My Years, 1955 - 1957 By Bob Wood

 

You'll have to bear with me on dates as at this time of my life and its associated forgetfulness, I could almost hide my own Easter eggs. I served on the Noxubee from approximately late April '55 until approximately June '57.I had enlisted in the Navy in Aug '53 and had to wait till Feb '54 to be sworn in due to the massive amount of enlistments at the time. I did my boot training at Bainbridge, MD. and after boot camp remained at Bainbridge to attend a 44 week FT (Fire Control Tech), "A" school there. It was really convenient as I lived in South Jersey at the time and made a lot of weekends home during my "A" school time. When I graduated FT school and the billets were announced, I was stunned to see my assignment, USS Noxubee AOG-56. I inquired as to exactly what type of ship the Noxubee was and was told by an old salt instructor that it was a gas barge. This was really a big let down as most all of my class mates went to carriers and men-of-war ships. I suffered much teasing and jeering from my classmates over this, however, it turned out they were the ones who lost out. As it finally turned out, my worst fears of serving on a "gas barge" couldn't have more wrong. My time aboard the Noxubee was some of the best time of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything. My first sight of the ship was at the end of the pier at Newport, RI where I was welcomed aboard by my two fellow FT's, a second class named Bjiordan and a first class named Roberts, both of whose first names escape me. They were both very happy to see me as they had to maintain the gear an keep the cleaning spaces scrubbed and painted as first and second class petty officers. Bjiordan and Roberts were quite friendly and didn't dump everything on me, pitching in with the upkeep on the cleaning spaces, however it was short lived as both were short timers and were gone rather quickly. Shortly after I came aboard, I had enough time in grade to take the 3rd class test, which I passed readily. That was a god-send as I missed the joys of mess cooking and compartment cleaning. On August 19, 1955, we departed Newport to Hamilton, Bermuda on our way to a Med deployment and a whole new education for a young sailor who would turn 19 in two days, August 23rd. I was to make 2 Med cruises aboard the Noxubee and although I thoroughly enjoyed each and every place visited, the events I remember can't be attributed a specific cruise. It could have been the 1955 cruise or it may have on the 1956 cruise. The Navy had given the Pakistani Government a bunch of wooden hulled minesweepers and we escorted 3 of them across the Atlantic. They were manned by the Pakistani Navy and left us when we got to Gibraltar. Some of the more memorable things I remembered from the 2 Med cruises are: In Gibraltar we tied up outboard of 2 British Destroyers, which we had to cross over to get to the pier. The smell eminating from the ships was something else. I don't know if it was from spoiling food or the mutton they were so fond of but the memory of the stench has remained for 45 years. The first time we visited Tripoli, Libya, I was amazed at finding sand bagged machine gun nests set up in a main square, manned by British soldiers. Lybia was still under British rule from WWII. Snorkeling adjacent to the ship in Tripoli and spearing fish for the Arab workers who were manning the pumping equipment offloading the Noxubee. They were astounded by our productivity and ever thankful to receive the fish and squid we speared. Snorkeling was quite popular in Italy and the masks, spring loaded spear guns, fins, etc. were relatively reasonable to acquire. Steaming through the Straits of Messina between Sicily and Italy while the volcano, Stromboli, was erupting big time, quite a show. The famous "Gut" section in Valetta, Malta. Almost as much fun as East Main Street in Norfolk, VA , except the bar ladies weren't as heavily tattooed as the ladies in Norfolk and wore perfume. We visited Toranto, Italy on June 16-18, 1956. Toranto was the main Naval port of the Italian Navy during WWII. In 1941, British aircraft carrier launched torpedo-aircraft sunk the bulk of the Italian Navy, including its entire battleship force at their moorings. Much of the wreckage remained still and the harbor was crowded with sunken hulks,highly visible as we steamed past to our mooring." The kids and adults in Naples, who while passing you on the street, would hit the bottom of your jumper pocket, hoping to dislodge and make airborne, money, wallet, cigarettes, etc, which they would snatch and run away with. The time a taxi detoured to a remote area and stopped so his 3 consorts could jump out of the darkness, threaten me with clubs and rob me of my wallet, watch, cigarettes and lighter. The driver was nice enough, however, to drive back to the place he picked me up. What I would have given for my S&W Model 60, 5 shot at the time, although I'd probably still be in jail for defending myself. The ever present Bum Boats in Naples Harbor looking to steal the brass fittings and macramé off the Captains Gig or the fittings off the whaleboat. Some did actually paint the sides for scrap mooring lines and the garbage from the mess deck. Some came to sell boots and whatever or trade for cigarettes, which was illegal and quite rewarding. The barber aptly named Luigi. He arrived daily when we were in Naples by bum boat and was allowed to set up on the well deck and give haircuts, which were in