USN Salvors - 1970's bits and pieces

[trenchbuff]

Thanks, as I recall, you also briefly served on an ARS at Alpha Docks.

 

USS RECLAIMER (ARS-42) ?

 

I did. In total I was stationed in Pearl Harbor for 5 years and was sent to the RECLAIMER from the USS SAMPLE when they lost their YN. Probably one of my favorite times in the Navy. Even had a chance to participate in pulling a Greek freighter off French Frigate Shoals. Without a doubt some of the most colorful and impressive sailors I ever knew. I got back to SAMPLE just in time to deploy to WESTPAC.

 

[Salvage Sailor]

Sorry Salvage, that is not a '60s style jacket. That is the later '80s style. The '60s style had a button front along with the zipper and did not have the knit cuffs or breast pockets. The '60s style was replaced with this style but in a color that matched the utility uniform trousers and cap. We also had the dark back ground crow shown on this jacket. When they changed back to dungarees, this jacket color was adopted, and it took a few months for the exchange system to catch up with a crow that matched, They still had stocks of the older darker crows and jackets to move, both were acceptable for wear. Wore all three jackets at one time or another. Got issued the '60s style in Boot Camp, changed to the dark "Utility Style when that wore out and then again, a few years later changed to the light blue jacket when the dark one fell apart.

 

Thanks for the correction Steve,

 

I just posted that one from my files rather than actually pulling out the jacket and checking the tag. I'll wait until I have them all side by side for a beauty show and post the proper info.

 

I liked the dark Utility jacket best, it was really the only keeper out of the entire Utility series other than the hat.

[SergeantMajorGray]

Is the F-4 Phantom the coolest thing you guys pulled out of the water?

[Salvage Sailor]

Salvaging jet aircraft was a bit more somber, especially when we had to recover the pilot too. Not all of them punched out successfully and we'd try to get to them before the crabs and other sea scavengers did. I'll spare our readers the grisly details.

 

The most satisfying recovery was raising one of our own workboats and our dive gear which went to the bottom off of Yokosuka when a US Destroyer smashed our port boat davit and then followed up by ripping the ramp off of our workboat as it tried to avoid their screw guards. We came out even in that encounter as our davits did slice open the hull of the shiny Tincan above the waterline.

 

Being professionals, we deferred opening fire upon each other and stood off with a mere "by your leave, Sir" and some Hawaiian Peace signs.

 

Photo:  Dillingham Shipyard, Sand Island Honolulu, Hawaii.  EM3 with his harley flipping a bird and yours truly with my Honda, Bausch & Lomb sunglasses, bandana and 'love' beads

[RustyCanteen]

Sorry Salvage, that is not a '^0s style jacket. That is the later '80s style. The '60s style had a button front along with the zipper and did not have the knit cuffs or breast pockets. The '60s style was replaced with this style but in a color that matched the utility uniform trousers and cap. We also had the dark back ground crow shown on this jacket. When they changed back to dungarees, this jacket color was adopted, and it took a few months for the exchange system to catch up with a crow that matched, They still had stocks of the older darker crows and jackets to move, both were acceptable for wear. Wore all three jackets at one time or another. Got issued the '60s style in Boot Camp, changed to the dark "Utility Style when that wore out and then again, a few years later changed to the light blue jacket when the dark one fell apart.

 

 

I was working on a thread detailing the Vietnam era working uniforms over a year ago but put it aside so that I could work on other projects. Believe it or not you would think the subject would be straightforward and easy to document; not so. I spent a lot of time researching them and I still don't have the complete story. For the sake of clarity I will base the dates in this post on a combination of introduction and wear out dates or it would be too confusing. Actually a chapter could be written just on the development of the uniform which dated back well into the 1960s so we'll skip that too for sanity's sake. Also worthy of consideration is the ever loose/changing nomenclature, which is sometimes so similar that it can cause confusion. I am going to really condense this down..it would take a thread on each item to fully document the history of the uniform.

 

Essentially the working uniform was designed in the late 1950s and consisted of a blue sateen ball cap, blue sateen jacket, chambray shirt and dungaree trousers. The sateen jacket replaced the denim jacket of which various patterns (to include the jumpers) had been worn for half a century. Since we are discussing the working jacket and hat I will omit the chambray and dungarees from this in order to save us some time and our eyes. The Cap, Utility, Cotton Sateen was actually not officially authorized for wear without the Jacket, Utility (not to be confused with the later utility jackets) until 1962 when wear was extended to those wearing only dungarees sans jacket. The push for a new uniform (both working and dress) was well underway in the mid 1960s but budgetary concerns kept it shelved it until the early 1970s. For those wanting a 'blue water' Vietnam era Navy display you want the above uniforms. The new utility uniform was placed in production in 1971 but issue and wear out dates meant that the older uniform was still widely worn in the fleet.

