Farragut’s Press NEWSLETTER OF THE MARE ISLAND MUSEUM, 1100 Railroad Ave, Vallejo CA 94592
A 501(c) (3) Charitable Organization
December 2013
rather not.) Before the Navy entrusted me with one of its reserve commissions as lieutenant (j.g.), it made certain I was a college graduate. Then, by assigning me to the shipnaming detail, it gave me the opportunity to acquire another liberal education. Like everyone else in the Navy, I knew that each category of naval vessel is assigned a general category from which the names of all ships of that type are drawn: states for battleships, cities for cruisers, and so on. But this is only an easy beginning. There are many classes of ships, I learned. I soon found out that the Navy had more ships than I had names. Submarines are named for fish or “denizens of the deep.” At the peak of the shipbuilding program, the Navy had around five hundred submarines afloat, abuilding, or a-planning. And that’s a lot of fish, I can testify. There are nowhere nearly as many fish as you may think there are. More particularly, since ichthyologists seem to prefer Latin names for fish, there are even fewer fish names that the average citizen-sailor can (a) pronounce, (b) spell, or (c) even 1 2 recognize as belonging to a fish. The reasonable names like Trout, Bass, Salmon and Shark were used up long before I appeared. I was reduced to scrabbling around for names like Spinax, Irax, Mero and Sirago. You never met any of these on a shoreside menu. It takes some long stretching to hook other than the most common fish names to submarines and have everyone know you are naming them after fish. Even
Not Enough Fish Capt. William F. Calkins USNR (Ret.) When the Navy launches a new vessel, many people have had a hand in the event: designers, engineers, shipfitters, draftsmen, stenographers, welders, bookkeepers, and accountants. Literally thousands of civilians and naval personnel have made their contributions to each new ship of the Navy. And at some point along the line, somebody has to give her a name. This is the traditional, official responsibility of the chief of naval personnel. For more than two years during World War II, this was my job – dreaming up new names for naval vessels so that the chief could recommend then to the secretary of the navy for assignment to an endless stream of new construction. Now, compared with destroyer or advance base duty, naming ships in Washington can be regarded as on the plush side. There’s nothing to it, I thought. So the Navy has another ship, so all I have to do is to think of a word, and that’s that. Hah! Little did I know. Although I was a sedentary sailor, not to be confused with the forces afloat, I came to live amid peril of a most peculiar sort. I almost gave a general-stores issue ship the name of a star which had been named by the astronomer who discovered it after his mistress’s pet poodle. I did name a submarine after a sea slug with a most unmentionable seagoing nickname. What it cost the Navy to occasionally burnish the names off all the equipment on some ship where I had goofed and had to rename her hurriedly, I’ll never know (and would
One of the “fish” mentioned in the article is USS Wahoo (SS-238). Built at Mare Island and launched in 1942, USS Wahoo, was one of the most storied Submarines or WWII. She recorded over 59,000 tones of enemy shipping sunk before being lost with all hands on her 7th cruise in the waters of the Japanese home islands in 1943. Please see Farragut’s Press Issue 5 (March, 2012) for a review on the book Undersea Warriors: The World War II Story of “Mush” Morton and the USS Wahoo (currently in the Mare Island Museum Library)
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Farragut’s Press the so-called common names can be rough. Here are four: tenpounder, red squirrelfish, shiner, big-eyed scad. Nobody could possibly name a U.S. naval vessel the USS Big-Eyed Scad. Nor can you use their real names – the ones on their birth certificates, so to speak – which go something like this: Elopsmachnata (Forsskal) or Holocentrus diameda (Lacepede). We fudged a little and came around twice. There is a USS Shark; there is also a USS Tiburon, which is shark in Spanish. There was the gallant USS Wahoo and the USS Omo – same fish. There were the Jack, Amberjack , the Ulua – same fish. There were the Pampano and the Pampanito, the Devilfish and the Diablo, the Chub and the Hardhead (both minnows, but we couldn’t name a fighting ship the USS Minnow), the Tuna, Tunny and the Bonita (all kissing cousins if not the same), and the Eel, Moray and Conger (which look remarkably alike). We never figured that we could put Sardine on the Navy list, but we named the USS Sarda – same fish. Naming a sub for a sea slug was a somewhat unsuccessful action. The name Trepang sounded pretty good to me. Maybe not as good as Salmon, but the choice then wasn’t extensive. The book said it was “any of the holoturians, mostly species of Stichopus and Holothuria, esp. H. edulus.” I didn’t know what all that meant, but what the heck. It lived in water, so it was a denizen of the deep. Somebody should have told me it was a sea slug (with an even ruder nickname) – and he did, but not until after she was afloat. Once a ship was afloat, it was even harder to rename, so, as far as I know, somewhere at sea or in mothballs, there is a USS Trepang, probably affectionately known to the underseas Navy as the USS Sea Slug, if not something worse. One of my fondest memories of Washington is when I went over to the National Museum to bid goodbye to Dr. Alexander Wetmore, the director. He and his corps of scientists had contributed to the war effort above and beyond the call of duty. As we parted, Dr. Wetmore said, “Calkins, you have been an amusing fellow to work with. You know, in the early part of the war, you were naming your submarines after our fish, but I learn lately that we have been naming our fish after your submarines.” And that is exactly what happened. When the going got really tough, I tried a new tack. I would read the dictionary until I came across a name that sounded sort of fishy. Then I would ask one of Dr. Wetmore’s
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Another “fish” in the article is the Mare Island built USS Trepang (SS-412). Shown on the left below the battle flag is what a “Trepang” looks like (a very tasty sea slug, as our volunteer Tony Liang can attest to!). This is certainly not as sleek as its submarine namesake, shown sailing off of Mare Island in the photo on the right, below the battle flag.
