A picture from the Past.
Liberty call in Messina, Cisely
My ship was the third over.
For Today:
My memory is sketchy at best,
but at times there are things that hit me with a force to bring back an
incident in this odd life of mine. Words like Heads and Latrines. Everyone knows the word latrine; it is the
common name for toilet in the Army and Air Force. Although ‘Head’ is the same in the Navy, just
not as well known. “Darnell, you have head duty today!” That meant it was my
day to clean the toilet.
Some words were ‘classified’,
not to be used off the base or ship. Every ship or base had a ‘code word’ that
meant there is an immediate danger, return NOW to your duty station.
When the skipper/commander
deemed necessary to get everyone back to the base, or Battle Stations, Announcements or phone calls were made and
one word was used; one I remember The code was “Red Coat!” The person receiving the call answered, “UNDERSTOOD” and hung the phone and
took off back to the base.
Being part of the military
sticks with you. The code word “Broken Arrow” was part of my life for the last ten
years of service. It was a classified word NEVER to be used publicly. So you
can imagine my SHOCK to see that printed in a newspaper. It is no longer a
classified word, But I did not know that. I took this off the internet:
·
An accidental event involving nuclear weapons or components that
does not create the risk of nuclear war.
·
A code word indicating that a unit is in danger of being overrun
and requires immediate assistance.
·
A situation where a nuclear weapon is lost, stolen, accidentally
detonated, or mistakenly released
·
I heard it once in my career.
We were taking-on some ‘Nuc’s’ in the North Atlantic and the seas were rough. Our
ship and the Ammo ship came together ‘collided’ because of a wrong move by one
of the ships. (Over the ships loudspeakers
was heard: “THIS IS NOT A
DRILL, ‘BROKEN ARROW! BROKEN ARROW’! The weapons were on deck, but they were
secured immediately, by the crew, and a big problem was avoided by fast acting
men. Damage to both ships was extensive.
My mind said to me several
times in the last couple years, ‘Broken Arrow’.
I am not unique, I am sure that there have been problems, disasters,
accidents in all of our lives when we felt the weight of the world on our
shoulders. When I see the problems created by Helene, my problems shrink, but
they still exist, just minor in comparison.
I know this is a crazy post, but on my mind.
NiteShipslog
PS:
So, ‘Thanks’ AGAIN to
y’all for stopping by the Shipslog. It is nice to know that folks read this
stuff.