RED
08-15-2010, 04:01
My Excellent European AdventurePart 2
After the Army doctor at Lundsthul cleared me to return to duty I managed to hitch a ride on an Air Force C131 back to NAS Naples. There I learned for the first time there was a serious terrorist attack in the Middle East. Three airliners had been hijacked to Jordan with over 400 passengers and the USS Saratoga had been dispatched to the area. At that point I was in limbo with no way to return to the ship. All I could do was to suffer the local night life which was really difficult. The local women wouldn’t leave me alone and kept trying to take their clothes off at every opportunity.
After several days the word came down that the USS Saratoga would be at the French Naval Air Station in Heyeres, France, wherever that was. I received a travel voucher and caught a civilian flight from Rome to Marsaille and a train from there to Toulan. At Toulan I caught a bus that was ostensibly to take me to the Naval Air Station. By then I had been away from the squadron for over two weeks. All my clothes were dirty and I was out of money, and tired from all my “adventures.â€
The bus was very crowded and I had to stand up for the entire trip. French is a very difficult language and nobody spoke English, but the common folks on the bus were very friendly and eager to help the American. After about an hour the bus pulled over and the driver indicated that I was to get out. I grabbed my luggage and got out and that was when I noticed we were in the middle of nowhere. It was into the evening and there was nothing there. No signs, no lights, and just a small dirt road leading into the night. The bus was gone and I was not at all sure that I was in the right place. I hiked down the dusty road for about a quarter of a mile and there was a fence and a guard house occupied by two French sailors. They took my ID and made a phone call and a few minutes later a French officer roared up in an American jeep and wanted to know what I was doing there. I told him that I was there to meet the USS Saratoga and he replied “The Saratoga, she is gone.â€
The duty officer got me a room at the BOQ and there I sat for a week. No books, no magazines, no English language anything! The only things interesting were the meals. The French served wine in big decanters with every meal. The SOP was to fill your glass with 50-50 water and wine. Apparently they thought the table wine was really rank stuff. The C.O. sat at the head of the table and the other officers were seated in order of their rank. Each officer had a linen napkin in a silver napkin ring. The senior officers had huge napkins probably 3 feet square. The French equivalent of an Ensign had one about ¼ as big. A full Lt. had one that was maybe 18 inches square.
The one meal I remember was dinner one night. The first course was a bowl of minestrone soup, followed by a piece of pizza. The main dish was a whole lamb’s brain in a caper sauce. I could sense the French officer’s were curious as to what I would do with it. I ate the whole thing and it was surprising good! After dinner the C.O. asked me what I thought about the U.S. activity in Vietnam. It was a loaded question and I knew it. I replied and simply said “Sir, I am a junior officer and that is above my head. I merely do what I am told.â€
Then one day I was called and informed that the Saratoga’s COD would be arriving shortly to pick me up. I grabbed my gear and sure enough the same COD and crew that had carried me to NAS Naples three weeks earlier arrived and took me back to the real world! The Sara was back again in the Tyrrhenian Sea and I arrived just in time to shake hands with Tricky Dick Nixon who came aboard for a visit.
And so ended my excellent European adventure.
After the Army doctor at Lundsthul cleared me to return to duty I managed to hitch a ride on an Air Force C131 back to NAS Naples. There I learned for the first time there was a serious terrorist attack in the Middle East. Three airliners had been hijacked to Jordan with over 400 passengers and the USS Saratoga had been dispatched to the area. At that point I was in limbo with no way to return to the ship. All I could do was to suffer the local night life which was really difficult. The local women wouldn’t leave me alone and kept trying to take their clothes off at every opportunity.
After several days the word came down that the USS Saratoga would be at the French Naval Air Station in Heyeres, France, wherever that was. I received a travel voucher and caught a civilian flight from Rome to Marsaille and a train from there to Toulan. At Toulan I caught a bus that was ostensibly to take me to the Naval Air Station. By then I had been away from the squadron for over two weeks. All my clothes were dirty and I was out of money, and tired from all my “adventures.â€
The bus was very crowded and I had to stand up for the entire trip. French is a very difficult language and nobody spoke English, but the common folks on the bus were very friendly and eager to help the American. After about an hour the bus pulled over and the driver indicated that I was to get out. I grabbed my luggage and got out and that was when I noticed we were in the middle of nowhere. It was into the evening and there was nothing there. No signs, no lights, and just a small dirt road leading into the night. The bus was gone and I was not at all sure that I was in the right place. I hiked down the dusty road for about a quarter of a mile and there was a fence and a guard house occupied by two French sailors. They took my ID and made a phone call and a few minutes later a French officer roared up in an American jeep and wanted to know what I was doing there. I told him that I was there to meet the USS Saratoga and he replied “The Saratoga, she is gone.â€
The duty officer got me a room at the BOQ and there I sat for a week. No books, no magazines, no English language anything! The only things interesting were the meals. The French served wine in big decanters with every meal. The SOP was to fill your glass with 50-50 water and wine. Apparently they thought the table wine was really rank stuff. The C.O. sat at the head of the table and the other officers were seated in order of their rank. Each officer had a linen napkin in a silver napkin ring. The senior officers had huge napkins probably 3 feet square. The French equivalent of an Ensign had one about ¼ as big. A full Lt. had one that was maybe 18 inches square.
The one meal I remember was dinner one night. The first course was a bowl of minestrone soup, followed by a piece of pizza. The main dish was a whole lamb’s brain in a caper sauce. I could sense the French officer’s were curious as to what I would do with it. I ate the whole thing and it was surprising good! After dinner the C.O. asked me what I thought about the U.S. activity in Vietnam. It was a loaded question and I knew it. I replied and simply said “Sir, I am a junior officer and that is above my head. I merely do what I am told.â€
Then one day I was called and informed that the Saratoga’s COD would be arriving shortly to pick me up. I grabbed my gear and sure enough the same COD and crew that had carried me to NAS Naples three weeks earlier arrived and took me back to the real world! The Sara was back again in the Tyrrhenian Sea and I arrived just in time to shake hands with Tricky Dick Nixon who came aboard for a visit.
And so ended my excellent European adventure.