DOCSLIB.ORG

Antarctic Deep Freeze Oral History Project Interview with Charles A

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Antarctic Deep Freeze Oral History Project Interview with Charles A Antarctic Deep Freeze Oral History Project Interview with Charles A. Bevilacqua, CWO4, CEC USN (Ret.) conducted on August 3, 1999, by Dian O. Belanger DOB: Today is the 3rd of August, 1999. I'm Dian Belanger. I'm speaking with Charles Bevilacqua about his experiences during Deep Freeze I. Good morning, Charlie. Thanks so much for talking with me. CB: Good morning to you, Dian, and I certainly welcome you to Meredith, New Hampshire, and especially to my home here on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee. I've been looking forward to this interview for a long time and I'm glad you're here and on such a beautiful day. DOB: Thank you, Charlie. Start by telling me just real briefly, Charlie, a little bit about your background: where you grew up, where you went to school, what you decided to do with your life, and in particular anything that might suggest you'd end up in a place like Antarctica. CB: Okay! I was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, on the 8th of June, 1930, and went to the schools in Woburn, Massachusetts, graduating in 1948. Immediately after graduating, I joined the United States Navy Seabees and went right into training. Immediately after my training I went overseas to the island of Guam, then into Korea as a youngster ill- trained for a war in Korea, but there I was. I then did a year tour with a Seabee detachment on Moen Island, Truk Atoll, Eastern Caroline Islands. My next Seabee deployment was to Subic Bay, Philippines, July 1951 to August 1952. By now I was a builder second class (BU2) with a lot of building experience and Quonset hut erection. The next Seabee tour was back to Guam, Mariana Islands, more construction and promotion to builder first class (BU1). In high school my training was in the vocational trade in the carpentry business and I did a little carpentry before I went into the Seabees, so the Seabees was the natural service to go into. I wanted to be a Seabee rather than a sailor on a ship. And I pretty well thought I knew I was going to stay in for at least twenty years, anyway. I didn't think I'd stay in thirty years, but anyway, I'm glad for the experience. My father was tragically murdered in 1933, leaving my wonderful mother with me three years old and brother Albert two years old. We grew up on welfare with less than nothing during the Depression years in cold winter, rat-infested homes in Woburn, Mass. We both enlisted in the U.S. Navy Seabees and both retired as commissioned officers— my brother as a full commander, and I as a chief warrant officer (W4). DOB: How did you learn about opportunities for you in Antarctica? CB: I started hearing about this in 1955 through Navy papers and really wasn't too interested in it until I started seeing more and more articles. And then the men assigned to Charles Bevilacqua Interview, August 3, 1999 2 Antarctica began coming to Davisville . I was at Davisville, Rhode Island, the Seabee base, and getting ready to go on another deployment when I really rated shore duty, and I was now a first class petty officer. The Korean War was over, and I was looking for something further to enhance my career. I knew that an expedition going to Antarctica would certainly help my career. I started inquiring about it, and when I started inquiring about it I started reading all the books I could on Antarctica and reading about Admiral Byrd, Amundsen, and Scott and the different other expeditions. The more I read the more I became interested. Up to that point in time, most of my deployments had been into the warmer climates, into the South Pacific, the islands of Truk and Guam and the Philippines were all warm climates. But I grew up in Massachusetts and skied in New Hampshire and I figured well, it may be a little bit colder in Antarctica, so I can tolerate it down there. But I was very disappointed to find out when I really started getting interested that they were all filled up and they did not need another first class petty officer builder type. But I persisted. I kept going up to the MCB (Special) headquarters and keep inquiring around until I finally talked with a Lieutenant Dan Slosser who was really a line officer. He wasn't a Seabee, but I found out that they were going to build Quonset huts at McMurdo Sound. I really wanted to go to Little America because that's where Admiral Byrd had been and all the history was there and didn't want to really go to McMurdo, but the Quonset huts were going to be built at McMurdo. And I came to find out that nobody really knew much about how to build Quonset huts and I was sort of, for a youngster, pretty much an expert on Quonset hut erection. DOB: How did you get to be an expert building Quonset huts? CB: By building Quonset huts in the South Pacific on the islands of Guam and Korea and down in Truk in the Caroline Islands. It seemed as though everywhere I went we had to build those damn Quonset huts. And I say "damn" Quonset huts because they were beautiful, great buildings, strong and durable, but they were very difficult to build, and I wished I'd never, ever see another Quonset hut in my life to have to build. It was