It was not the kind of duty I was accustomed to after serving 28 months in the luxuries we were afforded in a post-war Japan.
My transfer from the Naval Air branch of the USN was not at my request but decisions were made that my service was needed aboard this vessel bound for some real adventure in the Orient.
The Tortuga was in drydock at Hunter's Point ( a real hell-hole) in San Francisco when I reported for duty in February of 1964. We were bunked in an old supply building on the docks until, alas, the flat-bottomed LSD was ready to get underway for numerous OPERATIONS AND READINESS cruises up and down the west coast from San Francisco to San Diego and back again. Up and down, down and up, close to shore, far from shore, docking and loading ammo, training at GQ throughout the day and night for nearly six months.
The Channel Islands, off the California coast, were used for strategic purposes during our training. Gunnery practice was conducted for hours on end during these readiness cruises.
If anyone figured out why we were undergoing such extensive training, nobody mentioned the subject. Such operations were normal after a vessel underwent a complelte overhaul.
We were not privy to what the purpose of such cruises and training were all about. Recalling these training cruises with very little time for going ashore, I have bittersweet emotions and memories of my final duty station aboard one of the oldest ships of its kind still in operation, but refurbished and ready for some real adventure in the far east.
My station during GQ was on the bridge, with a good view of what was happening.
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