Canuck_Fan_52 Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 1 hour ago, smithers joe said: yes, navy, 57 to 62. most of our travels were between alaska and hawaii and up the coast of usa and canada. i missed 2 trips to japan. no to the trench, but sailed through the beautiful emerald waters of midway island. several trips to hawaii. school of whales and other sea creatures. we did d day maneuvers with the american fleet. they like to relive their glory days..i sailed on a mine sweeper then and we went and swept the harbour for mines. then the american fleet did their thing..8 americans killed during the practise. apparently that was a small number. Smithers, thank you for your service, I assume you were United States Navy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kragar Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 On 8/21/2016 at 1:46 PM, smithers joe said: our ship sailed to sitka, alaska and then on to kodiak and adak, in the aleutian islands. as we sailed south towards hawaii, we encountered a fierce storm. the storm was called a stern sea, because the waves built up at the stern of the ship. they gently built up and then, they dropped away.it was like the ship fell 2 stories. our jeep was lashed down, but was torn away and thrown into the ocean. our mortar hatch covers, each 20 feet long and 3 feet wide, took 4 men to move. the storm picked them up like match sticks and thew them to the ocean floor. we were all to scared to be sick. the engine room reported that we had done an unheard of 45 degree roll. a seaman came down to our mess and told us, we lost our mast. we didn't believe him but sure enough, our mast was laying horizontally across our ship. only the radar cables kept us from losing it completely. eventually, we limped into victoria and dry dock. if any of us had gone up on deck that day, we would have been thrown into the sea. we didn't make it to hawaii that time.. Incredible story, Joe. Thanks so much for your service! Soon after graduation, there was talk about me being up for a job on a trans-pacific freighter. Would have been interesting if it had worked out, but I know better than to assume it would always be smooth sailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Mac Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 On 21/08/2016 at 1:46 PM, smithers joe said: seaman On 21/08/2016 at 1:46 PM, smithers joe said: mast On 21/08/2016 at 1:46 PM, smithers joe said: limped On 21/08/2016 at 1:46 PM, smithers joe said: losing it completely orly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted August 23, 2016 Author Share Posted August 23, 2016 2 hours ago, Canuck_Fan_52 said: Smithers, thank you for your service, I assume you were United States Navy? canadian navy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted August 23, 2016 Author Share Posted August 23, 2016 2 hours ago, Kragar said: Incredible story, Joe. Thanks so much for your service! Soon after graduation, there was talk about me being up for a job on a trans-pacific freighter. Would have been interesting if it had worked out, but I know better than to assume it would always be smooth sailing. there was 6 of us navy blokes that planned to meet after we got out. and take jobs on a tramp steamer and work our way around the world. but we spent our money on drink and never made it. we terrorized calgary for a couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWMc1 Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Yeah, thanks for serving Joe. Some of us still appreciate that kind of thing. On a side note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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