Flavia - A Sketch From the Past

This drawing was done by my friend Flavia in Taromino on Sicily in the early 1980's. She did this on a sketch pad sitting on the wall by the beach. Being a raven haired, dark eyed, young woman, to me she was the epitome of the artist, capturing the light while at the same time capturing my heart.

Flavia was just 17, you know what I mean? I was almost 10 years her senior,  so we weren't lovers or anything like that. We were just two people trying to talk in different languages, never really getting past looking into one another's eyes and the pages of the dictionary. And that was fine with me. Now, Platonic love can either break your heart or inspire a poem, a song, or just a memory. In this case I got lucky - I got the memory.

Her family was very courteous and nice to me, insisting that I eat with them while in port. This was their family vacation, a month which they spent at the beach after slaving away in Palmero all year. I was there for a week on the Mississinewa, an oil tanker of about 30, 000 tons displacement, and was their guest nightly at the hotel they were quartered in. I had become a friend of their daughter and that was reference enough for them.

Neither my lack of Italian, nor the limited English they possessed, kept the conversation from flowing with the wine over dinner. With the aid of the by now venerated dictionary, there was much to talk about. Through that we spoke of politics, the American President, my travels, the fathers work as a banker and Flavia's ambitions to become a successful commercial artist. Mama just smiled and indicated that I should eat more. I would bring some small gifts each night as a token of appreciation for their hospitality.

Flavia had never been to America, or NYC, and did the drawing from her head. She asked me if it was fairly accurate.  I told her it was perfect. And then, as if it were nothing at all she gave it to me.... and I still have it. From her head to my heart.... and I can still feel the warmth of the Sicilian sun and the breeze as we sat on the wall about 40 years ago....

"Viet Cong Commandos Sink US Carrier" by Paul Huard

The following story is about the aircraft carrier escort USS Card; which was designated a USNS vessel in her later years. It concerns her sinking by two determined Viet Cong saboteurs in 1964 while the ship was anchored in South Vietnam in 1964. An equally determined US Navy resurrected the ship and had her back afloat in two weeks, and back in service in a matter of months. This story comes to me by way of Edward Nanartowich  on the MSC Old Salts site of Facebook. The photo above is of the Card in 1944, 20 years prior to the events described here. 

It was shortly after midnight when two Viet Cong commandos emerged from a sewer tunnel that emptied into Saigon Port, each man carrying nearly 90 pounds of high explosives and the components needed to make two time bombs.

Their target was the largest American ship in port, USNS Card. An escort carrier that saw distinguished service as a submarine-hunter in the North Atlantic during World War II, during the early morning hours of May 2, 1964, Card was part of U.S. Military Sealift Command.

The ship supported an escalating military commitment of the South Vietnamese government that occurred well before the Tonkin Gulf Incident. Since 1961, Card had transported both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to the beleaguered nation as well as the U.S. pilots and support crews need to operate them.

The commandos swam toward Card, where they spent about an hour in the water attaching the charges just above the waterline near the bilge and the engine compartment on the ship’s starboard side. They set the timers and quickly swam away.

The charges exploded. Five civilian crewmen on board Card died, the explosion tore a huge hole in the engine-room compartment and a proud ship that had survived German U-boat attacks was on her way to the bottom — the last aircraft carrier in U.S. military history to date sunk by enemy action.

The sinking of the Card was stunning victory for the Viet Cong, yet little remembered today. It illustrated how vulnerable naval vessels can be even when faced with a low-tech enemy … and how difficult maintaining port security can be in a war with no real front.

But it also demonstrated how resilient American naval forces are. In 17 days, salvage crews raised Card out of nearly 50 feet of water, and six months later the ship returned to service for another six years.

Not surprisingly, North Vietnam celebrated the sinking of Card, considering it a propaganda victory of the first rank. The U.S. government refused to even acknowledge the vessel’s sinking, telling the public the carrier had only been damaged.

The North Vietnamese government even commemorated the event by portraying the operation on a 1964 postage stamp. Naval vessels often have a mystique about them — they look formidable, bristle with weapons and aircraft, and have the ability to project a nation’s power anywhere on the planet.

