Please describe who or what influenced your decision to join the Navy?

Tailor-Made Gaberdines

I am a direct descendant, tenth generation, of Joseph Loomis. My family came from the village of Braintree in the county of Essex, England, to the new world in 1638. Their ship, the SUSAN ELLIN (aka Suzan and Ellen) with her captain ("Master") Edward Payne, crossed the Atlantic departing from the port of London from 11 April to 17 July 1638. They landed at the settlement of Boston which had been founded just eight years earlier in 1630. The family moved to Windsor, Connecticut, in 1639. In 1640 Joseph purchased property in Windsor from the Plymouth Company. Their home still stands on the grounds of the Loomis School and holds the distinction of being the oldest family homestead in America.

The American Revolutionary War (War of Independence): My great-great-great-great grandfather "Jonathan Loomis" (Joseph Loomis' great-great-grandson) served for seven years with Captain Joel Stevens' Company, Colonel David Rossiter's Regiment of Massachusetts, and fought at the battle of Bunker Hill. On my mother's side, my great (x5) grandfather "Levi Totten" served as a Sergeant in the military during the Revolutionary War. Levi is listed in the Daughters of the American Revolution (1C9V-696). That makes me a Son of the American Revolution.

The American Civil War (War Between the States): I have great grandfathers on both sides of the family that were soldiers in the Union Army, the North, during the "War of the Rebellion". On my mother's side was "Christopher Columbus Reen" Pennsylvania 36th Regiment, Company B (Seventh Reserve). He also served in the 210th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers. His GAR Post, Grand Army of the Republic, was No. 253, Dushville, Isabella County, Michigan. Another was "Henry Otis Totten", Corporal, 29th Michigan Infantry Companies B and H. On my father's side was "Joel Woolsey Loomis" Michigan 11th Infantry, Company B, GAR Post No. 285, Osceola Co., Mich. He was Post Commander in 1898. And that makes me a Son of the Rebellion: S.U.V., Sons Of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

I was born in 1950 to a WWII war bride and soldier. On my father's side: my dad, his older brother, and two of his sister's husbands were WWII Veterans. On my mother's side: her father "Edwin Reen" was a WWI Veteran, Michigan Infantry Company 26 with AMEXFORCE in France; her two oldest brothers were WWII Vets and the next was a Korean War sailor. I joined the Navy while still in my senior year of high school. It was the Navy's CACHE Program (delayed entry) which gave me time to finish school and receive my diploma before reporting for active duty. I volunteered for duty in Viet-Nam and spent a year in-country "boots on the ground" in the Brown Water Navy. And that makes me a Viet-Nam War Veteran.

Whether you were in the service for several years or as a career, please describe the direction or path you took. What was your reason for leaving?

Plank Owner and Shellback, at 84°West*

From my first meeting with our local Navy Recruiter, all I could focus on was to be in electronics. It was the spring of 1969 and that was what I felt was the future and I wanted to be part of it, and that's what they gave me. So, upon the completion of Basic Training, I set out for Dam Neck, Virginia, and was enrolled in the FBM/MT A School (Fleet Ballistic Missile - Missile Technician class A School). From there I should have gone into the Submarine Service, however, I spent 17 weeks in training and failed to meet requirements. I was dropped from the program and volunteered for duty in Viet-Nam.

At the time I was a Seaman Apprentice and had only been in the Navy for seven months when I put in that chit for River Patrol-Minesweeper duty and ten days later I was on my way to SERE and Weapons Training with orders for U.S. Naval Ground Forces Viet-Nam. While in SERE training I was taken aside and told that if I were captured that I was to never, under any circumstance, reveal my secret clearance and the fact that I had been involved with FBM training.

I then spent the next year in Viet-Nam working directly with the South Vietnamese Navy in the Saigon Shipyard. At the end of my tour in Viet-Nam, I put in another chit, this time for IC-A School (Interior Communications Electrician Class "A" School) and with the stroke of a pen they switched me from Seaman to Fireman (engineering). I then attended school in San Diego and spent the rest of my time in the service as an "IC-men". At least now I was in an electronics field, although we were jokingly called "Low Voltage Electricians" by many of our shipmates.

Upon leaving IC School I was finally going to sea. I'd been in the Navy for two and a half years and I'd never been to sea, actually, I'd never been assigned to a ship until I got orders to the "Darlin' Harlan".

