Friday 11 Nov. 1977

"Another mail call tonight, no mail. Well, another crummy day. We had GQ this morning after the UNREP with the Sacramento.

The whole routine in this shop is a bunch of BULLSHIT. I don't know why I gotta stick around here til Tuesday.

Crossed another time zone at 18:00, we set our clocks back an hour to conform to Time Zone K(-10)."

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GQ = General Quarters (Battle Stations)

UNREP = Underway Replenishment:

Thursday 10 Nov. 1977

"Busy day! Found out my transfer is effective 15 Nov. Got shots today, 3, and 2 or 3 more on Sunday. finally got mail at around 22:00. All I got was a bank statement and a bank receipt. Should be more tomorrow.

It looks like we may be heading towards that typhoon.

Had a 'Bear' fly over. Alerts most of the day.

I sure would like to hear from Diane or Sue."

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The "Bear" referred to, was a Soviet Navy reconnaissance aircraft which frequently engaged in a sort of cat & mouse game with U.S. forces during the Cold War.

Wednesday 9 Nov. 1977

"I got the word today that I will be transferred to PLAT/LENS sometime next week. I guess that OE will get the first 3 TV techs to come aboard.

We crossed to -11 Lima Time Zone and set the clock back 1 hour at 18:00. We're riding the edge of a typhoon. That's why no mail's gone off and none has come on board. Hope we get mail tomorrow!"

Tuesday 8 Nov. 1977

"We skipped Monday because of the date line.

My head is so screwed up. I can't seem to get anything accomplished, no matter how hard I try. The Chief doesn't like the job I'm doing, but then neither do I. If I don't get out of here soon, I may have to be carryed (sic) out in a strait-jacket.

I verified my service record today, everything's still there."

Sunday 6 Nov. 1977

"The mail has yet to leave the ship, maybe  mechanical trouble with the S-3?

Things in the shop are a mess, for me at least.

We crossed the International Date Line at 01:00 on what would have been Monday, but we set our calendars ahead at 24:00 Sunday."

Saturday 5 Nov. 1977

"Things are a lot more civil in the shop. My chit went to the Division office today. I'm so valuable that they say they just can't let me go.

I sent out the rest of my postcards and about 10 Christmas cards. The mail should leave the ship before morning. Also mailed $100 for B of A, & $60 for MasterCharge.

Crossed to Yankee Time Zone (+12GMT) about 18:00. Still hot & muggy."

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Remember that this was before email, internet, and texting. Snail mail was the only connection to the rest of the world at the time.

Friday 4 Nov. 1977

"Everybody's suddenly got the 'dumbs'. Still a lot of friction. I'm just waiting for my chit to go thru.

Weather's still hot & muggy."

Thursday 3 Nov. 1977

"We had a false alarm man overboard last night. Somebody on the flight deck dumped some trash & dropped his flashlight. So the Fantail lookout heard a splash, saw the light floating, and called man overboard.

The friction in the shop is getting worse. I'm supposed to be the shop supervisor, but no one wants to accept that.

The weather's hot & muggy."

Wednesday 2 Nov. 1977

"We left Hawaii this morning. I took some pictures of the Arizona Memorial before we left. We went past Battleship Row and around Ford Island. I took some pictures of Diamond Head & Honolulu.

I had a talk with Chief Wetmore about going back to PLAT and submitted my chit. OE Division sure doesn't want to let me go.

1st day of transit to Japan. Position N 20:45 W 158:47 at 19:15 Whiskey Time Zone."

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A chit was the method used for requesting anything up the chain of command. You submitted a chit to your immediate supervisor and, depending on the request, the chit went up the chain until it reached the appropriate level of command for a decision. For a personnel transfer between departments, this chit had to go to the Air Boss and the OPS Boss. If they couldn't agree, it then went to the XO (Executive Officer) for resolution.

