I joined the U. S. Navy Reserve in 1955-10 (1955 October) and received boot training at Bainbridge, MD in 1956-06 (1956 June) and a two-week unit cruise in early August. I joined the regular Navy 1956-08-27 with boot training in San Diego in company 427 where I served as RCPO. Half way through boot, I transferred into the choir company where I completed my boot requirements and served as Guidon Bearer. Then, I went on to Electronics Technician "A" School at Treasure Island, CA where I graduated in 1957 June and reported aboard USS Southerland (DDR-743) as an ETSN. A few months later, I received my ET3 "crow". On 1958-07-01, the Navy transferred me to USS Sioux (ATF-75) where, as the only ET aboard, they promoted me to ET2, then to ET2-P1, and spent the remainder of my Navy service. The Navy released me after 47 months active duty service on 1960-07-21.
After more than a year with IBM and a year on the engineering staff of KUTV in Salt Lake City, I joined the U. S. Coast Guard in 1962-10 (1962 October) during the Cuban missile crisis. In the "Guard", my first major assignment: the Loran "C" Transmitting Station on Jan Mayen (a remote Norwegian island where the temperature sometimes gets up to freezing) "fra Juni 1963 til Juni 1964". I also served as Officer-in-Charge of the Loran "A" station at Point Arena, CA and as EMO/XO at the Loran "C" station at Sattahip, Thailand in 1969-1970 in support of the U. S. Air Force's bombing of the Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War. Duty afloat included USCGC Dexter (WAVP-385) (a "Casco Class" reserve training cutter) as ET1 and ETC and USCGC Rockaway (WAGO-377) (a Casco class oceanographic cutter) as CWO-2 and EMO. I also served at Government Island (Alameda, CA), Electronics Repair Shop Yerba Buena Island (San Francisco Bay) and on staff at CCGD5(eee), Portsmouth, VA. The Coast Guard gave me two years of electronics engineering training at RCA Institutes in New York City where I graduated in the upper quarter of my class. Fellow classmates were CWO-2 Verne Bennett (now a retired CDR), ETC John Haldeman, ETC Doug Addy, ETC Jim Taube (now a retired CWO-4), ETC "Woody" Woodbury and ETC Dave Conover. Medical disability forced me into involuntary retirement after 17 years of military service.
Fred's Place
