Robert E. SMith Seneca, South Carolina |
I served aboard the Yorktown from February 1969 until August 1969. I was assigned to E-division and stood generator watches. I performed maintenance on the electrical systems in #3 fireroom and the after-engine room. |
We had been at sea about two weeks on an ORI (Operational Readiness) cruise. We were at general quarters (battle stations) and I had the main control switchboard watch. The plant was aligned with units 2 (control board), 3, and 4 on line in parallel and unit 1 off line.
We had a new recruit aboard and someone decided that this would be a good time to qualify him to generator watches. Part of the qualification involved bringing the unit on line in parallel with another unit. This is a very critical task and can cause significant damage to the generator and/or the turbine. The other units could be knocked off line as well. That's about what happened. Flight operations was in full swing with a heavy load on the generators when he closed the generator breaker. The breaker was closed with the generator out of phase with the rest of the plant. This made the generator act like a motor and turn in reverse. This added extra load to the rest of the plant. Turning against the turbine caused the turbine shaft to break. The extra load caused unit 4 to trip on overload and if we had not split the plant out we would have lost all generators and would have been dead in the water. That would not have set well with the Captain or the inspection team.
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What's that broom doing under your nose sailor?
by Dale Potts, Capt. USNR (ret.)
FREEDOM SYMBOL
When I had about four months remaining to serve and we were starting our 1969 Northern
European cruise, I was told by the Admin Officer to order one of the guys in my PAO Public Affairs Office , JOSN Steve Bornet, to shave his mustache. The Admin officer was the Department Head for offices like Legal, Education, Special Services, all headed by recent college graduates and was the Division officer for all admin enlisted personnel. He was a Limited Duty Officer Mustang Lieutenant and could be a tough cookie when he thought he was being crossed.
I did not agree with him on this issue because Bornet was a squared-away sailor who always did more than his fair share of work. In fact, Bornet had earned “Sailor Of the Quarter” distinction for the ship a few months earlier. (I did agree that the mustache looked a little silly when he first starting growing it.)
I enlisted the aid of the Personnel Officer (a salty Warrant Officer) in doing research. We found that the Navy had no prohibitions against mustaches at that time.
So, in response, I and every one in my shop grew mustaches and wore them until I left the Navy. I am sure it irritated the Admin Officer but we otherwise had a good working relationship and he never again asked me to have my guys do anything other than official Navy stuff.
(Petty Officer 3rd Class Steve Bornet stayed in the US Navy Reserve retired after 32 years of service. He attained the rank of Commander. He has no mustache.)
read more of Capt. Pott's Naval Memoirs click here
The "Official" USS Yorktown Beard
During the 1968 West Pac (western Pacific) cruise there was a US Navy regulation forbidding the wearing of beards by US Navy personnel. But there is a loophole. A Commanding Officer of a ship can hold a "Beard Growing Contest" for morale purposes. So Captain Bennett permitted a beard growing contest and everyone who wanted to grow a beard on the far east cruise would officially be a contestant!
But when Captain Fifield came aboard he would permit no such nonsense. The crew was unhappy with this and all beards had to be shaved off, except one. On board the Yorktown at the time was a Canadian or British Navy pilot. He was aboard to train and observe US Navy operations but he was assigned to one of the Yorktown's squadrons as just another pilot.
In his Navy, beards were permitted and that pilot grew a beard; the only beard on the Yorktown. So the loophole for him was that because HIS Navy permitted a beard he would wear it.
Journalist Third Class Petty Officer Steve Bornet wrote an amusing piece in the ship's newspaper that said
"No Beard Contest on Yorktown There shall be no beard growing contest for this portion of the cruise by order of the Captain. But the British Naval Officer of VF* has a beard because such facial hair is permitted in his Navy. His beard has been designated the Official USS Yorktown Beard and it may be visited in the VF* ready room between the hours of 0900 and 1000 Monday through Saturday."
That didn't make the crew feel any better but at least it gave us a chuckle.
Photo lab rats; one with a beard, USS Yorktown 1968 front Airman Lazlo, back, Stretch, Knutson and Spivak
Story by PH2 Daniel A. Bernath
More Subic Bay Adventures
The Best Food in the Service on the USS Yorktown
Mickey Zucaro PN3 61/64 |
I served aboard the USS Yorktown from 1962 to 1964 as a personnel man As with others it was the best years of my life...looking for guys I served with! |
We would be at sea about 11pm. Two guys from the office would go down to the ship's bakery where fresh bread was just coming out of the oven. We took it and cut it open piping hot and would put at least a pound of US Navy butter on it then wrap it up and take it up to the office where we all would eat it. The taste was great!
I remember a time we went to Subic Bay, Olongopo, Philippine Islands. We went in a bar. Suddenly one of the fellows hit this girl in the bar. It turned out to be the girl was actually a boy. The sailor didn't find this out until after he had been kissing her/him for a while. |
Subic Bay Naval Base, The Phillipines
Olmsted Gerald
Bomb under USS Kearsarge CVS 33?
As A EM-3 )Electrician's Mate) my time aboard was very special in so many areas. During the second cruise while anchored in the Hong Kong harbor a good friend of mine and I decided we wanted to know how deep the harbor was so we took a battle lantern an tied it to a roll of copper wire (remember we were EMs LOTS of COPPER wire to rewind motors) and lowered it over the side just behind #2 elevator on the cat walk and figured we lowered it approx 50-60 ft where we could just barley see it.
It rotated round & round it went after about 10-15 min we heard a commotion, looking across at the conning tower there were approx.6 people running in our direction. One being the XO (Executive Officer and 2nd in Command), a couple of marines "armed".
Then from the bow and stern we saw boats with divers converging on our lantern and wire. Quickly we realized they were coming for the lantern.
SNIP went the wire and then the XO and group arrived. We asked innocently what all the fuss was about. They thought divers were in the water attaching BOMBS to the ship.
How naive and stupid we felt but they never found the wire or the lantern so we got away with a dumb idea.
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