not so hard to erect the framework, but to nail on the metal corrugated sheeting was very hard on hands and fingers. I still cringe at the thought. But talking to Dan Slosser, I mentioned that I knew how to build Quonset huts, and he was immediately interested in this because nobody knew much about these metal Quonset huts—not many on active duty had built them. So he started questioning me, and he got out a set of prints and I said, "I don't even need a set of prints. You can ask me anything about those Quonset huts you want to. I don't need a set of prints to build one of them." So he started asking me questions off the print, and I had all the answers for him. They passed the word and they said, "Hey. We've got a Seabee who knows how to build Quonset huts. But if you go, you're going to go to McMurdo and not Little America." I said, "Well, okay. That's fine with me. I'll go to McMurdo." Charles Bevilacqua Interview, August 3, 1999 3 And then I became especially interested in going to McMurdo when I found out that the contingent that was at McMurdo and wintered over were going to be the ones that went to the South Pole. And I really wanted to go to the geographic South Pole. So everything was falling into place, and before I knew it MCB (Special) saw to it that I got my orders changed to MCB (Special) to go to Antarctica and I was going to be the great Quonset hut builder expert. Damn! DOB: Okay. Did you know much about Antarctica before you started reading about it in the 1950s? CB: No, I did not. As I say, I was a youngster right out of high school, joined the Navy, entered the Seabees, and had very little inkling about Antarctica. Operation Highjump had gone on before I went in the service. That was in '47, and I knew very little about that. I was more interested in sports and girls than I was in what the U.S. Navy was doing in Antarctica. DOB: So you were in Davisville in the summer of 1955. What did you do there to prepare you for this experience? CB: Other than going up and being a pest of myself to MCB (Special) and anybody that I could talk to, really not very much because I was getting ready to go on another deployment elsewhere. I was going to go back to Cuba or someplace. I don't remember where I was going to go. DOB: So you didn't have an assignment as part of the preparations for Operation Deep Freeze. CB: Oh. After I got assigned to it, then I got in with the training, and my particular job there, my big job there, was to build maplewood wooden sleds. I was a carpenter and I was really good in the woodworking shop, and this was another good trade that I had. So I was assigned to the public works carpenter shop to build the sleds that were going to be towed behind the Weasels. Not the dog sleds or the big heavy sleds that were going to be towed behind the tractors, but they wanted some sleds that were going to be made out of beautiful maple lumber and lashed together with rawhide. This was no problem for me. I was just a natural in the woodworking shop, so I was a natural and a good asset to MCB (Special) in that case. I hadn't even gotten to the Quonset huts yet. But I was a natural, and the sleds came out beautiful and I just wish that I could've found some and had one today. They were great tow sleds to put behind the Weasels. DOB: Did you have any cold weather survival training? Charles Bevilacqua Interview, August 3, 1999 4 CB: I did not have any cold weather survival training other than what I knew from New Hampshire and Massachusetts in my previous skiing as a youngster.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Explorer's Gazette
    EEXXPPLLOORREERR’’SS GAZETTE GAZETTE Published Quarterly in Pensacola, Florida USA for the Old Antarctic Explorers Association Uniting All OAEs in Perpetuating the History of U.S. Navy Involvement in Antarctica Volume 8, Issue 1 Old Antarctic Explorers Association, Inc Jan-Mar 2008 MV American Term at McMurdo Ice Pier 2008 US Navy Cargo Handling Battalion One Deployment Compiled by Billy-Ace Baker ach year, a tanker and a container ship from the Cargo Handling Battalion, it wouldn’t get offloaded”. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) make the “Those Sailors are absolutely essential in the operation.” E difficult journey through icy waters to McMurdo. Offloading these life-sustaining supplies to McMurdo These ships carry 100 percent of the fuel and more than 70 Station is critical—and there is only a small window of time percent of the food, scientific equipment, and other supplies during Antarctica's round-the-clock sunlight to accomplish that the station needs to operate. MSC has participated in the mission. If it doesn't get done, the entire Antarctica Operation Deep Freeze every year since McMurdo was mission would be forced to shut down. established in 1955. The United States established its largest permanent According to Rick Appling, a spokesperson for the station at McMurdo, which is a cluster of metal huts that MSC: “We can get the cargo there, but without the Navy See: Cargo Handling Battalion on page 4. E X P L O R E R ‘ S G A Z E T T E V O L U M E 8, I S S U E 1 J A N − M A R 2 0 0 8 P R E S I D E N T ’ S C O R N E R John Lamont West—OAEA President TO ALL OAEs—As we move into 2008 the Fourth OAEA Symposium/Reunion to be held in Pensacola, FL is fast approaching.