I asked the Personnel Office at NTC San Diego, "Where is the ship located?" and to my surprise, they said "It's at 32nd Street, it's still being built". So, I put on my dress blues and got a cab to the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company and walked through their main gate. Some kind of foreman asked me what I was there for and I told him I'd come to see the Harlan County, "I've got orders to her". He gave me a funny look and said, "Come on, come aboard" and took me on a brief, but memorable, top deck tour of the ship. In the meantime, I had orders back to Norfolk for Pre-commissioning and Damage Control School.

It would be more than three months before I saw the ship again and this time it was in Long Beach for the Commissioning Ceremony, 8 April 1972. From there we degaussed the ship and filled her with diesel fuel at San Pedro, then headed to Sea. Our first stop was Acapulco Bay, Mexico. We then headed south and crossed the equator at 84°W*, off the coast of Ecuador (Spanish for EQUATOR), and then north to enter the Panama Canal. From there we headed north through the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and up the Mississippi River to the port of New Orleans. Our next stop was Little Creek, our home port. I was now a Plank Owner (ship's original crew) and a Shellback (for crossing the equator) on board the USS Harlan County, LST-1196, home port Navy Amphibious Base Little Creek, VA. Next, we loaded cargo, the US Olympic Yachts, for what I consider the ship's maiden voyage; a journey across the Atlantic and the North Sea to the Kiel Canal and onto Kiel Germany for the 1972 Olympic Games. Additional highlights included passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to our next stop, Barcelona, Spain, and then a port of call at the Azores before returning to Little Creek. Quite a first cruise! With my crossing of the Atlantic, and introduction to the Mediterranean Sea, I felt like I was now, truly "In The Navy".

Like most East Coast ships we made a few trips to the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GTMO), and in June 1973 I was officially rung off the ship, ding-ding: "Loomis, Plank Owner, Departing" and honorably discharged, after my four-year tour of duty. Now a civilian, I then put myself through a technical college on the GI Bill. But, I also spent time in a couple of US Naval Reserve units later on. There was something about putting that uniform back on. Those of you who have done it will know what I mean. Over the years in the Reserves, I was assigned to three more ships and went back to sea with one that made a return to "Gitmo", one last time.

* USS HARLAN COUNTY - TRIVIA. WHY DID WE CROSS THE EQUATOR AT 84 DEGREES WEST?

In my opinion, there were several reasons. First and foremost, for the crew at least, this turned each of us "Plank Owners" into "Shellbacks". An old and somewhat infamous tradition and a sailors rite of passage. But, I'd be willing to bet there was another reason. Oddly enough, if you trace the longitude 84 degrees W north, from the Pacific Ocean -- through Central America, it passes through the western Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and right past Harlan County Kentucky, the namesake of our ship. Also, and I believe this was almost an inside joke... our Skipper, Commander Vernon C. Smith, later Rear Admiral, is from Midland, Michigan. Any of you guessed it yet? Well, it is very nearly smack dab on the mark of... 84 degrees West, (84.2472 degrees W to be exact).

If you participated in any military operations, including combat, humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, please describe those which were the most significant to you and, if life-changing, in what way.

Green Fatigues & Black Beret

I served in-country Viet Nam during campaigns thirteen and fourteen. #13. Sanctuary Counteroffensive (1970). #14. Viet Nam Counteroffensive - Phase VII (1970/71). However, rather than river patrol minesweeper duty, I was assigned to the Senior Naval Advisory Unit in Viet Nam, at the Vietnamese Naval Shipyard in Saigon, and that is why I use the moniker/nickname, "Saigon Ship Yard". I often drove or rode shotgun on Highway One north to Bien Hoa and Long Binh or by river south to Nha Be, and stood many a watch in the shipyard and at the COMNAVFORV compound, where we had orders not to return fire.

As time passes, I am pleased with that restriction.

Of all your duty stations or assignments, which one do you have fondest memories of and why? Which one was your least favorite?