 

These photos are old and I found it very difficult to preserve the actual dark colors of the items when under intense lighting required for photography due to the sheen of the sateen material which washed out the color in photos. So you will have to excuse the lack of quality in the images:

 

Jacket with cap across neck opening. The zipper on the jacket was hidden by a flap which was buttoned down to seal the coat.

 

Another view of the jacket/

 

The cap. Notice the complex multi-piece construction used.

 

1971-1979 The 'new' Utility uniform.

 

The move away from the old working uniform included a replacement for not only the jacket and cap, but also the venerable chambray shirt and dungaree trousers. The new uniform consisted of a utility jacket, utility cap, utility jumper (long and short sleeve) and utility trousers. The trousers, cap, and jacket were changed to a very dark navy blue (3446), essentially black from a distance. The utility jumpers were a light blue which gave an usual contrast when wearing the full uniform with the jacket unzipped and open. The rates were changed to 3446 to match the color of the new jacket. Both the old and new working uniform shared and overlap of manufacture and wear initially. Eventually the manufacture of the old uniform ceased (approximately 1972) and issue of the new uniform was underway to new recruits. Probably anyone who completed boot camp prior to 1972 had the original issue of the old working uniform. The Jacket, Utility, Dark Blue had done away with the button and flap and added two breast pockets with zipper closure. The material also changed from cotton sateen to a cotton/poly mix. The new Cap, Utility, Cotton/Poly Poplin was also produced in shade 3446.

 

The short sleeve version of Jumpers, Utility.

 

Trousers, Utility, Dark Blue.

 

The designs for both the jacket and cap were long lived compared to the utility jumper and the utility trousers. Due do safety issues with the jumpers they were phased out and replaced with a utility shirt (fully buttoned rather than a pull-over) in 1975. But by then the push to return to the chambray and dungarees was underway (essentially coming full circle) and in 1978 the Jacket, Utility, Dark Blue and Cap, Utility, Cotton/Poly Poplin was changed to shade 3556 (lighter than 3446) so that it would better match the reintroduced dungarees. Despite the change it appears some companies continued to use labels bearing 'Dark Blue' as part of the nomenclature as late as the early 1980s.

 

Jacket, Utility: Comparison of shades 3446 (Left) and 3556 (right)

 

Cap, Utility, Cotton/Poly Poplin: Comparison of shades 3446 (Left) and 3556 (right)

 

And there it is in a nutshell. But I don't want to detract from this thread, I think it is great to see the uniforms in use. It's a great example of how things were 'really' done as opposed to what the book says. A lot of collectors have to rely on the books to make their displays, but nothing beats actual photographs of the uniforms being worn.

 

Keep'em coming!

 

RC

[Salvage Sailor]

There ya go,

 

Excellent presentation of the Jacket, cap and crow styles. I've also been considering a detailed Utility Uniform study and also another on the 1970's dress uniform disaster (the Salt and Pepper, Doorman or Ice Cream Vendor uniform). We'll leave that for another day although I will be showing examples of it later in this topic.

 

Feel free to add other items to this topic as they apply to the discussion. Thanks again for posting the Utility jackets as I don't have them handy at the moment.

 

 

Why we wore US issue 'Birth Control' glasses

[sigsaye]

I got the top set of jacket and cap in boot camp. Some of the guys got toe other ones in dark blue. I preferred the first , just more comfortable and looked "Right". I had patches all over mine. Wore out and went over the side in the late'70s

[RT-VIPER]

GREAT pics Salvage Sailor! Any more of the SBU boys? Thanks for sharing the details too!

[RustyCanteen]

There ya go,

 

Excellent presentation of the Jacket, cap and crow styles. I've also been considering a detailed Utility Uniform study and also another on the 1970's dress uniform disaster (the Salt and Pepper, Doorman or Ice Cream Vendor uniform). We'll leave that for another day although I will be showing examples of it later in this topic.

 

Feel free to add other items to this topic as they apply to the discussion. Thanks again for posting the Utility jackets as I don't have them handy at the moment.

 

 

Salvage Sailor, I look forward to that. I love all this Navy stuff.

 

RC

[sigsaye]

My "Working Jacket" Crows. First older dark blue from early 70's

 

Back showing again how we folded them up.

 

Dark Blue PO2

 

Back

 

PO3 of the later color when the color of the Jacket changed. Guessing pre '84 since the eagle still looks right.

 

Back of '80s crow. Notice this one was not just folded, but notched to lay flatter. Must have been done in the exchange

[sigsaye]

A "Working" Utlity Cap, 1982. I got this in '82 for my sister who was visiting for a few weeks. It is the light blue color and has a PO1 crow. It has never been washed, and the bill has cracked.

