More shipmate stories: Unfortunately, some of these shipmates are on Final Patrol Life After Spinax: Gil Carlson After all this time, there has been a lot. Ill try to keep it short but informative. I left Spinax in the Spring of 64 and headed to Dam Neck prior to duty as Navigator USS Patrick Henry. After that, I got orders to Squadron 16 as Staff Asst. Ops/Comm. A couple of interesting things happened during that tour. I was Squadron duty officer when the USS Von Steuben SSBN-632 got tangled with a submerged tow cable between a tug and an old liberty ship. When it became apparent they no longer had depth or steering control, but not knowing why, they emergency blew and came up directly under the old ship carrying three more as scrap iron in her hold. They managed to get an emergency whip antenna up and radioed the Squadron and reported the collision and were inbound. The squadron repaired Von Steuben alongside by replacing about 1/3 of her sail, several masts and some missile hatches. A second thing was that I was the last person to communicate with the Scorpion SSN-589. They were exiting the Med after a deployment but had been ordered to take on a special op in the vicinity of the Canaries. They requested a personnel transfer after exiting Gibraltar and I arranged a Tug rendezvous. We gave them their mail, took ten messages from them for transmission and received about 8 people. The ship was never heard from again. After Spain, I went to XO, Sea Robin SS-407, then Sublant Communications Officer and following that, CO, USS Jallao SS-368. What a great time I had on the SS-368. Toward the end of my tour, we sold the boat to Spain. I was fortunate to go to England for a tour as CO, US Naval Communications Unit London and following that off to XO USS Simon Lake. I decided to hang it up after that as there wasnt much fun ahead and driving a desk was about all that I could expect. After retiring, I used my telecommunications experience to make a second career as a telecom engineer. Been doing that since about 1978 and am still commuting into Washington, DC three days a week and telecommuting on two. I may give that up in a year or two at most. In general, I am still in pretty good health. Had two serious accidents that could have been fatal but were not. Fell off the roof of my house in Annapolis and broke my neck. It was a stupid ladder setup. I was lucky as I had no spinal cord damage even though I fractured 4 vertebrae. The second was a pedestrian accident. I was crossing Independence Avenue in DC and got hit by a car. I was a quadriplegic for about 4 months but being a very stubborn old diesel boat sailor, I wasnt going to let it get the best of me. With great physical therapy and a lot of personnel determination, I am able to walk pretty well and do almost everything. I am still married to my wife of 41 years, we have three great kids and four grand children. Thats quite a lot to read already so I had better get off this. Cheers, Gil Gretchen Carlson Life Afer Spinax: Angelo Carnevale Rank On Spinax: Reported aboard as Ensign in August 53. Promoted to LTJG in September 54. I was sort of an odd ball--the product of an experiment. Graduated from Officer Candidate School in July 53, went to CIC school for 4 weeks and then reported to Spinax (was an SSR at that time). Needless to say, I did not know my ass from a hole in the ground. Served on Spinax until April 56, at which time was transferred to Perch. Went to Diodon from Perch and then to sub school as an instructor. Served on Irex, Tigrone as XO, and then had command of Tench from Dec 65 through March 68. The last three boats were out of New London as you probably know. Art Charette I served on four subs, a cruiser, and a carrier before mustering out in 1982. Nothing beats submarine duty. I might be the only SS qualified EWC electronic warfare specialist ever, do not know of another. Every time we got involved with the Soviets on the surface ships I wanted to run for cover because I knew with absolute certainty what I was to a Russian sub -- a helpless target. Somewhere in my picture boxes I have a photo of CV-12 taken thru the periscope on Spinax as we fired the green flare. Brass on CV-12 swore we could not be 1,000 yd abeam or they would have known, until the pictures became public. I had to give some of mine up. They were from a 16mm Minolta camera, at the time billed as a spy camera, I bought at A22 in Yoko on my first Westpac aboard Spinax. Regards Art Charette EWC(SS) USN Ret. 61-82 Life Afer Spinax: Darrell Clapp After I left the Navy, I returned to the Oakland, Calif. area and started work in a printing plant as an Industrial Eng. clerk, got tired of that in 18 mo. and took the test for a Patrolman in the San Leandro Police Dept. I was hired about 6 mos. later and worked swing and Graveyard for a year and found that the schedule was playing havoc with my single life. I Quit ( I wasnt a good man for that job) and found a job in a hardware wholesale warehouse and worked myself into sales, met my wife, got married 3 mos. later and started having kids, boy and girl and figured out what was causing this. I finally changed jobs, I was offered a sales trainee job with U.S. Plywood Corp. in Oakland and a year later was transfered to the Sacramento, Ca. and promoted to the Sales Manager Position, and moved to a place just outside Rescue, Ca. in the foothills of the Sierras. In 1974, I left U.S./ Champion Paper and went to work as a wood products broker with Neeley Nelson Lumber Co. in Sacramento and 18 mos. later was asked to come to Medford, Or. and they would back me to Start my own company. I moved my family again and bought a place 8 miles Southwest of Medford in the Siskiyou Mountains. We raised our kids ( Son -lives in Sandy, Utah, single and a Computer engineer, Daughter- Married w/ 3 perfect daughters and live in Medford about 10 miles from us) In Jan 1996 my wife said in passing that Dont you think its time for you to build your shop I called a friend that day, a contractor and asked him to come over as I wanted him to build me a shop. His first question for me was how big do you want it? In the standard deep thought that I give everything, I replied that I didnt know, How about 40 feet long and 30 feet wide, and make it two stories so that we have storage above. It was one of the most satisfying things that I have ever had a hand in building. A year later I left the company that I worked with and went totally into