Guy Monroe Maddox, Sr. R.I.P.
1923 - 2019

 

 

 

Leonard William Curtis Kunz R.I.P.
1945 - 2018

 

 

 

Subj: Vietnam pics To: Doc Rio website. 

From: gardners4vb [at] aol.com 
 Rio, Sorry to take so long to get back to you but medical problems in my family makes me slow. Not completely sure but I think we lost Steve some years ago. He was a hell of a warrior and I am proud to say I was able to serve with him. 

Bill 

Bill Gardner  1970  ST-2
-----Original Message----- From: Erasmo Riojas <docrio45 [at] gmail.com> To: 38ec Bill and Anne Gardner <gardners4vb [at] aol.com> Sent: Sat, Jul 14, 2018 Subject: Re: Vietnam pics Doc Rio website. 

Bill, what happened to : Steve Dunthorn I used to take him shooting at an indoor range near his home after his accident. I hope he is still around. May God Bless him. your warrior brother 

Doc RIO 




On Sat, Jul 14, 2018  <gardners4vb [at] aol.com> To: Rio,  From Bill Gardner

My class was 38E @ Little Creek. Served at UDT22, SEAL Team Two and UDT21. 

I was fortunate to have 4 of my 38E instructors in my platoon in Nam, Tom Blais,Ken MacDonald, Pat Martin and Steve Dunthorn all shown in the 4th Platoon photo @ Nha Bhe. 

Many thanks, Bill 



- From: Erasmo Riojas <docrio45  [at] gmail.com> To: 38ec Bill and Anne Gardner <gardners4vb [at] aol.com> Sent: Wed, Jul 11, 2018  Subject: Re: Vietnam pics Doc Rio website. 

Bill, my bad ! i am very forgetful and do not remember your son's email with that picture of you. That photo of you is GREAT! my problem is that the format is "PDF" is there a way you can resend it as " JPG, or some other photo format? thanks. also may I post your historical information by your photo when i receive it? 

thanks my warrior brother 

About that floatation jacket: were you Team ONE or TWO. We had some during my 1st tour. I gave mine to MINH, our interpreter when we left MyTho. 

RIO 



On Wed, Jul 11, 2018 , <gardners4vb [at] aol.co> wrote: July 11, 2018 

Hi Rio, 

My son Owen mailed some pictures to you a while back, and you were nice enough to include some of them on your website. 

Several years back Owen and I were assisting Jack Schropp checking in at the the base lodge when you had just arrived. I introduced Owen to you , and you were nice enough to give him one of your coins. 

On this link https://sealtwo.org/photoalbum10.htm one of the pics you posted “Flotation Jacket ‘Nam era, name of SEAL??? It was made of me on the helo pad at Na Bhe in early ’70 by a Sea Wolf pilot just before we inserted into the Rung Sat. Never saw the pic until years later when the pilot came in my office in Virginia Beach and gave it to me. I have attached a PDF file of the same picture that is much more clear. You can see the CAR-15 I carried much better in this photo. 

The pic posted “Vietnam SEAL insertion from Mike Boat” was made in the northern part of the Rung Sat in ’70, and the man in full view top of the pic is the backside of Tom Blais. 

The fact that you also posted the platoon pic at Na Bhe humbled me. Many thanks. I am proud to say I served with you. 

My very best to you and your family, 

Bill Gardner 

 

 

 

 

142nd NRA Convention,  Houston TX     04May2013

 

?forgot his name?  Jeffrey Axelson and Fred Miller

 

Jim Williams  Lil Rio Vasquez and Fred Miller

 

LouLou Tolentino,  Doc Riojas' wife

 

Joe and Damien RIO Vasquez

 


Damien RIO VasqueZ NRA BENEFACTOR Membership 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Barnes

 

Caroline Sierra Vasquez and Lourdes Tolentino

 

Linda Miller and Fred Miller

 

Dianne Williams

 

Terry, Jim, and Janet Williams

 

Dianne and Terry Williams

Superior Arms

FrogLube

LouLou, Lil Rio, Rio Grande

 

   Contact Webmaster :     Erasmo "Doc" Riojas   docrio45 [at] DOT gmail.com

 

 

 

Eric Prince

 

 

 


 

    

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

    

 

  

 

 

 

Allan R. Archey, of Class 30 Little Creek/East Coast. Allan was an excellent runner and one of the fastest swimmers in our class. Orlin Dean Nelson was his swim buddy most of the time. They were always first in the swims. Allan must have passed some healthy DNA to Clay.   Clay had a good time and placed high among the finishers of this beach run. Allan is still working his farm in Starke, FL.      

 Webmaster:  22 Feb 2013Info from Bill Langley in P.C. FL., thank you Bill.  Rio

 

 

 

C. Gardner Sullivan II,  R.I.P.

C. Gardner Sullivan II passed away on January 10, 2013 in Scottsdale, AZ. He was 82 years old and was the son of C. Gardner Sullivan and Ann Beatrice May. He was born on October 25, 1930 in Los Angeles, CA. 

He graduated from Beverly Hills High School, Pomona College and attended graduate school at Mills College. 

Mr. Sullivan served in the US Navy as a Lieutenant for nearly five years and was the Officer in Charge, Underwater Demolition Team 
12, Kwajalien Detachment. His passion was for the Navy and the UDT-SEALs. 

He had a diverse career in the business world serving as President, I Network.TV, I Entertainment Inc. and CEO for Cyborex Laboratories. He was the Manager for Computer Systems (West) and the Manager for Special Projects (Iran) for IBM World Trade Corporation for 13 years. 

Mr. Sullivan was an accomplished musician and composer where he produced several amateur musical productions. He entertained and inspired people with his piano and violin playing with magical moments that came through his music.

 

 

Navy SEAL Robert Guzzo Jr.  R.I.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Navy SEAL’s Parents Speak About The Tragic Secret That Led to Their Son’s Death 

Posted January 15th, 2013 by US Navy SEALs Navy SEAL Robert Guzzo Jr. was described by his mother as “very independent and headstrong, always funny, always silly,” but sadly, even these traits were not enough to help him survive his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). On the day after Veterans Day 2012, the 33-year-old Iraq War Veteran took his own life and the last things he may have seen were his military awards and pictures of his Navy SEAL training days, as well as photos of his best friend, Marc Lee, another Navy SEAL killed in a firefight in the city of Ramadi. 

In an interview with Brook Silva-Braga, host of The Washington Post’s online news program “The Fold,” Robin Andersen recalls how her son has changed when he returned to San Diego in 2007. 

“I could just tell immediately he was changed,” Andersen said. “His affect was different, you know. The look on his face was a distance away.” 

According to his parents, Rob did not seek treatment for PTSD because he was told that doing so would result in losing his security clearance and ending his career as a SEAL. 

“They told him specifically not to report on any worksheet that you are having these issues, because if they do, they’ll take your bird. They’ll take your trident,” said Robert Guzzo Sr. 

But the Navy denies the claims, saying “We actively campaign to de-stigmatize any type of reporting — and to report issues, without negative career effects… We won’t confirm speculation on how people might have been improperly counseled by uninformed personnel — that certainly was not official policy at the time, nor is it the policy today. And no one has “lost their Trident” since 9-11 due to reporting PTSD or other combat stress ailments.” 

Rob was born into a military family. His mother served 30 years of active duty while his dad was a Navy SEAL from 1983-86 and eventually a SEAL instructor from 1986-89. The young Guzzo joined the military after Sept. 11, 2001 and later became a Navy SEAL Team 5 member.

This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm

 

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       Chris Campbell            ;                            David Warsen                                         Matthew Kantor

 

        
                                          Geo F. Reeves                                           Ron Mercurio

 

    
      Roberto Ramos KIA 'nam ST-2 Color Guard         ;                                           Stew Smith

 

                    ;                    ;   
                                               Tom Valentine       Erick Poston         Adm. Calland

 

 

 

                

From: JD      jd.chief [t] yahoo DOT com 
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 
Subject: Fwd:   JR   
From: Nicholas Teta <nteta [at] tsgiusa DOT com> 
Date: September 22, 2011 

Subject: J.R. Schooley
All:  
 If I haven't already called or emailed you, JR Schooley Class 124 passed away yesterday afternoon with his family gathered around him.  The brain tumor he had been fighting for about 11 years finally took it's toll.  He was to begin a new treatment but during the exam, they found blood clots in his lungs and legs and determined that he was he was not capable of beginning the treatments.  Holly and he decided to go into Hospice late last week.  I was able to speak with him a couple of weeks ago on his birthday and he was up beat.  This picture was sent to me from Holly the day after the reunion.   
Nick...    Nicholas L. Teta
TQPG

 

 

 

                       Bob "Dynamo" Baird     RIP

It is with sad regret that we inform the membership of the passing of Bob "Dynamo" Baird. Bob passed away suddenly in his office in the afternoon of Wednesday 14 September of an apparent heart attack. Robert Baird graduated from BUD/S training in Class 75. He was stationed at SEAL Team ONE during the mid to late 1970's.

span">  During his time on active duty, he actively participated in Conseil International du Sport Militaire, (CISM) competitions. CISM events are akin to the Olympics for members of the military throughout the world. It is a very notable achievement that Bob won three World Championships during those events. 

As one Teammate stated, "Bob "owned" CISM for the years he competed against the best military athletes in the world. Bob will be profoundly missed by his Teammates and especially the young, aspiring athletes whose lives Bob inspired. 

 

 

                      
                                  Nelson Miller                                                           Eric Marcellus

        

                        
                                                                          J.P. Bolwahnn

 

 

 


From: bill higgins<bubbahuggins [at]gmail  DOT 
Date: Thu, Sep 15, 2011 a
Subject: Issac Rodriguez
,  KIA, Just Cause Panama 
To: Doc Riojas    docrio45  [at] gmail  DOT com

Enclosed a photo of SEAL Team FOUR  before just cause I'm the guy  Issac Rodriguez has his arm around me.  Please I've no help from the navy army va or anyone else I was injured in just cause but Issac and the guy behind him  were in the beginning that is all  I remembered. If  I srewed up or caused someone injury or worst please let me know if you could look at the photo.

 thank you ,   Bill Huggins 

 


    BMC(SEAL) Ret. Thomas Marquis RIP 

It is with our deepest regret that we inform the NSW community of the loss of BMC(SEAL) Ret. Thomas Marquis. Tommy went into cardiac-arrest while hospitalized in Memphis, TN on 14 SEP 2011. 

Tommy graduated with BUD/S Class 121 in FEB 1983. He was assigned to UDT-11, then transition ed as a Plank-Owner to ST-5. He served on the Navy Leap Frog parachute team from 1992-1993 (while TAD from ST-5). Tommy remained on board ST-5 until he transferred to COMNAVSPECWARCOM in 2000, where he served as a Motivator for In-Fleet and Initial Accession candidates screening and preparing for NSW training pipelines.

 Tommy retired in the spring of 2006 and developed the Navy Recruiting Command's National NSW/NSO Mentorship program. He was primarily responsible for the significant increase in quality and quantity of personnel shipped to Recruit Training Center for SEAL, SWCC, EOD, Navy Diver and Air Rescue programs. 

He led the 27-man NSW/NSO Mentor team in the development and refinement of processes, SOPs and best practices across the nation that significantly exceeded NSW/NSO program requirements for initial accession. Tommy is survived by his wife, Nancy, and daughter Avery. 

A memorial service will be conducted in the greater Hartford, Ct area on Sept 2 4th, 2011, Time to be Determine.   There will also be a memorial service conducted at NSA Millington, TN on Sept 28th, 2011, at 1000


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Jumping Joe" Churchill

On Sun, Sep 4, 2011, duke ogden <duke.makeithot [at] gmail  DOT com> wrote:
Aloha, Teammates:
 
"Jumping Joe" Churchill, what a sterling Corpsman and Teammate he was. I recall the first jump he made--
we were going out of a Navy C-47 from NAS North Island and flown by one of the few remaining Pilot Chiefs. 
The DZ was a rocky hillock surrounded by dry wadi's, in Camp Pendleton. "Jumping Joe" was second in the stick 
and I was right behind him...had to marvel at the flaming red neck scarf he was wearing. I also recall that he reported 
in to the "Frog Farm" directly after completing jump school at Fort Benning. After the jump (above) I asked Chief 
Churchill why he became jump-qualified; his answer was spot on and though I don't remember the actual words 
(this was in late 1964, I think), the essence was along the lines of "wherever the Teams go, I will go...whatever 
the Teams do, I will do".