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ichthyologists if he had a fish by that name, knowing darned well he didn’t. When he had checked his card file without finding the name, I would ask him if he could find me a blank card. The taxonomists are constantly finding new subspecies, differentiating them by minor features from their near relatives. The scientific name is fairly automatic – genus, species, and subspecies, which may be the name of the discoverer. But often no one gets around to giving them popular names. So the ichthyologist and I would thumb through the cards until we found a likely blank one, add the name I had devised, and there was the Navy’s newest sub, named after a perfectly bona fide fish, with its name properly listed with the U.S. National Museum. Supply and demand, that’s all it was. It wasn’t long before the sub skippers started asking for pictures of the fish for which their new boats were named. I do not recall which fish started it, but by then we were at the bottom of the ocean, grabbing anything. When the National Museum fellow showed me the picture, a horrible nightmare haunted me. It was a sub skipper about six feet tall, a former tackle at the Naval Academy. He had red hair and he wore the Navy Cross and a flock of battle stars. He came stomping into Arlington Annex and draped that,
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picture, frame and all, around my neck – from the top. In short, this particular fish from the bottom of the depths didn’t look impressive or gallant or remotely like a submarine. It was mostly all head and had stupid looking popeyes and a skimpy tail. Furthermore, it didn’t look as if it would be attractive to the female of the same species. You couldn’t even have used it for bait. What would happen to the very happy ship spirit of the USS What-Ever-It-Was when that monstrosity arrived aboard? Quickly I reached a command decision: In the highest tradition of the naval service, I sent him a picture of a trout. Thereafter I kept a handy file of pictures of trout salmon, barracuda and similar fish for such inquiries. The picture on the wardroom bulkheads may have occasionally confused visitors who really knew fish, but I couldn’t help it. The war had to go on.
A brief note from the Newsletter staff: This newsletter does not have a policy of copying articles from other sources, but a number of staff read this in a book given to us and written by Paul Stillwell entitled Submarine Stories: Recollections from the Diesel Boats. We thought it was so amusing it needed to be shared, especially since Mare Island had built many of those diesel submarines. Stillwell gave us permission to reprint it as did The U.S. Naval Institute where it was originally printed - Reprinted from “Proceedings” with permission; Copyright 1958 U.S. Naval Institute/www.usni.org. Of the boats mentioned Mare Island Naval Shipyard built the Pompano, Tuna, Tunny, Bonita, Wahoo, Bass and the much maligned Trepang. The Trepang was sunk as a target in 1969 so the author does not need to worry that there is a USS Sea Slug lurking in waters somewhere. Sometimes fact is funnier than fiction!
During WWII, the entire nation participated in the war effort, Disney Studio artists were no exception. As Captain Calkins struggled with the proper naming of the submarines, Disney Studio artists were designing cartoon images to go with their possible future namesakes
Visitors Mare Island Museum had a busy fall quarter. We had visitors from thirty (30!!!) different states as well as visitors from Canada, Germany, Territory of Guam, Guatemala and The Netherlands. Recently we had a visitor whose great, great, great, great grandfather owned the shipyard that was to become the Boston Navy Yard, Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard. She came to the museum to see the figurehead of USS Independence which we have on display. Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard was where one of the first six frigates that would birth the US Navy was built. That frigate was none other than the famed USS Constitution (1797). Also built at Hartt’s Shipyard was the frigate USS Boston (1799). In 1801 Hartt’s Shipyard became the Boston Navy Yard, where Edmund Hartt, now the yard foreman and not its owner, built the brig USS Argus (1803), and the first “ship of the line” commissioned by the US Navy, the 90-gunUSS Independence (1814). She was (1836) converted to a 54-gun frigate and ended her career as a receiving ship here at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard.