business for myself. I am winding down the business and in a couple of years I will retire and do a little traveling and spending more time with the family. Finding the crew of the Spinax and the search for others has given me a new lease on life and I am looking forward to the get togethers in the future. Darrell Clapp Since SPINAX.. Jay K. Davis, Commanding Officer, 1964-1966 After leaving SPINAX, I was assigned to the Defense Language Institute, Washington, D.C. for a total immersion (appropriate for a submariner) course in Turkish. Upon completion, my family and I went to Ankara, Turkey as a NATO representative and submarine advisor to the Turkish Naval Headquarters for three years. This was followed by tours in Washington with SSPO for ballistic missile submarine planning and then ComASW before retiring as a Commander in 1972.I spent the next twelve years with first EG&G and then Singer-Librascope in Washington in submarine related projects and systems (and sailing on the Chesapeake and in the Atlantic) before retiring again in 1984. Miri B. and I then cruised the entire East Coast to and from Nova Scotia to the Dry Tortugas and Florida west coast in our 42 ketch MALGRE TOUT before in 1986 sailing to Bermuda for the sixth time and on across the Atlantic to the Azores, on to Portugal and into the straits of Gibraltar to spend the next five years in the Mediterranean. We returned to Malta where I had been assigned NATO staff duty 30 years before, and we spent two more years exploring the coasts of Turkey, this time anchoring in beautiful and secluded coves where as a family we had camped with our children 20 years earlier. The language capability again came in handy and we were again welcomed as family. The islands of Greece, Yugoslavia and Cyprus and the coasts of Italy, France and Spain were also explored, adding to the magic variety of cultures, people and language. Our beloved MALGRE TOUT (In Spite of Everything!) was sold in Mallorca, Spain in late 1990 and my super-crew Miri B. and I anchored on the Lake Washington shore in Kirkland, Washington, near Seattle. I earned my USCG Master certificate and my Davis Marine Services company instructed new boat owners in school of the boat and how to handle, and cruise in, their yachts. This has resulted in the now nearly full time and delightful task of consulting on the purchase , commissioning and 2006 delivery, as designated Captain, of a 76 foot diesel-electric powered Nordhavn long-range mega-yacht. Mb and I, now crewing together for 54 years, are exploring the beautiful waters of Puget Sound, Canadian and San Juan Islands and Northwest Passage in our 40 twin-screw power-cruiser HARMONY. She flies the Dolphins with great pride. Jay.K Vernon Davis Life Afer Spinax: Bob Dery 63-65 I left the Spinax in June 1965 just before the Westpac run. I went back to New York and took a job as an electrician with the Western Electric Co. installing phone systems. I could see from the first day that this was not a good career choice. So in October 1965 I took the test for the New York City Police Department, and was sworn in August 1966. I spent the next 20 years in the Police Department, a few years in uniform, a short tour in Public Morals (enforcing public morals is a very odd thing for a former submarine sailor to do) and eventually being promoted to Detective. I spent about 14 years in a Precinct Detective Squad and the Brooklyn South Homicide Squad(easy work my day began after theirs ended), I retired in 1986 and went into Medicaid Fraud with the New York State Attorney Generals Office (talk about a growth industry). I spent 12 years with Medicaid Fraud Control Unit as a Supervising Investigator (developing expertise in fraudulent practices in the clinical laboratory industry along the way) and then went into the private sector. I am currently the Safety/Compliance Director for a Clinical Laboratory in New York City. I have been married to the same wonderful girl for the past 32 years and have 2 children. My daughter is a paralegal and my son is a Master Electrician. Robert Dery EM2(SS) Life After Spinax: Lewis Detz What a hoot this site is! My name is Lewis Detz. I was part of the enlisted submarine reserve program from Seattle, Wa. unit from 2/64 to 6/68. I was concurrently attending the University of Washington and in my junior year picked up for NROTC. Our reserve boat was the Bowfin. After going through subschool in the summer of 64 I was determined to meet all the requirements necessary to get qualified as soon as possible through our reserve program. After a lot of prep work and study, I was assigned to active duty for training o n Spinax for 6 weeks. The crew, the COB and ChEng & Ops were real mentors and helped me learn Spinax. With a lot of lost sleep and lot of watches they helped me complete my qualification criteria and I was qualified in Sept 65 back in Seattle. After commissioning om 68 and a 1 year tour in Vietnam River Patrol, I went to Halfbeak, Officer Subschool and Pickerel (Qualified SS Gold) and Officer-in-Charge of Thornback and its U.S. Mobile Training Team (boat transfered to the Turkish Navy - for US overhaul and reftra cycle). I went surface route after that as Nav/Ops on an AO, UNSA as instructor, CIC/Ops on CGN 38 Virginia, transfered to the reserve and finished 23 years in 87 as a CDR. The sub sailor professional approach has helped me all my life and Spinax was an important part of it. Hope I qualify as a shipmate. I have some pictures of the boat. Never got a patch because they were out at the time but I have the picture on the site here. Also made a trip around South America on Pickerel SS524 Guppy III in 70 and have submarine insignia from Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru. I was awarded the Turkish insignia. I think I have a French one also. During a port visit to Alexandria Egypt on Virginia in 79 in support of President Carters visit to Egypt I attended a reception by the Egyptian CNO. During a conversation he proposed to swap me his Egyptian Divers pin for my Dolphins, done deal. So I have that in my collection also. Well, sorry to be so long winded. Would be glad to get pictures of any or all stuff to the right person or place. I am now a Financial Advisor with Prudential Securities in the St. Louis area. I look forward to hearing from you. V/R Lewis
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 16:40:35 +0000
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