    [Show full text]
  • Explorer's Gazette
    EEXXPPLLOORREERR’’SS GGAAZZEETTTTEE Published Quarterly in Pensacola, Florida USA for the Old Antarctic Explorers Association Uniting All OAEs in Perpetuating the Memory of United States Involvement in Antarctica Volume 15, Issue 1 Old Antarctic Explorers Association, Inc Jan-Mar 2015 —Photo by Mary Stortstrom John Strider With His Print of the Famous Landing FIRST AMERICAN TO SET FOOT ON THE GEOGRAPHIC SOUTH POLE RECALLS DETAILS OF HIS EXPERIENCE Story by Mary Stortstrom The then-25-year-old Strider joined the newly The Journal Martinsburg West Virginia commissioned Air Development Squadron Six (VX-6) for 15 March 2015 the military mission, Operation Deep Freeze, a mission to Edited by Billy-Ace Baker support scientist during the International Geophysical Year. From Tennessee, Strider and the other men in VX-6 flew n the comfort of the Elmcroft senior living center, 85-year- to Alameda, California, from there to Hawaii, then Canton, I old John Philip Strider, retired US Navy chief petty the Christmas Islands, Fiji, and finally Christchurch, New officer, can still recall every detail of the historic Operation Zealand, the unit's last stop before flying to Antarctica. Deep Freeze II expedition to Antarctica. “Getting there was the big thing,” Strider said. “We had Strider said he remembers sitting and sharing a meal with to stop for gas, but we never stopped for crew rest because a few other members of his unit stationed in Tennessee in we had a big enough crew that we just slept on the plane and May of 1955 and hearing that the Bureau of Navy Personnel relieved each other of duties.” was looking for volunteers to go to Antarctica.
    [Show full text]
  • Pragmatism and Cooperation: Canadian-American Defence Activities in the Arctic, 1945-1951
    Pragmatism and Cooperation: Canadian-American Defence Activities in the Arctic, 1945-1951 by Peter Kikkert A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts In History Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2009 © Peter Kikkert 2009 Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract During the early Cold War, as the Soviet menace placed Canada in between two hostile superpowers, the Canadian government decided to take steps to ensure that its sovereignty and national interests were not threatened by the Americans in the new strategic environment. This study examines the extent to which the Canadian government actually defended its sovereignty and rights against American intrusions in the early Cold War. At its core is an examination of the government’s policy of gradual acquisition in the Arctic between 1945 and 1951. This thesis explores the relationships that existed at the time, the essence of the negotiations, the state of international law and the potential costs and benefits of certain Canadian courses of action. It also explains how Canada’s quiet diplomacy allowed it to avoid alienating its chief ally, contribute to continental defence, and strengthen its sovereignty during this period. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Whitney Lackenbauer, for his insight, constant encouragement and advice.
    [Show full text]
  • USCGC Glacier (WAGB-4)
    NATIONAL REGISTER ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENT VESSEL: USS Glacier (AGB-4) USCGC Glacier (WAGB-4) USCGC Glacier underway circa 1966-1972. Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard. The icebreaker Glacier. Vessel History The former U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Glacier is an oceangoing icebreaker that was originally designed and constructed for the U.S. Navy in the mid-1950s. In 1966, Glacier was transferred to the Coast Guard. Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi began constructing the icebreaker in August 1953 and delivered the ship to the U.S. Navy in May 1955. It was named for Glacier Bay, Alaska, and was the fourth ship to carry this name. After its initial shakedown cruise, Glacier sailed from its homeport of Boston, Massachusetts as Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s flagship bound for the Antarctic as part of Operation Deep Freeze I1 in late 1955. It reached the 1 Operation Deep Freeze I was the codename for a series of scientific expeditions to Antarctica in 1955-56. The impetus behind the expeditions was the International Geophysical Year 1957-58. IGY was a collaborative effort of 40 nations to study the North and South Poles and points in between. Their goal was to advance knowledge of Antarctic hydrography and weather systems, glacial movements, and marine life. The U.S. Navy was charged with supporting the U.S. scientists for their portion of the IGY studies. 2 Ross Ice Pack in December where it smashed through thick ice “carving” out a harbor in Kainan Bay for ships delivering materials, supplies, and labor for the construction of Little America V.2 After clearing a channel and leading a group of ships to Kainan Bay, Glacier headed toward the Ross Ice Shelf to assist in the construction of a naval air station at McMurdo Sound.