short supply on the Noxubee at the time. Funny man, Luigi, he was middle aged, very slight in stature and although couldn't speak much English, could keep you entertained by watching his animated facial expressions and body language. Strange how I am remembering things from 45 years ago and sometimes can't remember my own telephone number. The beautiful luxury liner, Andrea Dora, frequently tied up to the pier where we had to walk past it from where our whaleboat dropped off the liberty party to the gate to the city of Naples. The Andrea Dora was involved in a collision with the ship Stockholm in the summer of 1956 and sunk off Long Island, NY. Operating independently of the fleet and wearing blue jeans and tee shirts, even Levi's if you had them, most of the time, in port, entering and leaving. Having Barcelona to ourselves for periods without any fleet competition. My lady friend would appear in a taxi at the gangway at Liberty call, heavily perfumed and ready to go dancing. ( Hey, I was 19 years old and single... ) While steaming from Barcelona on a very rough day, a First Class Machinist Mate named Evans, broke the rules and paid with his life. For whatever unknown reason, Evans ventured down onto the well deck without a lifejacket and was swept over the side by a large wave to perish in the sea, devastating the Captain and crew. Our Captain was a very stern and fair, ex WW2 Quartermaster and mustang regular Navy LT, R.J. Dermody. This man was really totally devastated as we steamed in circles all day hoping to find Evans, who would never be found or heard from again. Another memorable item is the lack of personal hygiene experienced from the Europeans of the time. It is almost as if they hadn't invented bath tubs and showers there. This phenomenon was noticed throughout the countries of the Med and not particularly welcome. (sorry to offend anyone, but thats the way I remember things.) The Med trips were a real education for me and no value could be assigned to the pleasures I enjoyed there. Back on the Newport Scene I have some fond memories of Newport such as: A major racial incident at an Enlisted Club in Newport, I can't recall just where but Fats Domino was appearing at the time and a big "knock em down, drag em out" occurred one evening. The papers reported Fats on top of his piano ducking flying chairs, glasses and beer pitchers. The infamous M-19 mooring buoy and armpit location of Newport. I was aboard one very, very cold, windy and snowy night with the usual skeleton crew. The storm really raged and we were all scared to death of breaking loose from the bouy and having to get underway in an emergency. It was a very scary night and no one slept. In the morning we found out that the new, at the time, destroyer, USS Willis Lee, had broken her mooring and went aground. Also a whaleboat bringing a liberty party to one of the ships in the bay got lost in the storm and was found the next day with all aboard frozen to death. Leo's First and Last Stop Bar just outside the gate where the Noxubee tied up in Newport. I was a regular at Leo's, a member of the bar, however, not a lawyer. Leo was an old man who had 2 sons, the younger one, Nelson, if I remember right, was the evening bartender and keeper of the peace. The older son was an amateur boxer and one night brought Archie Moore into the place and introduced him around. Archie at the time was a contender and had not yet won any titles. I had many good times at Leo's and cultivated several interesting relationships with the barmaids. (Hey, I was single.) The little hole in the wall greasy spoon restaurant across the street from Leo's where I frequently finished up the night with a bacon and egg sandwich. That Narragansett draft beer used to work up an appetite. At about this time, the Navy had re-instituted the draft and I was blessed with a striker and as it turned out, a good friend as well. He was a young lawyer who had passed the bar and then had gotten drafted. Talk about bad luck. He and I shared the upkeep of the gear and cleaning spaces and did liberty together for the most part. He would be about 75 years old today and I lost touch with him years ago. His name was Alexander Pentecost III, and was from Pittsburgh, PA area. Anyone know Alex ? I would sure like to get ahold of the deck logs for the years I was aboard just to read my old entries. I used to stand Gangway watch when in port and at sea I sometimes manned the radar behind the chartroom on the bridge and in later times I stood boatswains mate of the watch as there were so few boatswain mates aboard. I also served as messdeck master-at-arms for a while. It was good to hear from someone who served aboard and of this webpage. All these years since 1957 and I've never ran across anyone I served with. I went from the Noxubee to the west coast and aboard the USS Toledo CA-133 and made a 7 month westpac cruise which included a trip to Australia to attend the annual Coral Sea Celebration and got out in April 1959. Anyway, I hope I haven't bored you with an old mans memories. They are very dear to me and I'm sure, familiar to anyone who served aboard during the 50's. Hopefully some of you will identify with what I have offered and hopefully it will trigger your own memories which you can in turn offer to us here. Regards to all shipmates, old and new.... I'll never forget the USS Noxubee AOG-56. (I can't as I have the damn thing tattooed on my arm.) Bob Wood Amazing what a few years does to a fella ain't it ?