 

Whenever we jumped at Camp Pendleton, we would do so in concert with Ist Force Reconnaisance, stationed at 
Camp Del Mar; they would provide the jumpmaster (only name I can remember was a staff NCO named Blankenship...
there was another that looked like he could wrestle a bull in the Tijuana bull ring...had a Mexican name and was a 
staff NCO as well). On the jump mentioned above, I wore a pilot's helmet that I had 'reconfigured'...painted it white 
and a dragon on the front--a dragon taken from a drawing of an Aztec animal that I assumed was a dragon! Made a 


sterling landing in my T-10 initially--feet, side of the closed knees, and hip--however, lowering my head caused me to 
try and ram a decent-sized boulder...which broke the helmet in two pieces. "Jumping Joe" was on me like a "hobo on a 
hot biscuit", but no damage. Lesson(s) Learned: Don't fuck with drawings and icons that you know nothing about!
 Finally, yes I remember the stupidity of not allowing Corpsmen to wear Dress Blues. I recall several occasions 
where our HMs mustered in Navy uniforms...and the impression it gave was that they were "Admin Pukes, filling in 
for real Marines"...that was in the 2nd Bn, 7th Marines, Camp Las Pulgas (the Fleas)...of course the whole battalion 
knew and respected who they were and what they did. As one lengthens one's tooth, the vision over the shoulder of 
where one has been and what one has done, becomes longer and longer...but it is also a reminder that there is still
much that can be done...and should be done. 


Duke

 

        SEAL Chief Tommy Marquis, USN Retired

Sep 14, 2011 at 4:36 PM, William Prichard <prichardw2004 [at] yahoo DOT com>  wrote:

  FYI, Tommy was also a plank owner of the west coast TRADET Sniper Cell 01-02. He was very good at what he did. He was a work hard, play hard frogman. He never asked for it, but he deserved a lot more credit than he got. R.I.P.       William Prichard

 

 

 

 

                                              

 

        
Max Morgan in 'nam      Kirk scarborough  & Max Morgan                 John Durlin, ?  ,   Dave Bodkin,  Max Morgan

 

                               

 

                                     

 

 

                                                       

 

 

                                                       

 

 

 

 

                            
                Tom Juliano, Pat Holtz and George Holtz Navy UDT SEAL Museum Memorial Statue


SEAL Team TWO inspection:  Lt to Rt:  ??, Ty Zellers, Durwood Hunter White, Harry Humphries,  ??,  Jim Watson,  Tollison,  "BadMouth" Tollinson,  ??

 


                             John Dearmon and Jake Rhinebolt

 

                                                         
Standing LT to RT:  Marcinko, "Nasty" Nash,  Doc Martin, Nancy Martin,    Sitting:   Harry Humphries and Erasmo Doc Riojas (had hair then)

 


                       Young Lions with "Demo Team" Ft. Pierce FL   Muster

 

                                        
                                 Joe Di Martino,  Doc Riojas,  ??                                                          Ty Zellers

 

                      
     Bud  Gardner                                                       Eddie Leisure                                            "Ray" Ramos

 

    
         Sam Bailey                                              Sol Atkinson                          Squires                        Darryl Young

 

                  
7th ST-2 1967  Standing: LT to RT: Minh, Hook Turre, Jack Rowell, "Eagle" Gallagher, Roy Dean Matthews, sitting: Doc RIojas

 

SEAL Team TWO
Fourth Platoon


OIC LT William (Bill) Gardner
AOIC Lt Ace Sarich
 Plt Chief DMCS Thomas Blais
BM 1 Pat Martin,
EM 1 Kenneth Mac Donald
AE1 Curtis Ashton
                 (PRU Advisor)(KIA)
PR1 Steven Dunthorn, 
HM2 Stephen Elson
GMG2 Daniel Olsen
MR2 Ronnie Rogers

RM2 James Burison
PR 3 Gregory Frisch
BM3 William Bibby
QM3 
David Suthurland   

 

 

 

        
                                                                            Michael Thornton

 

                         
                         Per Erik Tornblom                                Bill Garnett,  Billky Burbank & Clay Grady

 

      
         Erasmo Riojas, Brownsville TX                    Tom Truxell & Tom BLais             Doc Riojas and Zelmo

       

                   
         "Boom Boom Schoesse "                                                   PT "Doc" Swartz

 

                                      
                                                                              ST-2   T.N. Tarbox

 

                   
               R.D. Russel & Pam                                          SEAL Recruting Poster

 

                  
         Sol Atkinson                                      Frank Thornton                                     Rich Kuhn  &  Doc Riojas

 

                           
                           Steve, Nguyen Van Kiet,  Thuy Nguyen  LDNN Reunion Houston Tx

 

 

 

 

Ben Lichtenberg's (SEAL)   Philippines photos

     
                               
Ben Lichtenberg

           
                                      On the Lt: LT Hector Delgado, Navy SEAL

 

                                      
                                                                            Hector Delgado & Family

                              
Lt to Rt: Capt Symmons, Judy McClesky, JoAnn Atkinson, Marge Boesch, Jean Rhinbolt, Cathy Marcinko

 

                 
          Bill Garnett, Billy Burbank, Clay Grady                     Joe "Doc" Churchill            Homer "Doc" Marshall

 

                                  
                                                            Young Lions at Muster Ft. Pierce FL

 

                           
    Terry Sullivan          "Doc" Hammel                                         SEAL wives at UDT SEAL Museum 

 

      
   Jerry CLark                                              Bill Goines                                           "Doc"  Brown   ST-1 

                      
Fred "Doc" McCarthy  & Rio     Eddie Leasure, PeeWee Nealy                       Young Lions

 

                          

                      

   
Dick Marcinko, Hoot Andrews, Harry Humphries                               ??              John Dearmon

 

                               
Joe De Martino,  Doc RIojas, and  ??

 

                    SEALs & others Die in Helo Crash

September 24, 2010 - 5:21 PM | by: Justin Fishel

WASHINGTON -- Nine American troops died Tuesday in the worst helicopter crash for coalition forces in Afghanistan in over four years. Five of the Americans were Army Special Operations Forces, and four were Navy SEALS. Killed were:

Lt. (SEAL) Brendan J. Looney, 29, of Owings, Md., assigned to a West Coast-based SEAL Team.

Senior Chief Petty Officer David B. McLendon, 30, of Thomasville, Ga., assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit.

Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Adam O. Smith, 26, of Hurland, Mo., assigned to an East Coast-based SEAL Team.

Petty Officer 3rd Class (SEAL) Denis C. Miranda, 24, of Toms River, N.J., assigned to an East Coast-based SEAL Team.

Maj. Robert F. Baldwin, 39, of Muscatine, Iowa.

Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff, 34, of Orem, Utah.

Chief Warrant Officer Jonah D. McClellan, 26, of St. Louis Park, Minn.

Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell, 25, of Pleasant Plains, Ill.

Sgt. Marvin R. Calhoun Jr., 23, of Elkhart, Ind.

The Taliban claimed responsibilty for the crash shortly after it occured, but NATO and Pentagon officials have denied the helicopter took any enemy fire before going down.

The crash took place in the Daychopan district of Zabul province in southern Afghanistan.


Read more:  http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/24/highly-trained-us-forces-die-in-helo-crash/#ixzz112U1aPRS

 

 

                 
        BrendanLooney                 Brian Schad                              Nancy and Richard Marcinko

 

 

         
                                                               SEALs in Iraq    

          
      Richard "Hook" Tuure, Roy Dean Matthews, Erasmo Doc RIojas                      Michael Badger

    
                                                             Adam Smith 


                         Lt to Rt:  ??      ??     Robert "Pete" Peterson

 

                       
Lt to Rt: Roy Dean Matthews, Erasmo Riojas, Bob "Eagle" Gallagher, Glen Grinnage, Jim "patches" Watson

 

 

 

SKCM Joseph E.E. Picard, USN (Ret), SEAL, Class 4
R.I.P.

August 6, 1930  -  June 27, 2010

GLENBURN,ME AND ESCONDIDO,CA-Joseph E.E. Picard, SKCM, USN (Ret), SEAL, age 79, husband of the late Anita T. (Thibeault) Picard, died June 27, 2010, at the San Diego Hospice Center. He was born August 6, 1930, in Old Town, Maine, the son of the late Blanche (Bouchard) and Edmond Picard of Old Town, Maine.   Joe died on his wife's birthday.

Joseph enlisted in the Navy in June 1947. After 31 years of service he retired to Glenburn, Maine as a Master Chief. Joseph was a long time member of the UDT-SEAL Association.

7 July 2010  Photos compliments of   Rachel Bluing

 

Navy Chief Petty Officer Collin Thomas

Collin Thomas was remembered as a man who was devoted to his family and his fellow Navy SEALs.

Thomas' memorial service was private, and little has been published about him. But the 13-year military veteran was remembered for his talents in the armed forces.

John Admire wrote in an online memorial that he had recently had dinner with Thomas and "was impressed with Collin and how much he had grown since I'd known him as a youngster."

Thomas, 33, of Morehead, Ky., was killed Aug. 18 in eastern Afghanistan. His Navy SEAL team was based in Virginia. He graduated from Rowan County High School in 1995 and enlisted in the Navy in 1997. For a time he attended Morehead State University before enlisting. He had been engaged to Sarah Saunders.

His family wrote in his obituary that he was an adventurous person who always went out of his way for his fellow SEALs.

"They were his second family and closest friends," the obituary said.

A Navy press release said he was a gifted SEAL.

"His tireless professionalism, inspiring passion for life, and humble demeanor made him a role model for all who knew him," the release said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian Curle and SEAL Team EIGHT, India Platoon

 

      
          Brian Curle  (click on picture)                                  Shaun  ST-4

 

LCDR JAMES ROY HAZELWOOD (SEAL)(MDV)    R.I.P.

by: Franklin Anderson         From The Blast 3d Quarter 2003

                            

I would like to provide additional information on LCDR JAMES ROY HAZELWOOD. Previously, I had submitted a Wake Island Detachment Photo and Called Chief Hazelwood ‘ROY". That was what be was referred to in UDT-1 1 UNLESS IT WAS CHIEF. I had the pleasure of having Master Chief Hazelwood as my Platoon Chief and as Jim Barnes said "he was a Horse".

When Chief Hazelwood first came to Team 11, his reputation preceded him. He was known; for going shark hunting with "power heads", and was fearless. Another story was that he was diving in the Caribbean and found a Rolex watch that was encrusted with coral. He corresponded with Rolex, thinking they would really jump on the promotion of their product, since it started running as soon as he shook it. Rolex - in a nonchalant way said that "all of our products will perform like that" or something to that effect. As previously stated Chief Hazelwood was in my Platoon and he went with me to do Cable repairs at Wake Island (Photo previously submitted).

Upon our return, the Navy came out with a program for Chiefs with 18 years or more, could apply for a commission. I encouraged "Roy" to apply and also gave him an outstanding endorsement. We submitted the application and then departed for Kwajalein for another Cable Job. While there many incidents happened that I believe you will enjoy. Chief Hazelwood was a Master Diver and a physical Horse—he always ran wherever he went and prided himself in his abilities both mental and physical.

While at Kwajalein Island proper, we worked long hours blowing channels and laying the cable. We also conducted Aqua Lung classes for some of the people with the installation. We had a couple of engineers who were always trying to trip up the Chief (who was our senior Instructor). One evening the Chief was going thru some Diving Physics and equations. These engineers immediately hopped on the Chief about the math portion. "Roy", paused like he was baffled and them slowly and diligently went thru a long formulation and made their jaws pop—Roy was self-educated and was a Whiz at Math, Geometry and Calculus.

Needless to say-from that point on the Class paid close attention and were very grateful for his expertise. There also were a couple more incidents that were memorable—LT ANDERSON (OINC) and LTJG Harry Mackenzie lived in quarters some distance from the men’s barracks and we had a 4X4 for transportation. One morning we went out and all four tires were Flat. Lt Sorenson (cousin to PRESIDENT KENNEDY’S SPEECH WRITER) asked if we would like a ride to the UDT Barracks—We said sure— We rode up and all at once everybody was after SN Gerald Berg and SN Ted Matheson to pay up. It seems that Matheson and Berg had been taking bets that we would walk to work. It was obvious who had let the air out of the tires. I turned to the Chief and said, " I’ll let you handle those energetic Seamen". Chief Hazelwood, found a hand-Tire pump and made them pump up the four tires to 35 lbs. That was quite a chore and a valuable lesson.

The other incident was off the Island of Aniwetoc (not the Atom Bomb Island), and we were laying explosive. The Chief was always a perfectionist and ready to go, his diving partner was James Pahia. Pahia was slower in getting ready and The Chief was already in the water- He submerged and was down just a short duration when he popped to the surface and "Stepped on the Bow of the LCM", He was speechless and looked at Pahia-who was still standing on the ramp. He walked over and punched him in the Arm. After a few minute he compose himself- he explained that he was under the LCM and something bumped him hard on the arm, he thought it was Pahia. It happened again and he turned and saw about a 20 foot Great White Shark.

The Chief received his orders for Knife and Fork school, and had to depart before the job was completed, but he was always impeccable and dedicated to his duties. He received orders to a ship and then to the East Coast.

We were going thin Parachute Training at Fort Benning and Ens. Hazelwood was going thru at the same time—He had to get a waiver because of his age. However, he out performed many of the younger men. James Roy Hazelwood’s brother was going through Jump Training at the same time (Army) and he was going to quit. Roy told him that isn’t the Hazelwood tradition and really chewed him out. They both graduated.

