<html><head><style type='text/css'>p { margin: 0; }</style></head><body><div style='font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000'><P>Almost wants me to re-enlist. Go Navy. Sorry I missed Branson but Theresa and I drank the Virginia wine we were bringing:=)</P>
<P>God Bless </P>
<P>john<BR>----- Original Message -----<BR>From: "ThomasBoyce" <moomapa@verizon.net><BR>To: "Dean Slone" <daslone@saber.net>, "Chris Gallant" <QuickSilver7148@aol.com>, "Mitch Mitchell" <RJERSEYDEVIL@aol.com>, "Doug Cotton" <Dougsusancotton@msn.com>, "Thomas Camann" <sanbaggr@aol.com>, "SEMMES Board" <Board@semmesddg18.org>, "Jack Cistriano" <knowhowdrc@aol.com>, "John Jones" <jonesjohne@bellsouth.net>, "Thomas Ringate" <tringate@tampabay.rr.com>, "SEMMES List" <ddg18@semmesddg18.org>, "Ron Beinhaur" <Rbeinhaur@aol.com>, "Fred Smith" <fbsmithjr@comcast.net>, "Richard Alexander" <Dickzander@aol.com>, "Byron Personett" <personett@aol.com>, "Chuck Layus" <cllrn3@comcast.net>, "Ted McCourtney" <tedmccourtney@optonline.net><BR>Sent: Monday, September 27, 2010 3:30:56 PM<BR>Subject: [DDG18] Reflections of a Blackshoe<BR><BR><BR></P>
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<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Helvetica'; FONT-SIZE: medium"><B>Subject: </B></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Helvetica'; FONT-SIZE: medium"><B>Reflections of a Blackshoe</B><BR></SPAN></DIV><BR><FONT color=black size=2 face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR>
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<DIV class=plainMail><STRONG><EM><FONT color=#0000bf>Reflections of a Blackshoe<BR>by VADM Harold Koenig, USN (Ret).<BR><BR>I like the Navy. I like standing on the bridge wing at sunrise with<BR>salt spray in my face and clean ocean winds whipping in from the<BR>four quarters of the globe - the ship beneath me feeling like a living<BR>thing as her engines drive her through the sea.<BR><BR>I like the sounds of the Navy - the piercing trill of the boatswains<BR>pipe, the syncopated clangor of the ship's bell on the quarterdeck,<BR>the harsh squawk of the 1MC and the strong language and laughter of sailors at work.<BR><BR>I like Navy vessels - nervous darting destroyers, plodding fleet<BR>auxiliaries, sleek submarines and steady solid carriers. I like the<BR>proud names of Navy ships: Midway, Lexington, Saratoga, Coral Sea -<BR>memorials of great battles won. I like the lean angular names of<BR>Navy 'tin-cans': Barney, Dahlgren, Mullinix, McCloy - mementos of heroes<BR>who went before us.<BR><BR>I like the tempo of a Navy band blaring through the topside speakers<BR>as we pull away from the oiler after refueling at sea. I like<BR>liberty call and the spicy scent of a foreign port. I even like all hands<BR>working parties as my ship fills herself with the multitude of<BR>supplies both mundane and exotic which she needs to cut her ties to<BR>the land and carry out her mission anywhere on the globe where there<BR>is water to float her.<BR><BR>I like sailors, men from all parts of the land, farms of the<BR>Midwest, small towns of New England, from the cities, the mountains and the prairies, from all walks of life. I trust and depend on them as they trust and depend on me - for professional competence, for comradeship, for courage. In a word, they are "shipmates."<BR><BR>I like the surge of adventure in my heart when the word is passed "Now<BR>station the special sea and anchor detail - all hands to quarters for<BR>leaving port", and I like the infectious thrill of sighting home again, with the waving hands of welcome from family and friends waiting pierside.<BR><BR>The work is hard and dangerous, the going rough at times, the<BR>parting from loved ones painful, but the companionship of robust Navy<BR>laughter, the 'all for one and one for all' philosophy of the sea is ever present.<BR><BR>I like the serenity of the sea after a day of hard ship's work, as<BR>flying fish flit across the wave tops and sunset gives way to night.<BR><BR>I like the feel of the Navy in darkness - the masthead lights, the<BR>red and green navigation lights and stern light, the pulsating<BR>phosphorescence of radar repeaters - they cut through the dusk and<BR>join with the mirror of stars overhead. And I like drifting off to<BR>sleep lulled by the myriad noises large and small that tell me that<BR>my ship is alive and well, and that my shipmates on watch will keep me safe.<BR><BR>I like quiet midwatches with the aroma of strong coffee - the<BR>lifeblood of the Navy - permeating everywhere. And I like hectic<BR>watches when the exacting minuet of haze-gray shapes racing at flank<BR>speed keeps all hands on a razor edge of alertness. I like the sudden electricity of "General quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle stations", followed by the hurried clamor of running feet on ladders and the<BR>resounding thump of watertight doors as the ship transforms herself<BR>in a few brief seconds from a peaceful workplace to a weapon of war -<BR>ready for anything. And I like the sight of space-age equipment manned by youngsters clad in dungarees and soundpowered phones that their grandfathers would still recognize.<BR><BR>I like the traditions of the Navy and the men and women who made<BR>them. I like the proud names of Navy heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut, John Paul Jones. A sailor can find much in the Navy, comrades-in-arms, pride in self and country, mastery of the seaman's trade. An adolescent can find adulthood.<BR><BR>In years to come, when sailors are home from the sea, they will still<BR>remember with fondness and respect the ocean in all its moods - the<BR>impossible shimmering mirror calm and the storm-tossed green water<BR>surging over the bow. And then there will come again a faint whiff of<BR>stack gas, a faint echo of engine and rudder orders, a vision of the<BR>bright bunting of signal flags snapping at the yardarm, a refrain of<BR>hearty laughter in the wardroom and chief's quarters and messdecks.<BR>Gone ashore for good they will grow wistful about their Navy days,<BR>when the seas belonged to them and a new port of call was ever over<BR>the horizon. Remembering this, they will stand taller and say,<BR><BR>"I WAS A SAILOR ONCE.<BR>I WAS PART OF THE NAVY;<BR>THE NAVY WILL ALWAYS BE PART OF ME."</FONT></EM></STRONG><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>-- <BR><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV><!-- end of AOLMsgPart_2_2ef036d8-72d8-488e-a61c-e1e02fbbed3b --></DIV></FONT>= </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>www.semmesddg18.org<BR>DDG18 mailing list<BR>DDG18@semmesddg18.org<BR>http://semmesddg18.org/mailman/listinfo/ddg18_semmesddg18.org<BR></div></body></html>