Gerald D. “Jerry” Luzum Assistant Vice President for Facilities Registered Professional Engineer In Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Facilities-Administration (1990-2000)

U. S Navy Captain (July 1961 –September 1990)

Born in Postville, Iowa. Graduated from Iowa State University in July 1961 with a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering and commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy Reserves. Three days after commissioning he was married to Rosemary Kelp in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Within a week he and Rosemary had to report to Port Hueneme, California, to attend a three month Civil Engineer Corps Training School.

On their way to California, they spent a three-day honeymoon at Yosemite National Park and learned the finer points of keeping a bear out of their tent.

His first assignment was that of a Project Manager for the Ship Repair Facility at Subic Bay, Philippines. This position’s responsibilities included coordinating the repair and maintenance of cranes and their tracks, roads, piers and wharfs. This job was especially challenging during the three-month monsoon season each year. Another challenge was to keep the locals from stealing the top rail of the many chain link fences they used as water pipes. However, there was the opportunity to travel to Baguio, Banoue (World Famous Rice Terraces), Japan and Hong Kong and snorkel in the beautiful bay. Rosemary, a non-swimmer when we arrived, took advantage of the nearby swimming pool and generally warm weather to become qualified as a swimming instructor and lifeguard. Jerry’s commanding officer held staff meetings at 4 PM on Wednesday at the golf course, which had such steep hills that rope tows were installed. Each player was allowed an additional club – the snake club (no explanation necessary). Rosemary baked donuts each Sunday morning, as there was no “local bakery.” Neighbors often invited themselves over for coffee and donuts. Due to her involvement in the base amateur theater, Rosemary was assigned as the dressing room assistant for Lana Turner, who was part of the Bob Hope USO show. Before leaving the PI, we ordered a VW bug from Hong Kong (at a cost of $1500), to be delivered to Boston, where Jerry had accepted orders after deciding to extend his active duty obligation.

At the First Naval District in Boston, he was responsible for the repair and maintenance of all antennas located in that District. This included the (VLF) Transmitter array located in Cutler, . There were actually two arrays suspended 1000 feet in the air, about 3000 feet in diameter. They were designed with a 60 Hz deicing circuit, so that each array could be deiced independently while the other transmitted. Each one could be lowered to the ground for repairs and maintenance. The transmitter operated at a frequency of 24 kHz with a power of 2 megawatts. At the time, it was the most powerful radio transmitter in the world. This transmitter provided radio signals to the Navy’s Atlantic submarine fleet while on the surface or submerged. Flights from Boston to Maine were often exciting, as the airplane (airline’s name withheld) door didn’t always close properly so it was wired shut. Jerry also became acquainted with the character of the local Maine residents when one of them demanded compensation because the antenna had turned his piano red. A quick thinking arbitrator assured the agitated man that a Navy antenna would have turned his piano BLUE (Navy colors are blue and gold) so there must be another explanation. Rosemary volunteered in the Navy Relief Office located in Jerry’s office building and shocked his civilian male co-workers when she continued to drive their VW right up to the time their son, Brian, was born. Jerry received a regular commission in the navy before leaving.

Next, he moved on to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where Jerry earned his Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering. This was an opportunity to visit more with family in Iowa, the closest we ever lived to them in his entire Navy career.