In particular, aircraft carriers are the symbol of a nation possessing “great power” status. But they are vulnerable to attack. For example, there are reasons why even aircraft carriers have numerous escort vessels — destroyers, guided-missile cruisers, even submarines — to protect a carrier as well as engage the enemy.

We shouldn’t be too surprised when an enemy takes out a naval vessel in combat, even if it is a commando with a time bomb, James Holmes, a naval historian and analyst who teaches at the U.S. Naval War College, told War Is Boring.

“We shouldn’t get carried away with thinking of warships as ‘castles of steel,’ or latter-day dreadnoughts, or whatever,” Holmes said. “A castle is a fortification whose walls can take enormous punishment, whereas most modern warships have thin sides — the nuclear-powered carrier being an honorable exception. So a guy with a charge can do a lot of damage.”

Holmes said the sinking of Card “provided a preview” of the attack on the USS Cole in 2000 — a textbook case of a low-tech assault taking out a prime example of U.S. naval might.

Al Qaeda operatives mounted a suicide attack against Cole, a guided-missile destroyer, using a small boat packed with explosives that targeted the American ship while she was docked in Aden harbor. The blast tore a huge hole in the vessel, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39 — the deadliest attack on a U.S. Navy ship in recent history.

The blast from the explosion reached Cole’s galley, killing and wounding many there as sailors were lining up for lunch. Investigators later said they did not consider the timing of the attack a coincidence.

Fifty years ago, penetrating harbor security was a major concern as well for the perpetrators of the attack on Card.

Lam Son Nao, 79, the leader of the Viet Cong commandos, was a maintenance worker at the port at the time of the attack. He used his job as cover while he gathered intelligence, hid explosives and planned the mission.

Despite patrol boats filled with harbor police, Nao and his companion were able to mount their operation because of careful planning and the corruption of Saigon law enforcement.

“For the Card mission, my fellow operative and I pretended to be fishermen,” Nao said in an April 22 interview with Vietnamese News Service. “When our boat reached Nha Rong Wharf, the police chased us to the bank of the Thu Thiem Peninsula. To avoid having my boat inspected, we pushed the boat to a swamp, so that the police boat could not reach it.”

Nao told the harbor police that he wanted to shop at a market on a nearby island, offering to share part of the clothing and radios he planned to buy there. Then, he gave the police a generous bribe — and they let Nao go his way.

The aftermath of the attack on the Card rallied American rescue and salvage crews to deal with a severe crisis. The American brass and Pres. Lyndon Johnson wanted to keep the results of the attack as quiet as possible.

However, raising Card would be a major salvage operation.

Five Navy divers investigated damage to Card. One said he found the remains of a U.S.-made demolitions pack — evidence that the Viet Cong might have used stolen American military munitions.

In the meantime, the Navy sent the salvage vessel USS Reclaimer and the tug USS Tawakoni to Saigon Port to begin pumping water out of the sunken vessel. Despite poor diving conditions and numerous equipment malfunctions, salvage crews raised Card in a little more than two weeks.

Soon, both Reclaimer and Tawakoni towed Card out of Saigon harbor on their way to the U.S. Navy port of Subic Bay in The Philippines for repairs.

Naval vessels are very flexible ships capable of recuperating from serious battle damage. Apparently, Card was no exception — ships are often “re-purposed” in the U.S. Navy and enjoy long lives in service, Holmes said.

“The carrier Midway went from being a World War II carrier to a modern supercarrier over the course of her life, which reached into the 1990s,” he said. “That philosophy — deliberately build ships to allow for easy changes and upgrades over a long life — is making a comeback.”

Even Cole survived her attackers. After 14 months of repair, Cole departed dry-dock on April 19, 2002, and returned to her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia. The ship deployed again in 2003. Cole remains in operation with the Sixth Fleet. Card decommissioned in 1970.

For more about the USS Card visit her website at;

http://www.navsource.org/archives/03/011.htm

Delaware - Among My Souvenirs (1985)

This is a story about the State of Delaware. It is also a story about my early driving habits. At the same time it a story about courting my wife long distance. And, it is also the story of my time working with my father, which was the result of a promise made to my dying mother. In short; this is a multi-faceted tale.

In late 1984 I left my job as a Merchant Mariner employed by Military Sealift Command; a civilian component of the United States Navy. I served honorably in the Navy and then worked for the Command as a civilian contractor. I left the job; according to my letter of resignation; “….in order to effect a more positive lifestyle.” I thought that sounded pretty cool. I still do.

