmandoCastaneda@aiitec.com>
NATIONALITY
=
U.S.; SERVICE = USN; UNIT = SECURITY DEPT;
RANK/RATE/JOB = CWO2 (7491); RETIRED (CWO4)1992 MY
WARSTORY
= I HAVE NO WAR STORY TO TELL, HOWEVER, UPON READING
THIS PAGE AND READING LENNY GRINDSTAFF'S STORY I
REMEMBERED ABOUT THE SEABEE WHO RAN THE LOADER INTO
THE HUT, THAT WAS NEAR THE MARS SHACK. CDR. OLIE
OLSON RETIRED AS AN ADM. I WAS THE FIRST
AMERICAN SECURITY OFFICER ON THE ISLAND, PRIOR TO MY
ARRIVAL THEY (THE BRITS) HAD A ROYAL NAVY LT IN CHARGE
OF SECURITY. I WAS THERE WHEN THE COWBOY
CHEERLEADERS WENT TO DG, AND WAS ALSO THERE WHEN THE
FIRST DETACHMENT OF FEMALES ARRIVED ON THE
ISLAND. A COUPLE OF DAYS AFTER THEIR ARRIVAL
THERE WAS A FIGHT BETWEEN SOME SEABEES WHO HAD FALLEN
IN LUST WITH ONE OF THE FEMALES AND ONE OF THEM GOT
HIT IN THE EYE WITH A PIECE OF REBAR. HE WAS
SENT TO SINGAPORE FOR MICRO SURGERY. GOOD TO SEE
YOUR PAGE. BRINGS BACK MANY MEMORIES FROM
FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.
1981
NAME
=
Rowdy Doughty MY
QUEST
= To stay out of the water! VT
of
a SWALLOW = Depends on what is chasing it! E-MAIL
=
tobefit@bright.net
SERVICE
=
Navy; UNIT = Seabees SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually,I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= DANCING WITH SHARKS!
It
was a Saturday afternoon much like many other Saturday
afternoons on DG, the sun was hot, the water was
beautiful, scarcely a cloud in the sky and there we
were floating on inner tubes, two fuzzy glazed over
minds contemplating the depth of the lagoon.
Could it be done? Could I touch the crystal clear
bottom? How far down was it anyway? Maybe
twenty, thirty, or forty feet, depth perception can be
a tricky thing to decipher when one is operating on a
few remaining brain cells that had some how survived
the previous evening. We watched as fish would
swim under us, near and far but how far and how
near? Hard to tell, only one way to find out,
one of us would have to test the water, and the limit
of our depleted lung capacity. But who would
go? Who would be Da' Man? As this thought
developed into a full-blown assessment of ones
testosterone manufacturing abilities, our intelligent
conversion had now digressed to the shouting only
found in the realm of Big-Time Wrestling!
I
was facing the opening of the lagoon and my friend was
looking towards the heel of the island, then it
happen! I saw the face of death, complete and
perfect terror, my friend in a split second went from
boasting of his masculinity to a look of pure pity at
what the next few remaining seconds of his and my life
would be. A face I shall never forget and hope to
never see again, his skin went pale, lips began to
quiver, eyes that seamed to be piercing the afterlife
and the thin vale that now was separating it from
him. His eyes were fixed over my right shoulder
and I turned to see the dorsal fin break the surface
of the water almost two feet of dorsal fin. What
kind of shark was it you may ask? BIG! It
had barnacles
covering
it's skin and I had just enough time to quickly look
from my right shoulder to the left as it's tail fin
submerged. It was gone as quick as it appeared
all fourteen to sixteen feet of him followed by
grouper fish. Torn to pieces in a feeding frenzy that
I had witnessed sharks participating in many times
from shore. It had just been days earlier
during
a helicopter ride over the islands that I witnessed a
large school of sharks feasting on a rather large
fish. Those were the thoughts in my
friend's mind that caused the terror in his
face. So this is it? This is how I will
go, I will travel 12,000 miles to die a horrible death
at the jaws of a beast that sees me as nothing more
then his next meal. What will I do if he strikes
my inner tube and sends me plummeting to the beautiful
water below? How could I fight back, should I
dive and hope to not look like a helpless meal, what
would be my strategy? Screams of terror filled
the water surface and drove me from my thoughts of
despair, I yelled at my friend to shut up, thinking
the vibrations from our shouting
match
had been that which drew the attention of the creature
in the first place.
Now,
silence, it was quite, too quite! Where was he,
what did he want, why did he pass us by? He had
only brushed my inner tube before, did this satisfy
his curiosity, or was he just sizing us up or maybe
contemplating which one he would devoir first, like
some decision to be made at a bazaar buffet bar.
