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).
Not long after I reported aboard the Okinawa there was a major change. The executive officer was detached and the operations officer was moved up to take over the vacant position. He soon discovered that the petty officer in charge of the ship’s office might be a problem, and he decided to prepare for it … More A new job – acting chief yeoman
The Okinawa was lucky ship. We had a number of almost disasters, but somehow, managed to recover from them without serious damage or injuries. One such incident oc combined with fuel that was sprayed into the d when we were just leaving San Diego. There is a narrow channel between North island and point Loma … More Leaving San Diego – Oops.
When I applied for voluntary recall I was assigned as assistant CIC officer in USS Okinawa, a helicopter carrier. The justification was that the CIC officer, a pilot on his first shipboard qualification tour, was expected to be conversant with aircraft procedures, but might need help in matters connected to surface warfare. In this particular … More I learn to be a safecracker
The Hamas and Jihad Islami organizations in Gaza decided to take a step toward escalation yesterday. Possibly because they were getting little media coverage of their kite and balloon offensive outside of Israel. In any case, they fired some 200 rockets at Jewish towns and villages in the area. One rocket hit the living room … More Gaza – last night
I applied for graduate school to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I was accepted. But classes started only in June so I had almost 6 months to wait. The Student Zionist organization, of which I had been a member , was looking for a regional director for the Middle Atlantic States area. I got the … More A Busy Summer – 1966
I’ve seen plenty of crises, including aircraft crashes. But one that sticks out happened when we were sortieing from Subic Bay. We had been given a break from sitting off the Vietnamese coast and had returned to Subic Bay. Our embarked marines all went ashore to go out in the field to do what marines … More Routine Heroism
I got to be involved in one more amphibious landing before we returned to the USA. This one was a little bit further south. It looked like someone poked a finger at the map and said “We need another airfield about here”. The place did not have a prior name. It was just an open … More Third Landing – Chu Lai
My maternal grandparents escaped from Ukraine, then part of Czarist Russia, in 1905. At some point after arrival they, along with many other Jewish families, applied for a land grant under the provisions of the homestead act of 1862. The Bureau of Land Management records show that Harry Weisman was granted a 160 acre farm … More A Piece of Paper + A Piece of Land = A Piece of History
The news media keeps reporting about the Syrian Army, with Russian support, is recapturing the area near the borders with Israel and Jordan. The pictures show a lot of urban destruction. Well, we just spent the last weekend in some little cottages in the Israeli side of the Southern Golan Heights. I want to tell … More Surprise – 50
During our first stay in Danang harbor/bay we were quite concerned about security. The possibility of a hostile swimmer reaching the ship and planting a bomb on the hull was taken very seriously. One of the measures we took wa to keep two boats out at night circling the anchorage. Each boat crew consisted of … More Danang harbor patrol
Wetherhorn 