This was during the time that President Kennedy was assassinated. They bunched up three classes to make up the delay in the schedule – They had jump with over 20 knots of wind and jumpers scattered all over the place. However, all the Frogs completed the jump without incident. UDT-11 Robbie Robinson was Honor Man of the Class and "Roy Hazelwood received special recognition for being one of the Oldest in the Class.

song: Eye of the Tiger

 

                     USS Lexington CV2 (Originally CC-1), 1927-1942     

                 

USS Lexington, a 33,000-ton aircraft carrier, was converted while under construction from the battle cruiser of the same name. Built at Quincy, Massachusetts, and commissioned in December 1927, Lexington was one of the U.S. Navy's first two aircraft carriers that were large and fast enough to be capable of serious fleet operations. During the late 1920s, through the 1930s and into the early 1940s, she took an active part in the development of carrier techniques, fleet doctrine and in the operational training of a generation of Naval Aviators.

displacement: 41,000 tons
length: 888 feet
beam: 105˝ feet
draft: 32 feet
speed: 34Ľ knots
complement: 2,122 crew
armament: 8 eight-inch and 12 five-inch guns
aircraft: 81

My friend and shipmate, Jim Hazelwood was an enlisted man in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He was ship’s company on the USS Lexington when it came under attack attack by several Japanese torpedo bombers as described in the book, "Queen of the Flat-Tops." Jim’s battle station was atop the ship’s island about 60 feet above the flight deck. Around the upper rim of the island was a catwalk with a platforms for machine gun mounts. At 1121 hours the Lex was under attack by torpedo and dive bombers. All of the ship’s batteries were in action and the the blast of the second torpedo that struck Lex on her port side was almost inaudible because of the extreme noise of her weapons.

Jim was manning his 50 cal machine gun when a light bomb hit the Lex’s funnel. It exploded and kills and wounds several men on the catwalk. Moments later, the Zero dive bombers machine guns wounds and kills many more of the men around the catwalk. Jim told me about the sudden moaning eerie wail of the Lex’s steam siren. It seems that a jap bomb struck and kinked the metal tube in which the lanyard, operating the whistle from the bridge was housed. When the tube bent it pulled the lanyard tight causing the whistle to continue to hoot and moan until somebody turned off the steam to it.

The Japanese did not sink the Lex. They damaged her to a degree that secondary internal fires created an inferno that cooked off airplane fuel and some 20,000 pounds of torpedo war-head guncotton. The ship was abandoned because all resources to fight the fires and continue damage control were 100% out of commission. She became an internal infrerno.  One of our Destroyers sank her with two torpedoes.

Jim Hazelwood, also told me that he had to swim away from the Lex which was drifting towards some of the men in the water. She drifted away and floated down wind leaving a stream of swimmers and loaded rafts strung out for nearly 1,000 yards. It is speculated that shark attacks were not reported probably because of the the repeated heavy explosions that may have scared the sharks away and also perhaps of the abundance of fish that were killed great distances from the Lex.

Jim Hazelwood found himself , by the grace of God, alive and swimming among his shipmates whose thoughts were, "we are only a 400 mile swim from Australia." The survivors were rescued by the Carrier and Destroyers that were part of that Task Force and from Australia were shipped back to the States. Jim had met the "White Elephant!" in the Battle of the Coral Sea, 7-8 May 1942.

In early May 1942, Lexington returned to the South Pacific in time to join USS Yorktown (CV-5) in successfully countering the Japanese offensive in the Coral Sea. On 7 and 8 May 1942 her planes helped sink the small Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho and participated in attacks on the large carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku. In turn, however, she was the target of Japanese carrier planes and received two torpedo and three bomb hits. Though initial damage control efforts appeared to be successful, she was racked by gasoline explosions in the early afternoon of 8 May. When the fires raged out of control, Lexington was abandoned by her crew and scuttled, the first U.S. aircraft carrier to be lost in World War II.

Lexington's task force sortie from Pearl Harbor 15 April, rejoiningTF 17 on 1 May 1942. As Japanese fleet concentrations threatening the Coral Sea were observed, Lexington and Yorktown moved into the sea to search for the enemy's force covering a projected troop movement the Japanese must now he blocked in their southward expansion, or sea communication with Australia and New Zealand would be cut, and the dominions threatened with invasion.

On 7 May search planes reported contact with an enemy carrier task force, and Lexington's air group flew an eminently successful mission against it, sinking light carrier Shoho. Later that day, 12 bombers and 15 torpedo planes from still unlocated heavy carriers Shokaku and Zuikoku were intercepted by fighter groups from Lexington and Yorktown, who splashed nine enemy aircraft.

On the morning of the 8th, a Lexington plane located Shoksku group; a strike was immediately launched from the American carriers, and the Japanese ship heavily damaged.

The enemy penetrated to the American carriers at 1100 and 20 minutes later a torpedo to port struck Lexington. Seconds later, a second torpedo hit to port directly abreast the bridge. At the same time, she took three bomb hits from enemy dive-bombers, producing a 7° list to port and several raging fires. By 1300 her skilled damage control parties had brought the fires under control and returned the ship to even keel; making25 knots, she was ready to recover her air group. Then suddenly Lexington was shaken by a tremendous explosion, caused by the ignition of gasoline vapors below, and again fire raged out of control. At 1508 Capt. Frederick C. Sherman, fearing for the safety of men working below, secured salvage operations, and ordered all hands to the flight deck. At 1707, he ordered,"abandon ship!" and the orderly disembarkation began, men going over the side into the warm water, almost immediately to be picked up by nearby cruisers and destroyers. Admiral Fitch and his staff transferred to cruiser Minneapolis, Captain Sherman and his executive officer, CDR. M. T. Seligman insured all their men were safe, then were the last to leave their ship.

Lexington blazed on, flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air. A destroyer closed to 1500 yards and fired two torpedoes into her hull, with one last heavy explosion, the gallant Lexington sank at 1956, in 15°20'S. 1oo°30' E. She was part of the price that was paid to halt the Japanese oversee empire and safeguard Australia and New Zealand, but perhaps an equally great contribution had been her pioneer role in developing the naval aviatorsand the techniques which played so vital a role in ultimate victory in thePacific.

Lexington received two battle stars for World War II service.

 

 

   Veteran 'didn't want a lot of hoopla'

By Ron Brown / Lynchburg News & Advance            June 5, 2004

Jim Hazelwood believed that service to his country was a duty. Fanfare was a matter of choice.

So it seems fitting that he will be buried today in a quiet ceremony at the Carwile Family Cemetery in Gladys.

The 85-year-old veteran of three American wars died earlier this week from complications from a stroke.

"He didn’t want a lot of hoopla," said his son, Tom. "He just felt like he was one person among many who have served their country. If there was going to be a fuss over him, he felt that there should be a fuss made over all vets."

That type of humility, coupled with quiet strength, is what endeared him to his family, friends and fellow veterans.

"He was a warrior," his son said.

Hazelwood’s military record reads like a chronicle of distinguished service awards.

He was a survivor of Pearl Harbor and was wounded during the sinking of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington in World War II during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

As a Navy diver, he was wounded while placing two markers on the beach before the Marine landing at Iwo Jima.

He fought again in Korea and Vietnam.

He also served on diving teams that provided splashdown rescue for astronauts on NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space missions.

He won the Silver Star and was awarded two Purple Hearts  as a result of his combat experiences.

In his own understated way, he once summed up his military record like this:

"My greatest accomplishment is being a survivor of 32 years of hard Navy service."

Terry L. Jamerson, who met him about a decade ago at the Lynchburg Area Detachment Marine Corps League, viewed his record much more generously.

"As part of our ‘Greatest Generation,’ he was a leader among men and a true American hero that may never receive the recognition he deserves from all of us," Jamerson said.

Those who knew him believe Hazelwood wouldn’t have had it any other way.

"He didn’t brag," said Ben Brenneman, who met Hazelwood in the late 1980s as they both rode with the Lynchburg Bicycle Club when Hazelwood was well into his 70s.

Some said Hazelwood was going on 25-mile bicycle rides as he approached the age of 80.

Jamerson said that persona fits with the aura of a Navy Seal, which Jamerson said is among America’s fighting elite.

"Most Marines look up to Navy Seals as being tougher than we are," Jamerson said.

But it was on the home front where Hazelwood’s toughness shone through as he helped his wife of 59 years, Della, fight the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease.

It was in that battle that Hazelwood consummated his reputation as a warrior and the embodiment of the Marine’s motto.

"Semper Fi," Jamerson said. "Always faithful."

» Contact Ron Brown at  rbrown@newsadvance.com  or              (434) 385-5542      .

Doc Riojas NOTE:   I spoke with my Friend, Tom Hazelwood, Jim's son about obtaining a picture of Jim in USNAvy Dress uniform.  I never got it, but that's OK.

Tom said that Jim had a stroke, was taken to the hospital and the next day he died.   Della, Jim's wife suffers from the advanced stages of Alzheimer's Disease and he was her primary care giver.  I understand their daughter will continue taking care of her mother Della.

I last sat and chatted with Jim at the UWSS reunion at Little Creek Va. May 2002.  He looked great. He said he was still doing a little P.T. every morning.

 

 

                    

 

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        U.S.Navy SEALs   
                                 Page 14   

     

                                             

---- Original Message -----
From: Robert Russell 
To: Doc Riojas
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007  

In 2006 the Navy created the Special Warfare Operator rating, which consists entirely of SEALs. The rating's specialty mark is identical to the Underwater Demolition badge's original design but in silver. The Navy Warrant Officer device for Special Warfare Technician is also this same design in gold. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_Demolition_Badge"

Teams!

R.D. Russell (SEAL),  UDT/SEAL Archieves

                                                                   
Is BUD/S so easy a Caveman can DO it?   We don't have this man's name.  Mr. R.D. Russell is still investigating his status. Does anyone know him?

 

 

 

                            
                                           Per Eric "Swede" Tornblom

                                        
                       Admiral Eric Olson                                                                             Alden Mills

 

 

                            
barbara preston; kelly chotte;  rick nirkj ; enn mc collum;  mike talleda; nick  rocha   

                                  
                        Benjamin A. Oleson & CNO                                         Denny "The Snake"  Chalker

 


can somebody ID these guys?

 

                                                    
           Scott Helvenston KIA,Fallujah                                    Stewart K. Kerr MD

 

               

What exactly happened that day in Fallujah

 

     

                  
                     Tom Rancich                                       Alex Ghane, Killed in live fire training Feb 2008

 

 
                        Richard Machowicz   of  Discovery TV Channel

 

“Richard “Mack” Machowicz’s expertise with soldier craft and military hardware comes from his experience as a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Navy SEALs. During his service tenure, he participated in numerous tactical operations with SEAL Team ONE and TWO. While at SEAL Team TWO he was attached to the training cadre as the Leading Petty Officer of Land, Mountain and Arctic Warfare.

“Mack has over 20 years experience in the martial arts, studying such systems as muay thai boxing, Jeet Kune Do, kickboxing, aikido, jujitsu, savate, arnis and karate. He was a certified instructor in the Naval Special Warfare Combat Fighting Instructor Course, a Naval Special Warfare Scout/Sniper and has received multiple black belts. Machowicz also served as a personal protection specialist for many high profile individuals within the political arena, business world and entertainment industry.

“As founder of the Bukido Institute and creator of the Bukido Training System, Machowicz teaches a performance philosophy that uses unarmed combat as a pathway for exploring the dynamics of doubt, hesitation, second-guessing, stress, pain, fatigue and fear. Bukido shows clients — including professional athletes and entertainment industry executives — how to maximize their ability to focus in any environment.”

 

 

                                       
                      C.J. Caracci                                                     John Doolittle

                    
                                  C.J. Caracci    go HERE for his Bio

 

                 
                          David A. Hansen                                                                              Mark Waddell

 

     
    ]Howard V. Wasdin                                       Jeff Gonzales                                          Jhil and Joe

 

            
                         Jim Watson                                                                  Kevin R. Murphy

 

                             
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas after being thrown into the water as part of my initiation on becoming member of  ST-2

 

    
                        Leapfrogs                                                                               Mark Colburn

 

  

               

                                                   Matt Bissonnette

                                  
                Alfredo Moreno; he was severly WIA panama fiasco                        Paul Basal

                                       
                             Paul ?                                                              Pete Farmer MD                       

 

                                  
                                                                                           Robert Harward

            

                                   
                                   Denny"The Snake" Chalker

 


                Chuck  Bravedy      

                       

 

MELVIN SPENCE DRY (SEAL)

He is the last USNavy SEAL that died in Vietnam

LT - O3 - Navy - Regular

Length of service 4 years
Casualty was on Jun 6, 1972
In OFFSHORE, SOUTH VIETNAM
NON-HOSTILE, SEA CASUALTY
OTHER ACCIDENT
Body was recovered
 
Panel 01W - Line 38

Anyone out there have a photo of LT Dry?   please email it to Doc Riojas, thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

From Norm Olson and Roger Cook 

To All, That’s a great recap by Roger. I was the Founding Director of the Museum from 1955-I956. Roger was on the Board of Directors of the UDT-SEAL Museum Association and subsequently became the Association's President. Attached is a photo of the original statue. It was a store manikin. As Roger said, we had no fence, and as soon as the Grand Opening was over on Veterans Day 1985, it was immediately vandalized and torn to shreds by kids

. At that time, Roger was employed at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI), a few miles north of the Museum. During the embryo stages of development, CDR Tom Hawkins arranges for a MK-7 SDV and a two seat Seahorse submersible to be delivered to the Museum. I was the only one employed at the Museum and I had to really on others for help. In this case, Roger came to the rescue, by offering the services of HBOI. They refurbished both submersibles and provided mounting brackets for display. I believe the MK-7 is still located next to the main entrance, but the Seahorse that was mounted on top of the entrance sign ultimately suffered the fate of the the Atlantic seas.

