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
Once out of the hospital at Great Lakes I was available for reassignment. The Bureau of Naval personnel began casting about for where to send me. In the meantime, I was temporarily assigned to the staff of Ninth Naval District with headquarters in Chicago. It was a rotten job. During the short time was there … More Temporary duty – Ninth Naval District
Mrdevac is a short form for medical evacuation. I learned about it first and by being the subject of one. Here’s how I remember it. When the Valley Forge was assigned to the Seventh Fleet in the Far East the Captain wanted his best trained people on duty. The CIC (combat Information Center) watch was … More Midway Medevac
When I finished my intercept control course I headed for California to join my ship, the helicopter carrier USS Valley Forge. The ship was in drydock, undergoing a major refit. There wasn’t any space available in navy housing ashore, so I lived on board. It wasn’t a great experience. The whole ship was filled with … More First Duty Assignment – 2
First Duty Assignment – 1 Just a bit before the students at OCS completed the course and received commissions the Navy Bureau of Personnel interviewed each one. We were asked if we wanted to serve ashore or afloat. Everyone was cautioned that we were, after all, naval officers. As such we were expected to select … More First Duty Assignment
Joining the Navy? When I graduated from the University of Michigan in 1962 there was still a law in effect, called the Selective Service Act. That law required men to register for military service with their local draft board, and the local draft board would select individuals to be sent to perform service in the … More Joining the Navy
The Blizzard of ‘78 We moved from Haifa to Elazar in December, 1978. It was an easy move. We went to Elazar because we had a friend there who was actively trying to get us to join. Elazar, at that time, was a co-operative settlement. There were real houses already built and waiting. There was … More The Blizzard of ’78
My father’s family came to Charleston, S.C. in 1840, I’ve collected stories about the family members for the period from their arrival until 1940, when I was born. This is a photo of my great grandfather, Levi Wetherhorn, who served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. He was present as a member … More A Century in Charleston
Wetherhorn 