I
was also trained
to be
part of the Kawishiwi recovery team on the Gemini
Capsule recovery missions. We went to the Recovery
training School in Pearl. I don’t remember if the trainers were
Seals
or UDT back then. As I remember, the training lasted about a
week.
The 1st thing we had to do was to swim (4) ¼ mile laps in the
canal
to prove we could survive in the water for a bit. Then we were
taught
how to properly swim with snorkel, mask and fins. We were then
given
pool training on how to attach the flotation gear to the capsule.
If I remember correctly, timing was important here because without the
flotation gear the capsule had only a limited about of flotation
life.
Another important fact was the ability to hold one’s breath because
most
of the work had to be done under water. On the last day of
training
the capsule was put into the canal and we were timed on our performance
in order to pass. Unfortunately we did not get to try out our new
skills because Gemini put down in the Atlantic. In October of '66 while
on Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam, or on the way to Yankee
Station the Kawishiwi developed a problem with one of the
propeller shafts. The Ship headed for the dry
dock in Sasebo, Japan for repairs. While we were there
Ivan (Gary Plavljanich) and I asked and received permission to go
down into the dry dock to look around at the ship and take
pictures. This first one is of me at the Bow. A few years
later when my young daughter, Angela, saw the picture I told her that
'Dad was holding up the bow so the workers could slide the resting
blocks underneath'.
The Crew had good
liberty while in Sasebo and in general we found the people very
friendly and most of us had a good time. There was one incident
of interest though. Because there had been reports of anti
Vietnam/American 'student' protests prior to our arrival, the Captain
posted an 24 hour armed guard watch on the dock. We were issued
an M-1 with no ammo. Sure enough, one day when Ivan had the watch
several thousand protesters came marching through the yard toward the
ship. Sporting Yankee Go Home and anti-American banners and
wearing head bans, screaming and yelling- who knows what, they
approached Ivan. Ivan was ordering them to halt as they backed
him up to the gangway. Someone from the mob grab his M-1 and
tossed it to the bottom of the dry dock. Ivan was order up the
gangway as it was raised.
The result of the
incident was that Ivan was put on report for relinquishing his weapon
to unauthorized personnel while on watch. He was sent to ExO Mass
where he was fined an amount equal to the replacement cost of the M-1.
Goto: Personnel Page |
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