 Roger has been a great supporter of the Museum since its inception, and is one of the “Silent Professionals” that has contributed to its success as a world class Museum. Also attached is a copy of the Origin of the Museum.

 Norm Olson, "The Sky Fossil"  over 4,000 parachute leaps out of perfectly good airplanes!    Below photos taken from www.sealtwo.org/page11.htm

Captain Norm Olson "Sky Fossil"


Captain Norm Olson "Sky Fossil"




An interesting Email from our brother Roger Cook, thanks Roger

 Nick,    About the statue on the strand. I am glad it is being done.. I was president of the UDT-SEAL museum shortly after it opened back in the mid eighties. The museum had a paper mannequin of a frogman displayed in the shallow pond at the entrance to the museum on the south side. Back in those days the museum grounds was wide open to the public. 

We always had problems with people destroying our naked warrior statue. At the time I was employed by a company only a few miles away. The president of our company was J Seward Johnson of Johnson&Johnson Corp. Seward had a son J Seward Johnson Jr. who had a sculpting studio in Princeton N.J. I contacted Mr. Johnson for a bid on a bronze statue to replace our paper version, knowing it would hold up much better. 

I took a photo of of Steve Nelson, whom I had just hired. Steve had just left the Navy and SEAL team ONE.   Steve wore the gear from my war bag except I used fins and facemask from WW2 to give the statue a broader appeal. The sculpting studio wanted to add additional features to the statue to make it more appealing according to them. I said no several times that the statue had to be exactly like the photo. I traveled to Princeton twice during construction to ensure the statue was exactly like the photo. 

While the statue was being made the county of Ft. Pierce, whom we were controlled by at the time decided to install a wire fence around the property. The rubber mold of the original statue is what is being used to reproduce the new naked warrior statues. This will be the third statue of the original naked warrior. The original statue was produced for $30, 000, far less than the newer models! Statue #2 is in Hawaii. We contacted several studios that produce bronze items, but Mr. Johnson's bid was the lowest. One of the studios was located only a short distance from the museum.

http://ecoronado.com/news/2016/04/25/city-to-install-statue-to-honor-underwater-teams-seals/

 

 

Dave PaAaina in Hilo Hawaii

             

Jim Glasscock and ? Grandkids?                                                                Richard Herbert Hall  RIP   1924-2018

 

Doc Rio and  LouLu at the Black Sands Beach, Hilo, Hawaii

 

UDT Photos by CDR Michael P. Wood
UDT-12 Second Platoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larry Larkin RIP
?? - 2018

 

 

Don Shipley and SEAL son

 

 


William C. Morterud
R.I.P.   1949 - 2018

 

 

Nguyen Moang Minh

 

Nguyen Moang Minh

 

Eric Prince

 

 

 

 

 

From Norm Olson and Roger Cook 

To All, That’s a great recap by Roger. I was the Founding Director of the Museum from 1955-I956. Roger was on the Board of Directors of the UDT-SEAL Museum Association and subsequently became the Association's President. Attached is a photo of the original statue. It was a store manikin. As Roger said, we had no fence, and as soon as the Grand Opening was over on Veterans Day 1985, it was immediately vandalized and torn to shreds by kids

. At that time, Roger was employed at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI), a few miles north of the Museum. During the embryo stages of development, CDR Tom Hawkins arranges for a MK-7 SDV and a two seat Seahorse submersible to be delivered to the Museum. I was the only one employed at the Museum and I had to really on others for help. In this case, Roger came to the rescue, by offering the services of HBOI. They refurbished both submersibles and provided mounting brackets for display. I believe the MK-7 is still located next to the main entrance, but the Seahorse that was mounted on top of the entrance sign ultimately suffered the fate of the the Atlantic seas.

 Roger has been a great supporter of the Museum since its inception, and is one of the “Silent Professionals” that has contributed to its success as a world class Museum. Also attached is a copy of the Origin of the Museum.

 Norm Olson, "The Sky Fossil"  over 4,000 parachute leaps out of perfectly good airplanes!    Below photos taken from www.sealtwo.org/page11.htm

Captain Norm Olson "Sky Fossil"


Captain Norm Olson "Sky Fossil"




An interesting Email from our brother Roger Cook, thanks Roger

 Nick,    About the statue on the strand. I am glad it is being done.. I was president of the UDT-SEAL museum shortly after it opened back in the mid eighties. The museum had a paper mannequin of a frogman displayed in the shallow pond at the entrance to the museum on the south side. Back in those days the museum grounds was wide open to the public. 

We always had problems with people destroying our naked warrior statue. At the time I was employed by a company only a few miles away. The president of our company was J Seward Johnson of Johnson&Johnson Corp. Seward had a son J Seward Johnson Jr. who had a sculpting studio in Princeton N.J. I contacted Mr. Johnson for a bid on a bronze statue to replace our paper version, knowing it would hold up much better. 

I took a photo of of Steve Nelson, whom I had just hired. Steve had just left the Navy and SEAL team ONE.   Steve wore the gear from my war bag except I used fins and facemask from WW2 to give the statue a broader appeal. The sculpting studio wanted to add additional features to the statue to make it more appealing according to them. I said no several times that the statue had to be exactly like the photo. I traveled to Princeton twice during construction to ensure the statue was exactly like the photo. 

While the statue was being made the county of Ft. Pierce, whom we were controlled by at the time decided to install a wire fence around the property. The rubber mold of the original statue is what is being used to reproduce the new naked warrior statues. This will be the third statue of the original naked warrior. The original statue was produced for $30, 000, far less than the newer models! Statue #2 is in Hawaii. We contacted several studios that produce bronze items, but Mr. Johnson's bid was the lowest. One of the studios was located only a short distance from the museum.

http://ecoronado.com/news/2016/04/25/city-to-install-statue-to-honor-underwater-teams-seals/

 

 

Dave PaAaina in Hilo Hawaii

            

Jim Glasscock and ? Grandkids?                                                                Richard Herbert Hall  RIP   1924-2018

 

Doc Rio and  LouLu at the Black Sands Beach, Hilo, Hawaii

 

UDT Photos by CDR Michael P. Wood
UDT-12 Second Platoon

All these Photos

 by CDR Michael P. Wood  (USN Ret)

 

               

Born in Chicago, IL but raised in Pico Rivera, CA, Michael P. Wood spent his early years inspired with the underwater world by early TV and Movies including Mike Nelson adventures in Sea Hunt TV series, Jacques-Yves Cousteau adventures in documentaries and "The Frogmen" movie with Richard Widmark. He joined the Navy at age 19 to become a Navy Frogman and to also become a photographer. 

Michael initially attempted college right after high school but the lure of exciting military service was too strong. He did eventually obtain his Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL and completed a Military Photojournalism program at the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse Univiserty in New York. 

During his 34 years of duty, initially as an enlisted SEAL in Vietnam and later a SEAL officer in DESERT STORM, he completed the Navy Photographic School, attended the Missouri State University Photojournalism workshop in Monett Missouri and achieved First Runner-Up "Military Photographer of the Year" two years running. His work has been published in numerous national magazines such as Skin Diver, National Geographic World, Readers Digest, Diver, and both Popular Science and Mechanics magazines. 

It was the Photojournalist aroused deep inside him that drove his desire to chronicle the story of Navy Frogmen and SEALs and led to his collection of over 34 years of rarily or never before seen operational photographs of Frogs and SEALs in action. Michael retired in 2003 as a Navy SEAL Commander and lives with his beloved wife and inspiration, Joyce in Panama City, FL and together they will publish more stories, books and photographs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jimmy Lee Manues R.I.P.

20 October 2015 in Escondido, California. 
Jim graduated with Class 51 on 23 April 1971 in Little Creek and served with SEAL Team TWO before becoming a Limited Duty Officer.   BUD/S Class 7101 (51--]E) and served as a Lieutenant with U. S. Navy SEAL Team TWO in Little Creek, Virginia, prior to transferring to the Naval Reserve.

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

       

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

                           

 

 

 

            

 

 

 

Bryan Beiriger R.I.P.  1969 - 2015

 

A. J. SMITH Jr.  R.I.P.


From:  Dennis Mc Cormack; and  Nick Nickelson                                        Date:  Oct 13, 2015
To:      Doc Riojas
Subj:   Please send out to the troops as we memorialize our friend and teammate AJ. Smith. 

From Franklin Anderson: I could write a book on AJ SMITH, He was in the Group that laid the Cables at Ferndale, CA (Centerville Beach) in SeptemberOct 1957. Later we went to WESTPAC , then back to the States and more Cable operations at COO’S Bay, Oregon. A.J Smith was also active in diving in Salton Sea for AEC. I have nothing but praise for A.J. He was always immaculate in dress and outstanding in all Military Bearing. I was XO of UDT-11 when SEAL’S were established and I “Personally” selected A. J. for SEALS. Later as Commanding Officer of SEAL TEAM ONE, I was requested to send an individual out to the CONSTELLATION to Brief President Johnson—on a moment notice A.J. was on his way to the ship and Briefed the President (18 Feb 1968 ). He received many letters of commendation from CINCPACFLT, COMFIRSTFLT, COMCARDIV NINE and CVN-14, Forward by COMPHIPBPAC TO A.J. later when I was aware that we would no longer be able to continue to get personnel from the Teams –I selected two men Rascheck and A.J. to go TAD to the Training Unit—I had worked with LCDR WILSON and Admiral Savage to incorporate some small unit tactics and weapons training into BUDS. These two men were instrumental in not only developing excellent trainees, but also served as moles when it came time to select men from Class 42 directly into SEAL Team. Another incident –I was working with Walt Weaver a private contractor for Special Weapons—specifically a device to alert the platoon during patrols. Walt developed an electronic device that had electrodes that went around your waist and could send a shock to alert the group. I took Rusty Campbell and A.J. Smith to Tucson, AZ to help in this project—it worked fine, but the Navy Medical department would not approve it. One again I felt that A.J. and Rusty were the best to help evaluate this project. 


From Maynard Weyers: I had A.J. in WESTPAC, and numerous operations and he ALWAYS Performed in an Outstanding manner. Many times I tried to get A.J. to take the test for advancement in rate, and he refused for a number of years and he said he was having too much fun as a SN. When he decided to advance he made, 3rd , 2nd and 1st on the first time around. However, when he tried to advance for Chief the rates were frozen. I will try to find the commendation that he received after briefing President Johnson---But the President and others were visibly impressed with his briefing. In Closing == A. J. COULD HAVE BEEN A POSTER CHILD FOR SEALS and SPECWAR. A.J. had spent time in the Army and was a qualified Parachutist, also good with Mortars, and other weapons. 

From Irish Flynn: Dennis is right that AJ was a truly competent, brave, cool-headed, and loyal SEAL (and before that, the same as a frogman in UDT Eleven). AJ served in Korea, on the line, as an infantryman during that war. I believe his service there was exemplary. In Vietnam in 1964, AJ was about the most valuable single SEAL member of our advisory detachment. He had a thorough competence in crew served weapons, otherwise lacking among the detachment’s members. As a result of his knowledge and ability as an advisor, the OPLAN 34A Marops teams were made capable of using stand-off weapons (recoilless rifles, mortars) effectively on raiding operations. Later, I believe, AJ performed exceptionally well in direct action operations in the Rung Sat Special Zone. Maynard Weyers, his detachment OiC, could write knowledgeably about that. 


From Maynard Weyers: SEAL Team ONE started conducting combat operations in VN in 1966. The CO (LCDR Jim Barnes) took the first group over which consisted on 3 officers and 12 enlisted. I arrived after a couple months and replaced LCDR Barnes. I worked with the original group for a month until they left and a new group of 2 plts (4 officers and 20 enlisted) replaced them. These were all hand-picked people by the new CO (LCDR Frank Anderson) and included AJ. I operated with AJ at various times during his deployment and he was a superb operator. His previous experience in the Army along with his maturity and bravery were instrumental in making him one of the most important cogs within his assigned platoon. His knowledge and ability to inspire were quite evident throughout this deployment – he was the ultimate SEAL operator!