    [Show full text]
  • Explorer's Gazette
    EEXXPPLLOORREERR’’SS GAZETTE GAZETTE Published Quarterly in Pensacola, Florida USA for the Old Antarctic Explorers Association Uniting All OAEs in Perpetuating the Memory of United States Involvement in Antarctica Volume 13, Issue 2 Old Antarctic Explorers Association, Inc Apr-Jun 2013 —Photo by Elaine Hood/NSF Brandon “Shaggy” Neahusan explains the vision for rebuilding McMurdo Station over the next 15 years. Antarctic Deep Freeze Association Reunion New Orleans 2013 by Elaine Hood working in McMurdo was the last year the Navy was there, Easy Fun in the Big Easy 1998. I’ve been a member of ADFA since learning about its existence almost ten years ago. I have not missed an ADFA The Big Easy, New Orleans, was the destination of dozens reunion since my first one and always look forward to seeing of Deep Freeze veterans June 18–21. And the living was familiar faces and laughing at good stories. easy due to the prime location of the Hyatt Hotel in the French Quarter, as it was located right on Bourbon Street. Reunion The nightlife on Bourbon Street never stops and it is always Bill Stroup and his son Robert were our hosts for the worth a walk just to see what trouble you need to stay away biennial Antarctic Deep Freeze Association reunion. Robert from. kept the bar well stocked in the hospitality room that always My name is Elaine Hood and I work for the civilian serves as the central meeting point. contractor to the US Antarctic Program. My first year Continued on page 4. E X P L O R E R ‘ S G A Z E T T E V O L U M E 13, I S S U E 2 A P R J U N 2 0 1 3 P R E S I D E N T ’ S C O R N E R Laura Snow—OAEA President FELLOW OAEA MEMBERS: In this first letter to you from the President’s Corner I am providing you with information regarding recent decisions by the board of directors.
    [Show full text]
  • Shipmates on Parade USS Rankin (AKA-103)
    Shipmates on Parade USS Rankin (AKA-103) Table of Contents Year Rank/ Years PDF Name Born Rate Aboard Page Lawson P. "Red" Ramage .... 1909 ......CAPT ...........1953-1954 ..................... 3 Roland “Drew” Miller .......... 1922 ......LTJG(MC) .....1946-1947 ..................... 5 Elmer Mayes ........................ 1925 ......HMC ............1962-1965 ..................... 6 Fernando "Fred" Golingan .. 1925 ......SD3 .............1952-1957 ..................... 7 Paul Allen ............................ 1926 ......ENS (SC) ......1946-1947 ..................... 8 Hillyer “Billy” Head .............. 1926 ......S2C ..............1945 ............................ 13 Melvin Munch ..................... 1926 ......S1C ..............1946 ............................ 17 Tom Jones ........................... 1926 ......S1C ..............1945-1946 ................... 18 Lucien Trigiano .................... 1926 ......ENS .............1945-1946 ................... 19 Harry Berry .......................... 1928 ......EM3 ............1946-1947 ................... 21 Ed Gaskell ............................ 1928 ......LT ................1954-1956 ................... 24 Billy M. Weckwerth ............. 1928 ......MM3 ...........1946-1947 ................... 25 Dennis Heenan .................... 1929 ......LTJG ............1952-1953 ................... 27 Bob Hilley ............................ 1929 ......ENS/LTJG .....1952-1953 ................... 29 Vern Smith........................... 1929 ......ENS/LTJG .....1956-1958 ................... 31
    [Show full text]
  • Explorer's Gazette
    EEXXPPLLOORREERR’’SS GAZETTE GAZETTE Published Quarterly in Pensacola, Florida USA for the Old Antarctic Explorers Association Uniting All OAEs in Perpetuating the History of U.S. Navy Involvement in Antarctica Volume 7, Issue 2 Old Antarctic Explorers Association, Inc Apr-Jun 2007 San Diego, California Night Launch of USNS Richard E. Byrd USNS Richard E. Byrd, (T-AKE-4) Launching Ceremony Compiled by Billy-Ace Baker Laura Kissel, Byrd Polar Research Center, and OAEA President, John Lamont West, contributed to this article. HE SECOND SHIP TO BE NAMED IN HONOR OF THE region by air in May 1926. He was awarded the Medal of FAMOUS Navy polar explorer was launched on 15 Honor for the flight. Two and a half years later, Byrd began T May 2007 in San Diego, CA at the NASSCO his first expedition to Antarctica. He commanded the first Shipyard. The U.S Navy’s newest re-supply ship, flight over the South Pole on 29 November 1929. Byrd USNS Richard E. Byrd is a dry cargo/ammunition ship completed four more expeditions to the Antarctic continent designed and built by General Dynamics. The mission of the over the next 26 years, including Operation Deep Freeze in ship will be to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare 1955 the IGY expedition that established seven U.S. stations parts, potable water, and petroleum products to strike groups in Antarctica . and other naval forces. Speakers at the launching ceremony included The A 1912 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a Honorable Donald C. Winter, Secretary of the Navy; Naval Aviator, Byrd (1888–1957), explored the North Pole See: Byrd Launching on page 4.
