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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.

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
<maritimesam@aol.com>
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
    NATIONALITY = 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 "slinterville". 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.