Then he received orders to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion THREE, home based in Port Hueneme, California. The summer trip across the western deserts in an un-air conditioned VW was memorable. Jerry joined the already deployed battalion at the Gia Le Combat Base located in the northern part (I Corps) of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) in the position of Company Commander. The Battalion had about 400 pieces of construction equipment and operated a quarry and batch plant. The unit was attached to the Third Marine Division, responsible for all their construction needs – roads and bridges, POL tank farms, runways, cantonments and utilities. The most unusual request was the construction of a runway made of soil cement – sand mixed with cement and water and compacted with rollers to form the runway surface. Unfortunately, the site was an old cemetery with over 11,000 graves. So the first task was to exhume the remains and rebury them at a new site with the aid of a Buddhist monk. The construction was completed in record time. This ended the first deployment and the Battalion rotated home for a brief period before going back for a second deployment. On the second deployment, the unit was assigned to the Combat Base in Da Nang South RVN. Our Executive Officer was wounded and had to be medivaced, resulting in all the officers moving up the ladder based on rank. Jerry became the Operations Officer, responsible for all construction by the 800 man Battalion during the 9 month deployment. Three of the more challenging projects were construction of the Liberty Bridge south of Da Nang, construction of the airfield at An Hoa, and construction of the Special Forces Operating Base at Nong Son. The bridge was designed to withstand the forces of being underwater during the monsoon season. The 700 foot bridge was built from both sides, meeting in the middle with about ½ inch to spare. The 3000 foot airfield at An Hoa had to be completed in 7 days. This meant 24/7 construction operations with the site lighted at night – an easy target for mortars and rockets. The construction schedule was met. Jerry led the 150 man crew and received a Bronze Star with Combat V. The third project was fairly simple had it not been for the fact that all construction equipment, material and crew had to be airlifted to the site using helicopters. In our free time, we built schools and medical facilities for the South Vietnam civilian towns and villages. So, despite the drawback of being in a combat zone, this deployment did put Jerry further ahead on the career ladder as his operations position called for him to be a Lieutenant Commander.

The family was then assigned to the Naval Security Group Activity at Kamiseya, Japan. Jerry was the Public Works Officer with a staff and workforce of about 210 to perform maintenance and repair to the facilities and antennas located at the base. Because of the limited amount of base housing, our first house was on the economy with a small living room (10x12 feet with 7 doors)/bedroom/kitchen, bathroom and 5 gallon hot water heater for showers. Base housing was then available in Yokohama – about 45 minutes distant. Eventually, we moved to Atsugi Air Station (home base for WII Kamikaze pilots), into a housing unit previously used by U-2 pilots. Our second child, Eric, was born at the Naval Hospital in Yokosuka. Rosemary had the job of traveling with the children to various photography modeling jobs – both boys were blond, blue-eyed tykes, ideal for the European advertising market, which Japan could do cheaper than any European country. They had several jobs for Seiko and various toy companies. Rosemary and Jerry taught English to National Cash Register executives. We also got to visit the Winter Olympic Games in 1972 in Sapporo. As a part of the Olympics, huge ice/snow sculptures filled a whole block in downtown Sapporo. As a farewell gift Jerry’s employees took both of them for an overnight stay at a ryokan (Japanese hotel) and treated us to fresh fish. In fact, it was so fresh that it lived in a large tank until being filleted at the dining table. Unfortunately, it was not quite dead and flopped from the serving dish into Rosemary’s lap much to the embarrassment of our hosts.

Jerry then attended the University of Rochester where he earned his Masters Degree in Systems Analysis. Rosemary kept busy with the two boys and our daughter, Keira, who was born at Strong Memorial Hospital.

The payback for this education was a tour in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) as a budget analyst for the Navy Military Construction appropriation program. In order to stay in Washington for the children’s education, Jerry took another tour as the financial analyst for all Navy operating accounts and major construction at the Chief of Naval Material. Deciding that this was an extra layer of bureaucracy, the CNO disestablished the office after only a year after Jerry’s arrival.