We floated there for what seamed like eternity,
thoughts that only a person knowing that death was
moments away filled our silent agony. Vows were
being made if only I… and now it was time to get back
to the island. I slowly motioned for my buddy to
begin paddling back towards shore and I did likewise,
however there was one problem. His inner tube
contained less air then mine and being partially
inflated caused him to be quickly left behind.
The space between us grew and so did his terror, and
it was at this time he panicked and began thrashing in
the water screaming "don't leave me". To
this, I thought "that is it, he is shark bait for sure
now" and I increased my pace so as to put more water
between me and the blood spill that was destined to
happen at any minute. Well, we both made
it to the white beach and I fulfilled my vow made in
the presence of God that day, I never even put my toe
back into the water for the rest of my time
there. I have other adventures
during
my stay on the rock and it was a rock when we were
there, but they will have to wait for another time.
I
would go back just to see the changes, but I would
only want to stay a few days.
1981-1982
Eric
Pladsen
<epladsen@worldnet.att.net>
I
just ran across your webpage. Thanks!
Really got a kick out of all the pictures. I was
a CTO2 at 'C' site 81-82. I
lived in Splinterville for 3 months before getting a
room downtown. The first women arrived about 3
months before I got
off
the island. I found a badly copied xerox
of the attached poem floating around the comm
center when I got there. No idea who wrote
it or when, or even if it was originally about DG, but
it seemed appropriate to the place, so I kept
it. Hope you find it interesting. Cheerio,
Eric
[here's
the
poem]: MY LOVE FOR DIEGO GARCIA
Just
across the ocean,
Diego
is the spot,
We're
doomed to spend our time,
In
the land that time forgot.
Down
with smoke and liquor,
We're
the gallant boys in blue,
Right
in the middle of nowhere,
A
million miles from you.
Swabs
of section six,
We
earn our meager pay,
Guarding
others millions,
At
two and a half a day.
In
our lonely bunks at night,
We
dream of a lovely miss,
To
hold in our arms,
And
get the treasured kiss.
No
one knows we're living,
No
one gives a damn!
The
whole gang has deserted us,
Cause
we're owned by Uncle Sam.
But
when those gold and pearly gates,
Come
into this sailor's view,
My
frowns will turn to laughter,
And
the joke will be on you.
For
inside of Heaven,
You'll
hear St. Peter yell!
"FALL
IN YOU BOYS FROM DIEGO,
YOU'VE
SPENT YOUR TIME IN HELL."
author
unkown
1981
NAME
=
Kelly McKinney E-MAIL
=
carman037@aol.com
NATIONALITY
=
irish; SERVICE = usn; UNIT = uss hoel ddg 13;
RANK/RATE/JOB = mmfn retired MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = My Time There is Lost in an Alcoholic Haze,
Help Me Remember! MY
WARSTORY
= well, my ship visited dg in 1981. basically
the only thing there was to do there, was drink beer,
which was rumored to contain fermaldahyde. anyway, we
were there for what seemed like a long time, maybe a
week or two. i remember it as a very beautiful island,
and though i never fished, the fishing was great. i
recall the story of a shark named hector, and the
coconut crabs that if you set under a coconut tree,
they would jump out of the tree, thinking that your
head was a coconut, and crush your skull, killing you
very quickly. though nothing like that ever happened.
anyway,
when we arrived at dg, there was a few rules that you
were supposed to abide by, by order of our captain.
one of those rules, was we were not allowed on the
outlying islands of dg. they said it was a bird
sanctuary, or something. well they had these small
motor boats that you could rent. me and a couple of
friends had been drinking all day, we decided to rent
one of the boats, and go out to one of the islands.
well we made it out there, i think it was the big
island, though, i cant remember for sure. we were on
the beach, drinking beer, when suddenly here comes the
police boat, with its siren going. to make a long
story short, we were arrested, put in the jail on the
island. i recall seeing some funny looking towers on
the island, but not alot of birds. the police asked
us, what we saw over there, we told them, that we just
saw alot of birds. then they let us go back to our
ship, where we were yelled at by our captain. but that
was all that happened.
i
have alway wondered, if there was something top
seceret on the islands that we weren't supposed to
know about,but will probably never know. but it
was a crazy time,i was 19 then, and i am now almost
39. drinking was pretty much encouraged, because there
wasn't much else to do.
anyway,
if anyone wants to email me, my email address is
carman037@aol.com. i would enjoy hearing some other
stories, from someone who spent time, on the very
unique island of diego garcia.
thank
you very much, kelly
Aug
1981
to Sept 1982 NAME
=
mike topholm E-MAIL
=
mike_topholm@fsafood.com
NATIONALITY
=
Caucasion; SERVICE = USN; UNIT = Communications t-site
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 was woke up by the island security alarm at 2:00
am, many of us were enjoying the nightly festivities
of beer, wine, whiskey, more beer, more wine, and more
whiskey, and a little chicken! What else do you do at
the Rock? Anyway, the alarm goes off, like were being
attacked!! Some boot OS on an anchored ship
spots a floating object making its way to the beach.
