Beginning

I was about to be drafted so I enlisted in the Navy in October of 1950. Boot camp was at the "Yacht Club" as Newport was called then and by working hard I earned a billet to go to aviation prep school in Memphis. I worked hard there too and won a chance to go to the Naval School of Photography in Pensacola.

Competition was picking up but when I finished I had a choice of a couple of spots so I took the USS Currituck because it was being recommissioned at Philadelphia so that was not too far from my home in Northwest New Jersey. This was late summer in 1951.

I reported to the photo lab and we were told to keep busy and stay out of trouble for a few days. Soon our Commanding Officer came on board. This was Captain Jack McElroy and he was working on a promotion to Admiral. His last assignment was as the head of Naval Photography.

The Captain had some strange habits. First there was the deal with the Admirals Barge. As a captain he was entitled to a gig or small speed boat. A barge was found not attached and soon it had a home on board the Currituck. This was not looked upon very kindly.

The photographers were given open liberty and we could come and go almost at will. When we left the ship in a group the gig was brought around for us and we were able to go ashore in style. We came back with the rest of the crew and we tried to be inconspicuous and very pleasant.

When we first started sailing with the ship and during drills I ran up one deck and then outside before the hatches closed and went up to the signal tower above the bridge. Because I was a photographer no one ever questioned me, they all thought it was my duty station, and I was with a buddy from my home area who would tell me what the flags meant along with other information that was not classified. I had the best seat in the bleachers to inside stories of amazing events.

When we left Philadelphia we went to Guantanamo and attacked Vieques with our guns and aircraft bombs. Our first visit to GITMO was spectacular as well as unbelievable. Before entering the harbor, Captain Jack put all the small boats over the side and we entered the bay with our small boats behind and on each side of us. The harbormaster wanted to know what was going on and the skipper let them know that he was just being prepared so that his crew could head for shore as soon as we dropped anchor. This did not go over too well with the powers in the area.

I guess we were in line for some hot messages but then a very strange thing happened. We were sailing through the harbor toward our destination to drop anchor. The water was choppy but not real rough. A P5M was landing and taking off out from our port side. It was apparently attached to the base; we did not have any aircraft assigned to us. Suddenly a high wave caught the wing of the Marlin P5M, flipped it and smoke started streaming up from the craft.


Our boats, already in the water rushed to the aid of the plane. They pulled all 7 of those on board into their boats. The gig grabbed 4, the Admiral/now Captains Barge got 2 and one of the crew boats got 1. They were almost at the base dock when the crash boat got away. We had witnesses on board who testified to investigators that the seas were calm and a freak wave caught the crew without warning.

As I remember it I think they were correct.

And that is how the big beer party started that is shown in the photos.


It lasted 3 days so all sections got to go party at the base swimming beach. So instead of getting ripped up for the barge and putting the boats over as we entered, we got the royal treatment in appreciation of the brave crew we had who jumped in by the burning plane and grabbed the crew.

When we set sail for Norfolk to return from shakedown the skipper had my friend run up the flags How,Able,Fox and Nan. When questioned by a ship with an officer who outranked him the skipper said it stood for Haul Ass for Norfolk.

I will have more.

story and photos by Stewart "Stew" Rusby © 2007

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