Pictorial Salute to WWII, Korea, Vietnam,etc Naval,Marine and Coastguard Vets

Discussion in 'All Things Boats & Boating' started by souljour2000, Mar 29, 2012.

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  1. souljour2000
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    souljour2000 Senior Member

    Okay folks, I am fortunate enough to be the proud son of a sailor. My father was encouraged to join the reserves in 1939 before America entered WWII by my grandfather(who was an Army Reserve railroad engineer) in order to perhaps control his own fate a bit in the war days ahead that were so obviously approaching. Dad chose the Naval Reserves.
    My father went on to make six or seven Atlantic crossings helping French crews deliver small lend-lease minelayers,etc across the pond to Casablanca,Morocco where the Free-french fleet was based early in the war...and then later was a officer aboard a fleet oiler in the Pacific campaign which photo below shows...this fleet oiler was called "Monongahela".
    I am very proud of Dad and all of the veterans who have put their lives on the line for freedom and democracy...from all the countries of the world who fought against and continue to defend against oppression. (UK,Canada,Australia,France,etc,etc,.

    I am not aware of a thread on this site where these men (and women) have been acknowledged with help of photos.....please correct me if I theer already is a thread like existant...

    If that is the case I propose that this thread be herein started to salute these brave men and women by possibly showing a picture of their ship...and whatever else you wish to add...I just want to be as inclusive as possible...this is a very personal subject..so if you don't have a pic to post of a ship someone you know was on,etc, thats okay....maybe you could just share whatever anecdotes,details you would like to about that person...but photos are of course HIGHLY ENCOURAGED...from whatever conflict/campaign into the present naturally...but as this is a boating site...naval photos of ships are a big plus...Thanks and let's see what we can come up with...
     

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  2. hoytedow
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  3. Leo Lazauskas
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    Leo Lazauskas Senior Member

    Good idea to show pictures of ships, but they belong in a different forum. It's not really "boat design". Maybe the "Open Discussion" would be better.
     
  4. Boat Design Net Moderator
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    Boat Design Net Moderator Moderator

    < Thread moved to Open Discussion: All Things Boats & Boating which should be a good location for it. >
     
  5. souljour2000
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    souljour2000 Senior Member

    okay..great..I just wasn't sure where a thread like this should be..but knew it probably belonged somewhere's...carry on...and let's get some great pic's of ship's vets we or members of our families have served on...
     
  6. souljour2000
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    souljour2000 Senior Member

    Dad was also on a submarine rescue vessel for a time....I think it was a wartime requisitioned yacht called "Peridot". I know i can find out...he painted a picture of that boat and I wish I knew where it was...I remember he said it had a diving bell and he went down in it at least once.They would practice using it to go down and latch onto a hatch of a downed submarine and pull a few guys out at a time...then re-surface. Maybe I can find a picture of it...
     
  7. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    I would like to salute ALL soldiers sailors and airmen that lost their lives in silly wars started by old men and fought by young men during the entire history of this dumb waring world.

    I would not dare to pick out a war or a soldier for fear of forgetting just one of these lost souls.

    We were all in the war of 1945 wether you stood with a gun in flooded French trenches or you sat at home in London waiting for the next bomb.

    I salute ALL and hope I never have to again.
     
  8. souljour2000
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    souljour2000 Senior Member

    Well said Frosty...
    As a 3-4 year old I remember crouching and quivering under my bed in New Delhi in a blackout with black paper on the windows and air-raid sirens howling... in the '72-'73 Indo-Pakistani War....trying to figure out who was trying to bomb me and why...
    I know warships are for making war...and war is a foolish destructive abomination of humanity...and 6 billion each for 30 new Navy subs to replace the Ohio class ones over the next 20 years isn't exactly where I want my tax dollars going...but I guess the" New World Order" is still long on new and short on order..
     
  9. messabout
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    messabout Senior Member

    Thank you, Souljour, for the thoughtful proposal.

    At the risk of dating myself, I was a coast Guardsman during the Korean "police action" as it was euphemisticly called at the time. I was never exposed to the deadly risks of that damned war but I knew several young men who were. Some of them did not come back. I respectfully salute them as well as all those others who have served.
     