The whole island goes to GQ!! We're drunk as can be
heading to T-site, whole bunch of us to man our battle
stations!! We're trying all the radio freqs to make
sure we can talk with the rest of the world when the
whole island is full of drunk security force with shot
guns, 45's, were just having a grand old time. Finally
we get sent back to the hooches when we find out what
this boot OS saw on his 'scope turned out to be a
chunk of coral floating around on the ocean side!!
This was in 1982 when you could have 4 cases of beer
in your cooler apiece. If we had been attacked DGar
would have been a goner, except we gwould have
passed the bottle to them. Mike
Carter
<Mikecarter69@webtv.net> (Mr. Mike) I
first arrived on DG with VP-50 in 1981. It
was like right out of McHales Navy, tin roof huts,
outdoor theater, and $2. rum. Had a blast.
Nobody to fuck with you. Single crew, (Hey
Smutman, Swanie, Relmoe, Maury, Lanny, Chuck, Terry,
Steve) if not flying, exploring, swimming, or just
lazing around. Later in the 80's, the
MODEX, still not too bad, enjoyed most
everything, learned to sail. After the base was
built and the new barracks was put in, it started to
suck. Became a regular Navy base with MAA's (you
know what I mean). Last deployment was late 80's
with VP-48. You forget the bad so, my memory of
THAT time is, sorry to say, lacking. Funny, it
seems that the more primitive it was, the more fun it
was. Mike
non
illigitimus
carborundum
March
to
November 1981 and 1980 Kurt
C
<cannbefit@home.com>
MY
QUEST
= To see if any of my ole' Seabee pals are still alive
and puking SEE
HIS
1980 ENTRY...
1981-1982
Lenny
Grindstaff
<gstaff64@yahoo.com>
MY
QUEST
= will be going back to Fantasy Island in 2001 NATIONALITY
=
us; SERVICE = Navy; UNIT = NMCB 62 RANK/RATE/JOB
=
BUCN then going back as BU1 next year.....got out for
a long period of time MY
INTEREST
IN DG IS = Geo-political Rabble Rousing MY
WARSTORY
= Was there as the youngest seabee in the navy in
1982. Now I am one of the oldest in my
battalion. My how life travels full
circle. Does anyone remember EO3 Henry who tried
to mow down the hooches with the scraper or Olie
Olson?
Late
Summer
'81 Mike
"Cool
Guy" Reno <reno@net-magic.net>
NATIONALITY
=
US; SERVICE = USN; UNIT = Visiting Sub - USS
SEAHORSE (SSN 669); RANK/RATE/JOB = MM2 Then,
LCDR Now 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 a newby submariner and our sub had just left
the MED headed for home after a 6 month deployment
when we got the call to cover for an 688 that could
not keep her commitment in the IO. We inchopped
to the IO and made way for DG during the fall of
'81. We made for the cantina toutsweet when we
got there. To my surprise the Dallas Cowboy
Cheerleaders where on the island for a roadshow.
I found out along with my buddies that rum came at
$1.50 a quart, so it wasn't long before we were
singing to the donkeys. I also found out that it
is strategically un-sound to fall drunk at the base of
a palm tree on the beach, "you can't throw-up up-hill
!" We were there for R&R for about two weeks
and thoroughly enjoyed our stay, especially when you
consider the alternatives. Somewhere along the
line, it had occured to us that traveling in a sewer
pipe was not our idea of fun. Anyway, we enjoyed
our brief, relaxing stay, gots some good pics,
and I got to maintain some diving proficiency, as I
was a navy diver then. Thanks for a great site
and the memories. If I can dredge them up, I'll see if
I can find and include some pics next time. By
the way, I am an active LCDR now and still loving the
Navy!
1981
VP-48
Deployment (also '79 & '80 & a year in '78) DAVE
"DJ"
JOHNSON <Ejection4@aol.com>
Great
site,
OLE DG brings back memories, I was there for my year
in 78, and went back with VP-48 in 79, 80, 81. I would
like to become a member. thanks for the memories Dave
"DJ" Johnson
1981-1982
ALAN
MASON
<Alan.Mason@abnamro.com
NATIONALITY
=
american; SERVICE = U.S. Navy Seabees UTCN; UNIT
= NSF Public Works; RANK/RATE/JOB = UTCN then
Discharged as UT2 SUBJECT
OF
MY STORY: = Actually, I Have a Real Story To Tell MY
WARSTORY
= Not a whole lot to tell arrived on Diego 2/81
assigned to Public Works doing emergency services
plumbing work . I mostly recorded music and
drank there . Saw a good friend drown there
. Also saw many lives effected by the island
either from their lonliness or from their spouses
lonliness. Just thought I would add my name and
story to the list of others to see if anyone out their
will remember me. I was a hell of a pool shooter
there and played as much as I could. Spent a month in
splinterville wading through water on rainy days in
the begining. I also remember seeing the Dallas
cowboy cheerleaders when was ther around christmas 81.
