Aryeh Wetherhorn is a graduate of the University of Michigan. He served as a Naval Reserve officer in the Vietnam War, earning a Naval Achievement Medal for his performance of duty in USS Okinawa. His biography appears in the Marquis edition of “Who’s Who in the World” in 1998, 2002, and 2003 editions. He has written several full length articles on naval history that appeared in the Polish magazine “Okrety Wojenne” (Warships).
In a previous post I told about being aground because of the captain/ This time there was some damage, but no one was hurt. It was also purely the fault of the captain, and no one else. The story started with our ship being one of two oilers supporting combined exercises between the US Navy … More A Collission!
Having your ship sunk is probably the worst thing that can happen at sea. The next worst things are being in a collision and running aground. I’ve experienced both of those. Here is how one of the incidents occurred. USS Nantahala was in here home port of Newport, Rhode Island. She had been undergoing some … More A Strange Way to Run Aground
The Elokomin wasn’t the happiest of ships. At one time I thought that because of the Vietnam War the best officers were sent to the Pacific fleet and the Atlantic had to make do with what was left. Discipline wasn’t exactly one of the areas where the crew of the Elokomin stood out. Fortunately, my … More Decommissioning
UNRWA just lost financial support from the US. That decision was obviously reached only after some careful consideration, UNRWA clinics and schools are often the only source of education and medical care for a very large number of people. The humanitarian impact could be considerable. But several European countries and also other Arab states that … More UNRWA defunded!?
cked the rendezvous locationThe US Navy used to have a stadard career pattern plan for officers. Aviation officers needed a shipboard tour of duty between flight squadron assignments in order to understand how the surface navy worked and qualify as a ship driver. When they reached higher rank and were considered still available for advancement … More Driving under the Influence
ships are organized around functional duties of the crew. Some are seamen and handle mooring lines and anchors. Others deal with propulsion, food, navigation, and so on. The Navy groups these functions into departments. The senior officer in each is the department head. When I was administrative assistant to the executive officer I … More Acting Department Head
I am an observant Jew. I never concealed it. We always kept a Kosher home. But it is not possible to follow all the rules of keeping Kosher on board an American warship. Even so, I did always avoid eating items that are specifically forbidden in the Old Testament. That’s how the following story came … More Keeping Kosher at sea (well, sort of)
One central idea that ran through my entire collection was that each model represented a specific ship. I tried to make every model appear as the original ship by painting them in the actual camouflage patterns they carried and modifying their armament, and sometimes other equipment, to match what was actually fitted at the time … More My models – Barnegat class small seaplane tenders
The salute is an centuries old custom that is rendered, and returned, as a form of greeting. The regulation salute is rendered by an enlisted sailor to any officer when they meet. The participants are normally in uniform, and in the Navy, a salute is only given while wearing a hat. To keep from wasting … More A Much Appreciated Salute
The admiralty used “dazzle” camouflage as an anti-submarine protection measure for merchant vessels and convoys. The Grand Fleet battle squadrons were not painted that way. But several cruisers that acted as convoy ocean escorts were given camouflage coats. Some designs were used on two different ships, Others were unique. Here are some examples from my … More RN WWI Camouflage on my models – part II
Wetherhorn 