Guest Post - SUPPO Log: Farewell To A Friend

The Ol’Harry Blog consists of veterans’ stories, primarily from the past tense.  I have invited my active-duty Navy son to contribute occasional articles from his perspective in the present tense.  Captain Harry Thetford Jr. is a Supply Officer in his 27th year of service.  As a military history researcher and enthusiast, his work has been published in various military journals.

The SUPPO Log is a periodic email he sends to family and friends to share Navy adventures.  Enjoy!  
Ol'Harry

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SUPPO Log January 30 2015

Dear family and friends,

Fittingly, it was cloudy and cold the morning I said goodbye to an old friend.  She was just shy of 30 years old.  A friend of a friend is more accurate, but it was still a sad day. 

The friend was the US Navy Frigate USS ELROD (FFG 55), and I attended her decommissioning ceremony on Friday, January 30 2015.  A decommissioning ceremony is a formal termination of active service for a Navy ship.  If the commissioning ceremony brings a ship to life, the decommissioning ceremony is akin to a funeral.

In 1993 I had the honor of participating as a “Plank Owner” in the commissioning ceremony of the USS KEARSARGE (LHD 3).  On a muggy Mississippi Day, the sponsor shouted “Man our ship and bring her to life!”  My shipmates and I, in dress white uniforms, with swords and medals jingling, ran aboard and took our places.

This was my first decommissioning ceremony.  I proudly served on the Frigate USS RODNEY M DAVIS (FFG 60) from August 1997 to August 1999.  I was unable to attend her decommissioning on 23 January 2015 in Everett, Washington.  I attended the USS ELROD decommissioning in Norfolk as a way of saying farewell to my old friend we affectionately called the “RMD” or “Rocking Rodney”.

Great memories of time on board the RMD remain.  At first RMD was home ported in Yokosuka, Japan.  I fondly remember training in Sagami Wan (Sagami Bay) with pristine views of Mount Fuji towering above the other mountains.  From Japan, we visited Okinawa, and sailed the same waters where the USS AARON WARD (DM 34) was slammed by multiple kamikazes in May 1945.  Amazingly, the crew saved the ship and many a hero was born that day..

Sailing to Hong Kong, I recall battling 20 foot seas, alone and unafraid!  Fortunately I did not get seasick, but most of the crew, including the Captain and the Executive Officer, were down hard.  The cooks could not cook, not that anyone wanted to eat anyway!  I stayed on the bridge, encouraging the watch team and amazed by the power of God’s seas.

The RMD was then ordered to shift home ports from Yokosuka to Everett, Washington, just north of Seattle.  Like sailors of old, the very first time I laid eyes on my new home of Everett was when the ship sailed into the harbor.

Living in Washington State was a great experience for an easterner like me.  There is no more beautiful place than the Straits of Juan de Fuca on a clear day.  The RMD glided through, with Mount Rainer, Mount Hood, and the Olympic Mountains dominating the majestic view.

In March 1999, we deployed from Everett to the Arabian Gulf.  On the way we stopped in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Phuket, Thailand. 

In the Gulf, we primarily conducted boarding operations of merchant ships heading in to and out of Iraq, searching for contraband.  I was the Boarding Officer, and led a small team of enlisted personnel who searched the ship.  With our armed helicopter circling overhead, we climbed from the Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) up the Jacob’s ladder to the deck of the merchant ship.  Proceeding to the bridge, I questioned the ship’s Master and reviewed paperwork.  The Boarding Crew inspected the ship and all containers on board.      

While in the Gulf, the RMD made port visits to Bahrain, Kuwait, and Doha, Qatar.  In Doha, my cooks hosted a Memorial Day picnic at the US Ambassadors house.  Since that day was my birthday, the band sang Happy Birthday in my honor.  Little did I know that I would spend an entire year, and another birthday, in Doha on a subsequent assignment.

Steaming out of the Gulf, the RODNEY M DAVIS headed southeast towards Australia.  On the way, we crossed the equator and conducted a “Crossing the Line” ceremony.  This was my first time, so we “Slimy Pollywogs” were inducted by the “Trusty Shellbacks” who had crossed the equator before.  Though our ceremony was tame compared to years ago, the Pollywogs were tested and approved by King Neptune and the RMD had a crew full of Trusty Shellbacks. 

The reward for a successful deployment was three port visits in Australia.  Darwin, Cairns, and Brisbane were great cities and the Aussies were outstanding hosts.  In Cairns I checked one item off the bucket list by diving on the Great Barrier Reef.

The RMD also played an important role in courting my wife.  She worked for the Navy in Japan, and as the ship sailed east for the new home port in Washington, I realized there was more between us than friendship.  I sent her a letter, which led to phone calls, visits, and ultimately dating.  On deployment, we were able to meet in Hong Kong, Singapore, Cairns, and Brisbane. 

This global, whirlwind romance was probably the reason she said yes when I proposed in the shadow of Mount Fuji after deployment!

And on the way home from deployment, we pulled into Pearl Harbor sailing past the USS ARIZONA Memorial and the USS MISSOURI to moor for one last port call.  Waiting on the pier were approximately 25 “Tigers”…family members who would sail home to Everett, Washington with us.  Included amongst the Tigers were my father and brother. 

The Tigers got the full Navy treatment for seven days sailing from Pearl Harbor to Washington.  Just out of Pearl, we hit high seas and many of the Tigers experienced the joy of seasickness.  A few turned green and were not seen again until we arrived in port.  I took it for granted, but I noticed the Tigers were a bit nervous about not seeing land for over five days. 

Spending a week with my father and brother, showing them what life at sea is all about, was priceless.     

Shortly after deployment, I transferred from the RODNEY M. DAVIS, but the memories will always be cherished.

The speaker at the USS ELROD decommissioning was a Marine Brigadier General, a pilot by trade.  This was fitting, as the ELROD was named for a Marine aviator who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on Wake Island during WWII.  And the RMD was named for Marine Sergeant Rodney M. Davis, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in Viet Nam.   

One US Navy Frigate remains on active duty…the USS KAUFFMAN which is currently deployed and will be decommissioned when she returns.

May the Frigates rest in peace…fine ships that have served our country well.  I’ll always be proud to be called a “Frigate Sailor”.

CAPT Harry Thetford, with the former USS ELROD (FFG 55).  Also in the background is the hospital ship USS COMFORT.

Until next time,

Harry Jr.

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