Leaving the Navy

By: Jerry Blackerby

I took a month’s leave in January, 1955. After returning to Whidbey Island, Washington in February, I fully intended to reenlist for six more years. I was scheduled to be discharged on March 15, 1955. I planned to re-enlist about a week before my discharge date.

Unexpectedly, the Navy sent me to a receiving center at Pier 99, Seattle for processing for discharge two weeks before my discharge date. The first morning, I told them I intended to reenlist. I thought I could return to my old squadron at Whidbey Island, but they wanted to assign me to an aircraft carrier. At that time, I had over two years of sea duty or overseas duty and felt I was entitled to shore duty (stateside). When they would not listen to me, I told them to give me my discharge.

At Pier 99, sailors waiting for discharge were on port and starboard duty (work details every other day). Most of the guys were discharged within two to three days. Each morning, the Chief, who tried to assign me to a carrier, would call me in and ask if I was ready to reenlist. I always refused. Each day he assigned me to the ship docking detail.

The ship docking detail was the coldest, wettest, roughest detail. We would work all evening tying up ships in cold, misty rain, as they docked. We slept in a special building and were on call all night. The first night we were out several times during the night to tie up ships. I slept most of my off-duty day.

My second afternoon on the ship docking detail, the Bo’sun’s Mate in charge showed us a barge low on the water and several feet out from the high dock that had to be tied up better. He said we would have to get a boat to take us to the barge unless someone would go hand-over-hand down a line that was already in place to get on the barge.

We would not be able to come back up the line, so a boat would have to come pick us up. Two of us went down the line and tied off the lines on the barge while the others tied off lines on the dock. The rest of the crew were sent to chow and a boat came around to pick us up. After we ate, we rejoined everyone in the building where we would bunk.

The next morning, I woke up and made a statement about it being an easy night. One of the others told me that they had been out several times tying up ships and the Bo’sun’s Mate told them to leave us alone – let us sleep.

The Chief sent me on that detail every other day until my normal discharge date, thinking he was making life miserable for me. Each duty morning, he would call me in and ask if I was going to re-enlist. I would refuse and he would assign me to the ship docking detail.

Each afternoon on the ship docking detail, I was asked to do tasks that most of the men were afraid to do like going hand-over-hand down a line. After doing those little tasks, I then was not waked up during the night as ships came in. It was not such a bad detail after all.

I finally received my discharge papers on March 15, 1955 and planned to go to the east coast and reenlist. If I had to go aboard ship, I intended to see Europe since I had already been all over the Far East.

I spent a couple of days in the Seattle area before heading home. I went into town and got a room at the YMCA. As a Navy person, we normally stayed in a dorm at the YMCA for 50 cents a night. I got a room for $2 per night. It did not have a bath. I still had to go down the hall to a common bathroom, but I had a room that would lock where I could leave my belongings.

I had operated a Navy ham radio station, W7UMX at Whidbey Island. I went there to pick up some things and got to talk to PeeWee King on the ham radio that night. Peewee King was a band leader who was performing in Las Vegas. He also was a ham radio operator.

I rode a bus from Seattle, Washington through Denver and Amarillo to Vernon, Texas. While stopped at Amarillo, I called a friend from electronics school, Bud Jones’ mother and talked to her. I have often wondered what happened to Bud since the Navy. Dad met me about 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, March 20, 1955.

I left home for the Navy when I was 17 and came back when I was 21. I did not grow up living at home with Dad pastoring churches. Sometimes life is hard on preacher's kids. I did not really go through that. My brother and sisters did. I don't know how it was for them, but other preacher's kids that I have known have told me how hard it was for them.

I met Billie Ruth at church my first night home from the Navy. A week later, we had our first date. Three weeks later I asked her to be my wife and she said yes. I told her that if she intended to back out, please tell me before my three months out of the Navy were up. If she had backed out, I intended to reenlist in the Navy. We are still married, Nearly 55 years, four children, 13 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren later.

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