I was discharged Honorably from the active Navy in July of 1969 and went active reserve stationed at the Naval Reserve Units at Gore Hill Air Station, Great Falls Montana and Swan Island Naval Station, Portland Oregon. I did a two week tour in the spring of 1970 at the Bremington Naval Station, Bremington Washington. I turned down re-enlistment and was discharged from the active reserves in February of 1971. Good by Navy and hello college and construction.
I worked as a construction electrician for 35 years. I held a Journeyman Electrician license in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming also a Masters license in Idaho. I was Electrical Instructor in the Dept. of Labor Electrical Apprenticeship program at the Salt Lake Community College for seven years. While teaching there I received my BA degree in Arts & Science in 1999, with minors in History and Political Science.
In my travels in the Navy and working construction and just being a tourist I visited all 50 states, three Canadan providences and two states in Mexico.
In 1992 I had a copy of my DD214 and there was nothing noted that I had recieved any of the medals or advancement at during my reserve time of two years or my advancement to 2nd Class Electrician. There was not any mention of me being awarded the pistol ,rifle, combat medal, cold war medal and my good conduct medals. It is though I did not exist from 1969 until 1971. BUMMER!!! I chose to show the rank of a third class petty officer because I never did wear the sholder patch (Crow) of a second class petty officer.I also reluctantly deleted my medals that were not on my DD-214.
I am retired inside wireman from the IBEW Local #354 Salt Lake City, Utah. I retired and on SS and have a retirement from the State of Utah.
I am a Master Mason and Worshipful Master of Camp Floyd Historical Lodge No 204 and my mother lodge is Uintah Lodge No. 7 F & AM Bountifull, Utah. I am Past Master of Joppa No. 26 F & AM Price, Utah. I am a Knight Templer, 32 degree Scotish Rite Mason and a Noble in the Mistic Shrine. I am also Past Worthy President of Midvale Aerie No 354 Fraternal Order of Eagles. Midvale Utah.
Other Comments:
I drove to Westport, Washington for a family reunion. We had a stop over in Portland and I had a good visit with my old shipmate Retired Chief Electrician (CB'S) Tom Corrie. We served onboard the USS Fletcher DD445.
This last February My brother David Lindseth an I made the trip to Washington to go crab fishing. We had a great time.
This summer I continued with my activities as a Civil War reinactor unit at Camp Floyd, Utah. I told those Army guys they wern't going to have all the fun. With my 1861 Union Navy uniform and now I tour telling the public how the U.S. Navy won the Civil War.
I now live in Benson AZ and I a snowbirder to the north country of Great Falls Montana.Where I am a volunteer Docent at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. It is one of the best jobs I have ever had. I love telling the Lewis and Clark story to the grade school students.
Best Friends Joe Tripodo Bob Howard Creig Wilson Tom Corrie Sandy Turner (RIP)
Best Moment Being station at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was really good duty. I attended firefighting school during the summer of 1967. My repair party crew broke the speed record that year for assembling a fire pump. Which led to the "E" award. In 1968 the Fighting Fletcher received an "E" award for Sea Trials. Not bad for a twenty-six year old ship. But the best was overseas duty, going on liberty in such exotic ports as Hong Kong, Subic Bay P. I., Sasebo and Tokyo Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Kaohsiung Taiwan and Guam and Midway. The absolute best was of course Brisbane Australia and passing a beautiful church by an small bay on New Guinea. Wish I had a camera. In January of 1967 we patrolled the Taiwan Straits between Taiwan and Communist China. And the time we shot the shit out of a NVA gun emplacement, blowing the top off a mountain where it was located in North Viet Nam. Another time there was a large sampan that was trying to disrupt refueling detail in the Gulf of Tonkin and the carrier, oiler and the USS Fletcher ran over the damn thing. There was nothing left nothing but bamboo scraps when the garbage cleared the fan tails. Oh!! The Sea Stories.
Worst Moment Cleaning out the stinky storage locker in the shaft alley. Engine room watches when the temperature reached 120 plus degrees. Hitting a typhoon off Midway was exciting when a giant wave knocked out the windows on the bridge.
Other Memories Check out the USS Fletcher DD445 web site. http://ussfletcher.org/default.htm