USS Pluck, ship's plaque

All four of the Navy ships I served on have been decommissioned. They were the USS Harlan County (LST-1196), USS Francis Marion (LPA-249), USS Schenectady (LST-1185) and the USS Pluck (MSO-464). Only the first ship was while on Active Duty, the other three were USNR assignments. I usually consider myself a "Gator/Fleet Sailor" because most of my ships were Naval Amphibious Forces, however, it was the "Pluck" I always had a soft spot for. It was the only "wooden ship" I served on, an Ocean Minesweeper. You have all heard the phrase, "Wooden Ships and Iron Men", so it was with the Pluck.

Several years ago I purchased this plaque which may have once hung in the ship's wardroom. The solid aluminum casting weighs five pounds and is a foot wide. I am also pleased to have this photo listed at NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive, USS Pluck MSO 464. "MIN DIV 92 (mine division) USS PLUCK - ALWAYS A CLEAN SWEEP - MSO 464".

I served on the Pluck when she was in San Diego, December/January 1974/5.

From your entire service, including combat, describe the personal memories which have impacted you most?

Citation, click to enlarge

I think I can scale this down to a single hour, as it changed my course shortly after I arrived in Viet-Nam. I was sent to the Vietnamese Naval Shipyard (TDY) while I waited to be assigned to a River Patrol Unit. It was Saturday, mid-morning and I was standing in the Admin Office of the Naval Advisory Unit when Lieutenant Commander Teague came over to me, looked at the name tag on my jungle greens and asked me where I was from. At this point, I'd been in the Navy for less than eleven months and had never spoken to an Officer of his rank. I quickly responded with "Wisconsin, Sir". He continued with "So, Loomis, what did you take in high school?" I gave him a quick reply, "I took math and science courses and drafting, mechanical and architectural". Suddenly he was very interested in my drafting background and I told him it was my best subject.

A minute or so later we were in his office looking at charts and pages of data he had been preparing on checkered drafting paper. Then he asked me if I'd like working on them and giving them a professional look. I may have been young, but I wasn't stupid. Of course, I said yes, and for the next year I worked with the shipyard's shop foremen, through interpreters, translators, and my Vietnamese Counterpart, to produce charts and graphs on every class of ship in the Vietnamese Navy. They showed the progress on overhauls and fleet maintenance and were used as visual-aids by our Captain every week at the Admiral's Management Information Briefings at COMNAVFORV (U.S. Naval Forces headquarters, Viet-Nam). I was listed as a "Statistical Advisor" to the Vietnamese Naval Shipyard, the fact is, I was a regular Seaman at the time. As I left Viet-Nam my rate was changed from Seaman to Fireman so I could attend IC-A school. Some things could be done in a rather casual manner back then.

What achievement(s) are you most proud of from your military career? If you received any medals, awards, formal presentations or qualification badges for significant achievement or valor, please describe how these were earned.

Captain Jackson, CO of NTC/SD

I was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal with combat "V" while serving with the Senior Naval Advisory Group Viet Nam from June 1970 to June 1971. I was still an undesignated, non rated, E3 at the time. My citation was signed by Rear Admiral R.S. Salzer and states: the Combat Distinguishing Device is authorized, which was like getting two awards in one. I was presented the award at my next command by Captain Jackson, the C.O. of the Naval Training Center in San Diego. My next assignment was an East Coast ship. When someone would ask "What does the 'V' stand for?", I just told them I "Volunteered for Viet Nam".

And yet, after all these years, with all of the controversy surrounding the Viet Nam War, it has always been a great comfort that I was given this award, especially the citation, documenting and describing in detail my small contribution to our efforts with the Vietnamese Navy.

Note: VIET-NAM versus VIETNAM. Most Americans use Vietnam as one word, I usually use it as two words, or hyphenated, because Viet Nam is two words in the Vietnamese language. Then again, so is Sai-Gon. The French wrote it as Saigon, one word, and so we followed that example.

Of all the medals, awards, formal presentations and qualification badges you received, or any other memorabilia, please describe those which are the most meaningful to you and why?