 

side view

 

For you tag guys! I have no idea what the stamped "11" is

 

The clutches for the PO1 badge. Usually, I would not have used these, but rather, bend the pins over. you only had to run into a pipe in the overhead once to learn this trick. You could always tell the new PO3s as they would not listen and you would see the new little dents in their fore heads.

[Salvage Sailor]

While fishing around for more photos I came across this unused bumper sticker

 

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

We would spend quite a lot of our time towing target hulks which we would cover with graffiti.  Note my fellow 'Junk Boat Pirates' on the bridge wing of the hulk.

 

 

 

USS BOLSTER (ARS-38) Towing target hulk from WESTLOCH out to the Gunline off of Kahoʻolawe.  We've tied inflatable 'strawberry buoys' on the towline to keep it atop the water.  This is so we can easily judge at a glance how much tension or slack was on the towline.

 

 

Of course, we would also plunder our victims as we were 'Junk Boat Pirates'.  Lots of our unauthorized Comm & Engine spare parts would come off of these hulks plus wiring, lights, fans, tools, galley gear and anything that struck our fancy.  I've shown a bunch of mine on these forum topics.

 

[Salvage Sailor]

....and recovering torpedoes, usually in the Barking Sands range

 

 

Green Deck Jackets, including the extreme cold weather version (with the nylon ribbing).  Also note the Buck 110 in the black sheath, almost all of us wore one on our belts.  The heap of wood and rope is a jacob's ladder, quite handy in many situations.  Although these are Hawaiian waters, it's can get quite cold and windy at times.

 

[Salvage Sailor]

Cleaning the guns

 

 

.50 Cal and 20MM, The GM is wearing a USN knit watch cap

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

More from the F-4 recovery in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii previously shown

 

 

 

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

Dive locker - Mark V helmets - coded by color

 

 

This is also how we communicated on the underwater circuit

Red Diver, Green Diver, etc.

 

Heading down the diving ladder, Destroyer Tender in the background

[Salvage Sailor]

Dressing Divers in Mark V's

 

 

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

Working Uniforms

 

Dungarees - Greens -Khakis

 

Dungarees Skivvy shirts. utility ballcap and hardhats

[Salvage Sailor]

Preparing Beach Gear - the darker utility uniforms

 

[Salvage Sailor]

My Knives

 

Buck 110, USN Kabar, Survival knife

 

 

 

 

Somewhere around here I also have my Swiss Army knife, yes, I had four blades, at least two on me at all times on duty.

 

[Salvage Sailor]

Harbor Clearance Unit One (HCU-1) Back in the World

 

The homeport for YRST-1 was changed from Subic Bay, P.I. to Alpha Docks Pearl Harbor under the direct control of SERVRON FIVE

 

 

Note that several HCU-1 divers were also Navy Seals during the 1970's

Summer whites and Primo beer.  The sailor in the center is wearing the new Bancroft style enlisted hat (E-1 thru E-6)

 

 

Full size SERVRON FIVE patch embroidered on green wardroom tablecloth

[Salvage Sailor]

Those were the days my friend. It was about doing your job and not so much shinny shoes. That could have been any ship in the Pacific at that time. I have pics of me riding Tin Cans, a Carrier and an LKA, looking exactly like that. I sometimes chuckle at people who never were there that think Sailors just sit around in air conditioned spaces watching monitors. Yeah, there is a lot of that, but real "Sailorin' " still needs to be done. I remember at the time, being referred to as a "Boot Camp" was a horrible insult. We would wash and bleach brand new Sea Farers to get them faded a bit before wearing them so they didn't look so new. Chiefs were different back then too. All had been to Vietnam Nam, some had been to Korea, and when I first went in, there were still a few WW2 Victory ribbons and Pacific Campaigns with stars in them. They had a very different view of things. Yep, good days. There were things not so great, but overall good times.

 

Aye Steve

 

Aye

[sigsaye]

Always LOVED that pic. Found a good sized print and had it up in the First Class Mess on the St. Louis

[sigsaye]

And how many REAL Top Siders DIDN't carry a Buck 110? I do not remember very many! Here's mine, Wife got it for me in '75. Carried it till '99. Note the sail twine repair to the case. We all had them on the Bradley Sig Bridge, so we carved our names in them and filled the grooves with epoxy. I had the misfortune of hanging from a yard arm trying to clear a fouled block with a new Buck. Had to open it with my teeth (opened a beer in Subic that way too, but that's another story). After that, spent hours on watch opening and closing my knife until I could get it open with the thumb of one hand. Great knife.