Popeye's Sea Stories

Some time ago someone asked me "had I'd ever made a cat shot or arrested landing?". The answer is yes.

OCT. 1972...deck launched off the JFK in a C-1 Trader COD.

FEB 1981....Flew off America in a CH-53 Sea Dragon to fly into Roosevelt Roads PR to load training torpedoes on one of my squadrons S-33A Viking.

FEB 1981...made an arrested landing aboard America in a C-1A Trader COD piloted by this woman;


Lt. JG Brenda Robinson of VRC-40

As part of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation’s Discovery Saturday series and in recognition of Women’s History Month, please join aviation pioneer Brenda Robinson, the first black woman to earn her wings of gold as a Naval Aviator. The event is scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, March 28 at the National Naval Aviation Museum.

In 1979, Robinson was the 59th female to enter naval flight training program, the 42nd female, and the first black female to earn her wings in 1980. She was also one of the first women to make aircraft carrier landings in 1981. From a young age, Robinson was interested in all things aviation and worked hard to pursue her dream in aviation. Her pioneering spirit helped her achieve many firsts including the first black female to graduate with an Aeronautics degree from Dowling College and the first black female to graduate from the U.S. Navy’s Aviation Officers Candidate School.

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August 1991....I was cat shot off Nimitz in a S-3A COD from VRC-50 known as Miss Piggy to Bahrain as the start of my journey back to San Diego for my Navy retirement.

I wrote the below in 2003 in a yahoo goup when USS Constellation (CV 64) was inport in Hong Kong and a story that is no longer available on line was published in the San Diego Union Tribune about the shenanigans going on while Connie was in Hong Kong.

"Sailors still going to the Wan Chai (Suzi Wong) district? Gee I'm shocked! I got some good ,I mean GOOD sea stories about that place. Rated XXX.

Hey I wonder if those ladies of the evening, eerr I mean hostesses still are trying to slip guys a "Mickey"?

When I was on the Midway........Some dame slipped me one in Feb 1973, but I passed out outside of the bar in the street before she could rifle through my pockets. It was only about 1100. The shore patrol took me to the China Fleet Club to sober up. I did. Went out and got drunk
again. Oh there's more but I don't want to hurt your tender ears." ;o)

I've had no liquor of any sort to drink since Super Bowl Sunday in 2003. Good for me!

Today is my 47th anniversary of joining the US Navy..I posted this sometime ago in this thread..edited by me....







GREAT LAKES, Ill. (Jan. 9, 2012) Navy recruits call their families in the Golden 13 Recruit In-Processing Center at Recruit Training Command (RTC) during Night of Arrival. The phone call home lets family members know the new recruits have made it safely to RTC. . (U.S. Navy photos by Scott A. Thornbloom/Released)

Yep I guess this is what Great Lakes..a.k.a. Great Mistakes looks like now, still does. I was there last September 2017 for grandson's "poopeye" boot camp graduation....

There sure were NO FEMALES there when I went to boot camp in '71. Also the USN had three locations for Boot Camp. San Diego, Orlando & Great Lakes. The females went to Orlando. That's right Orlando FL. That base was open from 1968 to 1995.

When I joined we got sworn in at the Federal building in Cincinnati OH. My pops was there to see me off. They loaded us on a "short bus" an took us to the airport. We had been told when we get to Chicago report to the USO(I think) and they would tell us what to do. We got there did as told and were informed to wait and the next bus to Great Lakes did not leave for a few more hours. So they told us where to hang out and gave us each a $10 food voucher good at certain restaurants at O'Hare. The food was great by 1971 standards.

After a few hours ...finally we got on the bus. Made it to Great Lakes and I was surprised that no senior persons were yelling at us when we arrived...ahh the first night in boot camp.. such fun.. It was just another recruit doing "service week" But we did not know. It was late..they gave us uniforms..bedded us down in an old barracks. We heard all kinds of wild stories about what was going to happen to us. None turned out to be true except The old WWII barracks we stayed in was just temporary. The next day it was haircuts and an alleged physical and swim test. Finally on the third day we were sent over to RTC to an much nicer barracks. I remember being given the "General orders of a Sentry" and having to memorize that bad boy. I remember staying up a little while and memorizing by the street lights shining through the barracks.

The main thing I remember about Boot Camp was those huge drill halls and having to sing Anchors Aweigh as we marched through this tunnel that divide RTC from NTC. Another thing was is that I caught pneumonia and spent 4 days in the hospital. Most times when that happens you set ASMOED..administrativaly reassigned..set back in other words. Not popeye. My company commander gave me the answers for the test we had to take that week to move the next week and I with my fantastic memory memorized the test and passed. In fact I deliberately blew two question to make it look real.

And..Once myself and others were sent to Naval Air Station Glenview IL for an eyesight exam to be an air traffic controller. Some SEABEES drove us and bought us some beer to consume during the trip back to NTC/RTC.. They stopped in front of someones house to toss the beer cans in their trash cans but bumped into a tree as they sped off. Dunno how they explained that. By the way those SEABEEs drank all the way over to the NAS and on the way back. Those SEABEEs were on medical hold at the Naval Hospital.

Boot camp was nine weeks long. And when you are there it seems so much longer than that. Especially when you are 17-18 years old..Oh yeah I had my 18th birthday in boot camp. Sept.23rd 1971..Oh so long ago in a Navy very far,far away...

bd popeye said:

Today is my 47th anniversary of joining the US Navy..I posted this sometime ago in this thread..edited by me....