    [Show full text]
  • WAGNERJR-THESIS-2018.Pdf
    HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY PARTICIPATION IN OPERATION DEEP FREEZE ___________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History Sam Houston State University ___________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts ___________ by Dale LaForest Wagner Jr. May 2018 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY PARTICIPATION IN OPERATION DEEP FREEZE by Dale LaForest Wagner Jr. ___________ APPROVED: Nicholas Pappas, PhD Committee Director Jeremiah Dancy, PhD Committee Member James S. Olson, PhD Committee Member Abbey Zink, PhD Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences DEDICATION I dedicate my thesis to my wife Mary Beth and daughter Sarah, without whom this would not have been possible. I am forever in your debt for allowing me this opportunity to pursue my dream. I am grateful for my parents, Dale and Mary Wagner, and to my many teachers and professors Benton Cain, Andrew Orr and Jeffrey Littlejohn to name but a few who have pushed me to do my best over the many years of my education. To my friends and church family who have supported me as well, I appreciate all you have done as well. iii ABSTRACT Wagner, Dale L., History of the United States Military Participation in Operation Deep Freeze. Master of Arts (History), May 2018, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas. In 1955, the longest non-combat military operation in United States history began; it continues to this day. Operation Deep Freeze began in support of the then upcoming International Geophysical Year (IGY), but it went beyond when the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • A Design Study for a Polar Icebreaker
    A DESIGN STUDY FOR A POLAR ICEBREAKER RALPH C. HELL JOSEPH I.. COBURN, JR. LIBRARY U.S. NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY. CALIFORNIA A DESIGN STUDY FOR A POLAR ICEBREAKER by RALPH C. HILL, LIEUTENANT, U.S. COAST GUARD B.S., U.S. Coast Guard Academy (1955) and JOSEPH L. COBURN, JR., LIEUTENANT, U.S. COAST GUARD B.S., U.S. Coast Guard Academy (1955) SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF NAVAL ENGINEER AND THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE AND MARINE ENGINEERING at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY June 1961 Signatures of Authors Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, 20 May 1961 Certified by Thesis Supervisor Accepted by Chairman, Departmental Committee on Graduate Students ffyx^H\NC- ^xj \ . Library U. S. Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, ( lalifornia A DESIGN STUDY FOR A POLAR ICEBREAKER, by RALPH C. HILL and JOSEPH L. COBURN, JR. Submitted to the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering on 20 May 1961 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and the Professional Degree, Naval Engineer. ABSTRACT Theoretical and conceptual investigations are made of several aspects of icebreaker design. In particular, the following items are investigated thoroughly: (1) An expression for icebreaking force was derived by Vinogradov. His approach is followed, and the effects on icebreaking force of several variables are investigated. It is found that an approximately linear relationship ex- ists between this force and both displacement and thrust- to-displacement ratio. (2) A stern shape for a triple screw icebreaker is de- veloped.
