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Thread: well, the darn thing is out

  1. #2401
    Senior Member pelago's Avatar
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    hECK TOOK A WEEK TO GET TO HAWAII. THEN TO YOKOHAMA, THEN TO TAIWAN THEN TO OKI, TALK ABOUT LONG. GAVE US LIBERTY IN HAWAII AND YOKOHAMA. WAS IN HAWAII WHEN FILMING OF "IN HARMS WAY"
    GOT A WHOLE TEN DOLLAR BILL TO SPEND IN HAWAII AND JAPAN. MET, WELL SORT OF MET MY FIRST WWII JAPANESE SOLDIER, HE CALLED US "DEVILS IN YELLOW LEGGINGS" GUY WAS PRETTY RESENTFUL, HE SAID IT IN JAPANESE AND A OLDER MARINE (WWII VET) TOLD US WHAT IT MEANT

  2. #2402
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    pelago, that photo of yours looks like it was taken from the exact same spot where my dad's ship was photographed.https://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...t=wlnDu5ZC2Nsl

  3. #2403
    Super Moderator LarrBeard's Avatar
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    Ask Me About My Ship!

    Quote Originally Posted by okiemark View Post
    LarrBeard, I noticed the photo of that ship. What is the story on it? As I sit here there is the only photo I know of of my dad's ship, the USS Gosper APA-170. That was an Attack Personnel Transport. It was built in 1942 I believe but some things look similar to the ship in your photo. His ship was supposed to support the Iwo Jima invasion, but they were damaged in a storm crossing the Pacific and had to return for repairs. They did, however support the Okinawa invasion and were converted to a hospital ship and then transported POWs back after WWII.
    The USS Gosper was a Haskell Class Attack Transport.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haskel...tack_transport




    I served in a number of ships, but there is always one that is your "first love":


    USS Shasta (AE-6) was one of seven Lassen Class ammunition ships built during WWII, with six of the seven serving up into the late 1960’s. Her 26-years of service were interrupted by 6 years of inactivity from 1946 until 1953 after which she served continuously until her last deployment in 1968. I served on that last deployment.

    Unlike most large US Navy ships, Shasta and her sisters were diesel ships. At about 6,400 tons empty and 14,000 tons fully loaded they could haul a lot of ammunition and explosives a long way – they just didn’t get in a hurry! Someone asked about a “slow boat to China” – well we tended to be a slow boat to just about anywhere.

    With the two Nordberg diesels turning about 180 RPM, we tooled along at 12 knots (about 15 MPH). We often joked that we could make 15-knots for a couple of hours, but then we would have to turn around and go back to pick up the pieces.

    There was one other unusual feature to Shasta, in addition to the big diesels; the Lassen Class ammunition ships were some of the last Navy ships to have a riveted hull. In the picture, those “stripes” down the side are where riveted hull sections overlapped. Riveting was a labor intensive construction technique and by the time WWII was underway, most ship construction had turned to the much faster welded hull structures.

    Although I was not onboard at the time, I have a classic picture of Shasta rearming the nuclear powered aircraft carrier Enterprise off the coast of Viet Nam in 1966. The folks on Enterprise had a nuclear big-head attitude and they often claimed to be “The Best in the West”. It came time for a showdown one day. Shasta had prestaged her deck with bombs, rockets, fin kits and whatever Enterprise needed and when the lines went over, rearming began from two stations forward and one station aft. It wasn’t long before the Enterprise had all of the deck edge elevators stacked with all of the stuff that they could take and they had to holler “Whoa” for a bit to let them get stuff stricken down to the magazines and storage areas. “The Best in the West” had been swamped by “The Least from the East”.

    Through her last deployment, the ship’s unofficial motto was “Balls to the Wall – Shasta Cats”, the long time name for her athletic teams. When the first line would go over from us to the ship being rearmed, the rearming flag would be hoisted. The rearming flag featured a raunchy old Tomcat with, uh, rather large attributes to reflect the claim of the ship’s unofficial motto. I have wondered where the rearming flag ended up?

    If you’re curious …

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Shasta_(AE-6)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_C2_ship
    Attached Images Attached Images

  4. #2404
    Super Moderator bmorgil's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=pelago;12551]hECK TOOK A WEEK TO GET TO HAWAII. THEN TO YOKOHAMA, THEN TO TAIWAN THEN TO OKI, TALK ABOUT LONG. GAVE US LIBERTY IN HAWAII AND YOKOHAMA. WAS IN HAWAII WHEN FILMING OF "IN HARMS WAY"
    GOT A WHOLE TEN DOLLAR BILL TO SPEND IN HAWAII AND JAPAN. MET, WELL SORT OF MET MY FIRST WWII JAPANESE SOLDIER, HE CALLED US "DEVILS IN YELLOW LEGGINGS" GUY WAS PRETTY RESENTFUL, HE SAID IT IN JAPANESE AND A OLDER MARINE (WWII VET) TOLD US WHAT IT MEANT[/QU

    Man that is a slow boat! 10 bucks, that probably didn't go far. That Jap Soldier must have forgotten who started that war. Thank God there are Men like you who finish them!

  5. #2405
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    LarrBeard, that is a great story about your ship. My dad's ship didn't last long after the war. I found where it said it was decommissioned and scrapped in about 1947 and another source said it was put into mothballs and scrapped maybe in the 70's. Dad had a lot of stories to tell. Shot down a suicide plane. Picked up a native in an outrigger boat who was blown away from the islands by a storm. He was about to starve. Buried an English POW who was in too bad a shape to make it back home. Another man complained of head pain and they found a nail had bee driven into his head and he didn't remember it. The crew threw oranges and made a greeting band scramble coming into the port. Captain didn't like it. Japanese money laying in the streets in Manila. Seemed every time I talked to him he would mention something about the Navy I hadn't heard before. In reading the history of the Shasta, I'll bet there is a good chance my dad saw it at Okinawa.
    Last edited by okiemark; 05-25-2020 at 04:38 PM.

  6. #2406
    Senior Member pelago's Avatar
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    SADDEST TIME REMEMBERED, Was just toolin around in my boat and all of a sudden in Morehead City NC there sits the USS SAIPAN, but wait somethings wrong. HELL IT WAS BEING DE COMMISSIONED LHA CLASS, AND DAMN I WAS A PLANKHOLDER
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Saipan_(LHA-2)
    SOMEWHERE I HAVE A PHOTO TAKEN DURING GRENADA.F ME ESCORTING (WELL SORT OF) WITH A 12 GAUGE SHOTGUN TO THE GUYS NECK, ACROSS FLIGHT LINE, HAD A BATTLE DRESSING ON MY *** DUE TO THIS SOB SHOOTING ME. NO DID NOT SHOOT HIM, WANTED TO THOUGH
    Last edited by pelago; 05-26-2020 at 09:11 AM.

  7. #2407
    Super Moderator gmwillys's Avatar
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    Some reason I have no trouble picturing that seen in my mind.

  8. #2408
    Super Moderator bmorgil's Avatar
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    Awesome history there! Grenada, there is one that was kept quiet. The Caribbean Nations called for help, and the Marines cleaned up!
    Last edited by bmorgil; 05-26-2020 at 11:44 AM.

  9. #2409
    Super Moderator gmwillys's Avatar
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    Clint Eastwood's Heartbreak Ridge was the only movie I can think of that touched on Grenada. Another bit of trivial trivia.

  10. #2410
    Super Moderator bmorgil's Avatar
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    Great movie. Like most Eastwood movies.

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