We were a little of over two weeks before we were to get underway for a long time.
That’s when the Amphibious Squadron Staff decided an LST needed a first class boatswain mate more than me (i still scratch my head about that reasoning. So they transferred my most experienced first class boatswain mate to that LST. i was left with no ship’s bosun, one first class boatswain mate, and one boatswain mate chief with 15 years in, but who had been a Navy boxer with no significant experience as a boatswain mate other than passing promotion exams. He was a smart guy, a nice guy, BMC Justiani, but he was not in my department. He was the 3M supervisor (the Navy’s preventive maintenance program) for the ship.
A week before the departure date, the Beach Master’s Unit came aboard with its rather amazing amount of equipment, including LARCs, a truly amphibious vehicle that could be driven on land or water. Big honkers, too. They were 35 feet long with a ten-foot beam, weighing just shy of ten tons. The Cummins V8 engine provided 300 horse-power.
We ballasted down and the two LARCs with 19 men came aboard as soon as the well deck was dry. Their leader was CWO4 Boatswain Messenger. That was a blessed thing for me. Bosun Messenger became my advisor in nearly all things for this novice First Lieutenant. His first class boatswain mate, BM1 Stubbe, almost immediately began to help BM1 Hansborough in the deck department.
i breathed a bit easier.
On March 10, 1975, the USS Anchorage (LSD 36) got underway with the other ships of Amphibious Squadron Five, standing out of the San Diego channel headed for Pearl Harbor.
The transit was routine. We kept preparing for the normal ten-month deployment. After five days, we entered Pearl Harbor. i had been designated as the Sea Detail Officer of the Deck (OOD) and had the “deck” and the “conn” for my first entry into Hawaii. The duties, the maneuvering into the Naval Station with Ford Island on my left where the Arizona Memorial stood, remains one of the most awestruck emotions in my life.
i found Honolulu enchanting. It had yet to become the corporate tourist stop of the Islands. My focus was on my job. i did find my favorite spot for many years to come. i wandered off the primary streets and found a Chuck’s Steakhouse. It had a motif of a fishermen’s pub. i ordered a mai tai and then had the mahi mahi dinner with a chardonnay. It was like the perfect escape.
During the last few days, we loaded our Opportunity Lift (OPLIFT) cargo (when a ship deployed and had extra cargo space, various military commands and personnel could load gear and vehicles to go to various Western Pacific bases. Some of the cargo, like a few cars, were private. Most of the load was medical supplies. The penultimate day before we were to get underway, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) held a briefing for the Amphibious Staff and COs, XOs, and department heads of the squadron ships. We were told of possible exercises with allies, and some information on the status of the US/China/North Korea status. Nothing was mentioned of Vietnam.
And off we went. The seven ships of Amphibious Squadron Five were headed for the Naval base in Subic Bay, Luzon, Phillipines, the sailor’s closest thing to Fiddler’s Green. We would be relieving our sister ships of COMPHIBRON ONE. They would head back to their home port of San Diego. The seas of the Pacific were relatively calm, the steaming easy. Then, five days underway, the message came. OP Immediate (That meant do what the message said to do and do it in a hurry). Vietnam was about to fall to the Vietcong and North Korea. The two squadrons were to rendezvous off of Vung Tau, normally a resort city that was on the southern most tip of the Vietnam. Our mission was to participate in the evacuation of U.S. personnel and any dependents that were in country, as well as Vietnamese who had worked with the US during the conflict.
Except one ship was to steam independently elsewhere, the USS Anchorage. We were to head to Fukuoka, Japan and offload the large amount of OPLIFT we were carrying. From there, the Anchorage was to proceed to Numazu Bay and load the equipment for the Marine Amphibious Unit, which were onboard the other ships, and make haste to Vung Tau, offload the Marine equipment and supplies, and carry out orders for the evacuation.
This adventure was about to teach a brand new amphibious first lieutenant a thing or two.