Preserving the history of Mare Island
Mare Island Museum Hours 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. Weekdays 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. First and Third Weekends Tel: (707) 557-4646 Shipyard tours by appointment, please call: (707) 664-4746 or (707) 280-5742
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there was once a very important shipyard over there across the river. Watson and the former employees and members of the 12 blue collar workers and the 4 white collar affiliated unions of Mare Island will solicit donations and gifts from all the labor organizations in the California Bay Area Labor Council and the national labor organizations to help pay for the restoration. Donations from individuals will also be greatly appreciated. Watson also stated that he was still looking for former union members, stewards and officers to bring memorabilia, cups, buttons, protest pins, union cards, withdrawal cards, Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) and pictures with names, to add to the collection at the new Labor History Display at the Mare Island Museum. Please contact Tom Watson at (707) 507-5249 or portlandtx@gmail.com for more information on the logo project or the labor history project.
Mare Island Bridge Logo In 1993 Tom Watson, a Mare Island employee submitted a suggestion that they repaint the logo on the smokestack on Bldg. 121, the Power Plant. He was told that it would not be cost effective as the smokestack was going to be torn down. As we all know, that smokestack still stands, but Watson has a new project for repainting a logo. He has recently petitioned and received approval from the Board of Directors of MIHPF for them to set up a separate fund to receive donations to remove, restore and reinstall the Mare Island logo on the eastern approach to the causeway lift bridge. The project would be entitled “Restore the Logo” and the target date would be sometime during the 2014 City of Vallejo’s Public Works project to repair and repaint the western approach to the causeway lift bridge. Watson is presently in the process of soliciting restoration bids and presenting the idea to the City of Vallejo. His goal is to save a tangible memory that
The weather worn and sun bleached Mare Island Naval Shipyard logo over looking the western approach to the causeway lift bridge. Lets rally together and restore this logo to its former glory! 4
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The Navy Wife, Ca. 2013 Several issues past we had an article on The Navy Wife, the handbook for Navy wives during WW II, which described in much detail how a Navy wife was supposed to behave and what her responsibilities were to assist her husband in his career. We received more responses to that article than any other previously written. And so we wondered, how have things changed between 1941 and 2013? First and foremost, the guide is no longer entitled The Navy Wife; it is now called Navy Spouse’s Guide. In her preface to the first edition, the author, Laura Hall Stavridis, points out that the demographics of the Navy have changed radically. The Navy is now allvolunteer and there is a much higher percentage of married enlisted sailors. There are also many more women in the Navy, both officers and enlisted, thus there are a great many more male spouses. And now the majority of spouses work because of the need for dual-incomes to support families. She also points out how communications have changed. While it once took weeks perhaps, to send a letter and receive a reply, now it can be almost instantaneous since most ships are equipped with the capability of handling email though some of the smaller vessels use a batch method called USOGrams. And, of course, there are cell phones, but these only work when a sailor is within a reasonable distance of shore according to the author. And while not mentioned in the book, another method commonly used today is Skype where the people communicating can see each other on their computer screens. A definite plus for families with children. In the 1940s and for several decades thereafter, the social aspect of Navy life was crucially important. Today, because so many spouses are working, it is now a violation of evaluation rules to mention the role of a spouse in a fitness report. And now there is almost no 5
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“command pressure” to go to social events, help raise money or volunteer if you are a spouse. The author suggests, however, that the spouse may want to get involved, because half of his or her life will be spent without the Navy person who will be on a ship at sea or on an unaccompanied tour. Secondly, the spouse on land might find it fun to be involved, because there are people who understand the problems faced by the spouse left behind and it gives them the opportunity to have special activities with others such as going to an amusement park or having a potluck. And if you choose to volunteer, you may find you GET more out of it than you PUT into it. Dress is still a topic of conversation - for formal parties, a nice cocktail dress or a business suit or tuxedo. (The latter suggestion caught this reader off1 2 guard when she wondered why he would wear a business suit and not a uniform!! Perhaps you can guess I am not thirty anymore!) It is highly recommended you not drink too much, and if it is at a hotel, that you consider getting a room and spending the night there –obviously not intended for junior enlisted! For summertime parties or picnics, casual wear is correct, but “nothing too revealing or over the top.” Shorts, a nice top and/or casual athletic wear is recommended. If you are invited to a reception for a dignitary, there will be a receiving line. You will provide your name to an aide and make only a short polite remark to the dignitary when introduced and don’t bring food, drink or cigarettes into the receiving line. Men should wear a coat and tie and women a nice dress. Remember the old calling cards – well, they are still around as a formal custom, but almost no one makes calls anymore. If you are employed and have a business card, they can be used as a replacement for the formal calling card. If the host or hostess wants you to leave a card there will be a tray near the front door. The old custom of one for the husband and one