 

 

LCDR  Bill Langley 2015 Corornado Reunion Photos


Bill & Julie Langley

1980 Julie Steve Bill Hotel Del Coronado

 

 

 

 


Bill Langley and Fred Cox

 

 

 


BillLangley & Don Healy

 


Bill Langley, Judy & Don Healy

 


Gail and Lowell Gosser

 


Jerry Todd, Frank Thornton & Bill Langley

 

 


From:  Dennis Mc Cormack; and  Nick Nickelson                                        Date:  Oct 13, 2015
To:      Doc Riojas
Subj:   Please send out to the troops as we memorialize our friend and teammate AJ. Smith. 

From Franklin Anderson: I could write a book on AJ SMITH, He was in the Group that laid the Cables at Ferndale, CA (Centerville Beach) in SeptemberOct 1957. Later we went to WESTPAC , then back to the States and more Cable operations at COO’S Bay, Oregon. A.J Smith was also active in diving in Salton Sea for AEC. I have nothing but praise for A.J. He was always immaculate in dress and outstanding in all Military Bearing. I was XO of UDT-11 when SEAL’S were established and I “Personally” selected A. J. for SEALS. Later as Commanding Officer of SEAL TEAM ONE, I was requested to send an individual out to the CONSTELLATION to Brief President Johnson—on a moment notice A.J. was on his way to the ship and Briefed the President (18 Feb 1968 ). He received many letters of commendation from CINCPACFLT, COMFIRSTFLT, COMCARDIV NINE and CVN-14, Forward by COMPHIPBPAC TO A.J. later when I was aware that we would no longer be able to continue to get personnel from the Teams –I selected two men Rascheck and A.J. to go TAD to the Training Unit—I had worked with LCDR WILSON and Admiral Savage to incorporate some small unit tactics and weapons training into BUDS. These two men were instrumental in not only developing excellent trainees, but also served as moles when it came time to select men from Class 42 directly into SEAL Team. Another incident –I was working with Walt Weaver a private contractor for Special Weapons—specifically a device to alert the platoon during patrols. Walt developed an electronic device that had electrodes that went around your waist and could send a shock to alert the group. I took Rusty Campbell and A.J. Smith to Tucson, AZ to help in this project—it worked fine, but the Navy Medical department would not approve it. One again I felt that A.J. and Rusty were the best to help evaluate this project. 


From Maynard Weyers: I had A.J. in WESTPAC, and numerous operations and he ALWAYS Performed in an Outstanding manner. Many times I tried to get A.J. to take the test for advancement in rate, and he refused for a number of years and he said he was having too much fun as a SN. When he decided to advance he made, 3rd , 2nd and 1st on the first time around. However, when he tried to advance for Chief the rates were frozen. I will try to find the commendation that he received after briefing President Johnson---But the President and others were visibly impressed with his briefing. In Closing == A. J. COULD HAVE BEEN A POSTER CHILD FOR SEALS and SPECWAR. A.J. had spent time in the Army and was a qualified Parachutist, also good with Mortars, and other weapons. 

From Irish Flynn: Dennis is right that AJ was a truly competent, brave, cool-headed, and loyal SEAL (and before that, the same as a frogman in UDT Eleven). AJ served in Korea, on the line, as an infantryman during that war. I believe his service there was exemplary. In Vietnam in 1964, AJ was about the most valuable single SEAL member of our advisory detachment. He had a thorough competence in crew served weapons, otherwise lacking among the detachment’s members. As a result of his knowledge and ability as an advisor, the OPLAN 34A Marops teams were made capable of using stand-off weapons (recoilless rifles, mortars) effectively on raiding operations. Later, I believe, AJ performed exceptionally well in direct action operations in the Rung Sat Special Zone. Maynard Weyers, his detachment OiC, could write knowledgeably about that. 


From Maynard Weyers: SEAL Team ONE started conducting combat operations in VN in 1966. The CO (LCDR Jim Barnes) took the first group over which consisted on 3 officers and 12 enlisted. I arrived after a couple months and replaced LCDR Barnes. I worked with the original group for a month until they left and a new group of 2 plts (4 officers and 20 enlisted) replaced them. These were all hand-picked people by the new CO (LCDR Frank Anderson) and included AJ. I operated with AJ at various times during his deployment and he was a superb operator. His previous experience in the Army along with his maturity and bravery were instrumental in making him one of the most important cogs within his assigned platoon. His knowledge and ability to inspire were quite evident throughout this deployment – he was the ultimate SEAL operator!

 

 


1973 UDT Runners

 

 

p>Rick Kaiser

 

 

 

"LONE SURVIVOR"  the movie showed an "FNG" reciting our well known poem: AROUND THE WORLD TWICE but in the film it was edited.             Here is a LINK to the real one:    AROUND THE WORLD TWICE!   

 

 

 

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Brasil é dono de ritmos maravilhosos mesmo! adoro lambada

Pete Stevens     is    planning    a    reunion    for    BUD/S    class    84    graduates

Pete Stevens is planning a Reunion for BUD/S class 84 graduates and any of their instructors in conjunction with this year's annual muster at Ft. Pierce, FL 6-8 Nov.    Please contact Pete at:       petefranstevens@comcast.net or cell#360-632-1030       if you were in 84, if you know someone in 84 or were an instructor during that time. Contact him even if you aren't interested in attending. Class 84 classed up 25May75 and graduated 31Oct75 and a graduation roster for class 84 is provided to assist in locating class members. Thanks for helping track these folks down      

 

click on his picture to place his song!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Don Shipley and his beloved

 


C Mulharen

 

   
Ben Smith Bush and Hawkins

 

 

 

 

 
Bob Gormly Hook Turre

 

<>John Jauzems

 


Joe Vogel SCUBA sign

 


Petersen

 

   

 

                               
Richard F. Kirby LeBlanc

 

 

 

 

 

Allan R. Archey, of Class 30 Little Creek/East Coast. Allan was an excellent runner and one of the fastest swimmers in our class. Orlin Dean Nelson was his swim buddy most of the time. They were always first in the swims. Allan must have passed some healthy DNA to Clay.   Clay had a good time and placed high among the finishers of this beach run. Allan is still working his farm in Starke, FL.      

 Webmaster:  22 Feb 2013Info from Bill Langley in P.C. FL., thank you Bill.  Rio

 

 

 

C. Gardner Sullivan II,  R.I.P.

C. Gardner Sullivan II passed away on January 10, 2013 in Scottsdale, AZ. He was 82 years old and was the son of C. Gardner Sullivan and Ann Beatrice May. He was born on October 25, 1930 in Los Angeles, CA. 

He graduated from Beverly Hills High School, Pomona College and attended graduate school at Mills College. 

Mr. Sullivan served in the US Navy as a Lieutenant for nearly five years and was the Officer in Charge, Underwater Demolition Team 
12, Kwajalien Detachment. His passion was for the Navy and the UDT-SEALs. 

He had a diverse career in the business world serving as President, I Network.TV, I Entertainment Inc. and CEO for Cyborex Laboratories. He was the Manager for Computer Systems (West) and the Manager for Special Projects (Iran) for IBM World Trade Corporation for 13 years. 

Mr. Sullivan was an accomplished musician and composer where he produced several amateur musical productions. He entertained and inspired people with his piano and violin playing with magical moments that came through his music.

 

 

Navy SEAL Robert Guzzo Jr.  R.I.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RobertGuzzo

 

RobertGuzzo

RobertGuzzo

 

 

 

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Navy SEAL’s Parents Speak About The Tragic Secret That Led to Their Son’s Death 

Posted January 15th, 2013 by US Navy SEALs Navy SEAL Robert Guzzo Jr. was described by his mother as “very independent and headstrong, always funny, always silly,” but sadly, even these traits were not enough to help him survive his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). On the day after Veterans Day 2012, the 33-year-old Iraq War Veteran took his own life and the last things he may have seen were his military awards and pictures of his Navy SEAL training days, as well as photos of his best friend, Marc Lee, another Navy SEAL killed in a firefight in the city of Ramadi. 

In an interview with Brook Silva-Braga, host of The Washington Post’s online news program “The Fold,” Robin Andersen recalls how her son has changed when he returned to San Diego in 2007. 

“I could just tell immediately he was changed,” Andersen said. “His affect was different, you know. The look on his face was a distance away.” 

According to his parents, Rob did not seek treatment for PTSD because he was told that doing so would result in losing his security clearance and ending his career as a SEAL. 

“They told him specifically not to report on any worksheet that you are having these issues, because if they do, they’ll take your bird. They’ll take your trident,” said Robert Guzzo Sr. 

But the Navy denies the claims, saying “We actively campaign to de-stigmatize any type of reporting — and to report issues, without negative career effects… We won’t confirm speculation on how people might have been improperly counseled by uninformed personnel — that certainly was not official policy at the time, nor is it the policy today. And no one has “lost their Trident” since 9-11 due to reporting PTSD or other combat stress ailments.” 

Rob was born into a military family. His mother served 30 years of active duty while his dad was a Navy SEAL from 1983-86 and eventually a SEAL instructor from 1986-89. The young Guzzo joined the military after Sept. 11, 2001 and later became a Navy SEAL Team 5 member.

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       Chris Campbell         David Warsen                                         Matthew Kantor


                                          Geo F. Reeves                                           Ron Mercurio

 

 

 

 

 

    <
      Roberto Ramos KIA 'nam ST-2 Color Guard Adm. Calland

 

                

                       Bob "Dynamo" Baird     RIP

It is with sad regret that we inform the membership of the passing of Bob "Dynamo" Baird. Bob passed away suddenly in his office in the afternoon of Wednesday 14 September of an apparent heart attack. Robert Baird graduated from BUD/S training in Class 75. He was stationed at SEAL Team ONE during the mid to late 1970's.

span">  During his time on active duty, he actively participated in Conseil International du Sport Militaire, (CISM) competitions. CISM events are akin to the Olympics for members of the military throughout the world. It is a very notable achievement that Bob won three World Championships during those events. 

As one Teammate stated, "Bob "owned" CISM for the years he competed against the best military athletes in the world. Bob will be profoundly missed by his Teammates and especially the young, aspiring athletes whose lives Bob inspired. 

 


 

From: JD      jd.chief [t] yahoo DOT com 
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 
Subject: Fwd:   JR   
From: Nicholas Teta <nteta [at] tsgiusa DOT com> 
Date: September 22, 2011 

Subject: J.R. Schooley
All:  
 If I haven't already called or emailed you, JR Schooley Class 124 passed away yesterday afternoon with his family gathered around him.  The brain tumor he had been fighting for about 11 years finally took it's toll.  He was to begin a new treatment but during the exam, they found blood clots in his lungs and legs and determined that he was he was not capable of beginning the treatments.  Holly and he decided to go into Hospice late last week.  I was able to speak with him a couple of weeks ago on his birthday and he was up beat.  This picture was sent to me from Holly the day after the reunion.   
Nick...    Nicholas L. Teta
TQPG

 

Nelson Miller Eric Marcellus <

 


From: bill higgins<bubbahuggins [at]gmail  DOT 
Date: Thu, Sep 15, 2011 a
Subject: Issac Rodriguez
,  KIA, Just Cause Panama 
To: Doc Riojas    docrio45  [at] gmail  DOT com

Enclosed a photo of SEAL Team FOUR  before just cause I'm the guy  Issac Rodriguez has his arm around me.  Please I've no help from the navy army va or anyone else I was injured in just cause but Issac and the guy behind him  were in the beginning that is all  I remembered. If  I srewed up or caused someone injury or worst please let me know if you could look at the photo.

 thank you ,   Bill Huggins 

 


    BMC(SEAL) Ret. Thomas Marquis RIP 

It is with our deepest regret that we inform the NSW community of the loss of BMC(SEAL) Ret. Thomas Marquis. Tommy went into cardiac-arrest while hospitalized in Memphis, TN on 14 SEP 2011. 

Tommy graduated with BUD/S Class 121 in FEB 1983. He was assigned to UDT-11, then transition ed as a Plank-Owner to ST-5. He served on the Navy Leap Frog parachute team from 1992-1993 (while TAD from ST-5). Tommy remained on board ST-5 until he transferred to COMNAVSPECWARCOM in 2000, where he served as a Motivator for In-Fleet and Initial Accession candidates screening and preparing for NSW training pipelines.

 Tommy retired in the spring of 2006 and developed the Navy Recruiting Command's National NSW/NSO Mentorship program. He was primarily responsible for the significant increase in quality and quantity of personnel shipped to Recruit Training Center for SEAL, SWCC, EOD, Navy Diver and Air Rescue programs. 

He led the 27-man NSW/NSO Mentor team in the development and refinement of processes, SOPs and best practices across the nation that significantly exceeded NSW/NSO program requirements for initial accession. Tommy is survived by his wife, Nancy, and daughter Avery. 

