Friday, September 7, 2012

View From The Front Porch-September 2, 2012

Woke up to heavy rain here in Tennessee this morning. Sitting here in the shelter of the front porch watching the water soak into our thirsty ground, and the sound on the roof lulls me into an alm
ost dream state as my memory bank focuses on other rain, other times........1955, my ship, USS Bryce Canyon (AD-36), anchored in the harbor outside of Yokosuka, Japan. We had been alerted that a Typhoon was coming toward our area and we had been preparing the ship for heavy Seas and strong wind. The first of the Typhoon had started with extremely heavy rain and I had been standing the midnight to 4 watch on the bridge, bundled up in my foul weather parka that the Navy had designed so well, the wind blowing the rain almost straight into my face as I tried to watch for whatever I was supposed to watch for in the solid blackness of the stormy night. After my watch ended at 4AM, all the boat crews were called out to assemble on deck. I was a boat coxswain (cox'sun) of the LCM (Landing Craft) that we used to transport supplies from the dock area to the ship, since our ship was anchored quite a ways off shore in the bay. The boat that I cox'sun'd was 50 foot long and carried a crew of myself, in the cockpit, and a bow hook, a young sailor who would tie up the front end when docking. The First Lieutenant, who was in charge of the deck force and boat crews, said, "Men, we have a barge that has broken loose from its mooring and is causing a threat to all the ships anchored out here in the harbor. We need a volunteer to take your boat out in the storm and secure the barge before it causes some real damage." I was standing there, kinda nervous thinking about the storm, and I sorta cleared my throat, y'know? "Ok, Hitchcock, get your boat out there and tie that thing up" Well, I had already learned that it does no good to try to explain or argue with an officer when he volunteers you for hazardous duty, so we headed for the boats, tied up alongside our ship. By now the wind and rain had become beyond belief, but in the dim light of stormy dawn we could make out the offending barge tossing in the heavy waves. I headed toward the barge, fighting waves that swept across the bow and almost capsized my boat, but the twin Gray Marine diesel engines pushed us through and we drew alongside the loose barge..."Jimmy, get a line on the front cleat of the barge and I'll get one on the back!", I hollered to my bow hook, working the twin engines in tandem to bring the back of my boat against the barge where I could tie it off. When we got near, I stepped out of the cockpit, rope in hand, and stepped on the rain slick deck, ready to secure the back of the barge. As my foot hit the wet deck, a big wave hit the boat, and i slipped over the side of my boat into the cold water of the bay. Beause I had held on to the rope, I didn't go head under, just my body sunk in the swirling water....I realized in a flash that this was it...the boat and the barge were fixing to slam together, with me in the middle and squashed like a betsy bug (I don't know what a betsy bug is, that is just what my mama used to say). Seconds only, I was in the water, but time didn't mean a whole lot to me then, the next wave would smash the boat and the barge together and that would be it......I cried out, "Lord Help Me!" and suddenly I heaved my soaked body straight up out of the water, using the rope, and sprawled out on the deck of my boat, just as the two metal jaws crunched together with a load bang....I got to my feet and managed to secure the barge to the boat and we took it to the dock and tied it up. A month later I got a letter from my Mom back in the Ozarks. It was dated the date of my barge incident. "Dear Son, the Lord awakened me tonight and I knew that you were in dire danger...I fell down by my bed and prayed that the Lord would spare you and protect you. I am trusting in Him that you are all right. Love, your Mom" Well, ever since then I figure every day of my life is a continuation of the Miracle of Love and Mercy that the Lord showed for me. It's why I don't let a whole lot bother me too much. After all, I was part of a miracle. May the Lord bless us all and keep us safe.    -Stan

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