Left Diego 2/82 and was assigned to nmcb 74.
Well if you remember me give me an e mail I am pretty
good with names maybe I will remember you..
1981-1982
(365
days) DON
LATIMER
<latimer@northnet.org>
What
is
Your Quest? tranquility What
is
the Terminal Velocity of a Swallow? its the
opposing force of a deuce and a half's grill How
did
you find my page? through therapy CE3
(seabee)
while on the "rock" with the public works dept
(NSF). Enjoyed the frills of "splinterville".
Could it really get any better?
1981-1982
JAMES
HARTRANFT
<HartranftJ@readinghospital.org>
I
was stationed as a medic in Diego from 1981-1982 and
have many pictures of individuals stationed there. How
many Pictures will you allow on the site?
By the way, this is a great site, you must have put
lots of time and resources into it.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: I absolutely love this kind of
email!]
Dec
81-
Dec 82; Jun 91- Jul 92 (Going back for 30
days 5 Nov-5 Dec99) STU
MALPASS
<smalpass@scn.spawar.navy.mil>
SERVICE
=
USN; UNIT = Supply Department; RANK/RATE/JOB = 81-82
AK2 (E-5), 91-92 Ensign Nov-Dec
99
civilain (my company found out I had been to DG
previously, I didn't tell them and they needed a
volunteer to go to DG, I DID NOT VOLUNTEER!!.
Being
there for two years there are numerous stories to tell
but the problem is remembering them. Very vivid
though is the time in 91' when the Island ran out of
beer!! The C.O., SUPPO and the AF major
who was the MAC rep got together and somehow arranged
to get a C5 full of beer to the Island before a full
scale riot broke out. Same thing happened in 82'
and the Seabees were hoarding booze and selling it for
5-10 bucks a can. A couple of weeks after that
DG ran out of diet coke the, C.O. said no
big deal we can wait for the next shipment, the C.O.
was a wise man.
1981-1982
TERRY
GIMPLE
<gimple@kmrmail.kmr.ll.mit.edu>
I
worked at the NAF Cal Lab in 1981 to 1982. Our command
party was in the nude on the beach. I dated the
Aerobics teacher, Ginger and assisted the donkeys in
drinking beer Live
in
Northridge, Ca. am an Engineer, and am thinking about
moving to the Kwajalein Atoll to go fishing [EDITOR'S
NOTE: He made the big jump, and is now on Kwaj]
Comments:
Don't
marry a Valley Girl.
Hey
Ted, you have pictures of the SEA HUTS that are no
longer there! I lived in the hut across from JO MAMA'S
(part of it in the right hand side), did you ever get
invited? I dated the aerobics instructor, Ginger, do
you remember her? Nice page, and I plan to do
one as soon as I get to Kwajalein. Terry Gimple,
PMEL for hire. P.S. Missy was fun, but ate (with bad
table manners) the chips and hamburgers we put out.
1981-1982
&
1991-1992 DURWOOD
"DUSTY"
DURST <DAdurst@aol.com>
What
is
Your Quest? Enjoy the rest of my life. Mar81-Mar82
and
Feb91-Jan92. I retired as a Master Chief after a
30 year career. My wife and I setteled down in Tucson,
AZ where I work part time for the Postal
Service. I have a number of pictures from Diego
Garcia when I was there in 81 that have never been
scanned. I may take the time one of these days to scan
them to you so others may enjoy them. You're already
linked to my page (http://members.aol.com/Postmandad/index.htm)
1981-1982
DAVID
R.
DUNBAR <isimeralda@msm.com>
Were
you
ever on Diego Garcia? absolutfukinloutly (3 mnt tad
atsugi jpn) i was 3 mth t.a.d. frm atsugi jpn
in 81-82. did lox o2 n2 as asm. looking for
other asm from diego for laughs. i was probly the 1st
to get punta in the sand. ther whn first plane cum in.
the best rnr i had other than the pi where i was
ripped off.
1981-1983
(SEABEE
Deployments) BUDDY
ETCHIESON
<georgefromokc@webtv.net>
Were
you
ever on Diego Garcia? Nov81/July82; Jan.83/Aug83
- M.C.B 62 last SEABEE Battalion last Detachment.
1981
&
1976-1977 ALLEN
PALMER
<OLDSEABS@aol.com>
See
his
1976 entry. |
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photo I produce is copyrighted by Ted A. Morris, Jr.