A memorial service will be conducted in the greater Hartford, Ct area on Sept 2 4th, 2011, Time to be Determine.   There will also be a memorial service conducted at NSA Millington, TN on Sept 28th, 2011, at 1000

 

 

Jumping Joe" Churchill

On Sun, Sep 4, 2011, duke ogden <duke.makeithot [at] gmail  DOT com> wrote:
Aloha, Teammates: "Jumping Joe" Churchill, what a sterling Corpsman and Teammate he was. I recall the first jump he made--
we were going out of a Navy C-47 from NAS North Island and flown by one of the few remaining Pilot Chiefs. 
The DZ was a rocky hillock surrounded by dry wadi's, in Camp Pendleton. "Jumping Joe" was second in the stick 
and I was right behind him...had to marvel at the flaming red neck scarf he was wearing. I also recall that he reported 
in to the "Frog Farm" directly after completing jump school at Fort Benning. After the jump (above) I asked Chief 
Churchill why he became jump-qualified; his answer was spot on and though I don't remember the actual words 
(this was in late 1964, I think), the essence was along the lines of "wherever the Teams go, I will go...whatever 
the Teams do, I will do".

 

Whenever we jumped at Camp Pendleton, we would do so in concert with Ist Force Reconnaisance, stationed at 
Camp Del Mar; they would provide the jumpmaster (only name I can remember was a staff NCO named Blankenship...
there was another that looked like he could wrestle a bull in the Tijuana bull ring...had a Mexican name and was a 
staff NCO as well). On the jump mentioned above, I wore a pilot's helmet that I had 'reconfigured'...painted it white 
and a dragon on the front--a dragon taken from a drawing of an Aztec animal that I assumed was a dragon! Made a 


sterling landing in my T-10 initially--feet, side of the closed knees, and hip--however, lowering my head caused me to 
try and ram a decent-sized boulder...which broke the helmet in two pieces. "Jumping Joe" was on me like a "hobo on a 
hot biscuit", but no damage. Lesson(s) Learned: Don't fuck with drawings and icons that you know nothing about!
 Finally, yes I remember the stupidity of not allowing Corpsmen to wear Dress Blues. I recall several occasions 
where our HMs mustered in Navy uniforms...and the impression it gave was that they were "Admin Pukes, filling in 
for real Marines"...that was in the 2nd Bn, 7th Marines, Camp Las Pulgas (the Fleas)...of course the whole battalion 
knew and respected who they were and what they did. As one lengthens one's tooth, the vision over the shoulder of 
where one has been and what one has done, becomes longer and longer...but it is also a reminder that there is still
much that can be done...and should be done. 


Duke


        SEAL Chief Tommy Marquis, USN Retired

Sep 14, 2011 at 4:36 PM, William Prichard <prichardw2004 [at] yahoo DOT com>  wrote:

  FYI, Tommy was also a plank owner of the west coast TRADET Sniper Cell 01-02. He was very good at what he did. He was a work hard, play hard frogman. He never asked for it, but he deserved a lot more credit than he got. R.I.P.       William Prichard

 


 

 

 

 

       
Max Morgan in 'nam      Kirk scarborough  & Max Morgan                 John Durlin, ?  ,   Dave Bodkin,  Max Morgan

 

                              

 

                                    

 

 

                                                      

 

 

                                                      

 

 

 

 

                           
                Tom Juliano, Pat Holtz and George Holtz Navy UDT SEAL Museum Memorial Statue


SEAL Team TWO inspection:  Lt to Rt:  ??, Ty Zellers, Durwood Hunter White, Harry Humphries,  ??,  Jim Watson,  Tollison,  "BadMouth" Tollinson,  ??

 


                             John Dearmon and Jake Rhinebolt

 

                                                        
Standing LT to RT:  Marcinko, "Nasty" Nash,  Doc Martin, Nancy Martin,    Sitting:   Harry Humphries and Erasmo Doc Riojas (had hair then)

 


                       Young Lions with "Demo Team" Ft. Pierce FL   Muster

 

                                       
                                 Joe Di Martino,  Doc Riojas,  ??                                                          Ty Zellers

 

                     
     Bud  Gardner                                                       Eddie Leisure                                            "Ray" Ramos

 

    
         Sam Bailey                                              Sol Atkinson                          Squires                        Darryl Young

 

                 
7th ST-2 1967  Standing: LT to RT: Minh, Hook Turre, Jack Rowell, "Eagle" Gallagher, Roy Dean Matthews, sitting: Doc RIojas

 

SEAL Team TWO
Fourth Platoon

OIC LT William (Bill) Gardner
AOIC Lt Ace Sarich
 Plt Chief DMCS Thomas Blais
BM 1 Pat Martin,
EM 1 Kenneth Mac Donald
AE1 Curtis Ashton
                 (PRU Advisor)(KIA)
PR1 Steven Dunthorn, 
HM2 Stephen Elson
GMG2 Daniel Olsen
MR2 Ronnie Rogers

RM2 James Burison
PR 3 Gregory Frisch
BM3 William Bibby
QM3 
David Suthurland   

 

 

 

       
                                                                            Michael Thornton

 

                         
                         Per Erik Tornblom                                Bill Garnett,  Billky Burbank & Clay Grady

 

      
         Erasmo Riojas, Brownsville TX                    Tom Truxell & Tom BLais             Doc Riojas and Zelmo

       

                   
         "Boom Boom Schoesse "                                                   PT "Doc" Swartz

 

                                      
                                                                              ST-2   T.N. Tarbox

 

                   
               R.D. Russel & Pam                                          SEAL Recruting Poster

 

                  
         Sol Atkinson                                      Frank Thornton                                     Rich Kuhn  &  Doc Riojas

 

                           
                           Steve, Nguyen Van Kiet,  Thuy Nguyen  LDNN Reunion Houston Tx

 

 

 

 

Ben Lichtenberg's (SEAL)   Philippines photos

     
                               
Ben Lichtenberg

           
                                      On the Lt: LT Hector Delgado, Navy SEAL

 

                                      
                                                                            Hector Delgado & Family

                              
Lt to Rt: Capt Symmons, Judy McClesky, JoAnn Atkinson, Marge Boesch, Jean Rhinbolt, Cathy Marcinko

 

                 
          Bill Garnett, Billy Burbank, Clay Grady                     Joe "Doc" Churchill            Homer "Doc" Marshall

 

                                  
                                                            Young Lions at Muster Ft. Pierce FL

 

                           
    Terry Sullivan          "Doc" Hammel                                         SEAL wives at UDT SEAL Museum 

 

     
   Jerry CLark                                              Bill Goines                                           "Doc"  Brown   ST-1 

                      
Fred "Doc" McCarthy  & Rio     Eddie Leasure, PeeWee Nealy                       Young Lions

 

                          

                      

   
Dick Marcinko, Hoot Andrews, Harry Humphries                               ??              John Dearmon

 

                               
Joe De Martino,  Doc RIojas, and  ??

 

                    SEALs & others Die in Helo Crash

September 24, 2010 - 5:21 PM | by: Justin Fishel

WASHINGTON -- Nine American troops died Tuesday in the worst helicopter crash for coalition forces in Afghanistan in over four years. Five of the Americans were Army Special Operations Forces, and four were Navy SEALS. Killed were:

Lt. (SEAL) Brendan J. Looney, 29, of Owings, Md., assigned to a West Coast-based SEAL Team.

Senior Chief Petty Officer David B. McLendon, 30, of Thomasville, Ga., assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit.

Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Adam O. Smith, 26, of Hurland, Mo., assigned to an East Coast-based SEAL Team.

Petty Officer 3rd Class (SEAL) Denis C. Miranda, 24, of Toms River, N.J., assigned to an East Coast-based SEAL Team.

Maj. Robert F. Baldwin, 39, of Muscatine, Iowa.

Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff, 34, of Orem, Utah.

Chief Warrant Officer Jonah D. McClellan, 26, of St. Louis Park, Minn.

Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell, 25, of Pleasant Plains, Ill.

Sgt. Marvin R. Calhoun Jr., 23, of Elkhart, Ind.

The Taliban claimed responsibilty for the crash shortly after it occured, but NATO and Pentagon officials have denied the helicopter took any enemy fire before going down.

The crash took place in the Daychopan district of Zabul province in southern Afghanistan.


Read more:  http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/24/highly-trained-us-forces-die-in-helo-crash/#ixzz112U1aPRS

 

 

                 
        BrendanLooney                 Brian Schad                              Nancy and Richard Marcinko

 

 

         
                                                               SEALs in Iraq    

          
      Richard "Hook" Tuure, Roy Dean Matthews, Erasmo Doc RIojas                      Michael Badger

    
                                                             Adam Smith 

 


Dave Mc Cracken
   

http://www.promackmining.com/bio.htm

 

 


                         Lt to Rt:  ??      ??     Robert "Pete" Peterson

 

                       
Lt to Rt: Roy Dean Matthews, Erasmo Riojas, Bob "Eagle" Gallagher, Glen Grinnage, Jim "patches" Watson

 

 

 

SKCM Joseph E.E. Picard, USN (Ret), SEAL, Class 4
R.I.P.

August 6, 1930  -  June 27, 2010

GLENBURN,ME AND ESCONDIDO,CA-Joseph E.E. Picard, SKCM, USN (Ret), SEAL, age 79, husband of the late Anita T. (Thibeault) Picard, died June 27, 2010, at the San Diego Hospice Center. He was born August 6, 1930, in Old Town, Maine, the son of the late Blanche (Bouchard) and Edmond Picard of Old Town, Maine.   Joe died on his wife's birthday.

Joseph enlisted in the Navy in June 1947. After 31 years of service he retired to Glenburn, Maine as a Master Chief. Joseph was a long time member of the UDT-SEAL Association.

7 July 2010  Photos compliments of  Rachel Bluing

 

Navy Chief Petty Officer Collin Thomas

Collin Thomas was remembered as a man who was devoted to his family and his fellow Navy SEALs.

Thomas' memorial service was private, and little has been published about him. But the 13-year military veteran was remembered for his talents in the armed forces.

John Admire wrote in an online memorial that he had recently had dinner with Thomas and "was impressed with Collin and how much he had grown since I'd known him as a youngster."

Thomas, 33, of Morehead, Ky., was killed Aug. 18 in eastern Afghanistan. His Navy SEAL team was based in Virginia. He graduated from Rowan County High School in 1995 and enlisted in the Navy in 1997. For a time he attended Morehead State University before enlisting. He had been engaged to Sarah Saunders.

His family wrote in his obituary that he was an adventurous person who always went out of his way for his fellow SEALs.

"They were his second family and closest friends," the obituary said.

A Navy press release said he was a gifted SEAL.

"His tireless professionalism, inspiring passion for life, and humble demeanor made him a role model for all who knew him," the release said.


 

                               A TICKET FROM PICKETT   by:  Chuck Newell  ST-2    email :   newlhaus  [at]  aol   DOT  com

 

 

 

                                       Shaun  ST-4

 

BRIAN CURLE's Photos

        
Brian Curle  (click on picture) 


Brian Curle and SEAL Team EIGHT, India Platoon

 

Brian W Curle 


12:30 PM (2 hours ago) 








to: docrio45 [at] gmail.com 
from: Brain Curle
Subj: Page 14 www.sealtwo.org

 
Hey Doc , Your site is looking real good amigo :-) Thanks for the coverage.. 

To me , the real heros in Viet Nam were the corpsman and the chopper pilots.. You , as a corpsman , did our job and then your job. Your work was never done and your ass was hanging out 100 % on all ops.. Before and after .. Chopper pilots , well you know :-)) .. ..

 Thanks and Hook'um .. Without you there would be NO SEAL Teams .. .. .. I have info. on the photo of ST-8 , India Platoon , and I'll write a short version of my Apollo 4 recovery .. Chapter 13 in Darrylls book " UDT-SEALs and Frogmen , Men under Pressure " is the full story of my recovery experience .. 

I'll do up a short one for you and send it with the ST-8 , India platoon photo in my next e mail to you later today .. Thanks Doc , Brian

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Brian Curle

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 


Brian Curle

 

    

 

 

    

 

                      
                                           

 

 

 

 

LCDR JAMES ROY HAZELWOOD (SEAL)(MDV)    R.I.P.

by: Franklin Anderson         From The Blast 3d Quarter 2003

                            

I would like to provide additional information on LCDR JAMES ROY HAZELWOOD. Previously, I had submitted a Wake Island Detachment Photo and Called Chief Hazelwood ‘ROY". That was what be was referred to in UDT-1 1 UNLESS IT WAS CHIEF. I had the pleasure of having Master Chief Hazelwood as my Platoon Chief and as Jim Barnes said "he was a Horse".

When Chief Hazelwood first came to Team 11, his reputation preceded him. He was known; for going shark hunting with "power heads", and was fearless. Another story was that he was diving in the Caribbean and found a Rolex watch that was encrusted with coral. He corresponded with Rolex, thinking they would really jump on the promotion of their product, since it started running as soon as he shook it. Rolex - in a nonchalant way said that "all of our products will perform like that" or something to that effect. As previously stated Chief Hazelwood was in my Platoon and he went with me to do Cable repairs at Wake Island (Photo previously submitted).

