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Some Nicknames of the Valdez
Happy Jose
Galloping Grey Ghost
Galloping Ghost of the Ivory Coast
Galloping Ghost of the African Coast
Great White Ghost of the Gold Coast
Jose F
We were docked in Capetown when President Kennedy was assassinated. One of our shipmates (civilian crew) was Dave Ball who had served as one of President Kennedy's cooks. The news media of Capetown called the ship and invited any and all crew members to their newsroom to keep an eye on the news as it came in. When all was said and done, Dave led a very moving memorial service aboard the ship Ron Briggs 63-64
For Historical purposes, the USNS Jose F Valdez (TAPC 119) made her first crossing(the Equator) with the SecGru contingent on board on December 10th, 1961 in the Lat 0000 Long 06 Deg 36'W bound for Capetown, So. Africa. King Neptune was a merchant mariner by the name of Alfred G. Legruse. We had a old Filipino oiler on board who first crossed the line in either 1935 or 36, but he elected to be an observer rather than to assume the role of Neptune. John Korn 61-62
A Sea Story
Larry Poppe told me this in New Orleans. When we made our first port of call, Freetown, those who wanted to quench their thirst made it to the City Hotel, where one could find any kind of European beer he wanted. It was always served in a bottle, minus the cap, Heineking, Tuborg, whatever was your pleasure. Larry swears that it came out of the same vat in the back room, they just syphoned it off with a piece of rubber tubing. No one was sick the next day, other than perhaps a few enlarged skulls, so perhaps the witches brew was not too bad after all. John Korn 61-62
Some thoughts about the Valdez...
She was powered by a straight drive, 1750 HP. Bush and Sulzer diesel engine. She had a 6 foot screw with a 6 foot pitch. She was 350 feet long, and 50 feet wide. Her Tatical call sign was "Camel Driver" and her radio call sign (civilian) was "NCSC". If you check her pix, that is what she was flying from the Bridge in the International signal flags. Thoughts from Tom Brant
I was a "R" brancher 1965-1971. Was on the Valdez 67-68. Picked her up while she was undergoing repairs in Bayonne N.J. the summer of 67. We rode her across the Atlantic enroute to Monrovia, Liberia. I left her a year later in Dakar, Senagal. What a year!! The best of my Navy career. My best port of call..... Mombasa, Kenya. William "Moose" Miller 67-68
The navy group did not always see eye-to-eye with the chief steward. His name was Frank, last name I can't recall, he was an Italian-American from the New York City area. One night after a minor verbal confrontation, probably over wanting to feed frozen fish, rather than the fresh tuna that we would catch, someone painted a black hand on the door of Frank's stateroom. Of course, everyone saw it on the way to the galley the next morning for breakfest. By 0900, the door has been repainted. Frank never said a word, nor did any of the crew. If we can ever find Joe Getlein, from amongst the MIA'S I'm almost certain he could unravel the mystery of who the mid-night artist might have been. Keep a steady hand on the tiller. John Korn 61-62
Leonie and I get back to Capetown about every 3 or 4 years. Sure has changed since you last saw it. No more Darrells or Navigators Den(A few tears here). Victoria basin (where the Jose F. used to take on fuel) is now a huge shopping complex with some fine resturants. Frank Cawley 62-64
Just thought I'd let you know I was on the last crew in 1969. I don't remember the dates too well but I picked up the ship in Abdijan after flying from the East coast. I was outfitted for the ship at Ft. Meade after undergoing months and months of training in and around Norfolk. I had just completed RM "B" school and went aboard as a CTO1 with the additional duties fo crypto repair after going to KW7 "C" school. It was a real let down after all of the training to get aboard only to spend a week or so in the Ivory Coast and then sail the Valdez on her last crossing to Little Creek when she was decommissioned. We had just taken aboard provisions for several months and the trip back to the states was a veritable feast. All the chow not eaten was going to be deep sixed before hitting U.S. waters. We ate steak three times a day if we wanted and all the ice cream you can imagine. Mark Polakoff 1969
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