My mother had just recently passed away and I had foolishly made a promise to her that I would come home and work for my father for a year; a promise I would come to regret.

At the time I possessed several different licenses in several different states. I used them like credit cards; jamming one up with points before switching to another one while the points fell off the first one. It was a system which suited me well. Sailors take some time to adjust to traveling on wheels, and so are entitled to some sort of accommodation as they find their land legs.

The ticket at the bottom is not related to the money order at the top. It’s essential that you understand that. The money order was for the ticket I got on the way home from Baltimore to New York on the 13^th. The second ticket was for going back to Baltimore the next night, which was Valentine’s Day! Well, actually the ticket wasn't merely for going back; I wasn't blacklisted or anything. I was just driving too fast, again.

The date(s) shown above indicate I was in Delaware on both the 13^th of February; which is when I was pulled over at about 3 AM doing about 90. I have always remembered that I was taken into custody because I had an outstanding ticket which I had never paid, not expecting to be pulled over again in Delaware. It was kind of like my own lottery. The hardest part was remembering which license I had used. I had a great many tickets during this period; about $10,000 in all. And, I still have all the receipts to prove it.

I arrived at the Justice of the Peace station following the State Trooper in my own car. Apparently I was not dangerous enough to require restraint. The location was a place called Willington. It would be my home for the next several hours.

At about 6 AM I phoned Sue to get some sympathy for having gotten locked up. After all, I was doing this for her. Okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but at the time I was looking for sympathy. I knew better than to ask her to send me money, as she didn't have any. That left me with only one recourse. I would have to call my father.

At the time I was working for him and he expected me to be ready in the mornings. I had promised my mother that I would give the arrangement a shot when I left the ships after 8 years at sea. This was her last request of me and I felt somewhat committed to it. So, in September of 1984 I left my job with Military Sealift Command and went to work for him.

My dad and I used to meet at his apartment in 1310 Avenue R. He lived in 2-H and I lived in 5-G. I was never late. But this morning I knew that I would be severely behind time, so to speak, and I owed him a call. Also, if I were to show up that day, I needed cash. Fast.

At the time there was a commercial on television which showed various people calling home for cash in different emergencies. One of them was of a teen aged son calling home from a phone booth on the side of the road in the middle of the night. There were police cruisers in the background, indicating some sort of trouble with the law. The son says something like, “Hey Dad, I need cash; FAST!” So I said something along those lines, got cussed out in the bargain, and then proceeded to wait on the money order. That’s his handwriting and signature on the money order application/receipt.

Now, the money order should have been available in something like 30 seconds and I should have been on the road again, but that’s not what happened. For whatever reason; and I have no memory of why; the magistrate would not send anyone to town to get the money order. He wouldn't even phone to see if it had arrived. I was deeply troubled by this as my father would be sure to make the day miserable for me on account of any further delay.

After about 3 hours or so I decided to leave. My keys were still in the car, and I was still unshackled, so what the heck. I simply got up and left. I got home in time to do a decent afternoon’s work and then I headed straight back to Baltimore. After all, it was now Valentine’s Day Eve and I'm a romantic at heart.

Had a great evening with Sue and the boys in Baltimore on the 13^th before heading back to Brooklyn early on the morning of the 14^th. Got as far as Delaware; blowing through at a discreet 75; when I got stopped again! Same town, same cop.

Now, this is the part where I realized that while I may have left on my own the morning before, they still had my license. I explained this to the officer and he was surprisingly nice about it, stating that since he knew who I was, my lack of a license was not that big of a deal. We exchanged pleasantries and he gave me a ticket, for which I thanked him, then I drove away.

When I got home it was already about 9 AM. I called the Justice of the Peace; who laughed at me when I asked him to send me my license. He was serious about it, too. No way was he sending me my license. I was however free to come in and get it. So, I paid the new fine with a check by mail and switched to a different license while I got a duplicate one from whatever state I was using at the time.

Well, I think I have covered everything I mentioned at the beginning of this account. My mother dying; my promise to work for my Dad; my driving habits; a long distance romance with Sue; and a few other things as well. Amazing what memories comes back to you while going through old papers. That must be why I saved them.