Upon our return, the Navy came out with a program for Chiefs with 18 years or more, could apply for a commission. I encouraged "Roy" to apply and also gave him an outstanding endorsement. We submitted the application and then departed for Kwajalein for another Cable Job. While there many incidents happened that I believe you will enjoy. Chief Hazelwood was a Master Diver and a physical Horse—he always ran wherever he went and prided himself in his abilities both mental and physical.

While at Kwajalein Island proper, we worked long hours blowing channels and laying the cable. We also conducted Aqua Lung classes for some of the people with the installation. We had a couple of engineers who were always trying to trip up the Chief (who was our senior Instructor). One evening the Chief was going thru some Diving Physics and equations. These engineers immediately hopped on the Chief about the math portion. "Roy", paused like he was baffled and them slowly and diligently went thru a long formulation and made their jaws pop—Roy was self-educated and was a Whiz at Math, Geometry and Calculus.

Needless to say-from that point on the Class paid close attention and were very grateful for his expertise. There also were a couple more incidents that were memorable—LT ANDERSON (OINC) and LTJG Harry Mackenzie lived in quarters some distance from the men’s barracks and we had a 4X4 for transportation. One morning we went out and all four tires were Flat. Lt Sorenson (cousin to PRESIDENT KENNEDY’S SPEECH WRITER) asked if we would like a ride to the UDT Barracks—We said sure— We rode up and all at once everybody was after SN Gerald Berg and SN Ted Matheson to pay up. It seems that Matheson and Berg had been taking bets that we would walk to work. It was obvious who had let the air out of the tires. I turned to the Chief and said, " I’ll let you handle those energetic Seamen". Chief Hazelwood, found a hand-Tire pump and made them pump up the four tires to 35 lbs. That was quite a chore and a valuable lesson.

The other incident was off the Island of Aniwetoc (not the Atom Bomb Island), and we were laying explosive. The Chief was always a perfectionist and ready to go, his diving partner was James Pahia. Pahia was slower in getting ready and The Chief was already in the water- He submerged and was down just a short duration when he popped to the surface and "Stepped on the Bow of the LCM", He was speechless and looked at Pahia-who was still standing on the ramp. He walked over and punched him in the Arm. After a few minute he compose himself- he explained that he was under the LCM and something bumped him hard on the arm, he thought it was Pahia. It happened again and he turned and saw about a 20 foot Great White Shark.

The Chief received his orders for Knife and Fork school, and had to depart before the job was completed, but he was always impeccable and dedicated to his duties. He received orders to a ship and then to the East Coast.

We were going thin Parachute Training at Fort Benning and Ens. Hazelwood was going thru at the same time—He had to get a waiver because of his age. However, he out performed many of the younger men. James Roy Hazelwood’s brother was going through Jump Training at the same time (Army) and he was going to quit. Roy told him that isn’t the Hazelwood tradition and really chewed him out. They both graduated.

This was during the time that President Kennedy was assassinated. They bunched up three classes to make up the delay in the schedule – They had jump with over 20 knots of wind and jumpers scattered all over the place. However, all the Frogs completed the jump without incident. UDT-11 Robbie Robinson was Honor Man of the Class and "Roy Hazelwood received special recognition for being one of the Oldest in the Class.

song: Eye of the Tiger

 

                     USS Lexington CV2 (Originally CC-1), 1927-1942     

                

USS Lexington, a 33,000-ton aircraft carrier, was converted while under construction from the battle cruiser of the same name. Built at Quincy, Massachusetts, and commissioned in December 1927, Lexington was one of the U.S. Navy's first two aircraft carriers that were large and fast enough to be capable of serious fleet operations. During the late 1920s, through the 1930s and into the early 1940s, she took an active part in the development of carrier techniques, fleet doctrine and in the operational training of a generation of Naval Aviators.

displacement: 41,000 tons
length: 888 feet
beam: 105˝ feet
draft: 32 feet
speed: 34Ľ knots
complement: 2,122 crew
armament: 8 eight-inch and 12 five-inch guns
aircraft: 81

My friend and shipmate, Jim Hazelwood was an enlisted man in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He was ship’s company on the USS Lexington when it came under attack attack by several Japanese torpedo bombers as described in the book, "Queen of the Flat-Tops." Jim’s battle station was atop the ship’s island about 60 feet above the flight deck. Around the upper rim of the island was a catwalk with a platforms for machine gun mounts. At 1121 hours the Lex was under attack by torpedo and dive bombers. All of the ship’s batteries were in action and the the blast of the second torpedo that struck Lex on her port side was almost inaudible because of the extreme noise of her weapons.

Jim was manning his 50 cal machine gun when a light bomb hit the Lex’s funnel. It exploded and kills and wounds several men on the catwalk. Moments later, the Zero dive bombers machine guns wounds and kills many more of the men around the catwalk. Jim told me about the sudden moaning eerie wail of the Lex’s steam siren. It seems that a jap bomb struck and kinked the metal tube in which the lanyard, operating the whistle from the bridge was housed. When the tube bent it pulled the lanyard tight causing the whistle to continue to hoot and moan until somebody turned off the steam to it.

The Japanese did not sink the Lex. They damaged her to a degree that secondary internal fires created an inferno that cooked off airplane fuel and some 20,000 pounds of torpedo war-head guncotton. The ship was abandoned because all resources to fight the fires and continue damage control were 100% out of commission. She became an internal infrerno.  One of our Destroyers sank her with two torpedoes.

Jim Hazelwood, also told me that he had to swim away from the Lex which was drifting towards some of the men in the water. She drifted away and floated down wind leaving a stream of swimmers and loaded rafts strung out for nearly 1,000 yards. It is speculated that shark attacks were not reported probably because of the the repeated heavy explosions that may have scared the sharks away and also perhaps of the abundance of fish that were killed great distances from the Lex.

Jim Hazelwood found himself , by the grace of God, alive and swimming among his shipmates whose thoughts were, "we are only a 400 mile swim from Australia." The survivors were rescued by the Carrier and Destroyers that were part of that Task Force and from Australia were shipped back to the States. Jim had met the "White Elephant!" in the Battle of the Coral Sea, 7-8 May 1942.

In early May 1942, Lexington returned to the South Pacific in time to join USS Yorktown (CV-5) in successfully countering the Japanese offensive in the Coral Sea. On 7 and 8 May 1942 her planes helped sink the small Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho and participated in attacks on the large carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku. In turn, however, she was the target of Japanese carrier planes and received two torpedo and three bomb hits. Though initial damage control efforts appeared to be successful, she was racked by gasoline explosions in the early afternoon of 8 May. When the fires raged out of control, Lexington was abandoned by her crew and scuttled, the first U.S. aircraft carrier to be lost in World War II.

Lexington's task force sortie from Pearl Harbor 15 April, rejoiningTF 17 on 1 May 1942. As Japanese fleet concentrations threatening the Coral Sea were observed, Lexington and Yorktown moved into the sea to search for the enemy's force covering a projected troop movement the Japanese must now he blocked in their southward expansion, or sea communication with Australia and New Zealand would be cut, and the dominions threatened with invasion.

On 7 May search planes reported contact with an enemy carrier task force, and Lexington's air group flew an eminently successful mission against it, sinking light carrier Shoho. Later that day, 12 bombers and 15 torpedo planes from still unlocated heavy carriers Shokaku and Zuikoku were intercepted by fighter groups from Lexington and Yorktown, who splashed nine enemy aircraft.

On the morning of the 8th, a Lexington plane located Shoksku group; a strike was immediately launched from the American carriers, and the Japanese ship heavily damaged.

The enemy penetrated to the American carriers at 1100 and 20 minutes later a torpedo to port struck Lexington. Seconds later, a second torpedo hit to port directly abreast the bridge. At the same time, she took three bomb hits from enemy dive-bombers, producing a 7° list to port and several raging fires. By 1300 her skilled damage control parties had brought the fires under control and returned the ship to even keel; making25 knots, she was ready to recover her air group. Then suddenly Lexington was shaken by a tremendous explosion, caused by the ignition of gasoline vapors below, and again fire raged out of control. At 1508 Capt. Frederick C. Sherman, fearing for the safety of men working below, secured salvage operations, and ordered all hands to the flight deck. At 1707, he ordered,"abandon ship!" and the orderly disembarkation began, men going over the side into the warm water, almost immediately to be picked up by nearby cruisers and destroyers. Admiral Fitch and his staff transferred to cruiser Minneapolis, Captain Sherman and his executive officer, CDR. M. T. Seligman insured all their men were safe, then were the last to leave their ship.

Lexington blazed on, flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air. A destroyer closed to 1500 yards and fired two torpedoes into her hull, with one last heavy explosion, the gallant Lexington sank at 1956, in 15°20'S. 1oo°30' E. She was part of the price that was paid to halt the Japanese oversee empire and safeguard Australia and New Zealand, but perhaps an equally great contribution had been her pioneer role in developing the naval aviatorsand the techniques which played so vital a role in ultimate victory in thePacific.

Lexington received two battle stars for World War II service.

 

 

   Veteran 'didn't want a lot of hoopla'

By Ron Brown / Lynchburg News & Advance            June 5, 2004

Jim Hazelwood believed that service to his country was a duty. Fanfare was a matter of choice.

So it seems fitting that he will be buried today in a quiet ceremony at the Carwile Family Cemetery in Gladys.

The 85-year-old veteran of three American wars died earlier this week from complications from a stroke.

"He didn’t want a lot of hoopla," said his son, Tom. "He just felt like he was one person among many who have served their country. If there was going to be a fuss over him, he felt that there should be a fuss made over all vets."

That type of humility, coupled with quiet strength, is what endeared him to his family, friends and fellow veterans.

"He was a warrior," his son said.

Hazelwood’s military record reads like a chronicle of distinguished service awards.

He was a survivor of Pearl Harbor and was wounded during the sinking of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington in World War II during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

As a Navy diver, he was wounded while placing two markers on the beach before the Marine landing at Iwo Jima.

He fought again in Korea and Vietnam.

He also served on diving teams that provided splashdown rescue for astronauts on NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space missions.

He won the Silver Star and was awarded two Purple Hearts  as a result of his combat experiences.

In his own understated way, he once summed up his military record like this:

"My greatest accomplishment is being a survivor of 32 years of hard Navy service."

Terry L. Jamerson, who met him about a decade ago at the Lynchburg Area Detachment Marine Corps League, viewed his record much more generously.

"As part of our ‘Greatest Generation,’ he was a leader among men and a true American hero that may never receive the recognition he deserves from all of us," Jamerson said.

Those who knew him believe Hazelwood wouldn’t have had it any other way.

"He didn’t brag," said Ben Brenneman, who met Hazelwood in the late 1980s as they both rode with the Lynchburg Bicycle Club when Hazelwood was well into his 70s.

Some said Hazelwood was going on 25-mile bicycle rides as he approached the age of 80.

Jamerson said that persona fits with the aura of a Navy Seal, which Jamerson said is among America’s fighting elite.

"Most Marines look up to Navy Seals as being tougher than we are," Jamerson said.

But it was on the home front where Hazelwood’s toughness shone through as he helped his wife of 59 years, Della, fight the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease.

It was in that battle that Hazelwood consummated his reputation as a warrior and the embodiment of the Marine’s motto.

"Semper Fi," Jamerson said. "Always faithful."

» Contact Ron Brown at  rbrown@newsadvance.com  or              (434) 385-5542      .

Doc Riojas NOTE:   I spoke with my Friend, Tom Hazelwood, Jim's son about obtaining a picture of Jim in USNAvy Dress uniform.  I never got it, but that's OK.

Tom said that Jim had a stroke, was taken to the hospital and the next day he died.   Della, Jim's wife suffers from the advanced stages of Alzheimer's Disease and he was her primary care giver.  I understand their daughter will continue taking care of her mother Della.

I last sat and chatted with Jim at the UWSS reunion at Little Creek Va. May 2002.  He looked great. He said he was still doing a little P.T. every morning.

 

 

                    

 

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                                         Click on these small images to enlarge them !

    

     

 

 


       U.S.Navy SEALs  
                                 Page 14   

     

                                             

---- Original Message -----
From: Robert Russell
To: Doc Riojas
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 

In 2006 the Navy created the Special Warfare Operator rating, which consists entirely of SEALs. The rating's specialty mark is identical to the Underwater Demolition badge's original design but in silver. The Navy Warrant Officer device for Special Warfare Technician is also this same design in gold. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_Demolition_Badge"

Teams!

R.D. Russell (SEAL),  UDT/SEAL Archieves

                                                                  
Is BUD/S so easy a Caveman can DO it?   We don't have this man's name.  Mr. R.D. Russell is still investigating his status. Does anyone know him?

