It's Only Me- Chapter 18- Merchant Marine

In September of 1980 I was Honorably Discharged from the Navy on the USS Milwaukee. We had been in the Brooklyn Navy Yard since July.

New York City was like a giant cesspool in 1980. After Mayor Lindsay had left office we got Mayor Beam who pretty much raped the City financially. Crime and drugs were rampant. In the 61st Precinct, where I had been raised, all of the Officers were transferred to other Precincts as the result of a massive car theft ring.

My Mom was back in the hospital, still dying. It had been more than 20 years at this point since she was taken ill.

On my birthday, October 8th, I had been to see her at New York Hospital, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was raining and I was walking. I had spent all the money I’d earned in the Navy while seeing the world and sampling all it had to offer. Now I was back in Brooklyn in roughly the same shape as when I’d left.

Walking back towards Columbus Circle where I planned to take the “D” train back to Brooklyn, I decided to pick up a little pot from the many dealers standing around hawking everything from smoke to coke. I had less than $10 to my name. I was approached by a Puerto Rican guy who asked if I wanted some smoke- I explained that I had less than $10 but if he could let me have the dime for $9.50 I would be pretty happy.

He assented and then suddenly started to run away yelling “Lookout- cops!” which was standard street practice when ripping someone off. I slammed him to the fence and hissed “You really don’t want to fuck with me today!” He shoved 3 or 4 bags of weed and my money back at me while yelling “You’re crazy man- crazy- gonna get us both busted!” I let him go as I picked up the weed. He ran away.

Nothing had really changed at all for me at home. My Dad wanted me to work for him and Harry and Al wanted me back but I knew I needed to move on.

I went home by subway and contemplated my options. My plan had been to get my Union card and join the Merchant Marine. But it was the same old run around. The only way to kick start this thing was to go to the Coast Guard (they are the DMV of the Oceans) and give them my Sea Transcript which would allow me to get my Able Bodied Seaman Papers.

The Coast Guard was located in Battery Park at the time so I went to see them. But they would not count my sea time as 100% of time served- my Sea Service Deployment Ribbon not withstanding! They only would give me 50% of Navy time! This was very unfair and so I showed my transcripts and got it upped to 80% and was allowed to take the tests for Able Seaman rather than Ordinary.

I took a lifeboat examination in which you have to successfully lower a lifeboat into the water without dumping anyone. I also took a short written exam on rigging, etc. I now had my AB Document (Able-bodied Seaman.) This would allow me to join Military Sealift Command as a Seaman, working on deck and standing watches. This was a bit of a blow to me as I had hoped to take the exam for Third Mate and start out as a Watch Officer and Third in Command. This was equivalent to what I had done on board Milwaukee as a Quartermaster. But rules are rules.

So on a cold and windy December 1st I went down to Military Sealift Command in Bayonne, New Jersey with my sea bag, to see about shipping out with them. I had already filled out my Form 171 which is required to obtain a Civil Service position. Mine would be an “Excepted” position, meaning that my skills would require no further tests, but rather that I would be hired based on my Certifications.

I was in the office of Mildred Johnson who did the hiring for the entire Command. An imposing black woman, her demeanor hid a heart of gold. She carefully explained to me that there was a waiting list of over 350 people to ship out. Also I did not have my Passport, having never needed one while in the Navy. My Navy ID was considered a Passport as well as a driver’s license while I was on active duty. Obtaining one at this time of year would take days, at the least.

Feeling a bit crestfallen I was prepared to leave when I heard the call come in for an immediate replacement on the USNS Pawcatuck- a fleet oiler currently on station in the Med. Hurrying back to Mrs. Johnson I asked her if I could fill that slot, having just come off of 2 fleet oilers. She replied that the position required Underway Replenishment (UnRep) experience. I showed her my transcripts from the ships I had been on and that’s when I found out just how quickly the government can move if it wants to.


When Mrs. Johnson found that I had UnRep experience she was overjoyed. When she saw my seabag and realized that I was ready to leave now- she was in heaven! She provided me with a letter to present in Manhattan at the place where you got your Passport. I was also photographed, fingerprinted, hired and provided with a new ID Card identifying me as an employee of Military Sealift Command. Then I was issued airline tickets to Barcelona, Spain. I was also given several hundred dollars as an advance on my first pay to be used as expense money along the way. I was told to save all receipts. My flight was at 7PM from JFK and I didn’t even have my Passport!

