Asian adventure

Saint Joseph, MO

I enlisted in the Navy in November 1965 and went through boot camp at San Diego. Upon graduating from boot camp in January 1966, I was sent to U.S. Naval Communications Center (USNCTC) at Pensacola, Fla. I was trained to operate crypto equipment which coded and decoded classified messages. My rating designation was CT for Communications (Cryptologic) Technician. I graduated from USNCTC in June 1966 and was sent to the Naval Communications Station at San Miguel, Philippines. San Miguel was located about 25 miles north of Subic Bay, which was the most active naval station located outside the United States.
Due to the Vietnam War, our communications station at San Miguel was the busiest communications station in the Navy throughout the world. Our areas of communications expertise varied widely from Morse Code operators to linguists trained in the Vietnamese, Chinese and Russian languages.
In February 1967, I was sent TAD to Da Nang, Vietnam, to fly as a crew member with VQ-1. VQ-1, headquartered at Atsugi, Japan, was assigned to fly support missions of our bombing strikes against North Vietnam. The operation was known as Operation Rolling Thunder. Our planes were the EC-121, a converted Super Constellation passenger plane. The planes were equipped with various electronic equipment and a crew of approximately 30 sailors and Marines. We flew near the North Vietnamese port of Haiphong. Our planes had the capability of determining the position of our pilots who were shot down during their bombing mission. We had the capability of detecting the position of surface-to=air missiles (SAMs), and relaying the info to our pilots and ships located in the Tonkin Gulf.
I served at Da Nang for six months and then transferred back to San Miguel in the Philippines. In November 1967, I received orders to the National Security Agency (NSA) for the remainder of my four-year hitch. I was released from active duty in November 1969. I was awarded the Air Medal, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, Vietnamese Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and National Defense Service ribbon for my naval service. My rate at the time of my release from active duty was PO2 (CT2) or E-5.
My four years in the Navy were the most memorable four years of my life. I made some life-long friends, and the time and experience in the Navy matured me immensely and made me proud that I was an American.

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