Tuesday 1 Nov. 1977

"PORT CALL - Hawaii! Pulled into Pearl Harbor early in the morning & tied up to the NSC pier across from the USS Sacramento. Chris, Bob, Dean, & I went on liberty together. We took 'The Bus' down to Fort DeRussy on the beach at Waikiki. There we bought 2 cases of beer and sat on the beach and party'd. When it got dark, we walked down towards the International Marketplace, had dinner, a few drinks, and bought some souvenirs. Then to 'Le Boom Boom Club' and saw Polynesian dancers. Took a taxi back to the ship."

Monday 31 Oct. 1977

"Boo! Halloween today. Checked out about what I can get if I ship-over. I can ship for 4 right now & get $2,400 over 4 years and a good chance of getting transferred anywhere I want. It's something to think about. Other than that, the same old B.S. 1st port call tomorrow."

Sunday 30 Oct. 1977

"It was HOT today! Got to sleep in til 09:00 this morning. Probably won't happen often. Had a lot of work on surveillance cables today. Health & Comfort inspection today, they inspected all the lockers in the (berthing) compartment for contraband. I talked to the career councilor about how much I could get and where I could go if I ship over. It's something to consider. Payday today, I got $74."

Saturday 29 Oct. 1977

"Another fine day. Warm weather with slightly choppy seas. Saw a lot of flying fish throughout the day. GQ drill this morning, got a chance to write two letters during it. The whole gang's been working hard getting stuff up (and working). Passed between the islands of Hawaii and Maui late this afternoon. Could see the top of the volcano on Hawaii thru the clouds. We're on the leeward side of the islands. Pull into Pearl Harbor on Tuesday."

Friday 28 Oct. 1977

"Beautiful day! Warm, light seas, with a noticeable swell. Crossed to Whiskey Time Zone at 18:00. Position at 19:36 was N 24:25 ; W 147:24. Film chain still down."

Thursday 27 Oct. 1977

"Moderate seas. General Quarters drill called away this morning. Position at 15:00 was W 135:40 ; N 28:45. Position at 24:00 was W 139:10 ; N 27:36. Film chain camera is down, we're trying to substitute one of the Cohu color cameras."

Wednesday 26 Oct. 1977

"Heavy seas (12-15 ft.) last night. Man overboard called away this morning. Unable to determine if it was a drill, a false alarm, or actual. Nobody was recovered. Chief Lewey was replaced by Chief Elman. Our position at 17:30 UTZ was N 30:44 lat. & W 128:15 long. Crossed to Victor Time Zone at 18:00. The man overboard turned out to be a false alarm. 12-15 ft. seas thru the day."

Tuesday 25 Oct. 1977

"Dawn was foggy. Cleared by 11:00 when we got underway. Fire in Marine's storeroom above 1MMR. Burned cables for power, gyro and (we) lost chill water. Caused by papers and other combustibles stacked next to steam pipe. Repairs probably need to be done 'Cold Iron' in Pearl or Yoko. Crossed to Uniform Time Zone @ 18:00."

Background

I enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the end of my senior year of high school in 1974. Because of the delayed enlistment program at the time, I didn't report to basic training (boot camp) until Sept. After boot camp I attended 3 different electronics schools in San Diego and Chicago before arriving at my first sea duty assignment, the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. The "Hawk" was an aircraft carrier named for the site of the Wright Brothers first successful powered air flight.

I came aboard the Kitty Hawk just as she was returning from a West Pac cruise and preparing for a 13 month overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington state. I was assigned to the PLAT/LENS shop in the Air Dept., but when the cruise started I was the lead petty officer (LPO) of the ship's closed circuit TV system maintenance shop.

Although I had been a crew member for 2 years, I still hadn't gone overseas yet. I decided to write a journal of my thoughts and experiences of that cruise.

I recently found the book and haven't read it since I wrote it more than 30 years ago. I plan to publish this journal here as it was written. I'll reserve the right to edit as I see fit, but will try to keep it as intact as possible. I may also comment on passages from the perspective of 30+ years of hindsight, and hope that readers will comment as well. I would really like to hear from any fellow shipmates from that cruise and read their memories also.