02 August 2017

Navy Memories #6: Reflections of a Black Shoe

(I post this here because Rear Admiral Koenig says it better than I could - Paul)



Reflections of a Blackshoe
by Vice Admiral Harold Koenig, USN (Ret), M.D.


I like the Navy.

I like standing on the bridge wing at sunrise with salt spray in my face and clean ocean winds whipping in from the four quarters of the globe – the ship beneath me feeling like a living thing as her engines drive her through the sea.

I like the sounds of the Navy – the piercing trill of the boatswains pipe, the syncopated clangor of the ship’s bell on the quarterdeck, the harsh squawk of the 1MC and the strong language and laughter of sailors at work.

I like Navy vessels – nervous darting destroyers, plodding fleet auxiliaries, sleek submarines and steady solid carriers.

I like the proud names of Navy ships: Midway, Lexington, Saratoga, Coral Sea – memorials of great battles won.

I like the lean angular names of Navy ‘tin-cans” Barney, Dahlgren, Mullinix, McCloy - mementos of heroes who went before us.

I like the tempo of a Navy band blaring through the topside speakers as we pull away from the oiler after refueling at sea.

I like liberty call and the spicy scent of a foreign port. I even like all hands working parties as my ship fills herself with the multitude of supplies both mundane and exotic which she needs to cut her ties to the land and carry out her mission anywhere on the globe where there is water to float her.

I like sailors, men from all parts of the land, farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England, from the cities, the mountains and the prairies, from all walks of life. I trust and depend on them as they trust and depend on me – for professional competence, for comradeship, for courage. In a word, they are "shipmates".

I like the surge of adventure in my heart when the word is passed “Now station the special sea and anchor detail – all hands to quarters for leaving port”, and I like the infectious thrill of sighting home again, with the waving hands of welcome from family and friends waiting pierside.

The work is hard and dangerous, the going rough at times, the parting from loved ones painful, but the companionship of robust Navy laughter, the ‘all for one and one for all’ philosophy of the sea is ever present.

I like the serenity of the sea after a day of hard ship’s work, as flying fish flit across the wave tops and sunset gives way to night.

I like the feel of the Navy in darkness – the masthead lights, the red and green navigation lights and stern light, the pulsating phosphorescence of radar repeaters – they cut through the dusk and join with the mirror of stars overhead.

And I like drifting off to sleep lulled by the myriad noises large and small that tell me that my ship is alive and well, and that my shipmates on watch will keep me safe. I like quiet midwatches with the aroma of strong coffee – the lifeblood of the Navy – permeating everywhere.

And I like hectic watches when the exacting minuet of haze-gray shapes racing at flank speed keeps all hands on a razor edge of alertness.

I like the sudden electricity of “General quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle stations”, followed by the hurried clamor of running feet on ladders and the resounding thump of watertight doors as the ship transforms herself in a few brief seconds from a peaceful workplace to a weapon of war – ready for anything.

And I like the sight of space-age equipment manned by youngsters clad in dungarees and sound-powered phones that their grandfathers would still recognize.

I like the traditions of the Navy and the men and women who made them. I like the proud names of Navy heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut, John Paul Jones.

A sailor can find much in the Navy: comrades-in-arms, pride in self and country, mastery of the seaman’s trade. An adolescent can find adulthood.

In years to come, when sailors are home from the sea, they will still remember with fondness and respect the ocean in all its moods - the impossible shimmering mirror calm and the storm-tossed green water surging over the bow. 

And then there will come again a faint whiff of stack gas, a faint echo of engine and rudder orders, a vision of the bright bunting of signal flags snapping at the yardarm, a refrain of hearty laughter in the wardroom and chief’s quarters and messdecks. Gone ashore for good, they will grow wistful about their Navy days, when the seas belonged to them and a new port of call was ever over the horizon.

Remembering this, they will stand taller and say,
“I WAS A SAILOR ONCE. I WAS PART OF THE NAVY, AND THE NAVY WILL ALWAYS BE PART OF ME.”


(Note: The article was found on the website of USS SKAGIT (AKA/LKA 105), and can be read here.)

13 comments:

threecollie said...

Wow, he really has a way with words!

Rev. Paul said...

Yes, he does. And those words remind me powerfully of the time about which I've written recently.

LindaG said...

The aroma of strong coffee is the lifeblood of every branch of the military, I do believe. And woe to the person who dared to clean the coffee pot!

We can still remember the shudder of engine test for the SR-71, even though it has been decades retired. Sadly. Another jet like that has yet to be built.

Great article. Wonderful memories for sailors everywhere, I am sure.

Ed Bonderenka said...

Dungarees are a thing of the past as it is necessary for sailors to wear camo aboard ship, right?
This series is worth every penny I paid to subscribe to your blog!

Suz said...

I am enjoying this series a great deal, and feel that it is worth WAY more than what I paid for you blog!!

LindaG said...

Greed, Suz!

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

Nice find Reverend!

LindaG said...

*smacks forehead* I mean 'Agreed, Suz!'...

Rev. Paul said...

Ed - yes. For whatever reason, sailors are now attired in a camo pattern which makes them virtually impossible to spot if they've gone overboard. And I have no idea whatsoever what other purpose it's supposed to fill. We wore chambray shirts, ballcaps, and Seafarer denim pants, and there was a STRONG attachment to tradition in that attire. And thank you for the compliment.

Suz & Linda - thank you so much!

TB - I really like this one too. Thanks.

Ed Bonderenka said...

We used to hit Navy Base Exchange to get jeans.

Rev. Paul said...

Ed - in Greece, there was only the Air Force Exchange on their base, some 20 miles away from Elefsis. The Navy Exchange actually sent forms to the squadron; each sailor submitted a list of what he wanted/needed, and NavEx's "traveling salesman" would come to ship with all the uniforms or gear we'd ordered, and take payment in the DASH hangar.

drjim said...

Yep, once you've spent any time at sea, even as a civvie like me, it gets into your blood.

I'll never forget the time I spent at sea. My last job was the highlight of my career!

Rev. Paul said...

Yes it does, Jim. I promised myself, when I left the Wood, that someday I'd take a cruise where I wasn't a member of the crew. That may never happen, but I wouldn't have missed that 18 months onboard for anything.