All About Pocket Knives

Digger. Good to "see" ya. I hope things are well in the land down under.

And you Jerry. All is well down here.
Digger.

fergusontd wrote:Stev99, those pictures look familier. I was a machinist mate on the Anderson 786 so I know that those pictures of yours look very familiar.) I was water King on the Anderson. Now you being on the Rowan we could have crossed paths at one time. I was in from 68 to 71 we did the same things you did gunfire support and Shore bombardment stuff like that it was nice and hot down there in those engineering spaces then. ftd

Ferg

I went in fall of '70 didn't get out of "A" school til Feb or March '71. Then on to Dago. Maybe there? The Dickie B should have been in Dago too about that time. BTW did you know the Dickie B was a movie star? The last scene in the Caine Mutiny, that's DD Richard B Anderson.

Yeah, it was warm down there. I'm sure I was miserable but don't remember it that way.

tangoalpha wrote:And you Jerry. All is well down here.
Digger.

Hey, you guys just had some knife law changes. Is that nation wide or is it Territory by Territory? Is it just flippers they took off the no-no list or did they include assisted knives?

Jerry, as I understand it manual flippers are now OK provided they do not contain any form of mechanical assisted opening, for example a spring.

Digger.

Steve, I knew about the movie. As I understand some of the outtakes durring the movie was from there to. We arrived back in the states Feb. 11 '71. ftd

Army Aug '67-Aug '70, Basic-Ft Campbell Ky, AIT-Crane-Shovel at Ft Leonard Wood Mo, 1/68-1/69 Pleiku RVN, Then 18 Months Basic Training Unit at Ft Lewis, Wa.

Grump01, I did basic training at Fort Lewis, Wa. in 1966 and was in Nha Trang, VN from July 67 to June 68. We were in country at the same time. Glad you came home too.

"Arrmy training sir!"

US Army 1978-81

U.S.Navy 1964-67 USS America CVA-66 Ships company. We were there to take off the wounded from the
USS Liberty, after she was attacked by the Israelis in the 6 Days War. About as close to combat we ever were.

conslade wrote:We were there to take off the wounded from the
USS Liberty, after she was attacked by the Israelis in the 6 Days War.

First I have heard of this incident. Thanks for posting it.

An episode you don't hear much about.

jerryd6818 wrote:

conslade wrote:We were there to take off the wounded from the
USS Liberty, after she was attacked by the Israelis in the 6 Days War.

First I have heard of this incident. Thanks for posting it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident

US armed forces have been involve in numerous incidents over the years that the general public never hears about. I'm sure this is even more prevalent these days.

A long read, but very interesting........
Crisis in the Middle East[edit]
By 25 May 1967, there was evidence that a crisis was brewing in the Middle East. As soon as the ship was slated to finish with the last of her "Poop Deck" exercises, she would be heading back to the Sea of Crete.

For the next 48 hours, America steamed east and south from the coast of Spain, through Malta Channel and on to the Sea of Crete to join up with the ships of TG 60.2, the carrier Saratoga and her destroyers. The carrier task force, under the command of Rear Admiral Geis, prepared for any contingency.

The situation worsened. First, Egypt moved troops into the Gaza Strip, demanding that the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Force be withdrawn. Then, Israel beefed up her forces and, in turn, each of the other Arab countries put her armed forces on alert. As war clouds darkened, the United Arab Republic closed the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping.

During this time, the carrier conducted normal training operations off the island of Crete and held two major underway replenishment operations. On 5 June, seven American newsmen from the wire services, the three major American television networks and several individual newspapers across the country flew on board. These seven were soon joined by others, 29 in all including media representatives from England, Greece, and West Germany.

Their presence was evident everywhere on board the carrier. They lined the signal bridge and the flight deck, their cameras recording the cycle of flight operations, refuelings, and the tempo of shipboard routine. At night, Robert Goralski of NBC News and Bill Gill of ABC News teamed up to present the WAMR "Gill-Goralski Report", a half-hour on the latest developments in the Mideast and around the world.