 

 

                           
                                           Per Eric "Swede" Tornblom

                                      
                       Admiral Eric Olson                                                                             Alden Mills

 

 

                           
barbara preston; kelly chotte;  rick nirkj ; enn mc collum;  mike talleda; nick  rocha   

                               
                        Benjamin A. Oleson & CNO                                         Denny "The Snake"  Chalker

 


can somebody ID these guys?

 

                                                   
           Scott Helvenston KIA,Fallujah                                    Stewart K. Kerr MD

 

              

What exactly happened that day in Fallujah

 

     

                 
                     Tom Rancich                                       Alex Ghane, Killed in live fire training Feb 2008

 

 
                        Richard Machowicz   of  Discovery TV Channel

 

“Richard “Mack” Machowicz’s expertise with soldier craft and military hardware comes from his experience as a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Navy SEALs. During his service tenure, he participated in numerous tactical operations with SEAL Team ONE and TWO. While at SEAL Team TWO he was attached to the training cadre as the Leading Petty Officer of Land, Mountain and Arctic Warfare.

“Mack has over 20 years experience in the martial arts, studying such systems as muay thai boxing, Jeet Kune Do, kickboxing, aikido, jujitsu, savate, arnis and karate. He was a certified instructor in the Naval Special Warfare Combat Fighting Instructor Course, a Naval Special Warfare Scout/Sniper and has received multiple black belts. Machowicz also served as a personal protection specialist for many high profile individuals within the political arena, business world and entertainment industry.

“As founder of the Bukido Institute and creator of the Bukido Training System, Machowicz teaches a performance philosophy that uses unarmed combat as a pathway for exploring the dynamics of doubt, hesitation, second-guessing, stress, pain, fatigue and fear. Bukido shows clients — including professional athletes and entertainment industry executives — how to maximize their ability to focus in any environment.”

 

 

                                      
                      C.J. Caracci                                                     John Doolittle

                   
                                  C.J. Caracci    go HERE for his Bio

 

                
                          David A. Hansen                                                                              Mark Waddell

 

    
    ]Howard V. Wasdin                                       Jeff Gonzales                                          Jhil and Joe

 

           
                         Jim Watson                                                                  Kevin R. Murphy

 

                            
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas after being thrown into the water as part of my initiation on becoming member of  ST-2

 

   
                        Leapfrogs                                                                               Mark Colburn

 

  

              

                                                   Matt Bissonnette

                                
                Alfredo Moreno; he was severly WIA panama fiasco                        Paul Basal

                                      
                             Paul ?                                                              Pete Farmer MD                       

 

                                 
                                                                                           Robert Harward

           

                                  
                                   Denny"The Snake" Chalker

 


                Chuck  Bravedy      

                      

 

MELVIN SPENCE DRY (SEAL)

He is the last USNavy SEAL that died in Vietnam

LT - O3 - Navy - Regular

Length of service 4 years
Casualty was on Jun 6, 1972
In OFFSHORE, SOUTH VIETNAM
NON-HOSTILE, SEA CASUALTY
OTHER ACCIDENT
Body was recovered
 
Panel 01W - Line 38

Anyone out there have a photo of LT Dry?   please email it to Doc Riojas, thanks.

                                                         

Leslie Harold FUNK Jr.

Birth

27JUL44

Rank

SM3

Date of Death

06OCT67

P. of birth

 

Service

Navy

Place

Gia Dinh , S. Vietnam

Town of
Record

Aberdeen

Unit

SEAL TEAM 1

Death Code

Non-Hostile, Died Missing; Ground Casualty; Drowned

Hometown

 

service #

5249370

Panel

27EAST - 59  

married

Single

MIA -

 

Medals

 

Tour Date

 

Comment

Book: "Death in the Jungle; Diary of a Navy SEAL"
Seal Team-1

Cemetery

 

Weatherwax High School , Aberdeen WA , 1964

Leslie Funk Dies in Vietnam
Leslie Harold Funk, 22, a former Aberdeen resident, and a frogman in the Navy in Vietnam, was found dead Sunday morning in the Dong Tau River, seven miles southeast of Nha Be, Vietnam. He was born 27 Jul 1945, in Aberdeen , and was graduated from Weatherwax High School with the class of 1964. He entered the Navy almost immediately after he graduated. He was on the Aberdeen Swimming team for four years and won a trophy and several ribbons for diving. He had begun swimming on teams in the eighth grade at Miller Junior High School . He also attended McDermoth and Robert Gray Schools .
While on Mission Funk died while on a mission in the battle areas of Vietnam . He is survived by his mother, Mrs. Eleanor Louise Funk of 3000 Morris Place, Reedsport OR, a brother Richard A. Funk of Hoquiam; a sister, Charlotte Elaine Edwards of Reedsport; a niece, Karen L. Edwards of Reedsport; and three cousins, Mrs. Fred Bird and Mrs. Donald Caldwell of Aberdeen, and Mrs. Clifford Edwards of Hoquiam. Funeral arrangements are pending. (The Aberdeen Daily World, Aberdeen 11 Oct 1967)

 

                                             

Lieutenant Dan Burke, U.S. Navy SEAL Teams (Ret.)
Dan Burke is a combat veteran of U.S. Navy SEAL Teams, a prior enlisted "mustang" who retired after a combined eight years of active duty and 12 years of US Navy Reserves duty. Dan earned his B.A. in the Science of Creative Intelligence and M.A. in Professional Writing at Maharishi University of Management. He has organized introductory lectures on the applied benefits of Invincible Defense Technology for several US military commands and he co-authored the article "Invincible Defense A New "Secret Weapon!" published by the Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace.

Created by former Navy SEAL Alden Mills, BodyRev is a new cardio weight system designed to elevate heart rate and tone muscle simultaneously. You hold it like a medicine ball while doing squats and lunges. (It has removable weights in the center.)

   Ryan Brandt Young
Ryan Brandt Young, of San Diego, is shown in an undated photo provided by his family. Young, a former Navy SEAL performing diplomatic security in southern Iraq, died Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005, when a bomb destroyed his armored vehicle. A native of Halfway, Md., Young, 32, served in the U.S. Navy for more than 13 years, including stints as a Navy SEAL and SEAL instructor, said his father, Greg Young.
Published: 11/02/05

 

* Navy SEAL/Chief Warrant Officer Retired.* Active duty Aug 1977 - May 1998.Learn more about Don Mann at USFrogMann.com.

Don Mann, CEO, Primal Quest(Course Director, PQ 2006) Don Mann, CEO, Primal Quest(Course Director, PQ 2006)

A retired Navy SEAL, American Adventure Racing Pioneer, co-founder of Odyssey Adventure Racing.

Special Skills & Qualifications:     Decorated Combat Veteran; Corpsman, EMT, paramedic; personal trainer; SEAL Special Operations Technician; Special Forces Medical Laboratory graduate; static line, high altitude free-fall and advance free-fall parachutist; open circuit, closed circuit oxygen and air scuba diver, diving supervisor; jungle survival, desert survival and arctic survival instructor; small boat operator for craft up to 65 feet; technical rock climbing, mountaineering; small arms weapons instructor, foreign weapons instructor, armed and unarmed defense tactics, advanced hand-to-hand combat; photo intelligence; Survival, Evade, Resistance and Escape Instructor; B.S. International Relations, B.S. Liberal Science, and Masters in Management.

 

History of the USS Tautog 

The USS Tautog was christened by Mrs. Albert Gore of Tennessee on March 15, 1967. Once construction and outfitting was complete, TAUTOG sailed to Pearl Harbor, where she was assigned tothe Seventh Fleet (WESTPAC). Early in 1970, she made port calls in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Okinawa, Japan and Korea. Upon return to Pearl Harbor, the Terrible "T" was presented the Meritorious Unit Commendation for operations conducted during that deployment. http://www.aztechsoft.com/cavallanews/newsletter2.htm

On another occasion some Navy SEALS got into a bit of trouble when they used her as a surfboard! According to "Surfer Magazine", this was "the hottest surfboard in the world".  This picture shows a SEAL standing on top of the TAUTOG's sail while it is just a few inches under the water.  The picture was taken from the SEAL's rubber boat.

She continued to serve for a total of 11 WESTPAC deployments. The boat was officially decommissioned on March 31, 1997.

 

Hidden Battles In Afghanistan

Lara Logan Enters Into Combat With U.S. Navy SEALs    Dec. 29, 2004

 

Navy Chief Petty Officer Mark T. Carter, 27, Fallbrook

SEAL dies in combat on mission in Iraq

 

 

 

      Melvin Spence Dry*, class of 1968.

If the Navy was ever going to select a SEAL admiral from the class of ‘68, it would have been Melvin Spence Dry, hands down.  At the Naval Academy he had a superior academic record, a great sense of humor, and was well liked by his classmates.      He was smart, articulate and a natural combat leader.

http://www.campbell.edu/faculty/Slattery/mh_freedom.htm    Lots of SEAL photos on this LINK !                    http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,NI_0705_Seal-P1,00.html

 

 

 


Billy Machen

Gilmer's Billy Machen was the first U.S. Navy Seal killed in action in Vietnam. He was 26 years old. Navy Frogmen are legend for their fierce hand to hand combat and their heroics.A Seal Training Base in California now bears the name, Camp Billy Machen, in honor of this Gilmer High School graduate - a brave soldier, and a great American.

                            
                                                              Chief Thomas J. Valentine (SEAL)

USS SEALIONAPSS-315, John Clear CPO(SS)

                                      MCPO Thomas E. Bais

  

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Thomas Blais 
To: doc rio 
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 10:04 PM 
Subject: guys who went through BUD/s twice? 

Rio, Nothing from your buddy Rich Young aka: Nightscribe: so I am sending this info to you! Thank you, Tom Blais


Regarding Rich's question : 

I am, Retired Master Chief Blais and I have successfully completed two BUD/S classes. 

Classes "FOUR" and "SIXTEEN". Both were winter classes conducted at Little Creek Amphibious Base, Norfolk Virginia. Class Four began in January 1949. Class SIXTEEN began in January 1956. Classes were 16 weeks in duration. 


Master Chief Blais retired December 1975 from SEAL TEAM TWO, Little Creek, Norfolk, Virginia. 28 years service. As far as other men successfully completing BUD/S Training twice, I have no clear idea. 


There was an Irishman, Gunner's Mate 1st class, in class SIXTEEN, I think, might have finished successfully. 
A photo of Class 16 does not show him as far I can discern. I seem to remember he also may have gone through training at Fort Pierce, Fla. Prior to / or during WWII. But, the memory of him is vague. He was struggling and I don't remember him running or on swims in Puerto Rico. But, that was a long time ago. 

Respectfully to you Rio, 
Tom

 

                    
                     Frank Sparks                        Robert A. Gormly                                    Chris Cassidy

                   
                                     "Big Al" Ashton                      Tom Keith  "SEAL WARRIOR" his book

 

                       
                                                            L to R:        ??  ;        Tom Keith

                                   
                                               Jerry Hammerle                      Tom Keith                   Bai   

 Doc,

That picture is Al Ashton and Terry Sullivan, (ST2-10th Plt.) the action being
recorded was for a staged video being shot by Navy Videophotogs.The
video was shot in the My Tho area, summer of "68,the "prisoner" was a
Chieu Hoi, "Bai", that ST2/ 10th Plat. Officers, Lt Al Quist and WO1
Dale McClesky had released from the RVN police in My Tho to work for
us since he still had some good intel, we could work on. The video was
staged about a month after we had him with us, he was a quick study of
Rudy's (BMCM Rudy Boesch) hair style!
Bai was an exceptionally tall VN, will attempt to send a picture of
Members of 10th Plt burning the Police reports of the incarceration
for both Bai & Lai another Chieu Hoi we had working with us.
From what I know both were KIA while working with another ST2 Plt
sometime in "69
Jerry Hammerle
ST2-10th Plt
Saturday, May 01, 2010 

 

 

           
       Don Shipley speaking of the web site POW.COM                                        Dave "Doc" Hammer

 

                 
from LCDR Naus

 


           Tom Rancich

     
Ty                                               ?                                Zellers and ?

 

 

                                          

         
                                                                                                                                                                                Elisha Ralph "ROCKMAN" Morgan

 

 

 

           
       Don Shipley speaking of the web site POW.COM                                        Dave "Doc" Hammer

 

                 
from LCDR Naus

 


           Tom Rancich

     
Ty                                               ?                                Zellers and Gene Warta

 

 

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"LONE SURVIVOR" the movie showed an "FNG" reciting our well known poem: AROUND THE WORLD TWICE but in the film it was edited.             Here is a LINK to the real one:    AROUND THE WORLD TWICE!   

Hooyah!  A shouted term used often in SEAL Training that means:

  • Hell Yeah!
  • OH SHIT, not again!
  • Not again
  • This is REALLY going to suck
  • This is REALLY going to fucking hurt

Read more: http://sofrep.com/2459/shit-navy-seals-say/#ixzz2qluM4cSq

SEAL TWO Photo ALbums by Doc Rio

 

 

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