1955 - 1956 Ports of Call By Bob Wood

 

Below are a listing of the official steaming itineraries of the USS Noxubee for the years 1955 and 1956 showing the number of days at sea, where she left from, where she was going, miles steamed and dates. Sea Itinerary For U.S.S. Noxubee AOG 56 for the Year 1955 Commanding Officer: R.J. Dermody, Lt. USN Days at Distance Sea: From: To: Traveled: Dates: 3 Newport, RI Jacksonville, FL 900 March 7-10 5 Jacksonville, FL Roosevelt Roads, PR 1150 March 11-16 2 Roosevelt Roads, PR Guantanamo, Cuba 600 March 19-21 2 Guantanamo, Cuba Roosevelt Roads, PR 600 March 22-24 2 Roosevelt Roads, PR Guantanamo, Cuba 600 March 29-31 2 Guantanamo, Cuba Roosevelt Roads, PR 600 April 1-3 2 Roosevelt Roads, PR Guantanamo, Cuba 600 April 5-7 2 Guantanamo, Cuba Roosevelt Roads, PR 600 April 8-10 4 Roosevelt Roads, PR Newport, RI 1400 April 17-21 1 Newport, RI Norfolk, VA 350 June 13-14 1 Norfolk, VA Newport, RI 350 July 1-2 3 Newport, RI Bermuda 600 Aug 19-22 12 Bermuda Gibraltar 2950 Aug 23-Sept 4 4 Gibraltar Malta 1000 Sept 6-10 2 Malta Barcelona, Spain 668 Sept 12-14 3 Barcelona, Spain Tripoli, Libya 760 Sept 20-23 3 Tripoli, Libya Livorno, Italy 700 Sept 26-29 1 Livorno, Italy Gulf Juan, France 134 Sept 30-Oct 1 2 Gulf Juan, France Naples, Italy 367 Oct 8-10 5 Naples, Italy Iskenderun, Turkey 1100 Oct 15-20 5 Iskenderun, Turkey Tripoli, Libya 1200 Oct 22-27 3 Tripoli, Libya Barcelona, Spain 760 Oct 29-Nov 1 3 Barcelona, Spain Naples, Italy 558 Nov 15-18 1 Naples, Italy Malta 328 Nov 21-22 2 Malta Tripoli, Libya 200 Nov 25-27 4 Tripoli, Libya Gibraltar 1100 Nov 28-Dec 2 10 Gibraltar Newport, RI 3100 Dec 4-14 89 Total Days at Sea Total Miles traveled: 23,275 Sea Itinerary For U.S.S. Noxubee AOG 56 For the Year 1956 Commanding Officer: R.J. Dermody Lt. USN Days at Distance Sea: From: To: Traveled: Dates: 1 Newport, RI Boston, MA 100 Jan 3-4 1 Boston, MA Newport, RI 100 March 5-6 1 Newport, RI Norfolk, VA 350 April 23-24 1 Norfolk, VA Newport, RI 350 May 1-2 3 Newport, RI Bermuda 600 May 21-24 9 Bermuda Gibraltar 2950 May 27-June 6 4 Gibraltar Malta 1000 June 7-11 1 Malta Toranto, Italy 300 June 13-14 2 Toranto, Italy Naples, Italy 400 June 16-18 2 Naples, Italy Tripoli, Libya 528 June 20-22 2 Tripoli, Libya Naples, Italy 528 June 23-25 2 Naples, Italy Tripoli, Libya 528 June 26-30 2 Tripoli, Libya Naples, Italy 528 July 5-7 1 Naples, Italy Malta 328 July 16-17 1 Malta Naples, Italy 328 July 19-20 3 Naples, Italy Suda Bay, Crete 640 July 23-26 1 Suda Bay, Crete Izmir, Turkey 200 July 30-31 4 Izmir, Turkey Barcelona, Spain 1300 Aug 2-6 3 Barcelona, Spain Tripoli, Libya 760 Aug 17-20 2 Tripoli, Libya Naples, Italy 528 Aug 23-25 2 Naples, Italy Barcelona, Spain 558 Aug 29-31 2 Barcelona, Spain Palermo, Sicily 570 Sept 1-3 1 Palermo, Sicily Tripoli, Libya 350 Sept 5-6 2 Tripoli, Libya Toronto, Italy 480 Sept 8-10 2 Toronto, Italy Naples, Italy 360 Sept 18-20 1 Naples, Italy Malta 328 Sept 24-25 3 Malta Larnica, Cypress 960 Sept 27-30 4 Larnica, Cypress Malta 960 Sept 30-Oct 5 1 Malta Naples, Italy 328 Oct 6-7 3 Naples, Italy Gibraltar 952 Oct 15-18 10 Gibraltar Newport, RI 3100 Oct 19-29 75 Total Days at Sea Total Miles traveled: 21,322 Retyped from original copy, Oct 29, 2000 by: Bob Wood, FT3, USS Noxubee AOG 56 1955 - 1957