Memorabilia from your time in the service

I served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D Roosevelt CVA 42 from late 1964 till late 1967. One of the three post war Midway class of carriers. During gunnery practise I borrowed some ear protectors from a buddy in the air wing,asbestos gloves from the engineroom and a 32 gallon all steel trash can. Ran out on the weather deck where one of the slow firing 5"x54 gun mounts was firing at a target sled towed by a tug. Grabbed one of the brass shell casings and into the trash can and back to the generator room where I worked. Amputated about 5" of the bottom of the case and off to the machine shop. Asked the Chief Petty officer if one of the machinists could trim the case for me. He then asked one of the machinists to help me out. Trimmed the case,took a cleanup cut on the inside and installed a brass bolt to plug the hole where the primer went. Spent the better part of a Westpac cruise to and from the pacific polishing it. 50 some odd years later it remains a cherished possession of my time in the Navy. Also have a brass copy of the ship's plaque. And of course a bunch of pictures taken of various ports we visited. Frank

Well Frank, I had the pleasure of being a guest onboard when you were offshore on Malta in 1967. Great ship, great crew.....................great times of the past.

The statute of limitations always interfere with reporting such memorabilia. However, the synthetic tubes the 81 mm mortar bombs came in made excellent mugs. Turned the carrying handle around, cut it off at about two beer can contents. Lasted forever, even worked well for coffee, soup, suchlike fluids. Other types of liquor took, of course.

Love to see the pictures of these items

I don't have anything real exciting. A package of toilet paper with a camel on it, 10 Desert Storm Topps Baseball cards, my uniform, a case of MRE's now 30 years old, an East German Lantern, two possibly, a couple of power tools salvaged from a carpenters trailer that someone decided the best way to get a new one was to spray the interior with an asphalt coating and probably a few other odds and ends. Then there's the stuff the Saudis gave me. A Koran, a white robe, a head covering, T-shirt, some Riyals, and then the Iraqi stuff, a uniform top, some photos of the battlefield damage, some Dinars. The East German lanterns came out of some East German vehicles no one knew what to do with. They were Germany's contribution to the war effort. Some of my guys were in charge of trying to figure out how to get them to run. I have about 100 military maps of the Iraqi desert also. It is said that one US General only had one map and he used it everywhere he went because they all looked the same. He wasn't wrong.

Had an original issued pack of cards with all the Iraqi WANTED faces on them from the Gulf War...............gave them to a mate who liked them, he then tells me later that he sold them for £200. Now thats being grateful!!

I thought the maps of the Iraqi desert were just a piece of sand paper; the size of the grit being the scale!

I was actually working in Riyadh when the first Desert Storm all kicked off. The invasion of Kuwait was not reported on Saudi media until 3 days after the event!
The build up of the Desert Storm military personel and equipment was impressive in the months leading up to the actual kick off. A lot of the US top brass were staying in the Intercontinental Hotel; which was were I used to go to gym.

They said they plundered Riyadh of all the gold, so where did it all end up?

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Originally Posted by Gil Boyd

They said they plundered Riyadh of all the gold, so where did it all end up?

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Some of it ended up in my safe. Forgot about that. 21 carrot gold necklace, bracelet, ring and ear rings. Beautiful stuff. Dirt cheap over there. I have a rug also, forgot about that. Never display either of them at the house but have shown them off occasionally for special events. The rugs the real deal, signed like they are supposed to be.

Blast Door artwork for the Prairie Submarine I was the flight commander of.

Ah the statute of limitations. Well when we did out Westpac cruise they made up ashtrays for all the officers from fired 5"54 brass shell casings. Mine came out of a dumpster that was on the dock where we were tied up. Then again that was over a half century ago and my ship was scrapped back in 1978. So don't think anyone would be coming for me anytime soon. Went to a gun show in Houston Texas and one dealer had a huge table full of cannon shells that had some impressive artwork done on them. the one piece I still kick my self for not getting was a 8" brass case for one of our 8" gunned heavy cruisers. All I could think about was how I'd get it to my friends truck. I sorta kinda collect these shell casings and you'd find them in funny places. Some I found in scrap yards, some in antique shops. And in one case had an uncle who served in the British Army in WW1. When he passed my Aunt sent the two that had sat on the mantel above the fireplace for years. 75mm,one cut to resemble an enlisted man's cap, and the other was made to hold a small wooded box of strike anywhere matches. Frank