01-16-07 Mal Flisk  mal.flisk@MarshCreekLLC.com     Best tours I ever spent. '83-'89. Have some great pics of pier in Subic with Seafox, MkIII and LCPL tied up, etc. Let me know if you need 'em. Only served in SBU-12, trained with 13, and with 11 up in Vallejo. Served in the Gulf 2 times with SBU-12 (Wim Brown 7).

I was on the first det to the gulf. We were pulled out of the Philippines and shipped off on the LKA116, St. Louis. I remember when we were on the St. Louis, they repainted the superstructure and painted out the hull number and put a Chinese name "Chow Yang" across the fantail. We flew a red Chinese flag going through the Straits of Molucca at night and avoided all other shipping. Very weird trip from the PI to the Gulf. We went through the Straits of Hormuz at night too.

Pulled into Bahrain and wound up on the pier for 2-3 weeks without food, pay and mail. Had MRE's, but couldn't afford to buy cokes at Raghat Joe's. Was there when they captured the Ajr that was laying mines and had 6 prisoners on the boat we delivered to some LPD. Went there as the POIC of the Seafox 8214. Had my first meal of Eggs Benedict on the Wimbrown.

The PBR's were mainly used for barge protection and seldom were further than a couple of miles off. Barge Hercules had better accommodations, but I'd say WmBrnVII had the best of the chow. The Seafoxes were seldom used, as we didn't have enough people to fully man the MKIII's, so crew for Seafoxes mainly went out on the PB's. I was relief cox'n on one of the PB's. I think I vaguely recall ENCS Pulis (sp?) on that det. Lt.Rooker from SBU11 was the OIC.

The only time I got seasick in my life was when I was in that lazarrette stuffing a mattress into the exhaust louver for the Onan. I still think it was the diesel fumes. Yep, had to be diesel... couldn't have been anything else.

There was a near mutiny on that damn pier one night. We had gotten the boats into the water (finally) and a tin can pulled in. We hadn't had a hot meal in weeks, so the skipper offered us chow. Lt. Rooker decided we needed to re-place the boats on the other side of the pier and wanted it done during the mess deck hours. People hadn't been paid, hadn't had mail in 2-3 weeks, we were shaggy haired as no one had brought clippers or scissors. Basically we looked like bums. Laundry was a salt water kind of thing. Our fresh water ran from further down the pier through a garden hose (about 8 of them in series) that heated to about 120 degrees in the daytime.

People had heard this skipper make the offer. He'd also offered to open the ships store, barber shop, post office, etc. They were pulling out the next day. Crews started to chant, "No food, no pay, no mail, no work". It was getting ugly. That skipper came over and said he would have fresh chow cooked and we would be guests of the ship when we got done with our work. I wish I could remember that ships name.

Still talking to Mark Robenhurst and Steve Rechnagel . Haven't heard hide nor hair from Todd Johnston or Matt Knight. Jablonski and Hunt have emailed me once or twice. The pic of me in the PBR turret has Robenhurst sleeping on the deck behind me. Knew some of the guys from SBU11 from that det. Our OIC was from 11.

That's about it from me today. Foreman's work is never done.

Still, most proud of my service with the boats, retired ET1, 20 years (1996).