When the Cuban Missile Crisis began to heat up in September 1962, the ROOSEVELT (CVA 42) had just left NS Mayport for its umpteenth Med deployment. The newly married JO’s (junior officers) would gather on the fan tail to watch the wake that pointed towards the brides they had left. Misty eyes were the uniform … Continue reading Cold War Dark Operations: Soot, as a weapon? Revenge of the Snipes in the Cold War
Author’s note: this “blog” was actually written in 1963 while I was the Asst. Navigator for the USS F. D. ROOSEVELT (CVA-42). It is dedicated to friends who also served in ROOSEVELT and have stood this same watch, including: Bill Brinkley, Paul Dickson and Steve Wood. Shoes shined, lint off uniform, tie straight, buttons buttoned, … Continue reading The In-Port Watch on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in the Sixties
Signal flags are still important aboard Navy ships, helping those within visual range to share important information such as course and speed…but this flag combination brought questions, and then gales of laughter on the bridge of this carrier. On the bridge of the Rosy one afternoon we had a mix up of signals between us … Continue reading What The Hell Flag Signal