There and Back: An Experience of a Lifetime
Seeing a helicopter being pushed off the side of a ship was a sight of war that the Navy crew members never expected to see. On October 18, 1974, at the age of twenty-one boatswain's mate, James Jump was departing for the second time from the Naval Station in San Diego. The USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) a command and communication anti-war ship was once again heading towards White Beach, Okinawa, "it's home away from home," (Dooley 3). Before leaving the safe waters of the United States, the Blue Ridge stopped at Pearl Harbor for a day of re-fueling and supply runs. The men did not know as they sailed past the remains of the USS Arizona, that they would soon be in a combat type action thousands of miles to the west. Hawaii was not the only stop that the Blue Ridge made that year. The ship also stopped in many overseas ports such as Yokosuka, Keelung (Taiwan), Manilla, Hong Kong, and Subic Ba
There was always so much to do, even when we were at the Naval Base," recalls Jump. The ship also organized "fun" nights for the crew, such as Bingo or touring entertainers would perform on the ship (Dooley 137). Some of the personnel read or listened to music. So it really was not that bad of a job," (Jump). Everyday was a working day onboard the US Navy ship. Jump remembers that many of the countries he visited did not have a middle class like the United States has. While on deployment Jump was a part of the First and Second Division, as a Boatswain's mate. " I basically did ship maintenance and things like that. "I enjoyed our time in the Philippines the best. Jump says that he missed fishing the most, but since the ship was moving too fast he was not able to catch anything. All work and no play was not the definition of the USS Blue Ridge. The divisions included every job from being a personnel man to a ship's serviceman. Every crew member aboard the ship had a favorite port and for Jump it was the Subic Bay port in the Philippines. The lush mountains and tropical beauty of Subic Bay helped the crew relax and forget about all the stress and responsibilities that went along with being a member of the United States Navy. What was considered to be a day of rejoicing for the Christian world, was the beginning of a month of chaos for the men onboard the Blue Ridge.
Common topics in this essay:
Blue Ridge,
Division Boatswain's,
Jump Jump,
Philippines Jump,
,
Jump Everyday,
Subic Bay,
Vietnam Easter,
USS Arizona,
Beach Okinawa,
blue ridge,
subic bay,
boatswain's mate,
ship maintenance,
uss blue,
uss blue ridge,
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Acceptance Essays
