Month: August 2023

Posted on

The Mighty “A”

I’ve visited many forts in the USA. Among them are an underground bunker near Boston, Massachusetts, Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, and Fort Worden near Port Townsend on the Washington Peninsula. Forts were strategically placed on our borders for training and for protection in wartime. Some forts were ready for battle during both World Wars in case the Germans or Japanese attacked the mainland.

But land-based forts are for defense, and are useless in battles we fought across the seas. We needed portable offensive forts: forts that could be hauled across the world so we could take the fight to the land of those attacking us. Our first serious effort to build a floating fortress was in 1892 when we built the USS Texas. That was a good start and we learned a lot, but we needed something more substantial.

The US experimented with several ideas from 1894 through 1932, and we finally succeeded in designing and building fully decked-out citadels. However, because of a tactical error, eight of these sea-going fortresses were sitting-ducks in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and all eight battleships were bombed. The USS Nevada, USS Tennessee, and the USS Maryland were repaired and returned to service the next year. Three others returned to service in 1943-1945, but we needed new and improved fighters.

Interestingly, no US battleship was sunk in any war after December 7, 1941.

The USS Alabama was one of the new sea-going fortresses coming on line, and was commissioned in February of 1942 prior to the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. The Alabama, weighing about 45,000 tons and had a crew of 1,793 men, was a fast battleship that could cruise at 27.5 knots (32 mph), and could sail for 14,773 nautical miles (17,000 miles) before refueling.

The ship bristled with firepower. It had 20 five-inch (inside diameter) guns firing 54-pound projectiles, and had 46 anti-aircraft guns. Its massive fire-power came from 9 sixteen-inch (inside diameter) guns which fired projectiles (large, bullet-shaped bombs) weighing an average of 2,400 pounds. These fortresses didn’t need to be near the shore, for they could hit the enemy 24 miles away with these weapons. Amazing!

For weight comparison to the sixteen-inch projectiles: a Chevy Spark (automobile) weighs about 2,269 pounds and a Nissan Versa weighs about 2,400 pounds.

The ship had a belt (steel-plating) at and below the waterline that was over a foot thick to deflect the concussion of near-miss bombs, and deflect or dull the blast of torpedoes.

The USS Alabama has seen battle action around the world: throughout the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Philippines, and all through the Pacific Ocean. But its legend continued even after the war. In 1947 it was taken to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington to await further orders. The USS New Jersey was the only battle wagon activated for the Viet Nam war, so the Alabama was decommissioned. In 1964 it was towed to Mobile, Alabama and became a floating museum. Yesterday I met several folks who donated money for that effort.

But there’s more to the Mighty “A” to know.

The Alabama is also a movie-star – although, uncredited. It had a major role in the 1975 movie Movin’ On. It was used in the 1988 miniseries War and Remembrance representing the USS Iowa. Nicolas Cage starred in USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage with the Alabama posing as the USS Indianapolis. And it was used in most of the battleship scenes in the 1992 film Under Siege.

I’ve been on aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, PT-boats, tug-boats, and many others. But I had never been on a Battle-Wagon. Seeing the ship often as I drove by on Interstate 10, I always wanted to visit it, and decided that I would … someday.

That day finally came on April 25, 2019.

As I walked up the gangplank, I said the traditional, “I request permission to come aboard.” The tour guide was a retired Master Chief Petty Officer. Smiling, he responded, “Permission granted. Welcome aboard, Chaplain.” We both laughed and saluted.

I walked every available passageway from stem-to-stern. I slowly walked the main deck and recalled what our US Navy personnel experienced in battle. I honor and admire them for fighting to maintain our freedoms.

With the advent of jet planes, rockets, and missiles, Battleships are now obsolete; but I am in awe of this magnificent ship. I am grateful to the Mobile, Alabama city fathers for preserving this historic memorial – the Mighty “A” – for future generations to experience.

Posted on

Being Thankful

When I was a kid, Dad would ask us many times what we were thankful for. But on Thanksgiving, we had a family tradition – in addition to having turkey dinner.

Before I get into the tradition, my favorite part of the meal was mom’s mashed potatoes and gravy. Mmmm-mmmm-mmmm! They were good!

Oh, maybe my sisters, Gena and Janice made the mashed potatoes. Yeah, that’s right. Mom started the tradition, dad showed us how to make it without lumps, then Gena and Janice continued. It was a family effort. I can ask God to thank mom for me because she’s in heaven with Him, but I’ll tell my sisters “Thank You!”

The turkey thighs were my next favorite part, with marshmallow-covered sweet-potatoes coming in a close third. I never developed a liking for cranberries, but I would take one teaspoon of the stuff to make mom feel good.

Pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream topped it off – but sometimes we waited for several hours to let the main meal settle. Then, the pie and ice cream served as a second, special meal!

 After the scrumptious meal, we stayed around the table and each person shared a memory of something that happened that past year for which he/she was thankful. When one of my siblings was thankful that Christmas was coming soon, dad said, “We’ll get to that another time.”

When it was my turn, it was sometimes difficult for me, because emotionally I felt like I was taking a school test: under pressure, I froze up. I broke out in a sweat and couldn’t think. After what seemed like an eternity, Dad would ask, “What are you happy about?”

Now THAT I could answer because it didn’t feel like an interrogation. I was happy about the meal we just ate. I was happy that it rained that week. I was happy that Jesus kept us out of a car accident when we were going to Ramona. I could think of a lot of things if I didn’t feel like I was under the spotlight.

It’s interesting how just changing the words in the question released me from the feeling of a dreaded school test.

With twelve of us around the table – ten kids plus dad and mom – it took a while to complete the tradition, and that was good! Too many times we would eat, clean up, wash-n-dry dishes, and continue on our busy way. But the tradition kept us around for a while and helped us interact as a cohesive family unit.

An example of that is when we, as a family, went to the Greyhound Bus Depot in San Diego to greet an incoming missionary. As dad was getting information from the man, my sister Janice came around the corner.

“Janny!” I hollered; and ran to greet her with a hug.

“How long has it been since they saw each other?” the missionary asked.

Looking at his watch, dad replied, “Oh, about 10 minutes.”

“Ten minutes? And they act like that?”

“That’s what we do – we love each other and greet each other with hugs.”

Love and acceptance is another tradition we always tried to build. One person told me, “It was probably an act because you didn’t really love each other – did you?”

All I could say was, “It was – and is – real for me. I can’t speak for the others; if it was only an act for them, that’s their problem. But as long as it is meaningful for me, it keeps me emotionally and spiritually healthy.”

Wouldn’t you prefer to be around loving and grateful people more than around grumblers and complainers?

It’s a fact that, as a class of people, loving and grateful people are healthier than others. That brings three Scriptures to mind.

Philippians 2:14 says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” That includes grumbling. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength.” And Romans 8:28 tells us that if we cooperate with God, He can actually bring good out of negative situations if we trust Him.

A happy heart refers to a joyful person; one who normally doesn’t let disappointments get him down. And a broken spirit refers to a crushed or depressed attitude. Not only does depression drain the depressed person of energy, it also drains the energy of people around him.

So, become a thankful person, and make your life easier.