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The "Goose" along side
the sub tender USS Proteus in 1962
in port at Holy Loch, Scotland
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Photo credit:
Walkingfox
Memories of
Her
Two ships were named Betelgeuse
in honor of
a large super star or
Orion, the hunter,
as told to me while playing chess games
with a really good player in 2nd division on
the "Goose", whose
name I do not remember.
The first Betelgeuse was made ready
as a Naval Cargo ship
the AK 28 in May 1941 and refitted
as AKA 11 in Feb.1943.
She was
decommissioned and struck
from the records in 1946.
The USS Betelgeuse AK 260
was launched
in 1944 as the SS Columbia Victory,
she was renamed in 1952 and decommissioned
and struck from the records in 1974.
In the beginning.....
I was 19 when I reported to the "Goose" for my first duty
August 1961, in Charleston, South Carolina.
That first day on the
"Goose", I was scared to death,
I had never been away
from my home in
New London,
Connecticut.
We loaded up the cargo hole and got underway.
The first meal served
that day was traditional
Navy food, "--- ---
--- ---" on a shingle.
I loved it.
I did not love being
seasick for nearly the entire
thirteen day trip to Holy
Loch, Scotland.
But, while on duty,
I did enjoy the sunrises and sunsets,
the salty cool
breezes and watching the Pilot whales
swimming along side
the ship.
The food was great
and the galley was always open.
Once we got under way
there was not much
to do except to stand
watch:
4 hours on and 8
hours off.
I was trained on port side, starboard side,
aft steering, fan
tail and helm watch.
I was a busy little
sea dog.
That first trip, seeing Scotland for the first time,
is still one of
my fondest Navy memories.
As soon as we arrived at Holy Loch, we spent the
next three days unloading
supplies from the "Goose"
and three days unloading
the supplies from the
Sub Tender Proteus
onto the "Goose".
After one day of Liberty we turned around and
went back to
the U.S. to one of our two homeports,
Norfolk, Virginia.
We were supposed to
be in port for a month,
but instead we were sent
right back to Scotland.
Find more
about this ship here:
US Navy Links.com
You can contact me at:
ussbetelgeuse at centurylink.net
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