Twenty-Three Days at Sea: A Sailor’S Story

By David Banagis

My story is of the inherent drama and humor that is common to military service wherever it occurs. I am not a hero, but I have been honored to know and serve with many heroes. My story captures the dynamic that exists whenever men and women work together to accomplish a mission and achieve a preparedness that conditions them to serve in any location and perform any duty in defense of the United States of America. My associations range from battle-hardened veterans to recruits fresh out of boot camp. Each is necessary to the other; the veterans example is vital in the teaching of the recruit, and the recruit is blessed to serve and learn under the veterans leadership. The military person works and trains hard and, when not doing those things, plays hard; my story is intended to capture how that happens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abbott Press
• Release date: Sep 18, 2013
• ISBN: 9781458211149

David Banagis

Upon leaving a small Michigan farming community in 1959, David Banagis embarked on a twenty-year career in the US Navy. The early part of his career would see him assigned to duty involving blimps and being in Guantanamo Bay during the Cuban Missile Crisis; he was ultimately assigned to Naval Aviation and the Weekend Warriors.

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Copyright © 2013 David Banagis.

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ISBN: 978-1-4582-1116-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-1115-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-1114-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013915208

Abbott Press rev. date: 09/16/2013

CONTENTS

Acknowledgement

Foreword

CHAPTER 1

The high school grad

First try, December 1958

Second try, January 6, 1959

CHAPTER 2

The train ride to RTC Great Lakes

Checking in and getting started

Chow and our first job

Getting a new wardrobe and recruit training company

Washroom tussle

From victory to defeat

Developing leadership qualities

Attention on deck and Goforth

Getting respect

CHAPTER 3

On the move

Bainbridge and school

Not like home cooking

Liberty on a shoestring

An issue I never saw coming

Completion of YN School and moving on

CHAPTER 4

Heading for Boston and Old Yankee Country

My NADU tour of duty begins

Lighter Than Air

Duty, blimps and pranks

A couple of BIG loses

Basketball, basketball, basketball

Tea with a kick

Such a deal!

Hitching to Michigan

Anyone for tennis?

Meeting the Sea Bat

Man down!

Nice shot, Wilson!

Seeing an end to my bachelor days

One gigantic hangar

Hurricane in a tin can

Election Eve, 1960

There must be room in this world for all of us

A special success story

Wrapping up NADU, plus some tidbits

CHAPTER 5

Naval Receiving Station Brooklyn and then to McGuire AFB

Liberty in Madrid

30 days in Rota and on the move again

STD’s

Riding the Patch to D’ville

Homeport: D’ville

Traveling to Camp Lejeune not a pleasure trip

Business as usual for the office staff

Worst shot in 500 man battalion

Camp Geiger Boogie

Back to D’ville and on to Gitmo

An un-sensational arrival at Gitmo

SeaBee Camp and life on deployment

Duty Mother

Haircuts and morticians

Being prepared and recon

Enter Luke the Gook

Pistol packing Chaplain

Strawberries

Marking Time

From war games to the real thing

A new member of the family

The early signs that something big was up

The President addresses the nation

Luke greets the Marines

Rumors, rumors, rumors

Improving the SLR

Smokers

When is a friend a friend?

Palm Trees and Thanksgiving

Looking North

Wrap me up and send me home for Christmas

CHAPTER 6

To be or not to be a civilian

Reality check

Reenlisting and committing to a Navy career

Anyone for a boilermaker?

SCRAP

Top notch people

The heroic admiral

Dr. Frederick S. Whelton

LCDR Warren B. Brockway

LCDR Anonymous

First Son

Murray Hall

The Cebula factor

Turning 22 into 23

Being a Brig Chaser

Deciding the next step

CHAPTER 7

Getting started with the Weekend Warriors

The surprising misfit

Moving service

The rope

Losing the mighty Hangar #1

Carrier deck landings and the beer machines

Anyone know a good plumber?

Saving Big Mamie

Remembering a hero

Planning the next move

CHAPTER 8

The island air station

Modes of travel

The new Skipper

Betcha a buck you won’t stop at the Buck Horn

A lesson in diversity for Smokey

NAS Grosse Ile decommissioned, NAF Detroit commissioned

Son #2

Stalked

A needless tragedy

March of the mice

Flight Surgeon from hell

A special man, a special story

76.15 to being a real Yeoman

CHAPTER 9

The last tour

The Skipper

The common thread

The Poem

Elmer F. Coles Leadership Award

Why E-7?

From Master Chief to training fighters

Enter the Greek

My island grows smaller

This shook me even further

The feathered door prize

LT Strange strikes again

The challenge

The snowstorm of all snowstorms

How do you say good-bye?

Remembering Special People

Glossary of U.S. Navy acronyms and abbreviations

To My Twin Flame

www.twinflamelove.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT I give special mention to Marc Fratassio and the late John C. Yaney. Marc and John, accomplished authors in their own right, were very instrumental to the writing of my story. They expressed confidence in my ability to write something of merit long before I could see that same confidence in myself. Their encouragement and support are representative of the quality people they are and I can only hope that my writing effort reflects well on their willingness to encourage me to do what I did not believe was possible.

In addition, I extend a well earned thank you to my friend and confidant, Sylvester Ingeme. His help has been consistent with what it means to be a true friend.

To my good friend and neighbor, Donna Chase, I extend a special thank you for her valuable support.

Thank you, Lisa. I love you.