Farragut’s Press for each female member over eighteen still applies to the male visiting. The lady visitor only leaves cards for the females, though no one should leave more than three cards. In this book there is an admonition that there is a custom that should “always be honored,” and that is sending a hand-written thank you note after attending a social event. The reader is reminded that the note should be mailed no more than a day or two after the event. It need not be more than two or three sentences thanking the host or hostess and complimenting them on the food, the company and/or event. Phone calls are appropriate and a nice touch, but they are never a substitute for the written note. The old idea of officers’ or enlisted wives club is long gone. They have been replaced by family support groups usually organized around a command and include spouses of all levels. They usually meet once a quarter and the meetings usually are informational which may include a speaker or a briefing on an upcoming naval commitment, safety or services offered by the local Naval Family Service Center. Refreshments are usually served, brought on a rotating basis by the members, and baby-sitting is often provided. There are no bridge games, high teas or fashion shows!! The primary idea is to give the command’s extended family additional support and fellowship. This author spends quite a bit of time suggesting activities in which a spouse can engage while the service member is deployed or on a cruise. Unlike previous editions of The Navy Wife, these suggestions do not revolve around socializing with other wives. She suggests furthering you education by taking a course or studying a language; learn a new craft; exercise; read and use the base library, join a church ; focus on your children; find a job; or travel. With the support group organized by the command she suggest group dinners or potlucks; tour another naval activity in the vicinity; have a guest speaker on history or art or something practical like simple auto repairs, home security or job hunting. With the children she suggest hanging up a map to show where the other parent is and where the ship will be going; plan menus representing the country where the sailor is stationed or visiting; make paper chains with links to represent days, weeks and months and have the children remove the links as appropriate; sponsor
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outings with other command families to parks, pools or local amusements; and plan holiday parties with other families in the command. And as in the previous editions she gives suggestions for making the many moves that the Navy family will make in the course of a career. However, now that list includes things like taking videos of your property or home in case of damage or loss during the move. She also advises that certain personal possessions like airplanes, trucks, campers or vans cannot be stored at government expense. You can ship unloaded guns, but they must be completely described on the inventory with make, model, serial number and caliber/gauge. Boats can be shipped, but she cautions that they will count against your weight allowance and you need to make sure that the mover has been advised and can adequately handling the packing and shipping. One other interesting aspect covered in this book is what might keep a family from being assigned overseas. First on the list is a special needs child who has a set of circumstances which could not be met on an overseas base. Today, however, most of the larger bases have an EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program) where trained specialists like PTs, OTs, child psychologists and medical personnel can meet many needs. The overseas schools (DoDDS) also all have special education programs and are governed by the same laws as school districts in the states. While they may not be able to provide services to all children, many special needs children can accompany their families to overseas assignments. Other criteria which might restrict overseas assignment include, substance abuse, lack of financial stability and responsibility, family advocacy needs, medical or severe dental conditions, psychiatric disorders and pregnancy that could affect travel or assignments. Obesity, disciplinary problems and lack of physical readiness could also prevent an overseas assignment though these can be waived by the CO. And last but not least, in this new era, the Navy now provides a week long Spouse Command Leadership Course in Newport for all spouses, male and female, in which they participate in a week of lectures, exercises and team-building activities. The idea is to improve communication and enhance team-building within a command to benefit all family members. COMPASS is another course, ten hours in length, in which there is spouse to spouse mentoring and is
Farragut’s Press open to all Navy spouses at the larger bases around the US. The trained spouses then act as volunteer mentors and teach the program which includes all aspects of the Navy lifestyle including its mission, history, customs, traditions, rights and benefits, pay, deployments and relocations, interpersonal communications and investment in self and community. The spouse in this Navy is a much different person than we found in The Navy Wife. And the Navy we find in the Navy Spouse’s Guide is a far, far different Navy as well. If you want to read the previous article on the Navy wife in the 1940s go to http://www.issuu.com/mareislandnavalshipyard and click on the June 2013 issue.
