Page 62 - Stand Down Vietnam

The highlight of the USS Thetis Bay service with the
Atlantic Fleet came during the Cuban Missile Crisis in
October 1962 when she proceeded to the quarantine area
with her embarked marine landing team and helicopter
squadron ready for action.

In September 1963 Thetis Bay proceeded to hurricane-
stricken Haiti. She anchored off Port-au-Prince and

launched Marine helicopters carrying medical aid and
food supplies to thousands of victims of Hurricane
Flora.

My job aboard that command ship was in CIC, Combat
Intelligence Command. I was in Operations working the
radios again. Once again, I was on this assignment for
about six weeks.

I was sent back to Iwakuni, Japan. After only about
two weeks I was ordered to a shift where I had four
Japanese working with me; they didn’t speak any
English. So, I had to learn to speak Japanese.

At nighttime, between 02:00 and 0:400 we’d spend a
couple of hours learning each other’s language. I’d
teach them English and they’d teach me Japanese. We
accomplished most of the translation training over the
radio. He was in Tokyo and I was in Iwakuni, which is
located close to Hiroshima.

A couple of months before coming home, I was assigned
to the Japanese Command Center. I would scramble
Japanese airplanes on planes coming across the border
from Korea, Cambodia, and Vietnam. I did scramble one
airplane against an American plane that did not squawk
his code.

I was in CIC; Combat Intelligence Group. My security
clearance was high enough that I could operate the
radios and other communications systems onboard ship.