FOREWORD

MY ACQUAINTANCE OF DAVE BANAGIS was a result of my daily neighborhood walks with my constant companion Jake, a delightful energetic Cockerpoo. At first there was a slight nod or quiet hello between passing neighbors which eventually became, what we would both refer to as our end of the driveway discussions. It was during one of our lengthy conversations I learned that Dave had written an account of his military experience and while admittedly being a different era than my own, my interest was perked with the possibility of comparing and contrasting both our military exploits.

Here we have a book, or maybe it would be better to say, an enthusiastic celebration of Dave’s military memories. However, what I found with each turn of the page seemed to be a rehearsal of what I too would encounter in my own future military enlistment spent a decade later. Although a bit younger, I could easily and precisely identify with the events Dave so systematically retrieved from memory. Dave vividly reminds us that we are all frightened and timid young men aggressively pushed into mature soldiery by the torturous yelling and screaming of our basic training instructors, who, as we would find out in the end, were great guys.

Although we are brought through an array of military ventures, Dave doesn’t keep us within the confines of the military compound. He instead opens the gates of his heart to reveal his capturing the love of his life, his beloved Bev, (we are told she hated to be called Beverly). We are given a tender and moving account of his romance and a love that would eventually lead to fifty years of marital bliss.

Although few of us ever decide to pursue a career in the military, Dave reveals some very tantalizing adventures in his military life that would have possibly lured so many of us to continue on with Uncle Sam long after our tour of duty had ended. However, Dave holds no punches in describing the disappointments which accompany military life as well as the reward for service. In the end we are invited to accompany Dave on his passage from a life of military activity to a time, when Dave somewhat admits, he was enveloped in a period of self-questioning of who he was and where his was now to go. It was then, when he felt the gentle and loving touch which tugged on his heart. It was Bev, finally assuring Dave that real living had now begun, a loving and full life with her.

It has been my privilege to have been allowed the opportunity to review A Sailor’s Story, even before it was sent to print. I can confidently say, regardless of whether or not you’ve been in the military, Dave’s life memories shared with us in A Sailor’s Story, is an inspirational account of that time when allegiance to one’s country was much more than a mere obligation and dedication to friends and family was far more and much more than just being there. So now, sit back, relax, and let Dave tell you the rest of A Sailor’s Story.

Rev. Harold G. Birkenhead*

CHAPTER 1

The high school grad

ON THE 5

TH

OF JUNE 1958 I became the first of seven siblings to actually graduate from high school. Just having a diploma from Ovid High School in Ovid, Michigan was a source of great pride to my family. It was an indication that I had received some breaks which my older brothers and sisters did not have. Leaving the sheltered life of a student would bring me face-to-face with the question of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The daunting task of taking charge of my own life’s decisions was one I handled with tactical procrastination when I granted myself six months to mull it over.

Ovid, a small farming community in central Michigan, did not offer many opportunities for employment. A large number of its youth would gravitate to the automobile factories in Flint or Lansing. So it was natural that during those six months I would make the rounds of the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy recruiting stations. Military service was attractive to me since my high school diploma, combined with being eighteen years of age, made me a hot commodity. I ruled out applying for college since I had not proven myself as a student and I did not have the personal confidence to challenge myself academically.

My main reason for choosing the Navy was due to many of my friends having gone that route ahead of me. The general consensus was that the best opportunities were with the Navy, thus making the Navy the winner of the Dave Banagis Sweepstakes.

The decision had been made and I would be enlisting right after Christmas.

First try, December 1958

A day or two after Christmas, 1958, my buddy, Alan Lawrence, and I were driven to Detroit where we would be processed for enlistment into the Navy.

During the ride to Detroit our recruiter, Chief Springer, continued to feed us stories of how great the Navy was going to be. It was as though he wanted to reinforce everything he had pitched to us and motivate us to not get cold feet and back out. It must have worked (at least on me), as I passed the physical and mental exams and was poised by late afternoon to raise my hand, repeat the obligatory oath and be on my way to the Recruit Training Command (RTC) at Great Lakes, Illinois. There were a couple of catches, however.

My buddy, Alan, did not pass the physical and would not be enlisting with me. The other catch was that people who had scored lower than myself on the written test and were labeled as Group II were sent out ahead of Group I. This infuriated Chief Springer, but, despite his protests, I found myself returning home while receiving every imaginable promise from the Chief that I would be accepted for enlistment after New Year’s and he would not leave Detroit until I was on the train to RTC Great Lakes.

It was a bit awkward to walk through the door at home. I had said my good byes and would have to do it again in a few days. Besides, my folks probably had plans for my bedroom and having me back would delay those plans. Nevertheless, they did seem happy to see me.

Second try, January 6, 1959

Good byes having been said one more time, I found myself being driven to Detroit once again by Chief Springer. The only difference was that this trip began at 4 a.m., whereas the first ride to Detroit had started at 7 a.m. I had never willingly seen 4 a.m. before, but this was my introduction to a new phase of my life where sleep would often be a precious commodity.

Chief Springer kept his promise and my first enlistment began January 6, 1959.

Good bye, Naval Recruiting Station, Detroit, Michigan and hello, Naval Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois.

CHAPTER 2

The train ride to RTC Great Lakes

RIDING THE TRAIN TO GREAT Lakes was a strange experience. About twenty of us were coming from Detroit and it was remarkably quiet and pensive. Much of the conversation was self directed and consisted of mumbling. It appeared that it