    [Show full text]
  • Patrick "Rediron" Mccormick Memoir
    DEEP FREEZE I AND DEEP FREEZE II, 1955 - 1957 A MEMOIR BY Patrick “Rediron” McCormick INTRODUCTION I am very proud and consider myself privileged to have taken part in Operation Deep Freeze I which occurred nearly a lifetime ago. This memoir is intended to convey my personal observations and involvement in that adventure. I have concentrated on the life and efforts at McMurdo Station and The South Pole Station because I was a Seabee and that’s where I was. McMurdo Station was then known as Williams Air Operating Facility (WilliamsAIROPFAC), The South Pole Station is now known as Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Those stations were and are commonly referred to as McMurdo and The Pole. Although I have entitled this my memoir, it really is the memoir of all ninety-three members of the 1956 McMurdo Station winter-over party, the finest group of men I have ever been associated with. This memoir would not be possible without having access to the Narrative Log Williams Air Operating Facility McMurdo Sound, Antarctica as written by LCDR David W. Canham Jr., USNR and Robert L. Chaudoin, YN1, USN and the South Pole Station Daily Narrative commencing October 13,1956, and ending January 20,1957, as written by LTJG Richard A. Bowers, CEC, USN. Both documents are available and can be viewed on The Antarctican Society website. According to proper U. S. Navy protocol all officers below the rank of Commander are addressed as Mister followed by their last name. Mr. Canham, the Officer in Charge at McMurdo Station, and Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Excerpt from a Remembrance of USS ARNEB AKA-56 in Operation Blue
    Excerpts from a Remembrance of USS ARNEB AKA-56 in Operation Blue Jay By Floyd Shannon Moser / Engineman E-5 --USS Arneb AKA-56 In May 1951 we were assigned to an Operation coded Blue Jay. At US NAVAL Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. we were given cold weather operations training and indoctrination. Just before I was assigned to my ship, USS ARNEB, AKA-56, we were not allowed to telephone anywhere /we were denied passes; we were told we were going to Korea!! USS ARNEB AKA-56 was converted to cold weather operations at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 1947-48 for a polar expedition to South Pole & was to be Admiral Richard Byrd’s' flagship of the expedition. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Antarctic expedition was postponed, and Arneb was assigned to the amphibious fleet at Little Creek, NORVA. None of the crew knew anything about "Operation blue-jay". After 2 weeks we went to Army Piers at Norfolk to begin loading cargo --2 bulldozers, 40 New Ford dump trucks, a forklift, barrels of diesel fuel, lube oil, and food (our ship carried 1200 tons of frozen food);. We set sail on June 10, 1951, not knowing our destination. I thought it was strange that we were northbound, if we were bound for Korea, for the Panama Canal is South of Norfolk. On June 13, 1951, At about 45° N. Lat., Capt. JT Hazen opened his orders and announced on the PA system that Arneb was headed for a place called Thule at the head of Baffin Bay in Greenland.; That we were to build a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base for the USAF.
    [Show full text]
  • COLCHESTER VERMONT from ICE CAP to INTERSTATE (Full Index)
    COLCHESTER VERMONT FROM ICE CAP TO INTERSTATE (full index) 1st Airborne Army (WW II) 247 7th Field Artillery Battalion 225, 232, 239, 247, 1st Armored Division (Korean War) 255 252, 253, 257 1st Division Army of Occupation (WW II) 248 7th Naval Construction Battalion (Korean War) 1st European Civil Affairs Regiment (WW II) 254 253 8th Air Force (WW II) 250 1st Infantry Division Band (Korean War) 255 8th Field Artillery Brigade (WW I) 232 1st Marine Corps Recruit Depot (Korean War) 8th Regiment (WW II) 247 254, 258 12th Special Services Co. (WW II) 246 1st Medical Squadron (WW II) 244 13th Engineering Combat Battalion (Korean 1st Medium Tank Battalion 169 War) 258 1st Training Group Quartermaster Replacement 14th Fighter Group 169 Training Center (Korean War) 257 16th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion (Korean 2d 155mm Gun Battalion (Korean War) 254 War) 257 2d Marine Division Company (Korean War) 16th Field Artillery Battalion (WW II) 253 254, 258 16th Infantry Regiment (WW II) 248 2d Shore Party Battalion (2nd Marine Div.) 254 18th Engineer Combat Battalion 246 2d Quartermaster Company (Korean War) 254, 19th amendment 132 255 19th U.S. Navy Fleet (WW II) 252 3d Marine Division (Korean War) 258 20th Air Force (WW II) 250 4-H 135, 164, 181 20th Armored Regiment (WW II) 239 4-H citizenship 181 22d Infantry Regiment (WW II) 250 4-H clubs 135, 181 23d Infantry Regiment (WW I) 228 4-H Gold Clover certificate 181 23rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (WW II) 4-H leader 181 240 4-H leadership 181 25th Air Depot Group (WW II) 243 4-H poultry project 181 25th Base Headquarters and Air Base (WW II) 4-H state dress revue (1941) 181 240 4-H'ers 164, 181 25th Tank Battalion (WW II) 253 4th Armoured Division (WW II) 239 25th Veterinary Hospital (WW I) 228 4th Army Division Band (WW II) 242 26th Infantry Division 136 4th Recruit Company (WW I) 227 27th Battalion U.S.
    [Show full text]