72-73 Tolovana Cruise Book
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USS TOLOVANA A0-64 WESTPAC 72-73 WHEN I'M SIXTY FOUR 1(/~ '7 ,a oUe,i ~ H«! 44Ui ~ ~ ~ IUJl,V., 1(/ttt, tpUt, 4Utt de ~ ~ a ~' ~~~'~°'~? 1(1~ 'J'e1e dee. oett tat ~ °' thtu, 1flo«td tpJ«, 6,d de UM? 1(/ttt tpJ«, 4Utt ,eeed ~ 1(/dt "14« 4Utt lad ~ 1ll~ 'J'm Stw, ?tUVl-? ~eattu, AY USS TOLOVANA (A0-64) 1972-1973 WESTPAC CRUISE BOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication .. .. ....... ...... ..... ... ....... .. ... ... ......... ... ..... .... ... 3 Ship's Photo and History .... ..... .... .. ... .... ... .. ...... ................. 4 Commanding Officer ......... ...... ............................. .. ............. .. .... 6 E xecutive Officer .................... .. ........ .. ..... ..... ........................ 8 The Crew . .... .. ..... .. ....... .......... ..... ... .. ... ... .... ....... .............. 9 Engineering Department .... ......... .. .. ......... ....... .. ... .......... ...... 10 Operations Depart ment .. ... .. .. .. ..................... ....... ...... .......... 22 N a.vigation Department ..... ....... ...... ... .................... ............. .... 34 Deck Department ......... .. .... ...... .. ........ .. .......... .. ... .... ..... .... 36 Supply Departme nt . ............................................................... 44 The Officers ............. ..... .... .... ......... .... .... .... .. .. .......... .. 54 Ca rrying the Load . , ... ... .. ............. .. .... .. ... .. ...................... 59 The Good, The Ba.d a.nd the Ugly .. .. ... , , ... .. ................................ ..... 65 Mystery Model . ....... ............ .. .................................. .. ......... 69 Faces in the Crowd . ... .. ..... .. .. ... ...... ...... .. ........ ... ..... 70 Hong Kong .... .. ................ .. ....... ... ... ............ .. .. ................ 72 Japan .. ............ ................. ........ .... ... .. .... ... ...... .. ...... 73 Off Duty . ... .... ...... ... ... .... .................. ... ......... ............ 74 Philippines . ... ..... .. ... ......... ....... .. ... .. ..... .. .. .. ... 76 Taiwan .. ... .. .. ........... ...... .... .. .... .................................. 77 Facts and Figures ..... ...... .... ... .... ............ .... ..... .. .... ........ .. 78 In Closing . ..... .. .. ..... .... ..... ....... ....... ..... .. .. .. ......... 79 Cruise Book Staff ...... ........ ...... .. ............... ... ......... ... ... ..... .. 80 2 DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE 1(/hfe "/',,,_ ja,,. ~ ~ ~, "/ ~ tt'4, hvu(, ""' ,o«,, 'Ce.«UUe tt'4, hvu(, '61r- ~, ,4,ut tk ~ ~ i4 fe4t ~ ~ Ead ~ ~ ~ '16 to dut, 1(/~ a &ttl.e ~ pn. ~, ,4,ut tat alt tu 4,(4,u a4'w., 7~ u ~ u tk o«e "/ ~- '1/t,4 '1/t,4s ~ tAe "',4'1),4 s 3 HISTORY OF THE USS TOLOVANA (A0-64) Named after the Tolovana River in Alaska, our s hip may be. Of all the important needs that exist. the most was built by the Bethlehem Ship Building Company at vital is that or fuel. The mission of the veteran USS Sparrows Point, Maryland. She was originally com TOLOVANA. and of all Service F orce Fleet Oilers. is to missioned as a Military Sea T ransportation Service :.upply and sustain this lifeblood to the F leet. Tanker on 24 February. 1945, and served in the Pacific Since 1951. the USS TOLOVANA has been an ac during the fi nal stages or World War Two. Ear ly in 195 I . tive unit o r the P acific Fleet. Her last deployment which the ship was converted to a Fleet Oiler and in May 1951, ended in May 1973, was her nineteenth to the Wester n she was commissioned in the United States Navy as USS Pacific. In 1972- 1973. the USS TOLOVANA was TOLOVANA (A0-64). deployed in support or Vietnam operations fo r a period of As a unit of the Service Force, U. S. Pacific F leet, eight and one-half months. During t hat time s he USS TOLOVANA helps solve the continuous problem of replenished 178 s hips and transferred approximately 21 logistic suppor t . The solution involves the tr ansport of million gallons of fuel. supplies to the striking forces, however far r emoved they COMMANDING OFFICER Commander Carrol McDermitt was born in Joplin , his Masters Degree in Natural Science in 1967 from the Missouri, and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He University of Oklahoma in off duty hours. attended the University of Oklahoma and received his From 1967 to 1969 he served as Assistant Director commission through the NROTC in 1956. His first major of Study and Special Projects on the Staff of Commander assignment was Instructor at the Naval Academy in Chin Naval Reserve Training Command in Omaha, Nebraska. Hae, Korea, followed by a tour with Fleet Activities. In August of 1969, Commander McDermitt was Yokosuka, Japan. Commander McDermitt was an Inac ordered to USS REGULUS (AF-57) as Executive Officer. tive Duty Reservist in Oklahoma City and wa.s reca.lled as During his tour he deployed twice to the Western Pacific. a TAR (Training and Administration Naval Reserve). On He most recently completed a tour at Twelfth Naval returning to active Naval Service, be served as District Headquarters