Racing into Manhattan I walked into the Passport Office and was told by a uniformed guard to take a number and a place in line. I showed him my letter and was ushered to the front of the line. Several hundred people were now grumbling behind me. But with the prize so close at hand I ignored the commotion. I was sent for a photo down the street, returned to the office once again and got my Passport in record time.

From there it was a race to the airport where I had dinner and then a great flight on a 747 Jumbo Jet to Barcelona, Spain. There I would board my first merchant ship- the Pawcatuck.

It had taken me 4 years but I had finally arrived at my initial goal. I was a Merchant Marine.

Geodetic Survey Markers

Most people; myself included; get these markers confused with being the responsibility of the United States Coast Guard; and there is good reason for that. The initials USCGS, which stands for U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, are awfully similar to USCG, which stands for the United States Coast Guard. They are probably plagued by calls about these survey markers.

The USCGS became the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), and in 1970 was transferred to the control of NOAA, which stands for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I guess that now would be a good time to tell you who they are and what they do. And also; why it’s important.

NGS; I’m going to stick with that acronym; is the agency that creates and then maintains the records for the grid system upon which all surveying in the United States is based. They have, since the 1800’s, provided a series of “bench marks”, or known coordinates, along with the height above sea level, upon which all other surveys; public and private, are based. That’s quite a challenge, and an even greater responsibility.

One of the nearest markers which I know of is about 15 minutes from my house. It sits in the brick wall of the old Davis Forge Company Building store off of Route 115 in Huntersville. The building has been there for many years. It’s kind of a local landmark which people come to look at. The marker is located on the wall on the right side of the front of the building, about waist high.

The system of coordinates which NOAA; formerly the NCGS; maintains is described as "a consistent coordinate system that defines latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, and orientation throughout the United States." Not only do private developers use these coordinates to build things, but the resultant Emergency response imagery rapidly provides aerial imagery for emergency relief in times of flood and other natural disasters.

The original USCG was established in 1807 by Congress during President Jefferson’s time in office. Under the original accomplishments of the agency was to map and chart our coast in the interest of expanding international trade. It was 4 more years before the agencies first representative, F.R. Hassler, even set sail for Europe in order to obtain all of the instruments necessary for that endeavor. And once there, he was stuck for the entire duration of the War of 1812. So, effectively, the work didn't begin until 1815.It would be another 20 years before that first undertaking was satisfactorily completed.

Hassler planned to use simple triangulation in order to accomplish his task. He began in New York, with his first baseline verified in 1817. In 1818 Congress placed the Navy and the Army in charge of Hassler’s work. This virtually stopped the program dead in its tracks until 1832. The reason was simple enough; there was no longer anybody clearly in charge of the work.

In 1832 Hassler was reappointed as head of the project and work began to move forward once again. The work was resumed in 1833. Although the Navy was officially in charge of the project, this time Hassler was able to turn things around slightly and had the Navy assisting him. The project was then turned over to the Treasury Department in 1836.

Ocean soundings were a part of this program as well as land surveys. Ocean soundings had long been measured by hand held “lead lines’ which were knotted at intervals in much the manner of the “sea log”, which was used to gauge the speed of a ship at sea. It wasn't until the invention of Sigsbee Sounding Machine in the latter half of the 19^th Century that things really took off.

Lieutenant Commander Charles Dwight Sigsbee, USN, served as an Assistant in the Coast Survey. He developed his sounding machine and commanded the ship Blake during the first “sound” surveys in the Gulf of Mexico. The ships were commanded by the Navy but manned with civilians and even one of the most famous scientists of the time, Alexander Agassiz, for assistance. NGS would not get their own ships; which were the precursors to today’s NOAA weather ships; until 1900.

The history behind these markers is long and sometimes complicated, as agencies and budgets changed over the years. By 1965 the agency was part of the Environmental Science Services Administration, but that only lasted for 5 years until NGS was transferred once again, this time to NOAA, where it remains today.

You may not have ever heard of these little markers, but the part they play in your daily lives cannot be disputed. For that reason these markers are federally protected, and require great effort to be removed, if they are allowed to be removed at all.

In the second picture I am taking a picture of a woman who came to visit the “old store.” Sue took the photo of me taking the photo of her. You can be sure that she didn't get her camera back until after I had told her about the Geodetic Survey.