America's presence was soon noted, and the carrier soon attracted other, less welcome, visitors. A Soviet destroyer had joined up on the morning of 2 June; armed with surface-to-air missiles, the Russian ship constantly cut in and out of the carrier's formation. Shortly after noon on 7 June, Vice Admiral William I. Martin, Commander 6th Fleet sent the following message to the Soviet ship, in Russian and English:

Your actions for the past five days have interfered with our operations. By positioning your ship in the midst of our formation and shadowing our every move you are denying us the freedom of maneuver on the high seas that has been traditionally recognized by seafaring nations for centuries. In a few minutes, the task force will commence maneuvering at high speeds and various courses. Your present position will be dangerous to your ship as well as the ships of this force. I request you clear our formation without delay and discontinue your interference and unsafe practices.

Although that particular Soviet guided missile destroyer left America, her sister ships soon arrived to follow the carrier and her escorting destroyers for days.[1]

The Six Day War[edit]

Ship's seal.
On the morning of 5 June 1967 it was announced that Israelis and the Arabs were at war. That afternoon the bosun's pipe called the crew to a general quarters drill, and the excitement of the moment was evident as all hands rushed to their battle stations. When general quarters was secured, the word was passed over the 1-MC, the ship-wide general announcement system, to set condition three, an advanced state of defensive readiness.

On 7 June, the destroyer Lloyd Thomas, in company with America, obtained a sonar contact, which was classified as a "possible" submarine. Rear Admiral Geis immediately dispatched Lloyd Thomas and the guided missile destroyer Sampson to investigate the contact. Sampson obtained contact quickly and coordinated with Lloyd Thomas in tracking the possible submarine.

America launched one of her antisubmarine helicopters, a Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King of Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS) 9, and gained sonar contact. At midnight, the contact was reclassified as a "probable" submarine. At that time, no known or friendly submarines were reported to be in the area of the contact. The destroyers maintained good sonar contact through the night.

At 05:30 on 8 June, a Lockheed SP-2H Neptune antisubmarine patrol plane of Patrol Squadron (VP) 7, coordinating with the destroyers and helicopters, obtained a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) confirmation over the contact. The MAD equipment allows an ASW aircraft to confirm that a contact detected in the sea by other means is actually a very large metal object.

Rear Admiral Geis announced the "probable" submarine's presence at noon. The newsmen, still embarked, dashed off stories to their home offices. Other events, however, would soon over-shadow the story about a 'probable' sub lurking near an American carrier task force.[1]

Attack on USS Liberty[edit]

A-4C Skyhawk of VA-64, armed with a pair of Bullpup missiles, ready to launch from America to support USS Liberty after she was attacked by Israeli forces.
At about 14:00 local time on 8 June 1967, the technical research ship Liberty was attacked by Israeli torpedo boats and jet fighters, approximately 15 mi (24 km) north of the Sinai port of El Arish, in international waters. She had been in position to assist in communications between United States diplomatic posts in the Mideast and to aid in the evacuation of American dependents from the area if necessary.

However, the first word that reached America and the Department of Defense in Washington gave no indication as to the identity of the attackers. America's flight deck came alive. In a matter of minutes, F-4B Phantom interceptors were in the air to ward off any possible attack against task force units. At the same time, bombs and rockets moved from the magazines deep within the ship to the flight deck. Two A-4 Skyhawks were loaded and launched together with fighter cover. As the planes sped towards Liberty's position, however, word was received from Tel Aviv that the attackers had been Israeli and that the attack had been made in error. The planes outbound from America were recalled with their ordnance still in the racks, with the A-4s landing ashore to unload their ordnance.

The attack on Liberty had cost the lives of 34 men, with 75 wounded, 15 seriously. Admiral Martin dispatched two destroyers, Davis and Massey, with Lt. Cmdr. Peter A. Flynn, MC, USN, one of America's junior medical officers, and two corpsmen from the carrier on board. The destroyers rendezvoused with Liberty at 06:00 on 9 June, and the medical personnel, including a second doctor from one of the destroyers, were transferred immediately to the damaged research ship.