Jerry was reassigned to the Naval Facilities Engineering Command as the Program Manager for Electronic Facilities. The task was to locate an area large enough to build the antenna for the Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) transmitter. This change to a lower frequency was necessitated because ballistic missile submarines were patrolling at a greater depth than before. At this new depth, the VLF signal could not reach the submarines, so a lower frequency (below 100 Hz) signal was needed for them to patrol undetected and still be in constant radio contact. Ideally, the transmitting antenna had to be placed in an area of the Laurentian rock formation with an area large enough to install a 55 mile long cable to carry the signal. This rock formation is found in the northern states of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The lack of support from local citizens to lease their land for this purpose required the team to look at Public land out west, at the bombing range at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The team set up a trailer at each location to provide information on the project. At Nellis, the challenge was to avoid all the unexploded ordnance on the bombing range and deal with base personnel who really didn’t want the Navy facility built there. Sagebrush proved to be an unexpected hazard. One day the team was combing the range for unexploded ordinance when it’s caravan of vehicles passed over some sagebrush, starting a prairie fire. A local brothel was located just outside the boundary of the range and was in the fire’s path. Jerry notified the owner of the establishment, his boss and the Public Affairs Office in Washington, sure that the news media would learn of the problem. Fortunately, fire extinguishers on board the vehicles were able to quickly put out the fire, but it did make the 6 PM news in Las Vegas, that the Navy almost burned down the Fleur-de-lis, the local brothel . White Sands was a much easier area to survey. Only missile debris to deal with and the base was very accepting of a possible tenant to share the burden of base operating costs. In the end, the Navy decided to build the transmitter in Clam Lake, Wisconsin, site of the original test facility, with a 55 mile antenna radiating from this site. Rosemary and the children joined Jerry for the summer at Las Vegas and White Sands. Las Vegas was definitely not a family oriented place. We stayed at a motel, ate one pot food cooked in an electric skillet, with an occasional meal at the Circus-Circus Casino where there was around the clock circus acts. The sidewalks were so hot, even at 9 PM, that our 3 year old daughter’s shoe soles were too thin for her to walk so she had to be carried everywhere. At White Sands, we were fortunate to be able to stay in an empty base house. The Children were awe-struck by the number of prairie lightening strikes every minute and seeing amateur rocketeers and radio controlled planes flying in the area. The sight of the stars of the Milky Way in that dark desert sky might have been what determined our son, Brian, to become an astronomer. The kids developed an addiction to Marathon candy bars and foot long hot dogs.

It is often said that if you don’t do it right the first time, you get to do it over again, so the family was moved to the Philippines, where we lived in Manila and Jerry was assigned as the Deputy, Officer in Charge of Construction for the Southwest Pacific. This was a real downer for the family since Jerry had been slated to go to San Francisco, but it was a good career move. In Manila, we lived next to Embassy housing, which afforded a modicum of safety for the family. The children took a bus to the International School each day. Rosemary used her entrepreneurial skills to operate a boutique at the Embassy compound. It had a selection of Philippine souvenirs for visiting dignitaries who didn’t have time to shop the local market. Since all purchasing of merchandise was done in pesos, Rosemary also shopped for the best exchange rate (not at banks, but the back street rate) to refresh the coffers and keep the shop operating in the black. Jerry traveled a lot, since the construction sites were located, not only in the Philippines, but also Thailand and the Seychelle Islands. The Office also supported the Naval Construction Battalions working on Diego Garcia. Personal security was a problem in the PI. To prevent home invasion and kidnapping, it was necessary to have someone in the house at all times. This necessitated a staff of three maids. Fortunately, we took a station wagon with us so jousting with the jeepney drivers for space on Manila’s streets was at least doable. The kids got into the spirit, urging Rosemary on in the race across an intersection. Our groceries were obtained by our monthly hour and a half long trip to Clark Air Base, where we treated the kids to pizza and a few pin ball games. A leaky car radiator caused Jerry to purchase a new one during a trip to Hawaii. We didn’t know importing car parts was illegal so the radiator was confiscated at the customs station at the Manila Airport. One of Jerry’s Filipino office staff was able to ransom it in the middle of the night, just before it was shipped off to a black market dealer to become part of a jeepney. We were all thankful when we were able to move back to the States, even though the move to Port Hueneme, California, meant Jerry would be away from home.

Jerry screened for command while in the PI, meaning that he would be assigned to the next command vacancy. That vacancy was as Commanding Officer of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR, which was deployed to Guam. Jerry took command of the 700 man unit with detachments deployed to do construction projects in Okinawa, Truk Lagoon, and Peleliu. After this deployment, the unit rotated back to Port Hueneme for 5 months of training before deploying to Rota, Spain. In addition to construction projects in Spain, detachments were sent to Diego Garcia Atoll, Nea Makri, Greece, Sigonella, Sicily, Holy Loch, Scotland and Bahrain. With so many detachments, it was difficult to satisfy their needs for materials and deal with disciplinary problems that only the Commanding Officer had authority over. Some were more unusual than others. A young “stole” a bulldozer after watching the movie “Kill Dozer” and, having one too many alcoholic beverages, drove it a short distance, shearing off the porch of the Spanish Officers Club. This resulted in the Commanding Officer of the Battalion calling on the Spanish Admiral in charge of the base, delivering an apology and overseeing reconstruction of the porch in record time. Rosemary’s home life was filled raising three children and attending to the obligations expected of the Commanding Officer’s wife. The boys did enjoy playing a round of golf each day. Rosemary took advantage of California’s “free” junior college to take classes in Sign Language, yoga and psychology. The unit again rotated to Port Hueneme for training for the next deployment to Puerto Rico. During one morning’s 8 AM battalion assembly (quarters) an attractive young female “streaked” in front of the Battalion from one side of the parade ground to the other, where she was picked up by a car and whisked away. Not a single man in the assembly could/would identify her. Although the unit’s main body was stationed in Puerto Rico for the next deployment, detachments were sent to Vieques Island, Andros Island and Bermuda.