where he was Director, Programs Navigator and Operations Officer in USS ROCKBRIDGE Management Division. He assumed command of the USS (APA-228). He was spot promoted to Lieutenant Com TOLOVANA (A0-64) in May of 1972. mander while serving in this dual capacity. Commander McDermitt is married to the former In May 1965, Commander McDermitt returned to Opal Jane Smith of Oklahoma City. They have three Norman, Oklahoma., and assumed command of the Naval children: Charley Miller, James Arthur and Thomas and Marine Corps Reserve Training Center. He received Edward. EXECUTIVE OFFICER Lieutenant Commander Robert Sagehorn, USN, was born in San Francisco and r aised in the Bay Area. H e graduated from the California Maritime Academy in 1959 with a degree in Marine Engineering. H e also received a Bachelor of Arts in Inter national Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate S chool in Monterey, California. Befor e coming to USS TOLOVANA as the E xecutive Officer. Lieutenant Com mander Sagehor n served on USS GENESEE (AOG-8), USS NAVARRO (APA-215), a nd USS COWELL (DD-547). In addition, he served with the U. S. Naval Advisory Group in Vietnam. Lieutenant Commander Sagehorn is married to the former Maxine Toby of San Francisco. They have a fo ur year old daughter, Elizabeth Anna. 8 THE CREW 9 ENGINEERING 10 11 A DIVISION The Fresh Air Snipes are primarily concerned with the maintenance of the deck machinery, the liquid cargo transfer pumps and the air conditioners, especially those in Radio Central, CIC, and the Captain's bedroom. We take care of the steering engines which aim us where we want to go and sometimes where we don't. "A Gang" is also responsible for the maintenance of t he ship's boats which are sometimes used to take the crew ashore on liberty (what's that?). In addition to keeping the crew cool, we provide hot water fo r holiday showers, laundry equipment for clean clothes and galley equip ment for our meals. l? 13 B DIVISION W ay down below decks in the bowels of the ship, we Things r eally get hectic when the junior officers find the " Snipes" of B Division. The Boil er T enders. or decide to practice man overboard drills. The BT's in the Boiler Technicians, as t he people in Washington call fireroom must desperately try to keep the tops on the them. are usually found at work trying to boil water into boilers when the bell goes from all a head flank to all stop. steam to make the "Leaky T" move from one place to the This may sound like a very dull and uninspiring way other. to earn a paycheck but there isn't a s mile in t he world that When the old Tolovana is steaming·. things are pret can match the s mile on a BT"s face when he walks topside ty routine and it is a good time to catch up on for morning quarters a.nd sees the entire cargo deck maintena nce and preservation. When she gets inport a.nd cover ed with soot and the boatswain's mate jumping up goes cold iron, the BT's are busily tearing down and and down in rage. cleaning the four huge teapots. 14 '"' C AND R DIVISION A GANG CALLED C & R Well. t he "T" left home on her 19th cruise Filling out the ranks were some other lads, In a hail of tears and a shot of booze. Lovingly branded the undergrads, Off to Westpac to defend her name, BoBo, Griego, Brown a nd Heath. Ther e's a hot blooded bunch among her crew of men. Trying to control t his ball of tension Not many places they haven't built or been, Was Motley and the strong legged chief called J e nsen T he C & R gang of cargo pumping fame. Untimely, Lorenz a nd Buck were lost. Ol' Little Joe. he'd give a nod Then Sniffy departed at quite a cost. And Pierce would produce a welding rod. But the gang stroked on in their usual spiffy way. The toughest challenge was always within reach. They left gorged hulls in their haze grey path, You could tell One Way was still on track, Baptized a few with a black oil bath, By the smile he wore when he fi nally got back And set the record in obstacle deck relay. From his thunderous assault on every beach. Constantly confronted with many jobs: Flying high above the West Pac hussle, Winches, commodes and several door knobs. A powerful image of grace and muscle T hey still managed to find some time to roam, Was Woodstock, the best dressed sailor of the year. Keeping one eye on the QM's charts, Along with Red, a fairly likeable guy, And the other on pictures of missed sweetheart s. They g r ew a sense of unity a.nd a feel for P.I., As t hey flus hed their systems with black oil and beer. 1. 17 E DIVISION The Electricians and the IC men are in E Division. Their underway watch is stood on the main boarp., where the electricity is generated. In ad dition to providing the ship with all its electricity, the men of E Division are also r esponsible for the underwater log, the gyrocompass, the sound powered phones, the fire and flushing pump, the main circulating pumps, and the precious air conditioners. 19 M DIVISION In the hot engineering spaces aboard the "Leaky T ", we find our way to the maze of pipes, valves, gauges and machinery of the Engineroom. The Machinist Mates of M Division move the ship by routing the steam made by the BT's to the tur bines.