I know this Navy stuff is running a bit long, but it did consume 12 years of my life! So our ship, DDG-11, the USS Sellers, left the Maldive Islands and entered the Persian Gulf, where we did maneuvers with the Shah's Iranian Navy. We made a port call in Bandar Abbas, Iran, then on to Bahrain, and I think (it's been over 45 years) Abu Dhabi and Kuwait.
After a month or so around the Gulf, we headed east again, stopping in Karachi, Pakistan. There I bought a coffee table we used for over 30 years and still own. We visited Colombo, Sri Lanka and made a trip up to Kandy. I recall it being a pretty educational trip. From there, we sailed through the Straits of Malacca, and visited Singapore. From there we sailed through the South China seas, passing through the war zone of Vietnam, making our pay Federal Tax-free for that month. Clever eh?
After about 7 months on the ship, I got off the ship in Honolulu, and arranged to meet Brenda in San Francisco. Man, was I happy to see her. After a couple of tourism days, we went over to Van Ness Avenue, and bought a 1969 Toyota, which we then drove back across the USA to home in GA.
It was a neat trip with stops in the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon. After a brief respite with our families, we promptly moved to Pensacola, FL for Naval Flight Officer School.
I was HIGHLY motivated for NFO school, because failure would likely mean a return to a surface ship-- NO way! I was blessed to finish #1 in my class, also motivated by a promise of my choice of duty stations. We truly loved Pensacola, so I requested to stay in Training Command. Wellllllll, my choices were limited ONLY to the fleet. So from Pensacola we got orders to Naval Communications School in Newport, RI and before I finished there, got orders to Naval Justice School also in Newport. I would add that we enjoyed our brief stay in RI and our attendance at an American Baptist Church. The pastor there, whose name escapes me, is memorable for his comment that most everything in the New Testament is present in the Old Testament, except in simpler form.
From there, it was to the Fleet, namely VQ-4 at Patuxent Naval Air Test Center. And that will be next.
After a month or so around the Gulf, we headed east again, stopping in Karachi, Pakistan. There I bought a coffee table we used for over 30 years and still own. We visited Colombo, Sri Lanka and made a trip up to Kandy. I recall it being a pretty educational trip. From there, we sailed through the Straits of Malacca, and visited Singapore. From there we sailed through the South China seas, passing through the war zone of Vietnam, making our pay Federal Tax-free for that month. Clever eh?
After about 7 months on the ship, I got off the ship in Honolulu, and arranged to meet Brenda in San Francisco. Man, was I happy to see her. After a couple of tourism days, we went over to Van Ness Avenue, and bought a 1969 Toyota, which we then drove back across the USA to home in GA.
It was a neat trip with stops in the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon. After a brief respite with our families, we promptly moved to Pensacola, FL for Naval Flight Officer School.
I was HIGHLY motivated for NFO school, because failure would likely mean a return to a surface ship-- NO way! I was blessed to finish #1 in my class, also motivated by a promise of my choice of duty stations. We truly loved Pensacola, so I requested to stay in Training Command. Wellllllll, my choices were limited ONLY to the fleet. So from Pensacola we got orders to Naval Communications School in Newport, RI and before I finished there, got orders to Naval Justice School also in Newport. I would add that we enjoyed our brief stay in RI and our attendance at an American Baptist Church. The pastor there, whose name escapes me, is memorable for his comment that most everything in the New Testament is present in the Old Testament, except in simpler form.
From there, it was to the Fleet, namely VQ-4 at Patuxent Naval Air Test Center. And that will be next.
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