After the Change of Command, Rosemary and Jerry took a brief vacation in St. Johns before returning to Port Hueneme to pack up and move to northern Virginia for Jerry’s next assignment in the Pentagon, at the Office of the Chief of Operations and Secretary of the Navy. Jerry’s responsibility was to budget and program all Navy and Marine Corps operating accounts for the upcoming fiscal year and 4 ‘out’ years. Completing all the documentation required many all-nighters to meet the imposed deadlines. Rosemary would bring pizza at night and dozens of donuts in the morning for the crew and a change of clothes for Jerry. He would shave and shower in the fitness center and be ready for work that morning. Jerry was awarded the Legion of Merit and was nominated as a Navy White House Fellow while serving in this position.

Transferring to the Naval Air Systems Command in nearby Pentagon City, as the Staff Civil Engineer to the Commander, he was responsible for engineering recommendations and funding for all projects at the 10 Naval Air Systems Command Test Facilities and Ranges located across the United States and Hawaii. This position required a lot of travel to each of these locations. Rosemary took a position as an elementary school library aide, with the children’s provision that she be home when they went to school and when they got home again. While serving in this position, Jerry was awarded his second Legion of Merit.

After spending irregularities involving the expenditure of operating funds for major capital projects were detected at navy bases, Jerry was assigned to the Navy Auditor General in the office of the Navy Audit Service, a largely civilian office. It was not a fun being the ‘cop’ in the misuse of funds and, in one case, resulting in disciplinary action against the Commanding Officer. At the end of his tour with the Audit Service, Jerry was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

So the journey ended 29 years and 1 month after it started for Jerry, Rosemary and the three children. Retirement took place in front of the Felix de Weldon Bronze Seabee at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. Jerry was deployed for 9 years without the family, moved 11 times and the children attended schools in 7 different school districts.

Jerry was selected as the Assistant Vice President at SUNY Brockport where he served until 2000.

Timeline of Career

Navy Civil Engineer Corps Officers School, Port Hueneme, California July 1961 – October 1961 Navy Public Works Center, Subic Bay, Philippines October 1961 to October 1963 First Naval District, Boston, Massachusetts October 1963 to June 1966 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan June 1966 to July 1967 Naval Mobile Construction THREE, Port Hueneme, California July 1967 to June 1969 Naval Security Group Activity, Kamiseya, Japan July 1969 to June 1972 University of Rochester, Rochester, New York July 1972 to June 1973 Office of the Chief of Naval Operations July 1973 to July 1975 Naval Material Command July 1975 to July 1976 Naval Facilities Engineering Command July 1976 to April 1978 Officer in Charge of Construction Southwest Pacific, Manila, Philippines April 1978 to February 1980 Naval Mobile Construction FOUR, Port Hueneme, California March 1980 to June 1982 Office of the Chief of Naval Operations/Secretary of the Navy July 1982 to July 1985 Naval Air Systems Command July 1985 to April 1989 Naval Audit Service May 1989 to September 1990

Awards

Command Ashore Device Legion of Merit Medal with Gold Star Bronze Star Medal with Combat V Meritorious Service Medal Combat Action Ribbon Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon with 2 Bronze Stars Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon with 3 Bronze Stars National Defense Service Medal with 1 Bronze Star Vietnam Service Medal with Silver Star and Fleet Marine Device Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with 1 Bronze Star Overseas Service Ribbon with 1 Bronze Star Vietnam Campaign Medal Vietnam Armed Forces Meritorious Unit Citation Ribbon with Palm and Clasp Vietnam Civil Action Ribbon with Palm and Clasp Navy Expert Pistol Medal