At 10:30, two helicopters from America rendezvoused with Liberty and began transferring the more seriously wounded to the carrier. An hour later, about 350 mi (560 km) east of Souda Bay Crete, America rendezvoused with Liberty. The carrier's crew lined every topside vantage point, silent, watching the helicopters bring 50 wounded and nine dead from Liberty to America. As Liberty drew alongside, listing, her sides perforated with rockets and cannon shell, nearly 2,000 of the carrier's crew were on the flight deck and, spontaneously moved by the sight, gave the battered Liberty and her brave crew a tremendous cheer.

America's medical team worked around the clock removing shrapnel, and treating various wounds and burns. Doctors Gordon, Flynn and Lieutenant Donald P. Griffith, MC, worked for more than 12 hours in the operating room, while other doctors, Lt. George A. Lucier and Lt. Frank N. Federico made continuous rounds in the wards to aid and comfort the wounded. Their jobs were not finished that day, for the next week and more, Liberty's wounded required constant attention.

Since the fighting had started between the Israelis and the Arabs, a weary quiet had settled over the carrier's flight deck. Ready, the ship waited for any possible situation, but the planes never left the decks.

However, as the Israeli forces moved to speedy victory in the Six-Day War, the Arabs charged that 6th Fleet aircraft were providing air cover for Israeli ground forces. The newsmen on board reported that these charges were false. The 6th Fleet, as with all other American forces, had remained neutral. In addition, the Soviet destroyers also knew the charges were false.[citation needed]

On Wednesday morning 7 June, Admiral Martin issued a statement to the press:

It would have been impossible for any aircraft from the 6th Fleet to have flown the support missions alleged by various Middle Eastern spokesmen . . . No aircraft of the 6th Fleet have been within a hundred miles (160 km) of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, specifically Israel and the UAR. Furthermore, no 6th Fleet aircraft has entered the territorial airspace of any Middle Eastern or North African nation during the current period of tension.[3]

The admiral gave members of the press copies of both America's and Saratoga's flight plans for the days in question and a rundown of the task force's position at all times during the conflict. He pointed out that a check of the carriers' ordnance inventory would refute the charges, that both the number of pilots and aircraft embarked had changed only with the return of personnel and planes from the Paris Air Show.

America conducted a memorial service on 10 June, on the carrier's flight deck.[1]

..thanks for posting this, I was probably aware of this, but had forgotten about it!!..... .......

For all you guys that visited Olongapo P.I. Thought you would get a kick out of this! ftd

Ferg

I was told be a good friend who had been back there recently that it isn't like that anymore. Cleaned it up.

I should google that.

fergusontd wrote: For all you guys that visited Olongapo P.I. Thought you would get a kick out of this! ftd

When I was there they didn't want pesos, they wanted a quarter. They wouldn't dive in for a dime, though a nickel would usually fool them and get your flipped off when they came up with just a nickel!

BTW, does that river have another name?
I have never heard it called anything else, and I have never met someone who had heard it called anything other than $hit river.

Steve99. There are club groups you can join on facebook, one you'd like is Gearing class destroyers. On some of these club sites there was this guy that had puctures of Olongapo and Subic. They even have a mall there now. The place is a real tourist trap, not the place we all remember. ftd

Here's some pictures. ftd

Things have changed a lot all over S.E. Asia.


Da Nang then:
Da Nang now:
China Beach then:
China Beach now: (I could be wrong but I think My Khe Beach is the old China Beach. It sure is the right location.) Couldn't resist labeling our location in '65-'66.

ADJ USNAS Whidbey Island (Ault Field). VAQ-129. Just missed getting my butt shipped to Vietnam by a mere 7-8 months. Spent my time during the last days of the war maintaining training EA6B "Prowler" aircraft. Those were the days.

fergusontd wrote:Here's some pictures. ftd

I wonder if the front door guards to the bars are still armed. These guys had all sorts; pumps shotguns were favored. The Philipino Constabulary that patrolled the area back then were armed with M-16's, drove around with post mounted machine guns in the back of jeeps. Potential for ugly was high.

Given those pictures ferg, I doubt they do that now. Progress!

I thought of this thread and wondered if any one has contributed to it lately. Jerry bumped it in April of this year and four or five veterans have responded.
So, before the end of the year, maybe some guys or gals who haven't responded would like to show their veteran status.
Thank you all for your service.