RVNN Staff Medal 2nd Class

I have one which was a personal award from a foreign government, which in itself tells a lot. It is also uncommon enough that less than a dozen Navy TWS members list it and I received it twice. It's the Republic of Vietnam's Navy Staff Service Medal, 2nd Class. Awarded to members of Advisory Units working with Vietnamese Naval Staff. 2nd Class was for enlisted personnel, officers received the 1st Class version, and awarded at the "Honorary Grade" level because I was not a member of the South Vietnamese Navy. The back of the medal reads: "THAM MUU BOI TINH" and means "Warfare Tactics Advising". I received the award from the Vietnamese Naval Shipyard Command for the year I worked with them in Saigon. When I was awarded the "Staff Medal" by Captain Doan Bich, the Vietnamese Shipyard's Commanding Officer, he stuck me in the chest with those long sharp pins, making the event even more memorable. I was also told I was the youngest and lowest ranking 'person' to ever receive the award because I was still only twenty years old and the Vietnamese Draft age was 21.

Nearly a year and a half later, while serving in the Atlantic on an LST, I received this award a second time. It had taken so long to catch up to me that the medal itself and its award certificate had gone missing. Apologetically, the executive officer, LCdr. John Henry Withers offered me the typed citation which had been awarded to me this time by the South Vietnamese Navy High Command. Much later I found out that the Navy never bothered to list the second award in my service jacket. I suspect they hadn't realized it was my 'second award' of this 'foreign medal' so only one shows on my DD-214.

I've always liked the images on this award with its RED, WHITE and BLUE ribbon. In the center are the armed forces (land, sea, and air). The outer shape is that of Saigon's original French Citadel/fortress. If you look closely, you will also see the medal contains a crossed PEN & SWORD. And with my title, as Statistical Advisor, I like to think... "THE PEN WAS AS MIGHTY AS THE SWORD".

Which individual(s) from your time in the military stand out as having the most positive impact on you and why?

Shipyard Advisory Group Plaque and Badge

It would have been Lieutenant Commander Robert 'Bob' Teague. He was the Planning Advisor in the shipyard in Saigon and my boss. It is a long story, but it may suffice to say - his first wife was also a "Redhead named Loomis".

The Republic of Vietnam's largest industrial complex was the 52 acre Vietnamese Naval Shipyard in Saigon. It was the only real heavy industry and was the nation's largest training school. The plaque's inscription: NAG VNNSY stands for Naval Advisory Group, Vietnamese Naval Shipyard; CO-VAN means Advisor; HAI-QUAN: Navy, and CONG-XUONG: Shipyard. The small tinned (beercan) badge was worn on the pocket of our greens and was used as the design to make shoulder patches and flash patches for our hats and black berets.

Can you recount a particular incident from your service which may or may not have been funny at the time, but still makes you laugh?

Shipyard main gate : Hai Quan Cong Xuong

Saigon, early 1971. Vietnamization is underway. We were letting them take over their war. One morning a memo came around from the Vietnamese Naval Command, ATTENTION DRIVERS. Translated, it stated: Anyone driving vehicles belonging to the South Vietnamese Government must have a valid Vietnamese Driver's License. I worked in the Vietnamese Naval Shipyard in Saigon, just off Tu Do Street and was attached to the Senior Naval Advisory Group - Viet-Nam, which assisted in the management of the shipyard. The way it worked was, we turned over vehicles to the Vietnamese by the shipload, however, as Advisors, they saw our role as working for them, the Vietnamese. Result. Our jeeps were hand-me-downs, registered as PROPERTY OF THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT and we carried a list of serial numbers of vehicles we were authorized to use. Now back to the memo.

The Planning Advisor, Lt. Cdr. Bob Teague, my boss, looked at me and said, "Well let's go get the paperwork done" and we climbed into a jeep and I drove over to City Hall. We went up to the second floor and presented our papers to a clerk at a counter. An older lady looked over the memo and Teague's license and then to mine. I had a Wisconsin and an Army/Navy driver's license. Actually, my Army license had the word NAVY written over ARMY. This was done by some old Sergeant at the Saigon Motor Pool who might have been trying to be funny, hard to tell. The old lady looked at my stuff, then up at me and over to Teague, like he was my father or something, and said, ''I'm sorry, but he is not old enough to drive". I was 20 and the Vietnamese full license, over 50cc's for motor-bikes required you to be 21. I thought Bob Teague was going to drop dead. He just couldn't stop laughing. They finished up his license and we left. I climbed back behind the wheel and drove back over to the shipyard. On the way, Teague would break out in laughter and after we got back to the office he told the story to everyone, laughing every time.