December 2013
Coming Events MIHPF Volunteer Christmas Party Dec 19, 2013 5:00 – 7:00 P.M., Quarters A For volunteers and guests only Christmas Concert Dec 22, 2013 2:00 P.M. St. Peter’s Chapel Mare Island Reception follows: Quarters A POC: Museum, 707-557-4646 Tickets may be purchased starting in mid-November with credit card
18th Annual Christmas Concert
For further information on any of these events contact the museum at mihp46@att.net or call (707) 557-4646
One of the most anticipated events of any year is the annual Christmas concert at the chapel. This year, Mare Island Historic Park Foundation will be presenting the 18th Annual Christmas Concert at St. Peter’s Chapel on Sunday, 22 December 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Once again we will be privileged to have the Vallejo Choral Society under the direction of Andrew Brown. The program will include traditional Christmas music along with a few sing-a-long songs to really get one in the Christmas spirit. After the concert refreshments will be served in the Admiral’s Mansion, Qtrs. A which is always beautifully decorated for the season. Tickets for the concert are $15.00 and may be purchased at Mare Island Museum, the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau in the Vallejo Ferry Terminal or at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum on Marin Street in Vallejo. You may also call the museum at (707) 557 4646 and order tickets by phone. We regret that we cannot take phone orders without a credit card payment. Past experience has shown that people place tickets on will call and never show, while others are waiting at the door to purchase seats. The concert is always sold out, so we encourage people to purchase their tickets as soon as possible. A limited number of seats are available. Join us for a very special experience during the holiday season!
Did you know? “Booby prize” is a term usually used for the award given to the person who finishes last or gives a poor performance. The term came from a tropical seabird, the booby. They often, and accidentally, landed on the decks or rails of ships while diving for fish, making them easy catches for sailors and a fine meal for the ship’s company. Due to the easy of capture, sailors thought the birds stupid and thus the term “booby prize” found its origin. The original planned build out of the U.S. Navy was for the shipyards of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore to build the 4 larger, 44-gun frigates and for Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Norfolk, Virginia to build the 2 smaller, 36-gun frigates. However, by special order of President Washington, Baltimore’s 44-gun frigate was given to Norfolk, Virginia to build. Baltimore would be responsible for what was Norfolk’s 36-gun frigate instead. Quercus virens, or southern live oak, from St. Simon Island off the coast of Georgia was the material of choice that was used to build the first six frigates of the US Navy. It was said that properly seasoned southern live oak was impervious to axes and saws. Material taken from Six Frigates, The epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll (2006) 7
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To our dear readers of the Farragut’s Press, our fondest and most sincere wishes for a pleasant holiday season and best wishes for the coming New Year! -- The staff and volunteers of the Farragut’s Press. 8
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Mare Island Museum Membership 1100 Railroad Avenue, Vallejo, CA 94592 (707) 557 4646 mihp46@att.net www.mareislandhpf.org
The Mare Island Historic Park Foundation keeps alive the history of Mare Island Naval Shipyard and chronicles its shipbuilding activities in the museum, as well as preserving the most historic buildings – St. Peter’s Chapel, the Shipyard Commander’s Mansion and Building 46, the oldest building on the island dating from 1855. The shipyard founded in 1854 by Commander David G. Farragut, first admiral in the USN, was the first naval installation on the West Coast and was an important contributor to success in World War II in the Pacific. It also played a prominent role in the Cold War by building 17 nuclear submarines. We invite YOU to become a part of this endeavor by partnering with the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation and supporting its work. Benefits of Membership:
Free Admission to the Mare Island Museum (Bldg 46) for the year of partnership 10% discount on purchases in gift shop Advance notice via email of new exhibits or events sponsored by the foundation Access to Mare Island Museum Library Free newsletter via email Helping to preserve the history of Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Partnership Levels: (All partnerships are for one (1) year and are fully tax deductible) • • • •
Individual $25.00 – Admits partner named on card Out of State $20.00 – Admits partner named on card Family $40.00 – Admits two household members and their children or grandchildren 12-18 (under 12 are free) Student $15.00 – Admits student named on card with a student ID card
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mare Island Museum Membership Application Name _______________________________________________________________ Date ___________________ Street Address _______________________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code ___________________________________________________________________________ Phone____________________________ Email Address ______________________________________________ Partnership Level: ______ Individual $25 _____ Out of State $20 _____Family $40 _____ Student (with ID) $15 Visa_____Mastercard ____American Express____Card Number _________________________ Exp. Date ______ Make checks payable to MIHPF.
Remit to: ATTN; Membership Mare Island Museum 1100 Railroad Ave, Vallejo, CA 94592
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Date_______________ 9