Navy Nukes

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Comment by B'sNukemom&dad⚓️MM on December 17, 2014 at 11:02am

Sailor took his 100% exam yesterday - one step closer to graduation!

He also said that they were told they should be getting their orders any time now - fingers crossed he gets West Coast (but I won't hold my breath!)

Have a great day!

Comment by B'sNukemom&dad⚓️MM on December 15, 2014 at 11:22am

Aw Tom - that's beautiful!  Thanks for sharing.

Comment by Carol Pigg on December 15, 2014 at 7:47am

Oh, Tom, I'm already emotional, and you post this wonderful story.  Thanks for finding this.  

Comment by Tom Lufkin on December 14, 2014 at 9:41pm

Below is a true story about the type of men who serve on our nuclear submarines.

Comment by Tom Lufkin on December 14, 2014 at 9:39pm

Christmas 1964 

USS Sam Houston SSBN 609 Blue

by Jim Terrell

 

   It was mid-December 1964 and it was as cold as one would expect Connecticut to be at that time of the year.  We boarded the busses and after a while we were on our way to QUONSET POINT NAVAL AIR STATION where an aircraft waited to take us to Scotland.  We were going back a few days early this time.  The idea was to relieve the other crew so they could get home for Christmas.  The faces of the men betrayed their remorse at leaving home at this time of the year.  There was little of the usual horseplay and chatter we normally enjoyed on these trips.  Instead the men stared out the windows reflecting on the price they and their families paid for security of our Nation.  Children would rush downstairs on Christmas morning to discover a bounty of presents. Their fathers would share that precious moment, unaware that somewhere out in the worlds ocean, other fathers,  crammed into a cylinder of steel, kept watch over the delicate world peace.  On our watch, there was peace on Earth.

 

   Takeoffs always amused me.  I chuckled watching men who would take a boat to test depth and think nothing of it, grip the armrest so hard their knuckles turned white.  They sat rigid with their heads back and their eyes closed,  perhaps making peace with their maker, while the plane rotated and climbed out into the morning sunshine.  In a few minutes we had reached our altitude and leveled out.  Almost immediately, I noticed a couple of the guys begin to move around the plane having conferences with first one group and then another.  Soon they approached us with their proposition.  They proposed that although we had our duty to do we need not sacrifice our customs and traditions.  We couldn’t be home for Christmas with our kids but we could share with others.  There was an orphanage in Dunoon with children in need of what we had to give.  Soon the hat was passed, monies collected, plans made and duties assigned.  The balance of the flight seemed more relaxed, and it was not long before I heard someone question the masculinity of a Nav ET.  I knew then that all was well.

Comment by Tom Lufkin on December 14, 2014 at 9:39pm

When we arrived in Holy Loch the usual change of command process went forward with a greater sense of urgency than usual.  Clearly the other crew wanted to go home.  In no time the process was complete and we had the boat.  When the opportunity for liberty came along we dispatched a committee to the orphanage an they returned with a list of children who would be invited aboard for Christmas dinner.  The list included their names, age and gender.  Each child was assigned to a “Daddy for the day” who was charged with escorting them around the boat and getting them to all functions.  It’s funny, but although I have not been able to put a name to the faces of the men who organized this event, I still remember the name of the child I looked after that day: Angus Naylor.

 

   A second committee, armed with the list that indicated age and gender, went shopping for Christmas presents for the children. Soon the local merchants became aware of what we were doing and our money went much further than we had estimated.  Our men returned with a huge supply of presents.  Instead of the usual movie we spent one evening wrapping the gifts.  Th role of Santa Clause went to our Hospital Corpsman, affectionately known as “The Quack”.

 

   A liberty launch brought the kids out and that in itself was a thrill for them.  Some were scared and others mischievous.  We gave them a tour of the boat, then took them to the crews mess where they enjoyed perhaps the best Christmas dinner of their lives.  After dinner they were treated to a Walt Disney movie, The Amazing Mr. Limpet starring Don Knotts.  When the movie was  over, we took them up to the periscope stand where the Quack was decked out in an ill-fitting Santa Claus suit.  He had a couple of helpers in some form of costume.  This was when we discovered that British children believe in Father Christmas, not Santa Clause. One of the guys quickly explained we had invited our American Santa Clause to come over especially for them.  As the child sat in Santa’s lap the Quack would ask their name and then repeat it loud enough for his helpers to hear it.  This would send the helpers frantically searching among the huge pile of presents to locate the ones intended for this child, who was kept occupied answering the usual questions concerning their behavior during the year.  When found, a present would be placed in Santa’s hand.  He would present it to the child while the two of them smiled at the camera.  In the end, each child received about three presents and a picture of themselves with the most ridiculous looking Santa Claus.

 

   Soon it was time for them to go and the tears began to flow.  Tiny little girls held tightly to their “Daddies” and cried to stay.  Everyone was affected.  We escorted them with their presents back to the tender where the liberty launches waited to return them to the cold reality that we had given them temporary respite from.  As the launch pulled away the children waved and all the “Daddies” waved farewell to them as I had seen them do to their own children a few weeks before.  It was not lost on me that here were men who wielded one of the most powerful warships ever conceived,  who struck fear in the Russian heart, who could unleash an attack never before seen on Earth.  There, at that moment, these warriors of the deep wiped tears from their eyes; and there was truly “Peace on Earth”.

Comment by B'sNukemom&dad⚓️MM on December 12, 2014 at 10:31am

Hi all - Happy RED shirt Friday!

Comment by B'sNukemom&dad⚓️MM on December 10, 2014 at 11:00am

Sailor has a lot coming up in the next few weeks - 100% exam, oral boards & then graduation!  Wow - been both the longest 2 years and the shortest 2 years LOL.....

Comment by Joe Castle on December 3, 2014 at 1:09pm

Our son just hit a patch of black ice up there a few weeks ago, destroyed his car but other than being shaken up he was fine. Not an ideal situation but it gave us a valid reason to drop everything and go see him so we left Louisville Thanksgiving evening after we pushed our dinner guests out and made the drive to Saratoga Springs, NY to drop him off another vehicle. He's in good spirits and happy to have transportation again, hopefully he learned his lesson, slows down and pays better attention.

Comment by B'sNukemom&dad⚓️MM on December 3, 2014 at 12:44pm

Happy Wednesday!

We were expecting a call from our sailor last night but got a text from him instead at about 8:15pm (11:15 his time in NY) - one of his buddies had hit a patch of black ice and spun off the road - luckily he didn't hit anything and he said he wasn't hurt. Thank goodness! There was a few of them trying to pull him out of the ditch.  We haven't heard any more - he's hoping to call today before he goes in to work..... 

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.  Sailor wasn't home but college son was ;-)  Here we are (including "flat sailor") and gma & gpa.

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