Of course, it didn't matter. I drove all over Saigon, up and down to Long Binh and Bien Hoa and Nha Be. Now, some forty years later, in some old Officer's Club or Seaman's Home, Bob is most likely still telling tales of Saigon and I hope he's still laughing at this one.

What profession did you follow after your military service and what are you doing now? If you are currently serving, what is your present occupational specialty?

Audio-Visual Specialist

AUDIO-VISUALS: Photography, Graphics, and Multi-Media. Shortly after being discharged, after four years of active duty, I took my GI Bill and went to college. Initially, in an attempt to combine my military background with the outside world, I enrolled in a Bio-Medical program to become a hospital electronics repairman. I came to a realization that I would be in the basement of a hospital, like I was in the IC shop onboard ship, repairing stuff other people broke.

I decided to change my major and chose AV. I graduated at the top of my class with academic honors with an Associate Degree in Visual Communications. Before I graduated I had already been hired as the Audio-Visual Specialist for the largest hospital in Western Wisconsin where I also became their Medical Photographer. Three years later I took a contract in Saudi Arabia with Lockheed Aircraft where I met my wife, a British secretary. I also attended the University of Wisconsin at Platteville and continued to work in the field of Audio-Visuals until my retirement. It was a wonderful career and spanned decades of changes in technology. At the end of my working life, I had never had a single unemployment check.

What military associations are you a member of, if any? What specific benefits do you derive from your memberships?

My Veterans plate: (1970 age 19, Viet-Nam)

SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, by my great (x4) grandfather, Jonathan Loomis; and by my great (x5) grandfather, Levi Totten. SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR; through three of my great grandfathers, Joel W. Loomis, Christopher C. Reen and Henry O. Totten. I am a member or past member of the VFW, American Legion, Mobile Riverine Force Association, and Navy TogetherWeServed; My Veteran's License Plate is easy for me to remember: 7019VT; I volunteered for duty in Viet-Nam in '70, and I was 19 years old.

In what ways has serving in the military influenced the way you have approached your life and your career?

The LAIAG logo

Having served in the military, especially in Viet-Nam, was a major factor in my securing a contract in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with Lockheed Aircraft International A.G., where I helped design and then managed the Instructional Media Center (IMC) of the Airways Facilities Training Center, a technical school specializing in high-technology instruction for the Saudi Ministry of Defense and Aviation (MODA). LAIAG was based out of Geneva Switzerland, a division of Lockheed Aircraft Service Co., (Ontario, California), which is now Lockheed Martin. Since then my wife Barbra and I have traveled abroad for the majority of our vacations. The Navy gave me Gypsy Feet and I've enjoyed them all of my adult life.

Based on your own experiences, what advice would you give to those who have recently joined the Navy?

Chris Noel in Viet-Nam

You're an adult now, and it's time to learn moderation. Know this, you, and you alone, are responsible for the outcome of your actions. I stress this because today's Navy may not be as forgiving as it was in the past. With that said, enjoy yourself, and learn to be a good photographer. Take quality pictures of people and locations. Get a few really good photographs of yourself along the way, in action or on location. Those will be worth their weight in gold when you get older.

The photo to the right is of Chris Noel, a favorite of the guys in Vietnam. Need a worthy cause? Please consider this one, run by Ms. Chris Noel: Vetsville Cease Fire House, 291 NE 19th Avenue, Boynton Beach, FL 33435, Phone: (561) 736-4325, http://www.vietvet.org/vetsvill.htm, For info on Chris Noel: http://www.chrisnoel.com/.

Of the advice my father gave me, two really stuck in my mind and I took him seriously.

The first was: "Compare yourself with the top of the class, not the bottom".

The second was: "Get a trade and learn to do it well so you have something solid to fall back on. Then, do whatever you want in life". And so, I did.

In what ways has TogetherWeServed.com helped you remember your military service and the friends you served with.

I retired as I turned 61.

Well, at first I came here to get away from some general 'school' type sites. NTWS is ALL NAVY and I found myself right at home. I can have fun or be as serious as I want, depending on the forum. I can also post things that may only be read by a specialized/interested few, I like that. Then after awhile, I started creating Remembrance Profiles. This challenge has given me an additional sense of naval history which I find very rewarding. The real surprise was that in the process I have learned more about my own family's military service than I could have imagined. It makes me proud to be a part of my families military history. Thank you for stopping by.

Steve

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