Memorabilia from your time in the service

[Frank46]

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

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