  10. souljour2000
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    souljour2000 Senior Member

    Well,maybe instead I shall Thank you ...for your service in the Coast Guard ...another excellent and storied branch of the US Military..about which I read a very interesting book some time ago..and you are more than welcome ...I myself never found myself in the military but I have what i hope is a genuine and earnest respect for folks who have served their country in whatever capacity ..

    Well..the other morning it just seemed like a good idea at the time to get some pics of boats that forum members served on and/or their relations...I know Dad was fond of all the vessels he served on in some way or another...it seemed...and well.. in this day and age where we have access to internet I thought that there may be pics of military boats that are easier to search/find than they may have been in the past that folks might like to post...that's all.

    I was lucky enuff to have dad take us aboard the Nimitz-class carrier USS Eisenhower when I was about 12...which was in Norfolk for re-fitting between tours...a truly awesome experience...and I have been aboard a few other smaller ones over the years, the "torch" WWII sub in Baltimore as a kid I think..or maybe it was the "Torsk"..on static...it was a diesel I think...and also a guided missile frigate in port of call Tampa one day..as well as the Liberty ship that is on permanent static display near the cruise terminal in Tampa ... though her name escapes me...and I cannot leave out the venerable USS Constitution I visited in Boston one chilly winter afternoon a few years back....Anyways..there it is...the "ball" is in the court of the general forum now...
     
  11. BPL
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    BPL Senior Member

    Hope more photos are posted. There are probably many areas on these giants that have stories to tell. Also would be something to work in the yards building up these fleets. Or having the job of patching up battle damaged ships.
     
  12. souljour2000
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    souljour2000 Senior Member

    I am trying to find a few others...the liberty ship I toured that is on static in Tampa cruise terminal was really freakin' cool...to sum up the experience...especially when you think about the fact that they were often built stem to stern in like what...six months?..someone correct me but it was a short length of time by any standard...
     
  13. hoytedow
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  14. souljour2000
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    souljour2000 Senior Member

    Thanks Hoyte...I knew they were built fast but didn't realize it was THAT fast......jeez...btw...what's your boat draft?..Oh..hmm..27 feet! Seems about right for a 441 foot boat...but man...If anyone is in West Central Fla... defintely go to Tampa near downtown by the Cruise Terminal and take the tour of the Liberty ship there by all means...you won't be dissapointed... and donate a few bucks to the Historic Naval Ships Assoc. ....they are happy to take donations I believe...
     

  15. messabout
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    messabout Senior Member

    Something similar in function to the Liberty ships were built at McClosky shipyard, Hookers point, Tampa, Fl. They were concrete built over a collossal armature. Interior and exterior of the concrete was formed with steel plates in removable mold fashion. The concrete ships were thought to be, at least hoped to be, less endangered by magnetic mines than their steel counterparts. They were also thought to be less likely tracked by the crude sonar of the subs of the time. They were somewhat cheaper to produce than steel ships and quick to build. In addition, we did not have the convenience of heavy steel producing facilities in this part of the country.

    I was just a young tad at the time, but my father worked for the US Maritime Commission as what would now be called a Quality Control man. His specialty was welding technology. Actually, welding at that time was not even remotely equal to the thoroughly developed technology it is today. It was said, only half jokingly, that George could do more damage with a yellow crayon than half the German sub fleet. The crayon was the mark of a rejected part. He was also a frequent presence at FMC corp in Lakeland where ducks and some other amphibious boats were built.

    He was later transferred to the shipyard in Panama City where the Liberties were built. It seemed that a lot of non welders were required to weld at the Jones yard and QC was not so good. He often worked around the clock because he was running a welding school at night, in addition to his regular duties.

    As an aside; Clint Johnson was a young one legged guy at McClosky. He was the resident sail maker and canvas guy. Some of you will know the name as he later became the owner of Johnson Sails in St. Petersburg. Clint ran his bicycle into the side of a train when he was 14 years old. He lost his leg in the accident and never had a prosthesis. He could run faster on one leg and a crutch than most men could. The disability never seemed to bother him.

    OK thats enough of the nostalgia trip. If there is a point to all the above it is that the nation and all its' citizens were absolutely united in a common cause and they did what they had to do without a whimper. The service men and women were certainly heroes but so were so many of the civilians.
     
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