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GREAT LAKES, Ill. (Jan. 9, 2012) Navy recruits call their families in the Golden 13 Recruit In-Processing Center at Recruit Training Command (RTC) during Night of Arrival. The phone call home lets family members know the new recruits have made it safely to RTC. . (U.S. Navy photos by Scott A. Thornbloom/Released)

Yep I guess this is what Great Lakes..a.k.a. Great Mistakes looks like now, still does. I was there last September 2017 for grandson's "poopeye" boot camp graduation....

There sure were NO FEMALES there when I went to boot camp in '71. Also the USN had three locations for Boot Camp. San Diego, Orlando & Great Lakes. The females went to Orlando. That's right Orlando FL. That base was open from 1968 to 1995.

When I joined we got sworn in at the Federal building in Cincinnati OH. My pops was there to see me off. They loaded us on a "short bus" an took us to the airport. We had been told when we get to Chicago report to the USO(I think) and they would tell us what to do. We got there did as told and were informed to wait and the next bus to Great Lakes did not leave for a few more hours. So they told us where to hang out and gave us each a $10 food voucher good at certain restaurants at O'Hare. The food was great by 1971 standards.

After a few hours ...finally we got on the bus. Made it to Great Lakes and I was surprised that no senior persons were yelling at us when we arrived...ahh the first night in boot camp.. such fun.. It was just another recruit doing "service week" But we did not know. It was late..they gave us uniforms..bedded us down in an old barracks. We heard all kinds of wild stories about what was going to happen to us. None turned out to be true except The old WWII barracks we stayed in was just temporary. The next day it was haircuts and an alleged physical and swim test. Finally on the third day we were sent over to RTC to an much nicer barracks. I remember being given the "General orders of a Sentry" and having to memorize that bad boy. I remember staying up a little while and memorizing by the street lights shining through the barracks.

The main thing I remember about Boot Camp was those huge drill halls and having to sing Anchors Aweigh as we marched through this tunnel that divide RTC from NTC. Another thing was is that I caught pneumonia and spent 4 days in the hospital. Most times when that happens you set ASMOED..administrativaly reassigned..set back in other words. Not popeye. My company commander gave me the answers for the test we had to take that week to move the next week and I with my fantastic memory memorized the test and passed. In fact I deliberately blew two question to make it look real.

And..Once myself and others were sent to Naval Air Station Glenview IL for an eyesight exam to be an air traffic controller. Some SEABEES drove us and bought us some beer to consume during the trip back to NTC/RTC.. They stopped in front of someones house to toss the beer cans in their trash cans but bumped into a tree as they sped off. Dunno how they explained that. By the way those SEABEEs drank all the way over to the NAS and on the way back. Those SEABEEs were on medical hold at the Naval Hospital.

Boot camp was nine weeks long. And when you are there it seems so much longer than that. Especially when you are 17-18 years old..Oh yeah I had my 18th birthday in boot camp. Sept.23rd 1971..Oh so long ago in a Navy very far,far away...

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Popeye, you are the "real deal" brother,,, a sailor's sailor! Love you Man! and all my respect and love to you for loving and serving your country, thank you for standing for the little ones, a man whole loves and serves his God! his Country! and fights daily for freedom and liberty for all! A True and Worthy Patriot!

AFB..I'm truly humbled by your remarks. Thank you so much my brother in Christ. Luv ya!!

bd popeye said:

AFB..I'm truly humbled by your remarks. Thank you so much my brother in Christ. Luv ya!!

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Yes, we do need to get together!

bd popeye said:

One of the reasons I joined the US Navy is that I was tired of going to school. Plus I did not want to get drafted into the US Army. Somehow or another my dad had procured me a full boat scholarship to attend Ohio State. BUT big stupid me did no want to go. So I joined the USN!..thinking that I'd be done with school. How wrong I was. First off boot camp is about 40% classroom. Then the USN sent me to Jacksonville FL for aviation fundamentals "P" schools. Next I was sent to Millington TN i.e. Memphis for Aviation mechanics fundamentals..jeez will this ever end? Finally in early March of 1972 I received my orders to USS John F Kennedy (CVA 67)..with an addendum.>>>.OUTSTALANT....I'm asking what the heck is OUTSTALANT? Simply put that means the ship was deployed. JFK was deployed all right..in the Mediterranean.

So I flew from Memphis TN to Nashville TN to Philadelphia PA. I hadda take a bus to McGuire AFB. There I took a military Charter to Rota Spain. Then after a couple days of nothingness in Rota we flew in a C-130 Hercules. from Rota to Naples to Sigonella then finally on to Rhodes Greece where the JFK had arrived that day March 24th 1972 for a two week port visit....I had after 7 months arrived in "The Fleet".

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But think of it this way, if u gone to Ohio state, where you get all those cool stories.

This last one is also a " land" story

PiSigma said:

But think of it this way, if u gone to Ohio state, where you get all those cool stories.

This last one is also a " land" story

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Oh I have plenty of land stories. In case anyone wanted to know in my 20 years of service I spent 5 years and 10 months on actual sea duty. I also spent 3 years on overseas duty ashore that counted as sea duty.

↑
some things in life doesn't need to get fancy. Weapons elevator being one of them.

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You got that right. When I was aboard Hancock CVA-19 in '74 & '75 our below deck CPO , AOC M. Graves,



before any evolution would ask.."Are those elevators ah hummin?" ...and the answer was always yes. Simple electric motor powered elevators. They always worked.

We had a guy in our division named Owens. We all called him Buck. Anyway he was excellent and singing and playing the guitar. The man was talented. He wrote a short country and western song about CPO Graves. It was very entertaining.